During one downturn we lost a significant amount of business—clients cut their marketing budgets and took their communications in house. But fast forward a few months, and business is better than ever. That’s because we used the downtime to our advantage.

Here are five tips for turning your business up in a downturn, based on our experience:

1. Help others be successful

Slow times are great opportunities to help friends and colleagues with business challenges. You're not only helping your fellow man, but you're also nurturing professional relationships, maintaining your skills and keeping your company on the radar screens.

Know people who are out of work? Help them find new opportunities, and help your business at the same time. Some of our client relationships changed because the people who managed our contracts lost their jobs due to cost-cutting, re-orgs and mergers. We stayed in close contact with those people and helped them in their job search, because wherever they went, we wanted to go with them. Today, as a result, we’ve received several referrals from these continued relationships.

We also use our downtime to check in with colleagues. Whether it’s over lunch or on a phone call, we can be a sounding board, share our experience or help them talk through a problem. This way, we stay plugged into the challenges in the marketplace and keep our company top of mind. We recently signed a new contract as a result of this kind of downtime networking.

2. Enter competitions

Search your industry for recognition and accreditation opportunities. In our business, we use our spare time to enter competitions such as the Hermes Creative Awards, the IABC Gold Quill Awards and the MarCom Awards. And, if we win, we let our clients and prospects know that our work is among the best in the world. These awards give our company credibility, improving our retention of current clients and acquisition of new ones.

3. Learn new things

It’s hard to read up on best practices when you’re knee-deep in deadlines. But when you have more time in the schedule, it’s a great opportunity to learn some new stuff. During one such slow time, we immersed ourselves in social media case studies which came in handy a few months later when we advised a client on a strategic online community to drive their business.

4. Create opportunity in every relationship

Some people work hard to keep their personal and professional lives separate. But the way we see it, every new relationship is an opportunity for personal and professional growth: you never know where you’re going to find your next client or business partner.

Whenever I meet someone, I tell him or her about my company, and these encounters have become a great channel for new business. I use Meetup to find local groups for hiking, board games and other things that I like to do, and in addition to making some new friends, I’ve made important professional connections. I met a management consultant while playing Guesstures, and we recently partnered on a proposal. I met a training professional at a volunteer event, and her company became a client.

5. Experiment with new ways to provide value

Finally, when we’re busy with big clients, it can be difficult to moderate our services for smaller organizations. But slow times are a good chance to experiment with different kinds of clients. Are our services a good fit for this type and size of company? Can we provide value while getting the margin we need? Can we develop a new product that’s customized for a certain kind of customer? Use your downtime to get clear on where you can play and where you can’t so when you’re busy again and customers are knocking, you’ll know when to play and when to pass.

Ultimately, less money and more time can be a tough combination. But it comes down to celebrating the art of readjustment. When you look at downtime as a growth opportunity rather than a crisis, you can find ways to use it to your advantage.

OPEN Cardmember Cason Lane is president of Cason Lane Strategic Communications, a San Diego-based consulting company that provides writing and strategy for internal and external communications.