Business Continuity Planning

Anyone watching the disaster unfold in Japan is confronted with hundreds of emotions. Sadness at the loss of life. Disbelief in the amount of tragedy that is occurring – earthquakes, nuclear fears, tsunamis, and volcanoes all at once. Concern for the people who have lost their houses, their businesses, everything they owned.

However, those watching the destruction can learn lessons from it. Preparation for your home, your business, and your family is a must. To prepare your home, one can ensure you have canned food, bottled water, and heating and lighting supplies that don’t require electricity. To prepare your family, you can have exit plans, spare documentation, and emergency contact information. However, many people fail to plan for their business if they are self employed.

So how do you make plans for your business? First, you should make sure you business continuity insurance is sufficient. If you don’t have it, you should talk to your insurance agent about it. Business continuity insurance will cover destruction of your building, payroll if you cannot open your business, and in some cases even payments to the owner. Second, you should make sure you have backups of all your files offsite. If your files are digital, this may include offsite tape storage or a services such as Dropbox. If your files are not digital, it may include making digital copies of your files. Third, just like for your family, you need to have an emergency plan for your business. This includes having all pertinent contact information – for your employees, your landlord, your merchant account provider, your bank, your accountant, your Denver small business attorney and most important (yes, for a change, even more important that your business attorney’s number) your insurance agent’s number.

If you have any questions about a business continuity plan or any other business legal questions, please feel free to call me, your Colorado small business lawyer, at 720-258-6647 or email me today!