There comes a point in the life of every enterprise where your business isn’t performing as well as it used to. Peaks and troughs are inevitable, and yet the ultra competitive commercial environment left over from the recession means that the effects of such a pattern are more dangerous than ever before.

For those entrepreneurs who are not willing to leave the fate of their venture to the vagaries of the economic market or industry trends, it pays to have a backup plan. You need to be able to create a comfortable cushion of cash to support your business, so that when you inevitably fall, hitting the ground doesn’t break you.…