Disaster Preparation: 6 Things To Do In Case The Worst Happens

Businesses should prepare for any situation. Unfortunately, disaster preparation is something most businesses don’t really think about until it’s too late.   With that in mind here are 6 things you can do to prepare for the worst.

Disaster Preparation: 6 Things To Do In Case The Worst Happens - Sharyn Munro Virtual Assistance

1. Backup 

Backup your systems & keep a copy off site whether that’s in the cloud or a hardcopy backup stored elsewhere. Even better, do both in case you can’t access the internet or the hard copy gets corrupted somehow. 

2. Important Documents 

Have copies of important documents and consider using secure storage facilities for anything essential. Store your important documents securely and have scanned and/or photocopied copies as well. Whether you use a secure storage facility or a bank safe deposit box, it’s a good investment to securely store any documents that are required to run your business or personal life. Having copies you can access at a moment’s notice makes it unnecessary to have the documents at hand.

3. Passwords 

Use Secure passwords and change them regularly. You can use a password manager to create secure passwords for you, or you can create your own. Just make sure you don’t use the same password for multiple sites. Also, don’t use an easy to remember (and guess) password.  You should change the password immediately if a site you use is compromised. Or even if you think something strange is happening with an account.

4. Two-Factor Authentication 

Use two-factor authentication when it’s available – many sites now offer two-factor authentication for additional security. Generally, what happens is you log in using your password and a SMS message is sent to an associated mobile phone or you enter a code from a program such as Google Authenticator. To log into the account you need to have both the password for the account and the code.

5. Redundancies 

Have a cloud or hard copy of any essential data (your meetings for the week, customer contact details etc.). The more ways you can access essential data, the more likely you’ll be able to contact everyone necessary in case of emergency and let them know of any delays or other problems and keep the goodwill of your customers.

6. Disaster Plan 

Create a disaster plan which details procedures for what to do in case of computer issue, information theft, theft of equipment or stock, fire, flood, illness, or an inability to access your place of business for an extended period. It also means that at a time when you are probably feeling more than a little panic, you have what you need to deal with the situation on autopilot. Or even get someone else to deal with much of it on your behalf.

Disaster preparation is by no means a set and forget process, it’s something you’ll have to review and tweak regularly. But if you ever have cause to use it, the value of having an up-to-date and comprehensive plan will be worth many times the effort it takes to create and maintain.