lead contributor Georgi Georgiev
11/2/2022
Nowadays, if a natural disaster hits whether that be a flood, a hurricane or something else, the SBA still doesn’t have a way to respond - whether that would be by loans or recovery assistance - this is according to a recent government report.
However, that doesn’t mean that small businesses can’t cope with the issue on their own.
Businesses are often forced to close down after a disaster. By doing this, they risk not being able to reopen their doors again. The problem with natural disasters like hurricanes is that they are unpredictable. However, there are crucial measures that have to be taken into account in order to protect one’s company from evil nature. These measures include taking care of employees’ needs, communicating the impact, addressing financial matters, restoring operations and organising recovery.
Elements of a business recovery plan are a lot but we are going to focus on the 3 key ones.
The first one is by setting up an emergency response plan and providing training to employees on the way it has to be carried out. By doing this, there will be no panic in the face of danger (natural disasters) and everything will be carried out smoothly. The plan should be written down in case anyone forgets it and their responsibilities.
Second one is again a “plan” but a different one - having ways to connect with key people after the disaster. That should be done either by phone or email, if neither is available have a buddy check plan of communication.
Another key element involves protection - from your physical location to your data. In this way nothing will get lost and through your data you will have your communication strategy to retain customers ready.
The last and arguably most important precaution a business can take is to review the company’s insurance plan. Every business owner should make sure that they have enough financial coverage to pay for the indirect costs of disaster. These costs include the cost of repair and rebuilding. Furthermore, it is helpful to check that your insurance plan is best suited to fit the needs of your business based on location and property size.
As a small business keeping yourself and your employees prepared on your end is the most important thing to do in the face of natural disasters.
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