Maybe you don't need as many employees as you think you do. Executives at Studeo, an advertising agency based in Salt Lake City and Irvine, Calif., discovered that during a hiring freeze about five years ago. After losing a major client, the company laid off 15 people, bringing its head count to 50. The two owners, president Dave Allen and CEO Todd Shepherd, tightened the rein on spending by imposing a hiring freeze. Within six months, the company had won two new accounts. But the owners realized they didn't need to boost head count to grow. When a new client comes in, Studeo now bulks up with freelancers as an interim measure before deciding whether to add permanent positions. Studeo has almost tripled its sales since the freeze, from $12 million to $32 million, even though it now relies on only 45 full-time employees.