In Business / July 2006
Ready for Weather and Worse
By Judy K. McCauley
The best time for a small business owner to respond to a disaster is before it happens.
A relatively small investment of time and money now may prevent severe damage and disruption of life and business in the future. Small businesses in West Virginia are just as susceptible to some kind of disaster - flood, hurricane, earthquake, ice storm, wildfires, and landslide-as small businesses in the rest of the country. Man-made disasters, from oil spills to fire-can devastate the surrounding neighborhood and economy as well. Even though an area has never been damaged before, there is no guarantee it won’t happen tomorrow. With proper planning, business owners will increase the likelihood of their business’ survival and be able to rebuild, recover, and get back to business sooner.
Protecting critical records by making backup copies and storing those records in a secure, off-site location will save time and money. Business owners should meet with their insurance agent to make sure they understand exactly what is covered. And, buying business interruption insurance can cover lost profits and necessary expenses while the company is out of operation. The building should be examined to identify the risks based on its geographic area. Common-sense measures and communication with employees, suppliers, customers, the local media and the general public will make a big difference.
America’s small businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy, accounting for more than 99 percent of all employer firms in America and creating between 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs in the economy. With those staggering statistics, it should be clear that ‘now’ is the time to create a disaster preparedness plan.
Resources available at the SBA’s Web site www.sba.gov/disaster can provide additional disaster preparedness tips and links to other sites with information on protecting homes and businesses. Without a disaster preparedness plan in place, a business owner risks losing everything she has worked hard to accomplish.
Judy McCauley is the District Director of the U.S. Small Business AdministrationWest Virginia District Office. For more information call 304-623-563 or visit http://www.sba.gov/wv.
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