Preparing Your Business for the Big One - The Importance of a Business Disaster Plan
By Cherie Hammer 

To me, the biggest joy of having my own business is that I am responsible solely to myself. I handle everything: sales, marketing, and production, and I get to do things exactly the way I want to.

Being a solo entrepreneur is great. Until you want to take a vacation. Or worse, an accident, family emergency or some other disaster disables you from managing the business. In a company with lots of employees, others can take over your responsibilities and the business will go on. But when YOU are the business, you don’t have this luxury. If something happened to you or if you even wanted to go to Hawaii for a vacation, your business would grind to a halt leaving your customers wondering what happened (or more likely taking their business to a competitor), your bills unpaid, and your mail unanswered.

When I was about to take my first vacation after staring my own business, I didn’t know what to do. I certainly did not want to take down my web site and not take orders while I was gone (especially during the holiday season!). Nor did I want orders to stack up for a week, as immediate shipment of product is a major element of my customer service. I suddenly realized I needed to type up detailed directions for my husband to be able to process any orders I received while I was gone. 

It got me thinking...What if something happened to me tomorrow and I was disabled and couldn't run my business? Since I do everything myself, no one else (even my husband, friends, etc.) knows the first thing about how my business works. No one knows my passwords onto my email, how to access my account at my credit card processing company, how to upload my website to my ISP, how to process customer orders and enter them into my accounting software, etc. I doubt if my husband even knows what bank I use for my business checking account! It’s not that he isn’t smart and couldn’t do it once I showed him. But I realized all this important information is in my head, and not written down anywhere. Needless to say, it sent me into a minor panic!

Anyone with their own business should have a "business disaster plan" written out so your spouse, relative, or friend could come in and at least handle the critical elements of your business temporarily if you could not. Write out and place in a special binder:
- all usernames and passwords to your computer, email, ISPs, key websites, etc.
- detailed directions for how to process orders (if applicable to your business)
- critical numbers and contact information (bank account info, credit card info, lawyer, accountant, ISP/web host, suppliers, retail/customer accounts, etc.)
- plans for what to do with your web site if you had to suspend business for a period of time (how to take it down temporarily or put up a "we're closed" page, etc.)
- list of current clients (especially if you are in a service-based business) and how to contact them
- copy of insurance policies and will/living trust
- an explanation of your filing system, both on your computer and for your paper files. Highlight where key computer files or papers are located.
You should also include spare keys to anything with a lock: office or studio door, warehouse, file cabinet, post-office box, locker, company car, etc. And make sure the binder is in a prominent location so it can be found!

Once you have your plan down on paper, review the plan twice a year to make sure it is current. I love the idea of remembering to change the batteries in your smoke detectors every time we change the clocks in the fall and spring. Why not add "review and update business disaster plan" to your to-do list during this time?

I certainly don't like to dwell on the idea that any one of us could get hit buy a runaway bus tomorrow, but I think it's important to think about and spend time putting down on paper this important information. I live in earthquake country, and it’s like making sure you are prepared for the Big One…having the safety kit and bottled water stored in the garage won’t prevent the earthquake, but if it does happen, you’ll be relieved and safe knowing you are prepared. 

I wish you much success in your businesses, and hope with all my heart none of you ever need your business disaster plans!

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