h fl wy Sn wi a w I wy a | ; \ SM wh i tw wut +4 ogg PTT a ee wa R Otea. Si: il WHA SS 6 w Mh th bh Don’t Ne aad Wreck Your Business (NAPSA—U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills says it would be wise for small businesses to prepare for tomorrow’s disaster today. “There is a tendency to think that a large-scale disaster is not going to happen ‘whereI live,” said Mills. “The reality is that storms, floods, earthquakes,fires and man- madedisasters can strike anytime and anywhere. Planning ahead for your own post-disaster recovery is a good step toward protecting your family, your business and your community.” Too many small-business owners don’t take business interruption possibilities seriously, however. “That mentality is fraught with peril,” cautions Jim Blasingame, small-business expert, creator and host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Small Business Advocate Show.” According to Blasingame, “We're all one squirrel-in-a-transformer, flood, fire, hard drive crash or computer virus away from being out of business. Indeed, one survey revealed that three out of four small-business ownersbelieve they will have a business interruption event in any given year. Alas, in that same survey, only 20 percent said they were prepared. “Since small businesses are and will continue to be a major part of the global economicrecovery,” reminds Blasingame, “operating continuity is more important than ever before.” Solutions for Small Business, a coalition of America’s top cable companies that provide data storage, bandwidth and Internet security for millions of small businesses nationwide, says business Communication technologies that can work in both normal and stressed environments can en- sure that emergency operations are executed as smoothly as possible in timesofcrisis. continuity planning doesn’t have to be expensive and offers some quick-start ideas for savvy business executives. Recognize business impacts by analyzing and documenting critical processes and calculating potential effects. Assess all risk by determining organizational threats and implementing controls to mitigate the risks, Communicate with employees to ensure that mission-critical staff knows what to do, how to do it, what to say and to whom to say it in a crisis. Select communication technologies that can work in both normal and stressed environments, ensuring that emergency operations are executed as smoothly as possible. Businesses starting or revising their business continuity plans can visit www.solutionsforsmallbusi ness.com for more resources, as well as data backup storage and protection options.
