Disaster Planning For Small Businesses
BOSTON (CBS) - There are almost 28 million small businesses in the US right now and close to 80% of them have one employee, the owner. Most small businesses, especially ones run from home, have not given enough thought to planning for disasters, natural or manmade.
If you are running a small business could you recover if your building was destroyed in a flood, fire or hurricane? What if you were recovering from an illness and couldn't work? What if your computer crashed?
So if you have a small business treat it like a big business and have a disaster plan.
Here are some things to consider:
Insurance. You need insurance. If you work from your home let your homeowner's insurance carrier know you have a home office. Increase the liability and property damage coverage.
Also an umbrella policy which is simply insurance that covers a liability that your homeowner's policy or auto policy will not cover.
Do you need errors & omission coverage (E&O)? Do you provide a service to your clients? Could/would your clients sue you if you did not perform? Then you need errors and omission insurance.
Are you storing items you sell on e-Bay in the garage? Are they insured properly?
If you drive your car or truck for business such as a realtor, a consultant or carpenter be sure you have the proper coverage. Yes it will cost you more but it truly is cheaper than a future problem.
Consider purchasing disability insurance, the loss of your income stream would be of major concern to you and your family.
Record keeping. Paper or computer? If you are using a paper format for your record keeping is the file cabinet fireproof, locked and bolted to the wall?
Using your computer? How often do you back it up? Is the backup off site or on site? Consider using the Cloud to backup material daily. Using a memory stick? Leaving it at the office? Key information like contact files, are they are on your computer, cell phone?
What records are so important to your business if they were lost your business would go down the toilet? Protect those!
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You can hear Dee Lee's expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.
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