Most of the time when people hear about a business continuity and disaster preparedness plan their mind immediately jumps to earthquakes, hurricanes, dogs & cats living together, mass hysteria! And while it’s important to plan for large disaster events like that, ask yourself this question:
If you got hit by a bus and were unable to work for a month, like getting corona virus, would your business survive?
I was at a conference years ago and the attendees were asked how many were business owners. Nearly the entire room raised their hands. The presenter then asked “how many of you could take a month off of work, willing or unwilling, and still have a business to go back to?”.
3 people raised their hands. This wasn’t a small event either, there were a few hundred people attending.
He continued “I’m sorry to tell you that you aren’t business owners. You are the employees of a business that you just also happen to own”.
That’s a dramatic outlook, but it’s not entirely incorrect. And before you grab the torches and pitchforks these were all established businesses, not startups. Startups require a blood and sweat sacrifice from their founders so that doesn’t really apply to them. If you think you’re starting a business so you won’t have to work as hard you’re in for a big surprise!
Step #1 is to do a SWOT Analysis. Don’t know what that is? No problem! Here’s a video to help you get started – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObcxaJVNg3U
Step #2 Rank your potential risks and create a plan for each one.
Remember – a flood will affect your business differently than a long term power outage
Step #3 Identify your key players
Who is in charge of what aspect to bring your business back online?
Step #4 Prepare your technology
If you can’t access your office/building will you still be able to conduct business remotely? Do you have access to customer/vendor data?
Step #5 Test your plan
Run mock exercises. The power is out! We’ve had a flood and can’t access the office. The CEO caught Covid-19 and has to self-quarantine for a month.
You can’t always prevent disasters but you can minimize the impact to your business by preparing in advance. Remember, in this case an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of cure.
Resources:
https://disastersafety.org/business-protection/ofb-ez/
https://disastersafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/OFB-EZ-Toolkit-IBHS.pdf
https://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/continuity
#DisasterRecovery #BusinessContinuity #DisasterPlanning #coronavirusBusinessPlan
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