What would happen to your business if disaster struck tomorrow morning?
A flood. A fire. A week-long power outage. Things no business owner EVER wants to plan for… until it’s too late.
Here’s the problem:
FEMA says that 43% of small businesses never reopen following a disaster. Another 29% will go out of business within 2 years.
No plan = no business.
The good news? It’s easy to safeguard your people, data and physical assets with a basic business continuity plan. And it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, or be overly complicated.
Here’s how to build one…
What Is Business Continuity Planning?
Business continuity planning, or BCP, is how you plan for your business to continue operating when things don’t go as planned.
Think of it like a fire drill for your whole company.
It covers three key areas:
- People: Who does what during an emergency and how you reach your team.
- Processes: How you keep serving customers when your normal systems are down.
- Assets: How do you safeguard equipment, inventory, records and data that are critical to your business?
Many owners concentrate on items 1 and 2. However assets can be the most difficult thing to replace — and the easiest thing to lose.
Protecting Physical Assets With Climate Controlled Storage
Here’s something most business owners overlook…
Disasters don’t have to be hurricanes. Heat, humidity and moisture can silently damage paper records, electronics and inventory – and you may not know it until it’s too late.
Climate controlled storage has become a vital component of many continuity plans for this reason. They maintain the same level of temperature and humidity year-round, preserving tax files, contracts, spare laptops, backup hard drives and seasonal inventory. A 5×15 unit is approximately the size of a large walk-in closet. Large enough to hold filing boxes and spare equipment, but you won’t be paying for unnecessary space. Learn More about how much a 5×15 climate-controlled storage unit can hold before you decide on an off-site location for your backups.
Off-site storage of critical copies ensures one event won’t destroy all your assets at the same location.
Simple, right?
Why Business Continuity Matters More Than Ever?
Disasters aren’t slowing down. They’re speeding up.
NOAA reported that in 2024, there were 27 separate billion-dollar disasters in the US. These billion-dollar disasters racked up about $182.7 billion in damages combined.
And that’s just the big stuff. It doesn’t count:
- Burst pipes
- Break-ins
- Cyber attacks
- Supplier failures
Any one of these can shut your doors for days (or weeks).
Think about it:
Got plans in place if your office flooded tonight? Could you pay employees, locate customer contracts and ship orders next week? If the answer is “not really”…you should probably sit down and make a plan.
Also keep in mind that customers don’t stand by patiently. If you can’t help them they will go elsewhere.
5x Steps To Build Your Business Continuity Plan
Creating a plan can sound like a daunting task. It’s not. Follow these five steps, one at a time, and you will have a great plan ready to go very quickly.
Step #1: List Your Critical Assets
Start by writing down everything your business needs to run. Be specific. This includes:
- Equipment and tools
- Stock and inventory
- Paper records (contracts, tax returns, insurance policies)
- Digital data and software
Then number your list in order of how difficult it would be to replace. The higher they are on your list the more protection they need.
Step #2: Run A Risk Assessment
Now consider potential problems. Floods, fires, storms, burglary and hacking are the obvious ones — but think local too. Is your office in a flood plain? Do you suffer extended blackouts in summer?
Ask two questions about each risk. How likely is it to happen? And how severe would the consequences be? Focus on the risks that are both likely and severe.
Step #3: Back Up Everything (Twice)
One backup isn’t enough.
The golden rule is called 3-2-1. Have three copies of your data on two different kinds of storage. One of these copies should be off-site. Cloud backup and a hard drive in climate controlled storage is one way to meet all the requirements.
Don’t forget paper. Scan important documents, then keep the originals in a safe, dry place.
Step #4: Create A Communication Plan
When something goes wrong, people panic. A clear communication plan stops that.
List who you need to contact and how. Include employees, customers, vendors and your insurance agent. Have phone numbers written down so if you don’t have access to your cell phone, you can still dial.
Tip: Decide ahead of time who your “point-person” is during an emergency. This will eliminate mixed communications and will save you hours.
Step #5: Test, Tweak, Repeat
A plan that sits in a drawer is useless.
Do a simple drill at least annually. Simulate office closure and monitor your team’s response. Can they access backup files? Do they know who to contact?
There will be holes. That’s the point! Patch them up. Rerender and test again.
The Bottom Line
Disasters don’t wait around — but neither do you have to. With a business continuity plan, you have:
- Peace of mind — you know what to do when things go south.
- Protection — your assets, records and data stay safe.
- Speed — restores your operations faster than competitors who were not prepared.
To quickly recap:
- List your critical assets
- Spot your biggest risks
- Back up your data and keep originals in climate controlled storage
- Build a communication plan
- Test it every year
It really is THAT easy. Begin today. Life does not come with warning labels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main goal of business continuity planning?
The objective is to maintain business operations throughout and following a disruption. It safeguards your people, processes and assets to ensure fast recovery and continuation of service to your customers.
What should be kept in climate controlled storage?
Everything susceptible to damage by heat, cold or moisture. This includes paper documents, electronics, backup drives, wooden furniture and certain inventory. Climate controlled storage maintains a consistent temperature and humidity for your items.
How often should a business continuity plan be updated?
Minimum once per year. You should also update your plan when your business grows or changes — new employees, a new location or new equipment all require your plan to be updated.
