We have created a Small Business Preparedness Checklist to help you get started:

PDF Version

Excel Spreadsheet Version (editable)

To make your business more resilient to disasters, consider these cornerstones of preparedness:

1. All employees should be personally prepared, so everyone can devote time to saving/restoring the business rather than being concerned about home and family
2. Offsite or cloud-based backups of all your business data so you won’t lose essential information due to power outage or computer failure
3. Protection of your physical inventory – keep vehicles, computers, products out of areas that could flood, and protect these items from leaky roofs or windows
4. Make sure you know what your insurance policies will cover.  Look at disaster clauses in your policies and leases.  Talk to an agent about business interruption protection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_interruption_insurance)

 The following are excellent resources to help businesses and non-profit organizations prepare for disasters:

• Open For Business – EZ

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA )

• American Red Cross

Recommendations:

• Make preparedness a priority and a core value of your business, endorsed by management
• Reward employees who accomplish personal and worksite preparedness milestones
• Choose a theme and get everyone on board—does not matter which “brand” you choose. just get everyone prepared