Marilyn was horrified. All of her client files, computers and equipment were lost. She had religiously backed up data files each night but they were kept on a hard drive plugged in to her computer. City engineers informed Marilyn that she would be unable to use the building for three months. Additionally, she found that her insurance policy was not sufficient to completely replace her lost equipment. She would have to start again with just one workstation until she could save up the money for the rest. Her three employees would be out of work for a month or more.

Would you have been more prepared than Marilyn? Do you have a plan in place to mitigate the damage a disaster or crisis would bring?

Many small businesses do not consider the importance of a business continuity plan. By getting caught up in the day-to-day running of the business, we can forget to implement the safety nets that could mean the difference between staying in business and closing our doors for good.

What types of disasters need to be planned for? Some broad categories that should be examined are loss of work environment, loss of technology or connectivity, loss of “critical” services such as infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc.) or supply chain services (suppliers, transportation, etc), and loss of critical assets (client documents, records, contracts, unique equipment or tools, etc). Equally devastating could be a loss of your employees who may need to find other work during this time.

When preparing a business continuity plan, it is important to focus more on the type of loss than on the type of disaster. It would be easy to prepare for an earthquake, then a death, and then a fire before realizing that these disasters cause similar losses that could have been planned for all at once.

What could Marilyn have done better? Many things, including storing her back-up documents offsite to allow her access to important information no matter where she is working; creating a small contingency fund, or opting for business interruption insurance, to help her employees and her business during the restoration period; identifying a temporary business location, etc.

Every business owner should think about how they might respond in a crisis or disaster situation. How do you get started? The SBA has developed a number of tools to help small businesses prepare for disaster which you can find at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/disasterpreparedness/index.html.

There is not a single business that is immune to the seemingly unending list of risks. The SBA Web site states, “An estimated 25 percent of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster, according to the Institute for Business and Home Safety. By taking the time to systematically consider some of the challenges your business could face, you will be able to successfully navigate a crisis — and strengthen the likelihood of your business’s survival.

(Editor’s Note: Wendy Miles, Director of Customized Training and Military Education at Olympic College, oversees the operation of the Small Business Development Center — Olympic College (SBDC-OC). For partnership opportunities, contact her at 360-475-7786. For business counseling services and workshops contact Rand Riedrich, Certified Business Advisor, at 360-307-4220, rriedrich@oc.ctc.edu.).