Businesses must plan ahead to survive disaster

No one wants to think about a disaster happening. We all want only the best to happen to us, our employees and our community members. But disaster does strike.

Beyond the sadness of loss from death, injury and personal property losses, there are business and community losses.

Disasters are especially devastating to small businesses, which sometimes operate on a narrow margin of profit. Closing for a period of time due to a fire, tornado, ice damage or flooding (those most common occurrences in the nation’s heartland) is always difficult – and can be too much to overcome.

An estimated 25 percent of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety. Getting back to business as soon as possible after a disaster is critical. Being able to do so depends on the planning each small-business owner does today.

That’s why the SBA co-sponsored materials and resources in a new disaster planning guide called “Expect the Unexpected” with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. The 10-page, downloadable document of the new guide is located at: http://www.sba.gov/services

/disasterassistance/disaster

preparedness/index.html. Both the SBA and Nationwide will be distributing printed guides in the coming year to clients, agents and resource partners.

The guide provides information that should make a disaster plan effective to protect customers and employees, as well as the business, in the event of a disaster. It provides good disaster preparedness strategies – which could help small businesses to create plans to remain in operation and understand the limitations of insurance coverage. And, it clearly explains programs available from the SBA after a disaster declaration, some of which are dependent on your good record-keeping to claim.

To get you thinking about whether to open the Web site document, I have extracted some insights to consider.

• Most standard insurance policies don’t cover flooding; supplemental coverage may be available.

• File cabinets will not protect documents from getting wet, either from a flood or a tornado, if the roof is gone.

• There are strategies to prevent sewage back-up, which occurs during many types of disasters.

• Customer and supplier records rarely survive in a place of business if a large disaster happens.

• Knowing which employee does what during a disaster is just as important as knowing which employee does what in their job.

• There are 13 items which make up a good disaster supply kit – and such a kit is much, much larger than a breadbox. (Editor’s note: According to the guide, those items include blankets, food, a tool kit, a first-aid kit, cleaning supplies and duct tape.)

When it comes to weathering a disaster, it’s critical for you to plan for the worst in order to achieve the best outcome should a disaster affect your business. I hope you will check your business disaster plan today; further, I hope you’ll never have to use it.

Sam Jones is the Region VII SBA Administrator, serving Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.[[In-content Ad]]