Given the title of this article, you might be more than a little skeptical; After all, it may seem unusual to promise that you can recession-proof your business with a fax-to-email service.

But when it comes to the success of your business, there’s no denying that it’s the little things that can have a massive impact on your company’s bottom line. There are a myriad of obstacles waiting to bring your business down, and if you’re not careful, you could find yourself swept up in the onslaught of even tougher economic times.

And with job creation stagnating and business budgets shrinking by the minute, it’s becoming clear that if you want your business to survive any tough economic times, you should consider all money-saving ideas, whether it’s sending a fax from Internet or using virtual assistants.

So if you’re ready to discover the best ways to save more than a few dollars from your company’s bottom line, read on for the best ways to recession-proof your business with small but mighty ideas:

Send a fax from the Internet: See that office equipment in the corner of your office? The one that takes forever to process documents and send faxes to your customers and employees? That harmless machine is consuming more money than you think. Think back to the last time you had to send a fax: how long did it take for you to get the message across, let alone receive confirmation that the other party received the fax? And let’s not even begin to mention how much time it will take to send a fax if it doesn’t send the first time.

That’s where an email fax service comes into play. An email fax service eliminates the time and resources required to transmit documents to the other party by allowing you to send a fax online. The operation is extremely similar to sending an email, expecting the other party to receive the documents directly from their own fax machine. To send an Internet fax, all you have to do is upload or scan the documents you want to send, enter the receiving party information, and click “send.” Within seconds, your group will receive the information via their own fax machine or online; it really is that simple.

The ability to send a fax from the Internet is not only convenient; you can save significant manpower, time and resources that are better spent keeping your business afloat during tough economic times.

A Virtual Assistant. Employee layoffs are often an unfortunate consequence of a difficult economic climate. With all the job cuts taking place around the world, and even at the largest Fortune 500 companies, there’s no denying that more than a few cuts have probably been made in your own business.

However, this doesn’t mean you have to skimp on the support you need to run your office smoothly and efficiently. If you want to save a lot of money and get the office assistance you need without hiring additional employees, why not look into a virtual assistant? Much like an online consultant or freelancer, a virtual assistant is someone who can prepare documents, email clients, and do all the other things those assistants excel at…

…Except you’ll never meet your assistant face to face.

It’s just another example of how the Internet has made it possible to run a business with lower overhead costs. As a business leader, you obviously need an assistant (or two!) to help you juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities. But instead of taking on the costs of hiring a real-world assistant (including salary, healthcare costs, fringe benefits, etc.), you can simply head online, type “virtual assistant,” and see the plethora of ads that arise Virtual assistants are not required to offer any benefits and will typically work for a fixed wage of between $8 and $15 per hour.

If you want to advertise for a virtual assistant, head over to Guru.com, Elance.com, or Craigslist and post an ad. Be sure to accurately list job responsibilities, including tasks you expect them to complete on a regular basis. Also detail your budget, so you don’t have to waste time reading the resumes of virtual assistants who are out of your price range.

Protecting your business from recession should be a top priority, as it’s clear that another economic meltdown is imminent. With cost-effective ideas like a fax-to-email service and virtual assistants, you can eliminate waste without sacrificing the things that help your business run smoothly.