The recent stock market correction, mostly triggered by both the perception and reality of a burgeoning credit crunch in the real estate sector, has driven most media coverage regarding the robustness (or lack there-of) of the overall investment markets. For managers of emerging and middle market companies, the questions that naturally are a) is this credit crunch real and will it continue and b) how will it affect their access to capital -- both debt and equity?

With financial headlines dominated by the recent declines in the stock and bond markets, a creeping sense of economic foreboding has entered into the thought and decision-making processes of managers across the corporate spectrum.

A fundamental metric in measuring the value of a business is the degree to which it can generate recurring, repeat profitable revenue from its customers. From businesses as diverse as wireless data providers to potato chip manufacturers, the ability of a business to both consistently predict its future revenue streams and retain its existing customer base on an ongoing basis have traditionally been considered "holy grail" metrics of business value.
The unique structure of business in the 21st century, however, make building recurring revenue business models uniquely challenging: