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How prepared is your business to withstand a natural disaster? According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, an estimated 25 percent of small businesses shut down in the wake of a natural disaster.
Whether your business is located along the coast or much further inland, it may be vulnerable if you are not prepared.
Many of your daily operations can suffer in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Tenant files and other paperwork can be damaged rendering pertinent information lost forever. While it’s likely your insurance will cover the replacement of computers and other electronic equipment, the lost data is irreplaceable. Perhaps most important is the potential loss of communication with your tenants in the event landlines or cell phone towers are down.
Chances of a natural disaster causing major damage to your business might be greater than you think. Evidence of that fact can be garnered from any business owner who unwittingly fell victim to one of the many hurricanes, tornados or tropical storms in the last several years, including hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
Nothing can guarantee 100 percent safety from a natural disaster, but there are some ways in which businesses can better prepare themselves to prevent total loss or a near impossible recovery.
Have a written plan. It may seem obvious, but too many businesses have no written plan for handling disasters. Knowing who to call, when and for what is crucial in an emergency situation. In a panic, people forget things. Having something for your staff and yourself to refer to can be of tremendous benefit.
Take inventory. Too often business owners don’t know exactly what they have and how much it would cost to replace everything if something were to happen. Once a disaster strikes and everything is lost, it will quickly become clear just how expensive it is to replace what you had. Your insurance company will expect you to have accurate inventory and figures or, at the very least, estimates of what your equipment and other assets were worth. If you have no idea, you may not have enough insurance to sufficiently cover replacement items, or your insurance may not cover undocumented items that were lost. This is one of the reasons businesses are unable to rebuild after a disaster. Take initial inventory and routinely assess value to everything you need to run your business smoothly and efficiently.
Do business in the cloud. Doing all or most of your business online, and backing up digital files and information online “in the cloud”, is where business owners should start even before preparing for a disaster. Not only is operating your business in paper-only and/or local hard drive-only records antiquated in the 21st century, but it’s downright irresponsible. Hard copy files and local hard disk drives are extremely vulnerable to fires, floods, and theft. Data sent to the cloud is only subjected to possible hackers with sophisticated techniques for obtaining your information. That data can be protected from hackers in many different ways making it a much safer bet than its hard-copy alternative. Further, there is no chance of cloud data being destroyed in a fire or flood, given the redundancies in place in cloud backup services.
There are a number of resources for landlords and property managers who want to take their data to the cloud. One resource for property management companies and private landlords is RentPost.com where landlords have a resource not only for managing their properties online, but where their tenants can also pay rent and make maintenance requests online. Google Drive also allows free cloud backup of digital files, and Carbonite is an affordable systemwide backup service.
Doing business in the cloud means data retention even in the worst natural disaster.
Tap into emergency preparedness info. Having an emergency preparedness manual on site is required for most businesses, but for the business owner who wishes to go above and beyond for the safety of staff and tenants, uploading emergency preparedness information to digital devices is a wise and potentially life-saving decision. The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) both have information that can be uploaded to smart phones in the form of apps. The information on these apps include everything from emergency preparedness tips to maps of the nearest emergency shelters.
Landlords and property managers should encourage tenants to upload these apps as well. Property managers should also ensure that all staff members upload these apps.
Another app to consider is one provided by Google. Google Public Alerts will alert you, your staff, and tenants to natural disasters and other local weather alerts. Staying informed with updated information is key in a disaster and enables you to better prepare.
Back it up. In severe weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes, power outages are common. When the power is out, even cell phone service is jeopardized and will require some form of backup. Smartphones, tablets and other such devices can use backup external battery packs and solar chargers, which can be useful. Explore these alternatives long before a disaster hits.
Often times when power is affected in an area, cell phone towers are affected as well, making it difficult to pick up a signal. Having a cell phone signal booster or wifi finder could come in handy. Again, encourage staff and tenants to check out these apps long before the need arises. At the very least, the apps can be downloaded to smartphones along with the other precautionary apps.
Because communication is key in any crisis, you want to ensure the ability to communicate both with staff (for property managers) and with tenants.
Remember, when it comes to emergency preparedness, the key to maintaining stability for your business and safety for yourself, staff, and tenants requires a carefully thought out plan of which all involved parties are aware; a full-proof way to communicate; and careful and expeditious execution.
Does your emergency plan include something not mentioned here? Share it with us!
