Economic crisis is the birthplace of the American entrepreneur. Some of the United States’ greatest businesses men rose to stardom from the ashes of recessions. While some of us are crying over layoffs, budget cuts, and maxed out credit cards, others are scraping together enough cash to bootstrap a mission.

For any start-up, marketing is vital to getting noticed. For those with cash in short supply, try these five high impact, low budget tactics.

1. Join the Club. Identify easy to reach niche markets and target them by getting involved in local interest specific organizations.

2. Piggy-back. Is there another successful company that reaches your target demographic, but doesn’t compete with you? Pay attention to what they are doing. You can learn a lot without spending big bucks on strategy planning.

3. Become a Local Superhero. A few good deeds in the community won’t only give you good karma, it’s a great way to get your name in the papers for free.

4. Form an Alliance. A joint venture with other non-competing businesses makes your marketing dollars go a lot farther!

5. Ask for referrals. Make the most of your relationships with satisfied customers by asking for their referrals. A good word goes a lot farther than an expensive ad campaign.