Last month, I posed the following question: It’s Mid-Year, Are You in Control?
For those that live in Saint Louis, Missouri, that proved to be an even more interesting question than I originally thought. Soon after my monthly newsletter, a series of severe storms hit the area and nearly half a million homes and businesses lost power (some for as long as a week).
Businesses, both large and small, had to react. Or did they?
Some businesses have “Disaster Recovery” plans in place with detail on how to handle such situations. Others have at least thought about it and have some ideas about how to react. And still others are caught totally off-guard.
Obviously, the impact of the storms and power outages affected everyone differently. The owner of a tree service told me it was an opportunity to provide round the clock services to both old and new customers. An insurance executive told me that despite having disaster recovery plans in place, the implementation wasn’t smooth and customers could not reach the company (and this was during a time when customers felt they needed to reach them the most!). An ISP (Internet Service Provider) told me that they are prepared for events like this with redundant power and bandwidth in their data centers.
By now, you might be wondering the point of this? It’s that businesses should plan for both normal events as well as the unexpected. Think about the five or ten events that could affect your business and plan for those too. While I’m not suggesting that every business needs a complete disaster recovery plan, most could benefit from a half-day session of talking about events that are outside the norm and how you might handle them when they occur. Then, when something unusual happens, you’ll have given enough thought to various possibilities and be able to take action. While I stress the need for planning in your business, let us never forget that all the planning in the world is useless if it’s not followed by action! That being said, a plan is still a great way to start!
Have you planned for the unexpected?
If you need help with your business, financial plans, or goal setting, please give me a call at (314) 863-6637 or send an email to And, remember . . . Your Cash Is Flowing. Know Where.
Copyright @ 2006 Homza Consulting, Inc.