by Sue Painter
http://www.confidentmarketer.com
©
2010
The plight of
the Haitian people and their country is on everyone's mind. The images we see
on the news are horrific, pulling at my heart. Literally, Haiti will have to rise
from the ashes like a Phoenix. Even with massive aid from many countries, getting
the country set up and the people well will take much time.
Disaster
visits without warning and quickly. On a personal level, it could be unexpected
illness or the death of someone dear. For your business, it might be flood, fire,
or an employee who causes harm. Think about the small business owners in Haiti
right now. If their business is in rubble they have no way to make money even
if they could offer what their customers need most. If their business was left
standing there is no security to protect it. Already, many shops have been looted
for their goods. Some shop owners have simply opened their doors and emptied out
their shop, giving away everything they have.
Your business
will withstand disaster only to the extent that you have systems in place that
you can lean on when something goes wrong without warning. While this isn't a
comprehensive list, here are your main concerns.
- Are your business's
assets insured? What would happen if a disaster caused you to lose your office
or the equipment you need to carry out your business? You can either buy insurance
or self insure, meaning that you have set aside money that could immediately be
used to replace your lost equipment and get your doors open again.
-
Do you have back-up systems in place, and do you use them regularly? Could you
recreate your financial records easily? Are your customer records secure and backed
up either physically or electronically?
- Have you thought about
how to handle the sudden loss of a key employee? Do you have a comprehensive list
of what that person does and how she does it? Do you have a way to get additional
help quickly if you lose someone to illness or accident? The more you have your
work systems documented in an operations manual, the quicker you can get up and
running, back to making income.
- Have you planned how to handle
your business if you become unable to work for a while? Is there someone who knows
enough about what you do to step up and fill in until you can work again?
If
you are a business owner who truly depends on the money you make, it is vital
to have answers to these questions. What I see for many solo business owners is
that even the slightest disaster shuts them down completely. These owners ARE
their business. When they can't work, there is no income at all. Even an illness
like the flu effectively shuts them down. They've never thought about alternatives.
Often, the loss of momentum creates a negative spiral that the solo business owner
never recovers from. Their business just slowly winnows away.
One
of my own businesses suffered a mini-disaster over the past few months, in fact.
In early December I had major surgery that I knew would keep me away from the
massage clinic I own. Plans were fully in place for my staff to take over my own
work with clients. My practice manager was prepped and ready to take care of management
and administrative work that I normally handle. My start date to come back to
the clinic was set. My clients were all informed and taken care of. Well, while
I was still in the hospital, the practice manager's father was found to be terminally
ill. She left town and even now has not returned to work. Four weeks after my
surgery, I unexpectedly had to have a second surgery due to complications from
the first, making it impossible for me to meet my return to work date. One staff
member left unexpectedly. Suddenly, I was down to one hard-working staff member
and what I could administratively handle by phone. The systems I've put in place
for that business saved my bacon, and allowed us to continue to serve clients,
make money, and handle at least the bare minimum of administrative work. While
I used to chaff over the time it took to put operations manuals and back up plans
in place, now I am very grateful that I had them.
Disaster
don't have to be as large as the Haitian earthquake to effectively shut your business
down. If you want to recover quickly and continue to make money, get your plans
and systems in place and review them at least once a year. Your bank account will
show the results and your business will suffer far less than those with no planning
at all.
(c) Sue Painter
