No matter what kind of business you run, I have a secret that can help you make money even while the recession has your clients’ wallets shut tight.

To tell you the truth, this secret is a good way to make money any time.

Andrew Carnegie, Marshall Field, Sam Walton, and Henry Ford are among the mega-wealthy who put this strategy to work.

As Michael Masterson has pointed out, it is “behind many – if not most – of America’s greatest fortunes.” In fact, says Michael, “It may be the most important secret a businessman can know, for it is the most powerful and most reliable way to make a small business grow.”

But many businessmen are afraid of this strategy… and many others simply overlook it.

I’m talking about undercutting the competition.

Andrew Carnegie was able to produce steel cheaply. Marshall Field cut the price of retail shopping. Sam Walton’s Wal-Mart started offering food, clothing, and other goods at rock-bottom prices. Henry Ford made automobiles that the average Joe could afford. All of these men went on to make massive fortunes.

Under-pricing your competition is an exceptionally effective way to rake in profits during lean times.

An interesting article in the Orlando Sentinel recently reported on a number of businesses that have been booming during the recession. Now when you think of “recession-proof” businesses, credit repair services and pawnshops are likely to come to mind. But the Sentinel mentioned several “atypical” businesses that are doing well, including a bank, a restaurant, and an advertising agency.

They are all very different kinds of businesses, but they have something in common: Their focus is on saving their customers money.

Even during a recession, there are some goods and services that people must buy. And if you can save your customers money while giving them what they need, you can make a bundle.

Here’s how to use this undercutting strategy for your business:

• Survey the competition and determine if you can offer the same value for less.

Many small businesses do not even consider charging less for their products and services, no matter what their competition is doing. They settle on a certain price, because they figure that is what it “should” be. And if the economy changes and times get tough, they don’t consider lowering their price, because that’s what they’ve always charged. (Mom-and-pop operations are often guilty of this.)

One of the first successful small businesses I began was a swimming pool maintenance company. When I surveyed what my competitors were charging and calculated my costs, I saw ample room for charging less. Back then, monthly pool service was going for around $45-$50. But I figured out that if I used part-time workers and kept my overhead very low I could charge only $35 and still make a decent profit. When I began promoting my service at that price, I immediately signed up quite a few customers.

I’ve used the same strategy to start other businesses. When, for example, I went into ballroom dance instruction, most studios were charging $60 per hour. But I realized that I didn’t need a studio of my own. By renting space by the hour and also giving private lessons in my clients’ homes, I could charge just $30 an hour. That made dance lessons very affordable for many people who really wanted them, but couldn’t (or didn’t want to) pay $60.

• Make sure your customers know that the quality will still be there.

Many small businesses have extra “fat” they can trim in order to cut their prices. But before you try to use this strategy to steal market share from your competitors, you have to make sure you can deliver the same quality for the lower price.

The first thing people will worry about when they see your bargain price is that they’ll be getting less in terms of quality and/or service. And if you can’t deliver, your customers will quickly leave you. One way to reassure them is to itemize everything they’ll be getting for the price so they can compare it to what your competitors are offering. (That’s what I did with the swimming pool business.) You should also offer a money-back guarantee. That is a good way to make your customers feel confident that you will offer high-quality products and services.

Undercutting your competitor’s prices is an admittedly aggressive strategy. But the business world is a harsh one… especially in this economy. If you want to prosper, you’ve got to be “Street Smart.”

[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur who's started over a dozen profitable small businesses. For more information on Paul's "Street Smart" business program, click right here.

Ready to start your own business, but don't know where to begin? At ETR's 5 Days in July business-building conference, we'll give you everything you need to start an Internet business. In fact, you WILL have your own fully functioning business up and running by the time the conference ends. Learn more here.]

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Inflation is being kept in check right now. But you can guarantee that it will rear its ugly head at some point in the future. Too much money is being printed by the government. And eventually all those dollars floating around in the economy will be chasing a supply of goods that simply isn’t large enough.

So how do you invest for inflation that isn’t here yet?

First, you want to wait until you see the Consumer Price Index and the Producer Price Index creeping up. Don’t wait until everybody is worried about it. You want to take action when the numbers start increasing slightly.

At that point, diversify your portfolio with a balance of investment vehicles: bonds, precious metals, and stocks. How much do you allocate to each one? That is really up to you. But you should consider such factors as your age, your comfort level with risk, and how many years you have until you retire.

I will probably leave approximately 50 percent of my own portfolio in equities (diversified among various markets and sectors), and put approximately 25 percent in bonds and 25 percent in precious metals. And I’m talking, here, about the 80 percent of my portfolio that I view as long-term. The 20 percent that I trade on a short-term basis changes from day to day.

[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft's take on the market and approach for investing with confidence despite the Great Recession is available every day in ETR's sister publication, Investor's Daily Edge. Sign up for FREE right here.]

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