03/ 06/ 2007
by Vicki Gerson
If disaster strikes, will you be ready? Being prepared for a business disaster--whether it's a fire, a hurricane or a massive power outage--is just smart business. Besides helping you protect your employees and other company assets, having a disaster recovery plan in place before disaster strikes can also help reduce your downtime--meaning less lost revenue and a better bottom line.
So if you're creating a disaster recovery plan or revising an existing one, ask yourself these questions to make sure you're prepared:
Where would you work?
Whether you have a home office or work in an office building, have you ever thought about where you'd work? Is it possible you have a friend or another business associate who would let you share some space on a temporary basis? Another alternative is to contact companies that rent office space to individuals and provide secretarial support to businesspeople. Leases could be short term, and that arrangement may work temporarily.
How would you reach your customers and clients?
Other than in your office, do you keep a list of customers or clients at another location? If you're in an office building, it might be wise to keep such a list at home. But if you have a home office, is there a storage facility you can use to keep such a list? Include the client's name, phone number, mailing address, Web site and e-mail addresses on your list. Depending on the breadth of the disaster, you may be able to get the phone company to forward your business number to another phone number. If the phone company can't forward your number immediately, start making phone calls or sending e-mails informing customers of the situation.
How would you reach your employees?
Other than in your place of business, do you keep a list of every employee's name, address and telephone number at another location? If you don't, consider taking this action now. Letting your employees know what is happening, and where you can all meet is critical.
Where are your important business records?
There should be a set of backup business records stored off-site. They can be in your home, a storage facility or a friend's office. Your accountant may be willing to keep this information as well.
What about copies of invoices and accounts receivable?
Because changes can occur daily, it's more difficult to have current updates of this information. However, you can send this information to another computer off-site on a weekly basis.
As part of the disaster recovery plan, put tax records, patents, training materials, policy manuals, personnel records and payroll checks in another location. You also may want to give this information, which can be placed in a binder or fireproof box, to a trusted employee or relative. Also, keep the name and phone number of your insurance agent, along with policy numbers and copies of your insurance policies, at another location as well.
Many businesspeople also keep an inventory of all their office equipment, making note of the serial number for each piece of equipment. This helps the business owner if equipment is damaged during a disaster.
To learn more about planning for a disaster, visit www.Ready.gov.
