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?