Fires, tornados, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes can be a real threat to everyone’s personal life as well as the operation of small businesses. Restoring your business to normal operations after a disaster is important for the recovery process in every community around the country.
Businesses that have a plan in place before a disaster typically have less loss, downtime and financial damage afterwards. Disaster preparations should be a normal part of every business planning, according to the federal and state governments.
A good disaster plan should include several elements. Businesses need to protect their data and inventory, physical property and most importantly their staff. Your plan should include provisions on what to do immediately after your business is destroyed. Businesses should have a plan in place to retrieve records on customers, vendors and employees. Businesses should decide in advance, which key employees it will need to maintain in the event of a disaster.
The Small Business Administration website has a list of preparation tips and topics for business owners to take into consideration when planning for a disaster. Visit www.sba.gov and search for “disaster preparedness” for more information. The Department of Homeland Security has disaster information available at www.ready.gov/business. FEMA also has disaster information on their website which provides step-by-step information for businesses of all sizes. Visit www.fema.gov for more information.
The old adage…”It’s better to be safe than sorry.” is a good one to follow under these circumstances.
