Tropical storm Gordon made landfall in Florida Tuesday night. You should have started preparing before today, but it may not be too late to ready your business for a turbulent week. Mitigating damage during a natural disaster can be incredibly beneficial in the long run.
Preparing Your Property
This may seem obvious, but there are things you should do to your physical business to prepare for a tropical storm such as securing your property and covering windows. You want to make sure that any products that are reliant on temperature are relocated in the event of power outage. However, your business is composed of more than a building and physical goods.
Preparing Your Staff
Bad things happen when there is no plan in place for your employees. People get caught at work during natural disasters quite frequently. If you have employees, be sure to:
- Prepare them with means of communication outside of landlines.
- Create a “call down” list so everyone from the top down stays informed.
- Let staff know that they are not expected to be at work if they are concerned for their safety.
- Have a rendezvous point and time in place in case all communications are disrupted.
- If you can, offer water, food, and shelter to your employees.
Preparing Business Operations
It is essential to prepare your suppliers, customers, and anyone else that could be affected by pausing your normal business operations. A few things you can do:
- Maintain a physical list of vendors and delivery schedules so you can maintain contact with them in the event of an outage.
- Create a message on your website to communicate a plan to your customers.
- Make sure you have enough cash on hand to operate for at least two weeks.
- Keep a physical phone book with phone numbers for your insurance agent, local disaster relief organizations, and employee health insurance providers.
- If you store business data on-site, consider transferring the data to a cloud service or another physical location.
It is very difficult to be completely prepared for a natural disaster. Often times, small businesses lose money because insurance companies refuse to adequately cover damage. If your business suffers damage caused by unforeseen circumstances and you need help getting the support you are entitled to, consider contacting Elias Dsouza at Dsouza Legal Group for a free consultation.