A Disaster is Coming. Are You Ready?

Back in the days of Y2K and in the aftermath of 9/11, and once again after Hurricane Katrina, there was a lot of talk in the business community about business continuity -- the logical idea that you should have a plan designed to keep your company's doors open during an ongoing emergency like a terrorist attack that disrupts your supply chain, or a hurricane or a blizzard or whatever else you can imagine.

Of course, after each of the aforementioned incidents passed, conversations turned elsewhere, and most of the corporate world stopped thinking about their disaster plans.

That's fine, if you have a plan. Unless you're in the business of helping businesses plan for disasters, it's a foolish waste of time to spend every second of the day worrying about what might happen and planning for a day that may or may not come. But if you haven't really considered for some time how your business will operate if something big and bad happens, this is the perfect time to dust off that emergency plan and take another look at it.

Not to be an alarmist or anything, and apologies to Ray Bradbury, but something wicked is coming this way. Maybe not today, or tomorrow -- heck, maybe not for another 14 months or 14 years. But it's inevitable that at some point, something unexpected will happen, and around the office, warehouse, or wherever you work, it won't be business as usual.

For instance, in early February, at an annual threat briefing for Congress, the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, CIA head Leon Panetta, and FBI Director Robert Mueller all said they were "certain" another terrorist attack on America's soil would be attempted. Of course, they didn't say it would happen -- just that some attempt would be made.

Even if you're the most optimistic entrepreneur alive, the threat of terrorism isn't the only reason to create a business disaster plan. Plenty of businesses had to shut down when several recent blizzards clobbered the East Coast. The hurricane season will be here before we know it. There could be a power outage similar to the three-day blackout that hit the Northeast in 2003, affecting 45 million Americans and 10 million Canadians. You never know what bad luck is around the corner.

Here's what you should consider when putting together a comprehensive business disaster plan.

Identify your weaknesses. Sure, if a power outage brings down your company, suddenly every aspect of your business is going to be a bit sickly, but certainly parts of your enterprise will threaten your existence much faster than others. For instance, "a Web-based company's main concern would be backing up all their data, while a local grocery store's main concern will likely be keeping their food safe from spoilage," says Joel Ohman, a Florida-based certified financial planner who also owns a credit card comparison site, CreditCardChaser.com. Ohman recommends that each business identify the top three functions of their company that can't be left alone in a disaster and come up with a plan for addressing each one.

Make sure you have a way to communicate with everyone. Even with all our technology, it's easy to lose track of everyone in a disaster. If the power goes out, the digital landlines will go out, too. If it's a regional crisis, reaching someone via cell phone can be challenging. You may not be able to access cell phone numbers on your computer.

That's why you need a written plan, in paper format as well as on the computer. Make sure phone numbers are updated and added, so you can more easily reach your staff in a crisis.

If you're really worried about staying in touch, and you have a worldwide staff, check out MIR3 -- a service that, according to its Web site, "enables a single user to contact and communicate with thousands of people around the globe almost instantly."

Once you actually reach people in a disaster, make sure you actually are "open and available," advises Matt Eventoff, a communications trainer. "Nothing is worse than a CEO who stays behind closed doors and remains silent." Eventoff stresses you should talk to your top talent, repeatedly, so they aren't nervous and sending negative vibes to the rest of the employees.

You should also consider in your plan how you're going to communicate with your customers. Some businesses obviously don't deal with the general public, but some are that port in a storm for the public. Or you might have a business where the disaster is very localized -- as in, it's just your business. Much of your company could go down in a fire. You might own a restaurant that spreads food poisoning to your customers. "How are you going to deal with the volume of calls?" asks Mark Jarvis, CEO of the Steritech Group, a brand protection company. "How will you track each case? What will you do to make it right?"

Protect your technology. Yes, that's obvious, except so many people don't do it. A couple years ago, Office Depot conducted a survey showing that 71% of small businesses don't have a disaster plan in plan, so it must be said: Protect. Your. Technology. Be the business with a generator. Be the entrepreneur who has everything on the computer backed up. One resource is Virtual PBX, a Silicon Valley-based phone company that offers a PBX Parachute disaster recovery service. If you lose power, they guarantee your phone lines will stay up and running. And Mozy is well-known as a service for backing up computers.

"Most entrepreneurs only call IT support when something blows up, but you can avoid a system crash or other IT disaster by having a professional assess your systems when they're working," notes Jennifer Kalita, a Washington, D.C.-based small business consultant and author of The Home Office Parent: How to Raise Kids & Profits Under One Roof.

Make sure you have some money set aside. Maybe it's a line of credit in the form of a credit card -- though these days, you can't be too sure that line of credit won't be reduced without warning. Maybe it's a pile of money in a savings account. Maybe you feel perfectly comfortable with your business insurance, as it includes a provision giving the company money while it's closed and unable to bring in revenue. (The safest move, of course, is some combination of all three of those strategies.) However you plan to stay funded during your period of peril, it's a safe bet that if something goes amok, you won't want to be financially strapped.

But whatever is in your plan, have a plan. "You should never overlook the importance of a good disaster-preparedness plan," says Jarvis. "The worst possible time to figure this out is in the middle of a major disaster."