It was with great astonishment that we all watched the year start with the incredible once-in-a-lifetime floods rushing across Queensland destroying properties and businesses alike.
Although the full scale and extent of the damage of the floods is still being worked out, we already know that it will be massive and likely to be in the order of billions. For the many businesses that were affected, beyond losing stock and equipment, there is a good chance that those businesses will never fully recover, and will be forced to close down, or at best case, restart all over again in an entirely different form.
The reality is that mishaps such as floods, theft or fire, are not as rare or uncommon as we may think. While they might only happen once every ten years, the real problem is that most businesses are unprepared for such mishaps. So while you can spend years building up your business, it only takes one mishap to lose all those years of time, hard work, and investment.
So with that in mind, and the new year ahead of us, here are 5 ideas to keep in mind to help safeguard your business against the unexpected:
1. Backup your records on a regular basis
Whether it be floods, theft, fire, or some other calamity, without a copy of your financial records, it can be very difficult to claim insurance or damages. In addition, if you lose those records, you also lose the financial history of your business, which can create lots of problems later on from taxation or other business purposes.
2. Keep an additional backup of your files in a separate location
It’s not much good to keep your only backup in your office if your whole office ends up going up in smoke. With the many free storage services available online nowadays, it pays to set up an account and upload a backup of your key business records on a regular basis just as an additional fail-safe.
3. Double-check your insurance coverage
As some of the stories from the QLD floods has shown, it pays to double-check the details of your insurance to ensure that you are properly covered in case something happens. From a business perspective, it’s also worthwhile checking to see how long an insurer will pay out claims, especially at a time when cashflow really matters.
4. Have an emergency plan
If something happened, would you know what to take out of the business and know where to get it as quickly as possible?
Having a plan of what to do, what to get, and where its located, can make a big difference in an emergency situation.
5. Set up an emergency fund
While insurance should cover for most expenses, there is always the chance that there will be other additional costs that insurance just won’t cover. Putting aside even just a few thousand dollars a year will mean that should anything happen, you have an emergency fund that you can fall back on to help get the business back up afterwards.
A bit of effort and preparation is all it takes to protect you and your business from the unexpected.
And to a safe and prosperous start to 2011 for everyone.
Lap-Tin
