What an amazing summer 2018 has been. Now it has officially come to an end, it’s been classified as the hottest on record. The extreme heat has been good for some businesses and not others. It has been great for the ice cream industry, fan sales or air conditioning. However it has stunted growth of plants and farmers are already saying that vegetables will be in short supply and expensive this winter. Along with many people I have some very sorry looking plants in the garden! However though several look dead, a close inspection shows that some are already showing signs of recovery.
I wonder how your business would cope if disaster hit – a natural disaster such as a flood or earthquake or a major change in customer choice such as the growth of veganism and dare I mention the impact of Brexit!
What can you do to safeguard your business to ensure it survives after a disaster
Here are five areas to consider :
- Insurance
Take time to read the small print and make sure you know what you are covered for. In particular what happens if you are unable to use your current office space! Consider options available.
- Disaster Recovery
Depending on your business, do you need to consider a disaster recovery policy so that your business can be up and running again within a fixed time period?
- Injury and illness
What would happen if you were ill and or injured and unable to work? Do you have anyone who could take over your role and or run the business for you? Could your business be temporarily shut down at short notice?
- Backup
Are your computer systems safe and backed up on a regular basis? If your backup is manual, how good are you at remembering to do it?
- Stopping Work
If you had to stop work permanently – tomorrow, what would happen to your business? Would it survive to be passed on or sold or would it cease? Have you planned for this?
The above are all really important issues for anyone who is self employed. Not always the happiest of areas to work on, however we need to consider them and plan. If you need help with these areas please do give me a call. I may be able to help you consider the options and get your plans in place.
Barbara Hibbart
barbara@barbarahibbartcoaching.co.uk
07769 865487