People have vaccinations, medications, living wills and wills as protective and preventive tools. But what does a business have?
Businesses, of all sizes, are independent entities, created by individuals, but then taking on a life of their own. But what happens more often than not with small businesses is that the life and health of the business is attached to that of its founder. This is due primarily to lack of continuity planning. If you are striving to build a business , a brand, that benefits from the potential for immortality, you have to have a plan. A business continuity plan is similar to a living will for a person. It is a document with a list of the actions that you want and expect to be carried out in the event that you are unable to conduct 'business as usual'. This can be due to something as small as a computer crash and can include: power outages, forces of nature, illness or injury, or even death.
The process of creating a business continuity plan will help you to think about and to implement the necessary systems to keep your business up and running. Some of the elements to consider as you create your plan for your small business include:
- A plan to contact current clients and contractors to divert, delay or desist services while the business recovers.
- The ability to access data and key business passwords, files and information if the normal equipment is not available or accessible.
- Contact information for backup representatives for the primary business contact.
- Details regarding the plan of operations while the business returns to full operation.
For a small business, this may seem like an unnecessary process, but just imagine waking up tomorrow with a full calendar yet no internet or phone access to handle your affairs or to notify your clients of the need to reschedule. All it takes is one major snowstorm, hurricane, or widespread outage and this could be your business' reality. Is your business prepared?
Ready.gov provides an extensive list that will help you identify the areas to consider when creating your plan.
Keep It Moving
Tiffany L. Lymon
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