Ridgely Evers: Tips for keeping your small business afloat right now

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, there used to be these commercials where a lot of talking would be going on, and then suddenly someone would mention this bank's name, and all the noise would come to a standstill. And that's when the audience heard the slogan, "When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen."

That's how I felt when I recently interviewed Ridgely Evers for an upcoming magazine article. Evers talked; I was going to intently listen and hope whatever wisdom he'd dispense, I'd internalize. After all, Evers created the famed accounting software, QuickBooks, shortly after going to work for Intuit in 1988. (I'm guessing he must have fun when he goes to his high school reunions.) So after I finished our interview, I started up another one, specifically for WalletPop, and asked him if he had any advice for any of our readers who own small or medium-sized businesses and are worried about surviving this recession, or economic meltdown, or whatever we're in.

And here's what he had to say.