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by Renee Fellows

Smart Brief

The short list of emergency suplies for business includes: Water –recommended one gallon of water per person, per day Food – at least a three day supply of non-perishable food Battery-powered radio and extra batteries Flashlight and extra batteries First Aid Kit Whistle to signal for help Dust or filter masks Moist towelettes Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities Can opener for food Plastic sheeting and duct tape to ‘seal the room’ Garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation

November 6, 2007—With images of entire California neighborhoodsengulfed in flames still fresh in our memories, now is a good time to review and learn a few lessons about disaster preparedness and what your small businesses can do to survive a catastrophic event. Most families and business owners had only ten minutes to grab whatever documents and precious mementos they could before being evacuated. If you had to leave your business could you, in the panicked minutes before fleeing, find what you needed to keep your business running or start over?

Have a plan

Continuity of operations is key to your business’ survival in a crisis. That means implementing advance planning to ensure that all employees are informed of the procedures and ways to communicate with the company, especially during mandatory evacuations and delayed returns to work. Review your business operations and identify operations critical to survival and recovery. Be sure to include plans for emergency payroll, expedited decision-making and accounting systems. If possible, outline a plan for succession of management that can include at least one person not regularly working at the company’s headquarters. If that’s not possible, try to name key staff who can quickly take charge of key areas of the business.

As with any business plan, remember that the plan is only effective if everyone is knowledgeable about the plan and how it will play out. When new staffers join the company, be sure to include disaster management plans as part of their orientation.

Be Properly Insured

“Double check with your insurance agent on both the property and the physical structures
to be sure they’re covered for the proper amounts,” says Marie Brownell , president of Brownell Insurance Company in Derry , New Hampshire . “If you rent space in your building be sure that each tenant has renter’s insurance and business insurance. Be sure that each tenant has ‘loss of rent’ insurance that will cover the lost work time if the building is damaged or destroyed. At a minimum, businesses should carry $1M in liability insurance. Why liability? Consider that as a business owner, you can be liable and potentially sued should a firefighter be injured inside your facility while fighting the fire. “If the firefighter falls because of a faulty stairwell, unrelated to damage by the fire, then the firefighter, the town and the union can all sue you as the business owner for liability related to his injury.”

Secure your property after the event. “It is the business owner’s responsibility to protect the property from ‘further damage’ after the catastrophic event occurs,” says Brownell. “That means if there’s a fire, the business owner is responsible as a ‘prudent person’ to secure the facility, fence off the scene and ensure that there is limited access to the area for safety purposes.” Should the property become further damaged by inclement weather or vandals, the insurance company will likely not pay on the additional damages.

Office Condos are another tricky area when it comes to insurance and making claims. Turnkey offices must be covered by a master policy. If the insurance policy doesn’t include ‘turnkey’ refurbishment but ‘to studs’ completion then the owners will need to pay out of pocket for all the interior construction to bring the facility back up to code and use. “Be sure that you know and more importantly, understand the coverage you do and don’t have. The best way to do that is to sit with your insurance agent and review the policies and possible scenarios,” says Brownell.

Take Inventory.

Digital pictures of your property and equipment should be provided to your insurance agent advises Brownell. Images should include machinery, equipment, computers, and panoramic views of each main area of the building and surrounding property. Then at least annually or immediately after a new purchase, provide updated images to the agent. “Have original or at least photocopies of receipts for major purchases,” says Brownell. “Insurance companies will require proof of your purchases as well as the real value of the items in question.”

Off-site back up

The most valuable part of your business is your data. “The solution for small businesses is to make sure they have a current back-up of all critical data located off site,” says Heyward Samuel, information technology expert and independent consultant for Identity Theft Shield. “With today’s technology, it’s possible to have a recovery disk that will allow you to rebuild the software applications and then reload the backup data in less than an hour versus days or weeks to painfully reconstruct the data.”

Samuel recommends that businesses have the key codes for each software application located offsite so they can contact the software companies receive access to the software again without repurchasing it.

Another option is to create a ‘hot site’ where a mirror of your hardware/software environment exists. You can then access and utilize the ‘spare’ server after a disaster and have your business operational in a matter of hours. These simple security techniques can reduce your downtime and help keep your business intact after a major catastrophe.

Have an Emergency Box – that you can actually CARRY

The emergency preparedness list provided by the Federal Emergency management Agency (FEMA) is extensive and often amounts to well over $700 for a family of four to purchase. And the worst of it is that a large portion of what’s on the list is semi-perishable and needs to be re-supplied every six to twelve months. According to Time/CNN contributor Amanda Ripley, the best way to approach the situation is to build a manageable box and include a brief ‘to do’ list in the box of things that can be quickly located in 10 minutes or less before you evacuate.

Ready.gov is a government web site that provides a listing of supplies, steps to take and ways to protect your personal assets as well as business before, during and after a disaster (http://www.ready.gov/business/_downloads/emergency_supplies.pdf).

Individuals should also consider keeping a pair of comfortable shoes in their office in the event that walking great distances is required (think 9-11 and those financial district employees who had to walk miles to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge ).

Protect Your Identity

Unfortunately in a crisis, your building and personal property aren’t the only things at risk. Top on the list for predators is your identity. To protect your identity and that of your employees, consider purchasing 24/7 credit and identity monitoring in advance of a crisis. This will provide you with one source to contact post-event to start the process of regaining your identity if all is lost. With a product like Identity Theft Shield ‘the customer service rep will ask you 20 questions to confirm you are who you say you are and then you’ll begin the process of rebuilding,” says Samuel. “In a time of crisis, that phone call to a caring helpful voice and piece of mind is priceless,” says Samuel.

Don’t let a crisis be the end of everything that you and your family have worked so hard to build. By taking precautions, putting a plan into place both you and your employees will feel safer knowing what to do should a catastrophe occur. To learn more about ways to protect your business and ensure its survival post-disaster, talk with a Fiducial Advisor by calling 866-Fiducial or visit the web site at www.Fiducial.com.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: Howard.Margolis@fiducial.com.

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