Finding financing, researching your target market, and setting a price point are the kinds of things people usually think about when they start the journey into entrepreneurship. However, it’s also a wise idea to plan for emergencies such as power outages or floods. These emergencies may be isolated, but they can deal your small business a major blow if you don’t have a plan in place to keep the business running, or to recover afterwards.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency has compiled a great list of six strategies you can implement in your small business to help you be more prepared for the unexpected. Though the statistics are American, they are sobering. For example:
Between 2003 and 2012, roughly 679 power outages, each affecting at least 50,000 customers, occurred due to weather events, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The number of outages caused by severe weather is expected to rise as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, blizzards, floods and other extreme weather events.
Does your small business have a disaster preparedness plan?