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Business Continuity

What Happens If...?

This is the business continuity question we ask all the time. If business came to a screeching halt due to a disaster to you – or your suppliers – how long would it take to get operations rolling again? You can have full coverage in the event of a fire, but who will your clients turn to while you’re rebuilding? What happens if they don’t return once your operational?

If you don’t know, you’re not alone. Most businesses don’t have a written continuity plan in case disaster strikes. As a business owner, it’s safe to say that a large portion of your retirement is tied up in that business. If your business goes under because you’re not there or you can’t continue to serve your customers, your family gets nothing.

Develop a strategic continuity plan today that includes emergency operational processes, lists backup suppliers or subcontracts, and protects the needs of your end clients.

Why Consider a Business Continuity Plan?

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Protect Your Business

If disaster strikes and you lose your workplace facility, how many contracts will you lose? If you have employees depending on you, you need to ensure the business will continue no matter what is thrown at you.

protectfamily

Protect Your Family

If your business will become your retirement income, which is often the case, then what happens to your family if your business ceases to exist? There is risk to owning a business, especially if your retirement is contingent upon its success.

protectlegacy

Protect Your Legacy

You’ve likely spent the bulk of your career building your business or acquiring the skills needed to run a business. Don’t let your legacy and everything you’ve built disappear over a plan that takes very little time or effort to put together.

What Goes Into a Business Continuity Plan?

Emergency Processes

In the face of an emergency, you need a well-defined chain of command and facility emergency procedures that your employees understand.

Supply Chain Protection

If you get 50% of your materials from one supplier and that supplier has a fire that takes out their entire inventory, who will you turn to? List out potential suppliers and ensure they’d be able to handle the increase in demand. 

Subcontractor Plan

Your subcontractors are an extension of your business. If those relationships disappeared tomorrow, who would you turn to? 

Operational Plan

If you rely on a manufacturing equipment, construction vehicles or even computer technology, your entire business can hinge on keeping them operational. If a tornado took out your building or equipment, do you have subcontractors or suppliers who can step in to help fill the time gap before your back up and running?

Cyber Security

If you were locked out of your computer systems, can you operate effectively? Pay your employees? Track invoices? Are you using Cloud-based storage or is your data stuck on a hard drive?

Extreme Weather Planning

If it rained for three straight weeks, would your revenue come to a crashing halt? Could you recover from the project delays? What would your employees do if they couldn’t work?

Risk Management Scenario

You own a manufacturing company that’s grown to 20 employees and $3.5 million in revenue annually. You operate 20 heavy-duty machines that do everything from cutting to welding and everything in between. However, you know that if a tornado were to roll through, business would come to a crashing halt and your clients would have to look elsewhere.

We help you identify the risks, and you put a plan in place using a few of your fellow businesses in the area. You’d work with the local farm equipment repair shop to rent their welding equipment, you’d work with your supplier to order pre-cut metal as opposed to cutting it yourself, and you’d find a subcontractor to handle the surface finishing. While you hope it never comes to it, you at least sleep soundly at night knowing you’d still be able to meet the needs of your core clients in the event of an emergency.

Risk Management Scenario

You own a manufacturing company that’s grown to 20 employees and $3.5 million in revenue annually. You operate 20 heavy-duty machines that do everything from cutting to welding and everything in between. However, you know that if a tornado were to roll through, business would come to a crashing halt and your clients would have to look elsewhere.

We help you identify the risks, and you put a plan in place using a few of your fellow businesses in the area. You’d work with the local farm equipment repair shop to rent their welding equipment, you’d work with your supplier to order pre-cut metal as opposed to cutting it yourself, and you’d find a subcontractor to handle the surface finishing. While you hope it never comes to it, you at least sleep soundly at night knowing you’d still be able to meet the needs of your core clients in the event of an emergency.

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