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LNCtips.com: Batten Down the Hatches


Batten down the hatches" means "Prepare for trouble". Trouble in the form of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, lightning strikes, fires and earthquakes has struck millions this year. Not only is a natural disaster emotionally devastating, it can be financially devastating as well. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety, 25% of businesses, including home-based businesses, don't reopen after a disaster.  It's important to prepare for a disaster before it strikes to keep yourself in business if your home is destroyed. Here a few tips to help you weather disasters that could affect your home-based business

Safety first. If you know in advance, as you will in a hurricane, plan to evacuate or stay put depending on the advice of your local authorities. Your personal and family's safety is the first priority, of course, but the remainder of these tips relate to keeping your business safe.

Check your homeowner's insurance to see if it covers your home-based business equipment. If it doesn't, talk to your insurance agent about a rider to your policy. Other types of insurance to consider are business interruption insurance and flood insurance. Business interruption insurance will pay you if you're unable to work due to a disaster. Flood insurance is worthwhile if you live in a flood-prone area, even if decades elapse between floods.  Your homeowner's insurance won't cover floods.  However, you can purchase flood insurance from FEMA.

Inventory your business equipment and household items. List model names and serial numbers and take photos.

Create a contact list of your clients, the cases you are working on for them, and what materials you have received from them. Keep a paper copy and also store it on the internet (see below). If the materials, such as medical records, are destroyed, you'll have the list so that the client can replace them, if possible.

Protect your information. Keep important papers in a water-proof ziplock bag. Important papers include your inventory, insurance policies, bank account numbers, checkbooks, and contracts. Do the same with your business software CDs (if you have CDs) such as Windows, Mac, Office, Outlook, QuickBooks, etc. Then store the bag with an emergency kit to use if you need to evacuate.

Protect your data. In addition to hard copies, scan your important documents. Then store copies of your documents and business files "in the cloud" (on the internet) so that you can access them from any computer. Store important files for free on Google Docs or Dropbox. If you have an internet-based email address (Yahoo, Gmail, etc.), you can email the documents to yourself. For a small fee, use Carbonite, which has the added benefit of backing up all your files automatically as you create them. That's one less step you'll need to take to prepare for an emergency. 

Battery backups, called uninterruptible power supplies, can power your equipment for a short time in the event of power failure. If you live in an area with frequent power failures, a gas generator can keep your business going for longer periods.

If you know in advance that your geographic area is threatened (as in the case of a hurricane) and if you have time, box up client medical records, wrap them in vinyl sheeting, and secure them with duct tape. Shower curtains will do in a pinch if you don't have vinyl sheeting.  Do the same with business equipment, if you can. Even if you can't, unplug your equipment from wall plugs.

After the disaster, if your electricity is gone landlines may work but cell phones may not. If you don't have a landline anymore, try to find a payphone, if you can find one. To locate payphones, try the Payphone Project. It's best to check payphones out in advance - some of the ones listed in my geographical area no longer worked. If you have access to the internet through your computer or smart phone, you can text, send an email or use social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, to inform family, friends, and colleagues of your status.

Preparing for an emergency is a lot of work. But it will give you less to worry about if disaster strikes.

...Katy Jones