Five tips for inventors and entrepreneurs to not only survive tough times, but thrive in them.

Forget about it. The chance of an economic stimulus plan being created by the US Government for inventors and entrepreneurs is about as slim as the chance that the CEO's of the Big Three Automakers will be selling off their corporate jets anytime soon.

But that's no surprise to the successful entrepreneur because we left the mainstream mindset at birth. We’re used to forging our own destinies, and fighting the sheep herd mentality crowd as they run en masse past us in the other direction of true opportunity, especially now in these changing times when the proverbial men are rapidly being separated from the boys.

The economic stimulus plan for entrepreneurs remains the same blueprint as it always has. It consists of adapting to the times, believing in one’s instincts and recognizing opportunity. This is a glorious time for true entrepreneurs and one needs look no further than the Great Depression to see that more millionaires were created during that time of economic collapse than in any other time in history. So what will you being doing with your savvy in the next year to capitalize on this chance of a lifetime?

Here are five tips to not only survive tough times but thrive in them:

1. Take a magnifying glass and inventory all your marketing strategies. To control them means you have to track them. If you haven’t yet figured out the 80/20 rule on your successful marketing efforts, get in gear and find the profit makers. Fine tune them and exploit them to a greater degree and seek to uncover more opportunities that the sheep are running from. Remember, the recent statistics pointed to the holiday shopping revenues of 2008 to be only 3% less than in 2007. People are still spending money!

2. If you haven’t already, now is the time to mine your existing customers for greater profits. It is much easier to sell to your existing customers than it is to find new ones. Your existing customers already know you and your products so devise a clever marketing plan geared toward selling them more of your products. This can be an outright sell, or you can implement an upsell strategy for your current product line.

3. Purchase competitive businesses. The sheep are quitting in all regards. Let them quit, but before they do, make an offer to buy their existing business if it can help you broaden your customer base. One of the best opportunities on the cheap exists online. The internet is flooded with hobbyists that have started businesses they don’t know how to run and you can pick up high ranking websites in many industries that have high traffic or membership counts for dirt cheap that can help you market your products.

4. “Co-opetion”. Cooperating with a competitor is a great way to leverage your marketing efforts at a low cost. Co-opetition can lead to building a strong relationship with a competitor while building your bottom line.

5. Leverage the Social Media. It’s free to participate in the big social sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and many more, so develop a plan to increase your presence in these areas.

In the midst of the last dot com bust, two would-be billionaires started a little search engine called Google. Had Larry Page and Sergey Brin followed the sheep during that difficult time for online entrepreneurs, they surely would have missed out on a fantastic opportunity. Don’t sit this one out, it’s going to be a great ride for those with courage and commitment.

Gotta great invention or product and the courage to see it forward during these challenging times? I personally invite you to attend my next MillionsOnQ Bootcamp. We’re looking for a few great inventors, inventions, product developers. For more information visit: MillionsOnQ.com.