Surviving the year-end cash crunch is always tough. This year, it's going to be even tougher.

With economists predicting another ho-hum holiday-shopping season and stripped-down corporate budgets already spent for this year, small businesses are going to have to get creative if they want to keep cash in the bank and revenue coming in the door.

Here are five year-end survival strategies to get you through January 2011:

1. Retool your business plan. The economy has changed, and your company has to change with it. Take whatever isn't working and scrap it. If you haven't looked at your business plan since you first wrote it several years ago, now may be the perfect time to dust it off.

"Your mission and your goals may remain the same whether the economy is strong or weak," says Ken Boyar, author of "The Practical Dreamer: Do's and Don'ts of Mastering a Small Business." "What may change is how you approach achieving those goals."

Take the marketing section, for example. Because of the recession, some of your competitors may no longer be in business, giving you an opportunity to pick up some additional market share. Other companies, meanwhile, may have rolled out new products and services and begun encroaching on your territory.

"Some other steps to consider include renegotiating your lease with your landlord, negotiating better pricing with vendors and suppliers, and reconsidering your own pricing structure," Mr. Boyar says.

If you run a service business, he adds, pay attention to the cost of hiring the employees and contractors who are an essential part of the services your company provides. Make sure that their pay scale makes sense in today's price-conscious market.

2. Hang onto your cash. Don't pay bills today that you can pay in January. Sit down with your accountant or bookkeeper to prioritize your payables. While accountants typically advise small-business owners to pay their bills at the end of the year in order to maximize deductions, this year it may be wiser to conserve your cash in case sales don't rebound next year.

Another idea may be to finance your payables over time instead of draining your checking account by paying your bills in full. While this means you may have to pay some interest on the money you borrow, your interest expense will be tax deductible.

"In today's business environment, the average small business has limited borrowing power due to the banking industry credit squeeze," says Brad J. Taylor, a Springfield, N.J., CPA who works with growing businesses. "Therefore, it may be advantageous for your business to pay some bills with credit cards or even tap into your credit lines, if you have them, to pay current expenses."

Mr. Taylor also advises small-business owners to do some year-end tax planning. For example, you might want to defer a year-end bonus to next year or take a charitable deduction this year in order to minimize your 2010 taxes. And, because tax rates are slated to rise on Jan. 1, 2011, "you may want to lock in a known tax rate and avoid a potential tax rate increase for 2011," Mr. Taylor says. "You may also want to defer any tax deductions until 2011 so those tax deductions will generate a potentially larger tax deduction."

Talk to your accountant or tax adviser to determine the best strategy for you and your business.

3. Line up work for 2011. Just because your clients' 2010 budgets may already be tapped out doesn't mean that you have to wait until 2011 to start pitching new business. Especially for business-to-business companies that sell products and services to corporate customers, the time to start pitching is now.

"I love the year-end for business development because it's a great time to deepen rapport with prospects and clients," says Margaret Prusan, CEO and founder of Illumin LLC, a New York consulting firm that helps small service businesses grow.

Because the fourth quarter tends to be a quiet time for pitching, it's that much easier for your company to cut through the chatter and get your message heard. While social-media marketing may be all the buzz these days, don't ignore the power of one-on-one emails, phone calls and personal visits.

"Behavioral marketing can be a game changer if done right because it focuses on building rapport with individuals versus targeting the generic corporate recipient," Ms. Prusan says. "It's an individual in a company who makes the decision to buy."

And, even if a corporation's budget is already set in stone for 2011, the list of vendors who get a piece of those dollars may not be. By applying these marketing tactics today, Ms. Prusan says, "your prospects and clients will not only know who you are but they'll be chomping at the bit to work with you."

4. Launch low-cost/high-impact marketing initiatives. Join a networking group, put up a Twitter page, update your website or raffle off a free lunch to anyone who puts his or her business card in your fishbowl. It's all about putting yourself out there.

The first step, says Bryan Adams, owner of FAB Communications, a Teaneck, N.J., public relations firm, is to join a networking group. "If done right, the people in the room act like a sales force looking to market your business to their colleagues."

Step Two: Start a blog. Many blogging platforms are free, and, for a small fee, you can register your own domain name as well.

Step Three: Join LinkedIn.com, the business-to-business networking site, and post your profile. This way, you can show off your expertise by blogging some helpful advice to prospective clients and referral sources and by answering questions on LinkedIn that demonstrate your business savvy.

Step 4: Set up a Twitter page and start tweeting your advice to your growing list of followers. Just make sure not to come across as too self-promotional. Says Mr. Adams, "Be helpful first before asking for work."

5. Leverage your frequent-flier miles and reward points. You've earned them. Now, it's time to cash them in to cover year-end travel and entertainment expenses, holiday gifts and more.

"Small-business owners can stretch their dollars by reinvesting these rewards back into their business," says Randy Petersen, editor of InsideFlyer magazine, a reward-points guru who travels the globe speaking to corporations, travel managers and conventions about how to maximize their frequent-flier miles.

Because many of today's frequent-flier programs offer members the full purchasing power of real dollars, business owners can exchange their miles for computers, printers, paper shredders, copy paper and other mission-critical supplies. Miles can also be redeemed for holiday gifts and gift cards for clients, employees and vendors.

"My favorite tip this time of the year is to use your…miles to host the company holiday party," Mr. Peterson says. For instance, United Mileage Plus fliers can redeem 2,000 miles for $100 worth of gift certificates at more than 15,000 restaurants. "The more miles you have, the more gift certificates you can redeem and the merrier the party," he says.

To paraphrase the author Rudyard Kipling, the key to small-business survival is to keep your head while those around you are panicking and jumping ship. Put a plan in place, shore up your cash reserves, and run lean and mean until you cross the finish line.