Authentic Advice Video: Disaster Plan
What’s your disaster plan?
Many of us are feeling the financial and operational shocks of Covid-19. A couple of years ago we went through ‘disaster’ planning, also known as ‘contingency’ planning, and we still do it every year.
While we could not have predicted what would or could cause us to move the firm to a virtual setting for a prolonged period, we were ready.
When we return, I will discuss three high-level questions to ask yourself when disaster planning to prepare you for the future, whether it is another pandemic, the loss of a key employee, or some other unforeseen disaster.
Welcome back…let’s dive right in.
When disaster planning, the first thing to ask yourself is what are the biggest risks your business faces?
For example, if a data breach could be crippling to your business, what are the measures you can take to mitigate this threat as well as back up information?
Next, make a disaster plan. For example, if your business was not considered essential, you likely moved to a virtual environment. Take time to create operating procedures for how you are keeping employees safe and your expectations for working at home. Include a communication strategy in your disaster plan for notifying employees, customers, vendors in the event of an emergency. And decide who is responsible for contacting them before, during, and after.
Lastly, learn about assistance programs. Even if you are well insured and have a great plan, recovering from a disaster can be difficult. Identify resources that can provide support and aid to help you rebuild. For example, when the CARES Act came out, we at Austin Asset not only worked with our clients but reached out to the community to see what we could do.
In closing, by taking the time and the proper steps to prepare, you can feel confident you are doing what you can to protect yourself, your employees, and your business from the worst-case scenario of a disaster plan.
From your friends at Austin Asset, stay connected, and stay safe.