Will Your Business Be Crushed By THIS Emergency? Ignore at Your Own Peril.

Ways to Safeguard Your Freelance 

Business from Natural and Man-Made Disasters

Please don't blow this off as something that doesn't matter.  If you are in business, it matters.

In 2012, a derecho hit our area.  The area had widespread power outages.

We were fortunate our power was back within three days.  Many people went five to seven days before their power returned.  People in outlying rural areas spent up to three weeks without power.

I didn’t have a business at the time, but not knowing how long until the power returned was a big deal.

What is your most likely natural disaster?

At least one of these is a possibility in your area:

• Hurricane
• Lightning strike
• Tornado
• Wildfire
• Earthquake
• Mudslides
• Flooding
• Extreme winter conditions
• Wind blowing trees down

 Other Situations to Consider

• Nuclear power plant disaster
• Rioting
• House fire
• Pipes burst

We know emergencies happen.  We just don’t know how or where it will show up. 

Our businesses don’t need to take a heavy hit from “surprises.”  To that end, here are some areas for you to consider.

Data

Your email list, client contact information, and your vendors are the life-blood of your business.  You need two things to protect your data:  a safe place and a way to get to it. 

External hard-drives are good, but not so great in water or fire.  Either you need a water and fireproof safe to store it in, or a bank vault. 

Cloud storage is good.  You will need a way to remember the password, assuming your computer must be replaced.

Clients

Assuming you have clients not affected by the disaster, you’ll want to get in touch with them as soon as you reasonably can.  They need to make an informed choice to wait or find another vendor, even if temporarily.

Savings

You may need to replace key equipment and consumables as soon as possible.  Insurance money may not kick in for weeks or months, depending on the scope of the disaster.  What do you need to operate your business?  Developing that list now, before disaster strikes, will help you bounce back with less effort.

Where to Go for Access

You’ve heard about not letting your gas tank get too low and keeping some cash on hand in case of an emergency. 

One of the most urgent things I can think of would be a car charger for your cell phone and laptop.  Depending upon the severity of your emergency, impassable roads may cause gas shortages, so a charger might not take you very far.  

On the other hand, if roads are clear, it will allow you to drive somewhere where power and Wi-Fi lets you carry on with business almost as usual.

Have maps printed in advance.  Some directions could be impassible, so options are nice.  Knowing contacts you can visit outside of the zone may prove invaluable.

Bottom Line

There are many sites dedicated to the art of emergency prep (with or without the political fear mongering accompanying some prepper sites.)  Those will give you a lot more tips and tricks for the physical aspect of dealing with the emergency.

The bottom line is this: simple preparations ahead of time reduce the stress of a disrupted routine.

Most Realistic Emergency Likely

In all reality, minor, but equally disruptive emergencies like a computer or modem breakdown are more likely.  It all goes back to your preps.  Do you have the savings in place to run down and replace your equipment immediately?  Is your data backed up in a safe place you can easily access?

If you missed last week, here's the link where I talked about personal emergencies.  Next week, I'll be talking about preparations to make life a little easier on your family, in case of the ultimate emergency.  

I get that you may not have the resources to make it all happen today.  However, you CAN make a plan and set timelines for reaching those goals.

Whether or you are preparing for big or small disasters, being prepared makes navigating the challenge a lot easier. 

Are there important preps I missed that you have done for your business?  Please share below!

Weekly Challenge

I didn’t finish my website.  I was busy with outside stuff.  I also ran into a technological hurdle.  I’ve dealt with that and am charging ahead full steam.  I have promised my accountability buddy that I’ll have my site live by 5pm on Wednesday – even if I don’t have graphics the way I want them.  Sigh.  Sometimes moving ahead is more important than having everything perfect.

After that, it’s on to getting my LinkedIn updated, which it sorely needs.  Then I need to review the plan and see what’s next.

What are you doing to build your business this week?

A Different Way to Protect Your Freelance Business

Use this checklist to prepare for a personal emergency 

My car, January 2013

My neck snapped as my car lurched forward in that jerky way it does when it stalls. 

As I reached up to rub my neck, confusion must have crossed my face as I observed the engine still running.  That was a rough jolt. 

I stole a quick glance at the rearview mirror.  My eyes widened as I took in the sight of a Jeep Cherokee imbedded in my bumper.

My mind started racing.  I grabbed a slip of paper and wrote down the time and details of the accident while I waited for the 911 operator to answer. 

Long story short, the person who hit me didn’t have insurance.   Fortunately, I did and it covered everything from the trunk and bumper replacement to therapy for whiplash.

I went back to work. A couple of days later, I left in tears to see a doctor because the pain was so bad.  The doctor told me to take two weeks off to recover.  I took one. 

You see, I worked in a small office.  I knew how backed up things got for my manager when she had to do my job as well as hers.

That was several years ago, long before I had any inkling of being a business owner.

 Covering Details Gracefully by Planning Ahead

Now working for my own company, I don’t have someone to pinch hit for me.  Even at home, there are things only I know how to do.  It’s up to me to create an emergency plan.

This is a much longer post than usual, but I hope it will prove valuable to you as you consider these points to safeguard your business.

I shared last week that I have a procedure coming up within the next couple of months that will affect me for up to a week or so.  

People say the first three days I’ll be a zombie.  After that, results may vary.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be writing, much less talking with clients in that kind of state.  Therefore, I need to be prepared with an emergency plan.

To be fair, some personal emergencies come on fast with no warning.  Car accident.  Heart attack.  A broken bone.   

Maybe it's someone else.  Your spouse or child.  Your parent’s - requiring travel to their house each day to take care of them  Maybe you need to move them into your home.

Sometimes you have warning, as I have.  It's not a dire emergency, yet it must be dealt with, sooner rather than later.

As a woman responsible for a business and household needs, there are many moving parts.  I’ll start with the business considerations and move onto personal preparations.   

Working from the personal illness/injury direction, I'll add a few comments at the end about caring for a loved one.

Communications

While I still wouldn’t recommend doing emails during the active recovery phase, if you are under heavy pain relief, phones are out of the question.  How do you want to handle phone calls?

• Voicemail message stating when you’ll be back in the office.
• Trusted friend/family member answer phones or return messages for you.
• Hire a temporary virtual assistant, if you don’t have one already.

Scheduling

• Re-arrange schedule if you are booked solid.
• Schedule time off if you aren’t booked.

Financial Matters

• Have a list of bills due, keep with the bills, including websites/passwords.
• Stay on top of billing.
• Stay on top of taxes.

Project Handling If No Warning

• Train a family member to step in, if possible.
• Make a running contact list of current clients and update changes immediately.
• Develop relationships with other professionals to whom you can hand a project.
• Make a list of key people you regularly contact.  

Project Handling If Forewarned

• Call clients and let them know your situation.
• Be prepared with concessions if they are having trouble with it but want to wait to work with you.
• Be prepared to refer them to someone else if their deadline is hard and fast.

Niceties When You Can Plan for Downtime

• Clean up your desk.
• Clean up your email.
• Tie up loose ends.

*   *   *

On the Homefront

• Keep laundry caught up. 
• Have the house tidied up.
• Create step-by-step instructions to pay bills including websites & passwords.
• Write out a two-week menu of easy meals or make freezer meals ahead of time.
• Review the schedule for the week of your downtime and the week after.
• Have an emergency shopping list and cash available.
• Arrange for childcare, if your kids are too young to be somewhat unattended.
• Set up rides for the kids to get to their regular activities.
• Have some light reading materials and fun videos bookmarked on your laptop.
• Have some personal growth and professional reading materials handy for when you can start to retain information again.

Being organized is huge.  Marla Cilley came up with an ingenious idea called “Office in a Bag.”  She has instructions for assembling your own from scratch, or you can support her by purchasing the binder with lists already printed for you.  This also gives you ideas for more efficiency in home keeping, saving time in your moment of need.  (I receive nothing for this recommendation.)

The idea behind the bag is portability and reclaiming lost minutes.  Where it would be hard to find time to take care of small details like paperwork for the kids field trip, paying offline bills or writing a hand-written thank-you for a referral in a timely manner, this makes it easy.

*   *   *

When You're the Caretaker

• Plan with other family members so you are relieved for an hour or two daily. 
• Observe patterns and adjust your schedule to maintain high quality production.

It’s a different thing when you are able to work, but find yourself busy caretaking.  You may find it extremely challenging, depending upon your feelings about the situation.  Add in frequent interruptions - it’s all part of the gig.  Expecting it goes a long way toward remaining peacefully productive.

One trick I’ve heard is to use a separate office in a bag, in a different color, just for your loved one’s needs.  It has their schedule for routines, meals, medications, appointments, and home care action items. 

It's an easy reference for you while making it simple for someone to step in.  By storing test results and other information in there, it makes office visits a breeze when you coordinate between multiple professionals.

Will You Make It Easy on Yourself?

Easy meal plans, getting someone else to shop and maintain the house for you, getting someone else to shuttle kids goes a long way toward maintaining your sanity.  For all you have to do on your own, having a plan ahead of time will be gold.

You CAN just wing it according to the situation.  Things may also fall between the cracks because you’re busy trying to get through this as gracefully as possible.  

OR you can pull out your emergency lists, according to the situation at hand, and just follow the plan.  It might not cover everything, but you'll be in a much better position to get through the challenge successfully on all fronts.  Stress will be much lower.

I bet your clients will regard you more highly for handling the situation in a professional manner.  Your family will appreciate things remaining as close to normal as possible, too.

Is there anything you would add?  Please post below.  If you found this useful, please share and help others think this through.  

Weekly Challenge

I’ve been working on my website.  It’s going slowly.  It’s easy to get lost in the technical details; however, I’m convinced that patience will get me there.  I’ll continue working on it.  When I am done, my LinkedIn profile badly needs updating.  I’d say that’s enough to keep me busy this week!

What are you doing to build your business this week?

Are You Courting Disaster With No Personal Emergency Plan For Your Business?

Effective Freelancers Save Stress Planning for These 3 Emergencies

Last Monday found me spending more time than I relished near people with initials next to their names.  RN, DR, PAC - all great people, I'm sure.

Yet for some odd reason, I found myself preferring to discover their awesomeness in a different setting.  Especially without pain involved.

While it wasn’t life threatening, it was decidedly disruptive.  I certainly wasn’t getting work done that day.  Not much the next day either.

Fortunately, the disruptive affects have gradually diminished since then.  However, I know I must schedule a procedure within the next couple of months or so.  This will disrupt life again – for a week.

It got me thinking.  What sort of emergency plan should a freelancer put in place to minimize negative impact on clients?  What other emergencies might happen that need plans in place? 

If you want to be effective as a professional, you must address these.  It will save a LOT of stress if - or when - an emergency occurs.  The hard part of figuring out what to do will already will be done.

Looking online, business emergency plans seem to focus on natural or terrorist disasters that interrupt business.  However, personal emergencies are most likely to occur.  If you prepare for those, most everything else cares for itself.

3 Types of Emergencies

Personal crisis.  Maybe a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal illness.  An aging, ailing parent moves in – or doesn’t move in and you are spending a lot of time with care-taking at their home.  Lots of doctor appointments and care plans to oversee or implement.  Additional cleaning.  Additional distraction.  Long term stress while still being able to work on a part-time basis or more.

Personal illness or injury falls into the personal category, but it has its own considerations.  Maybe you can’t think clearly because of meds or pain.  Someone can’t step into your shoes and do your work when you are the only one in your business.  This may involve just a few days of complete disruption.  Depending upon where you are with your work on a project, you may be able to absorb delays without a hitch.  Then again, what happens if complications extend your delay?  

Community crisis.  Weather can play havoc on your best-laid plans, no matter the season.  You need to prepare for natural and man-made disasters.

Death.  This is the ultimate disruption.  However, even in death you can be professional by having order in your records and priority instructions.  Down payments on services can refund quickly.  Immediate client contact can minimize delays in their production timeline for projects not yet started.  It's your final professional courtesy.

Each of these require attention on both the client and the fiscal aspects.  Less work time means less billable hours.  Less money to pay business bills.  Less personal income.  Are you prepared to ride out the crisis? Will there be debts left to those you leave behind?

This month, I’ll be considering things to plan for each of these and developing a checklist.  Personal emergency will have my attention first, since that is something I must address.  Though not life threatening, I want to handle it professionally, with minimal client disruption.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your emergency plans.  Do you have any plans in place?  Have you planned for other types of emergencies I didn’t mention?   Please comment below!

Weekly Challenge

My information packet is all but done, except for fiddling with graphics.  This week I’ll be taking on the behemoth of challenges – building my website.  Wish me luck – or if you are the praying sort, please remember me in prayer.  I’ll need it with all the techie stuff!

What are you doing to build your business this week?

Making a Freelance Schedule Work For YOU

Walking Away from Burnout

Last week, I shared with you how I got to the point where making the simplest of decisions was a lot of work.  I was terribly distracted and needed perfect conditions to do easy tasks. 

I had to stop, REST, then back up and take a look at how I got there.

Several months ago, I created this awesome detailed schedule.  I was going to be organized and knock this thing out of the park!

I got caught up in new things not on the schedule.  Other things dropped off.  I didn’t adjust my schedule.  I just kept plugging along.  Adding in this and that along the way. 

To be fair, birthing a freelance business involves many details.  So I justified everything I wanted to add in.  After all, I need this running already!

Before I knew it, I was overloaded trying to hold up to some ideal schedule that wasn’t even working for me.  I disregarded the start/stop times because I usually found myself not finished with tasks.

That, my friend, is the perfect recipe for burnout.  Too many irons in the fire and ignoring time-frames that safeguard peace and sanity – and relationships.

I’m realizing that a schedule isn’t just about time management.  It’s about realism staring you in the face.  It’s understanding that just because you can fit something in doesn’t mean that you should.  You may be stealing quality from something else.  You may be stressing yourself out and stealing your happy self from your loved ones.  Like I was.

This week I wanted to share a post Sheila Wray Gregoire wrote in 2013 that reminded me the value of re-evaluating the schedule.  Let me know what you think!

My Daily Schedule for Blogging, Marketing, and Speaking