Disasters can happen at any time in this imperfect world we live in. Nobody is safe regardless of where you are in the world although it is a fact of life that some areas are more prone to specific disasters than the others. Think of earthquakes in Japan and hurricanes in most Asian countries. These natural calamities don’t just pose a hazard to your life but also to your properties. Homes have been ravaged in the past, present, and most likely, in the future, because of the force of the elements it has to face once disaster strikes. The risks are high and it doubles, triples, quadruples, or even more if you own a business.
Business owners don’t just think about their physical properties that will be ravaged by disasters but their economic value as well and how much business is lost when the store doesn’t operate during store hours. Even with disasters like storms that science can predict and follow, there are still losses that an entrepreneur has to deal with in the aftermath of a storm. It is even more challenging for a small business because they may eventually close down business if the damage is too much and they won’t be able to open shop once more.
No matter how unpredictable the weather may be, there are precautions a business owner can take to lessen the damage and losses and enable them to resume business sooner. It all starts with having a disaster plan that is especially suited for your type of business and your location in place.
Any disaster plan should start with a method to communicate with colleagues about their safety, as well as emergency contact numbers, Ford said.
Communication among staff was on top of the wish list for Houston Volunteer Lawyers, a pro bono legal organization that coordinated volunteer attorneys to assist flood victims after Harvey. Michael Hofrichter, director of operations and compliance for Houston Volunteer Lawyers, said each staff member had a list of everyone else’s phone numbers and email addresses, but the organization needed a way to easily send blast messages saying the office is closed or asking if staff members needed help.
We’ve experienced it for years now, how disastrous natural calamities are but things become somehow more manageable if you know what to do once it does strikes. There is no specific plan that will work but at least it will give you an idea what to do when these instances happen. No matter how big your business is, you should have one in place and you must ensure that everyone is aware of it at all times. It may look like a to-do list but has to include important information like emergency phone numbers. Businesses also have to communicate with clients especially if they provide services informing them that they would be unable to render services for obvious reasons.
Insurance cover
Just as you would insure your car against a road accident, is the same way you are supposed to insure your business against any risk its prone to. For example, you have a food processing company. It’s prone to fire outbreaks due to the high temperatures in the processing chambers. This will therefore mean insuring the company against fire outbreaks. You need to identify the natural disaster that can affect your business together with its magnitude and probability. Therefore incase the natural disaster occurs you will be compensated for the loss.
Evacuation routes
When designing the buildings where you’ll run your business it’s good to have evacuation routes in mind. Your premises should have accessible emergency exits and evacuation routes in case of disasters such as fire outbreaks, floods among others. These routes should be maneuverable by everyone including those with special needs. You should also train your employees on how to go about in times of danger and natural disasters. Also equip your premises with equipment such as fire extinguishers and hose pipes in case of fires. They should also be easily accessible.
Backups and data restore points
Backing up your business data in external servers or data restore points such as cloud stores like Google drive is a way that can prevent your business from collapsing through losing all its data. For example, a building in your premise collapses and all the computers in that department crush down. You might end up losing all your data in the respective computers but if you had backed up the data in external servers or cloud, you’ll purchase new computers and download the files where you’ll be in business again.
(Via: https://sbnn.co.uk/2018/07/05/6-tips-for-preparing-your-business-for-natural-disasters/)
And considering that everything has now gone digital, you must take measures to protect not just your computing devices but also the data stored in it. This data is also the lifeblood of your business. You’ll have a hard time recovering without them especially if these data include customer information.
You can further protect your business by securing it with an insurance. You may not be able to get a lot of money from it but at least you’ll have enough to help you set everything up in your business once more. And since we can’t always tell when a disaster will hit your place, all of your staff should know the evacuation routes. This doesn’t just apply outside but also even within a facility especially if your office is in a tall building. Most importantly, you should protect your data by backing them up especially up in the clouds, to lessen your worries about damaged devices. You can learn more about saving your damaged hard drives here: https://www.harddrivefailurerecovery.net/disaster-recovery-and-recovering-fire-damaged-hard-drives/ and https://www.harddrivefailurerecovery.net/hard-drive-gets-water-damaged-what-to-do/.
You can’t really 100% storm-proof your business but being prepared can reduce your risks and make it easier for your business to recover regardless of the tragedy that has struck you.