Manage: Prepare Before a Disaster

Seems obvious. But everyone is so busy. Tornados, hurricanes, floods and a major power surge–any of these can mean real trouble for a small business.

Before Disaster Strikes Protect Your Business

1. Ensure that you have property and equipment insurance regardless of the size of your business.

2. Keep vital documents in a portable box. Include:

Articles of organization, licenses and tax ids.

Insurance policies and legal documents.

Back-up drive of financials.

Back-up of all key data.

 

 3. Develop a standard process of data back-ups. At a minimum–everything monthly. Financial data–at least weekly.

4. Establish an off-site storage location for a monthly set of back-up drives. This can be a bank safe deposit box or even an attorney in another state. This is a small cost for peace of mind.

5. Resources to help you get started:

• SCORE Resources for Small Business page with planning downloads.
• SCORE & HP Events for Disaster Preparedness free events across the U.S.
• FEMA Hurricane Season Information and info on how to prepare before a hurricane.
• FloodSmart.gov. Find out if you are in the flood plain, consider this federal insurance program.

 
Be sure to keep emergency phone numbers and emergency cash available in that portable box. Your ability to close your office and walk with a box of vital documents & data files–can mean the difference in getting a speedy insurance settlement & in quickly reestablishing operations. Act now.

-Christine Banning