Small Business: Disaster preparedness is each business' responsibility

Sam Jones is the Region VII SBA Administrator.

It isn't just community planning that helps small businesses "weather the storm" in times of natural or other disasters. Whether a small business recovers or fails after a disaster is intricately connected to the preparedness taken on the part of the small-business owner in advance.

And, there's never any guarantee that a disaster won't happen tomorrow.

To assist small-business owners in preparing for the unknown, the U.S. Small Business Administration, through its Office of Disaster, hosts a Web site called "Be Aware and Prepare" offering tips of the day and a checklist of things small business owners can do to be prepared.

The site is maintained in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency above and beyond the SBA's legal responsibility to assist people across the nation after an incapacitating disaster strikes. The site is at www.sba.gov/beawareandprepare/business.html.

As the Web site points out, every area in the country is subject to some kind of disaster flood, hurricane, earthquake, ice storm and landslide, to name a few. Even manmade disasters oil spill, civil unrest and fire can devastate a surrounding neighborhood and economy.

But the small-business owner needs to ask him or herself this question: "Would my business survive if it were closed down for weeks, months or a revenue season?" Developing a disaster plan now may help you reduce the impact of a disaster or event and keep the doors open.

The Web site offers a toolkit to plan for the types of disasters to which your area may inherently be subject.

One consideration frequently overlooked by small-business owners is the safety of critical records needed to sustain their business, such as employee data and customer lists. Take a minute to consider how helpful an up-to-date copy of computer and Internet logon codes and passwords might be in re-opening a business.

When I last logged on to the Web site, the "Tip of the Day" banner advised that it was wisest to store copies of vital business information at least 40 miles from your business site. The mileage number has been deduced from FEMA studies of past disasters that show businesses that recover quicker have these records stored at least that far away.

God willing, we won't need to access our Homeland Security plans. But it is a sure bet that for someone, somewhere in the United States, a small business will be putting its disaster plan into use in the near future. I hope this article has inspired you, as a small-business owner, to develop a new plan or to update an old disaster plan.