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12 Ways Small Businesses Can Prepare for and Cope with Unforeseen Acts of God

Here are 12 precautionary and post-storm steps small business owners can take to manage the fallout from a super storm and cope with major business losses.

4. Inform the public using social media outlets.

Many small businesses have embraced social media during natural disasters to stay connected, gain information and share critical updates. Social networks including Facebook, Twitter and Google+ can aid in notifying the public and help your company leverage the real-time nature of social media.

In 2012, “during Hurricane Isaac, many affected people got on their phones and computers to access social networks like Twitter and Facebook to connect with each other and seek and share news about the disaster. By having a social media outreach plan in place, [companies were] able to stay in touch with thousands of customers on the Gulf Coast—many without power—in a way they had never been able to before.”

5. Be prepared to file an Act of God insurance claim.

If you have small business insurance, contact your agent via their claims department. Document the damage, with photographs, caused by the natural disaster as soon as possible.  This can include commercial office space, retail store location(s) and home office areas.

6. Understand your liability if you remain “open for business.”

Thinking about keeping a skeleton crew on the clock during severe weather? If so, don’t forget to consult an insurance agent to assess the possible risk and potential small businesses’ liability if someone gets hurt as a result of your decision to remain open during a heavy snow fall, when road conditions get dicey, or if an employee is hurt on site due to inclement weather.

6 Ways Small Businesses Can Prepare for Severe Weather

Hindsight is always 20/20. Many small businesses impacted by superstorms and severe weather aren’t prepared for the aftermath to follow such an event. Here are several steps every small business owner can take to prepare for future ‘Acts of God.’

1. Keep cash on hand.

Keep some extra cash on hand for emergencies. Most local banks and financial institutions will likely be closed during a natural disaster, so it will be important to have access to cash to keep your business afloat during the recovery period.

2. Develop an outsourcing plan.

Create an outsourcing plan and delegate administrative tasks to domestic or foreign companies to handle tasks that can easily be delegated to maximize productivity. Identify outsourcing companies and opportunities to set up virtual offices ahead of time to help keep operations in full swing.

3. Prepare a standard emergency plan.

Prepare all business locations with an emergency plan. Take tactical steps to protect your investments, including surge protectors for expensive and sensitive electronics. Also depending on your business needs, consider purchasing a portable generator, if you need to conduct operations during an emergency.

Lastly, ensure employees know where (and if) to meet and how to communicate after a superstorm in case cell phone networks are disabled, major roads are deemed undriveable, or if it’s too dangerous to travel.

 

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