Entrepreneur’s Journal: Saving your business from disaster

15 12 2007

Entrepreneur’s Journal: Saving your business from disaster

Posted by: in Small Business

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Office Depot (ODP), Small business

Tom Taulli Being from L.A., I’ve had to deal with earthquakes and fire (no, it’s not always sunshine here). And, of course, I saw the devastation of the recent fires.

But what about some of the businesses that need to rebuild? Could they have prepared for the fires?

Well, I recently interviewed Jon Toigo, a disaster recovery expert at Toigo Partners International. Over the past 20 years, he has put together nearly 100 disaster recovery plans. His clients include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ). Also, Toigo has a partnership with Office Depot to help businesses deal with disaster preparedness.

“The bottom line in disaster preparedness is to protect your most irreplaceable assets - your people and your data,” said Toigo.

People

Employees will want reassurance and direction. If not, things can fall apart pretty swiftly.

As a result, Toigo suggests building solid contact lists. They should include at least five different points of contact — state, phone numbers, mobile numbers, email, SMS and also information on relatives.

Data

“You may be astonished to learn that almost 20 percent of small businesses don’t back up their data,” stated Toigo. “With businesses relying on technology now more than ever, it’s my job to remind professionals that if you lose your data, you can lose your business.”

Thus, he recommends a data back up at least once a week - and there should also be an off-site storage facility.

Fortunately, storage technology is getting much cheaper. For example, Toigo likes small flash drives like Ativa’s 8GB system (which can store up to 320,000 pages) and can be put in your pocket when you leave the office.

“The truth is, more than one in four businesses will experience a significant crisis in a given year, and of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43 percent never reopen,” stated Toigo. “But with a plan in place, the overwhelming feeling should be greatly reduced because you’ll know you’re covered.”

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar On the internet Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.