Life Changes on a Dime
Life Changes on a Dime
The quote “Life changes on a dime” is often used to account for unanticipated events that interrupt our daily routines and greatly impact our future. People neglect to realize, however, that when the circumstances of our lives change “on a dime,” it often takes a turn for the worse.
When life changes for the better, it is generally something we are expecting to happen. Whether it is an engagement, the birth of a child, or a promotion at work; with winning the lottery aside, such advantageous events are rarely characterized by luck. It is the life-altering events that are unexpected and/or unexplained, such as a natural disaster, a tragic car accident, or sudden illness, whose circumstances are rarely in our favor.
If you run a small business, the same rules apply. A hardworking company does not hold luck accountable for their successes. However, it is almost guaranteed that negative situations will arise, with adverse results for the company. My advice?
Be Prepared!
We published an article in Small Business Success entitled “Flirting With Disaster” by Sheere Curry who shared with us some shocking statistics. According to a survey conducted by Continuity Insights magazines and KPMG, 1 in 4 businesses will experience a significant crisis in a given year. Of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43% never reopen. Of those that do reopen, a mere 29% are still operating two years later.
Preparing for catastrophe is even more important for small businesses than large corporations. The smaller and newer the company, the more you have to lose in a crisis. “The little company has fewer resources, less money in the bank and less experience to cope with these things,” says Larry Smith, President of the Institute of Crisis management in Louisville, Kentucky. While it is hard to plan fully for a natural disaster, fire, sudden death or resignation of a key employee, there are some crises that can be avoided all together. Computer backup plans are now available on the Internet, providing full recovery up to the minute of data loss.
From our article, here are five inexpensive steps you can take TODAY to protect your business from an unrecoverable crisis.
1. Make duplicates of important communications materials.
Keep them at home or in another location. These items include: checks for business account company letterhead, important phone numbers, and passwords.
2. Keep copies of important records in a remote location.
Copy and store important documents in another part of the country with either a family member or a safe deposit box in another state.
3. Run through a test drill of your disaster plan.
This prevents defects from occurring during the crisis as opposed to solving the problem before it happens.
4. Prepare multiple contingency plans.
Always have a plan B incase you run into trouble with your initial solution.
5. Don’t skimp on insurance.
It is important to remember that there is no way to protect your small business from everything that comes its way. However, careful planning and preparation will make for a more stable company in a time of crisis, and can prevent long term problems within your growing business.
Life Changes on a Dime - To learn more about this author, visit Brian Moran's Website.
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It’s one of my favorite sayings. Life Changes on a Dime. I don’t know who originally said it, or where I first heard it, but I remember thinking “how prophetic.”
The quote “Life changes on a dime” is often used to account for unanticipated events that interrupt our daily routines and greatly impact our future. People neglect to realize, however, that when the circumstances of our lives change “on a dime,” it often takes a turn for the worse.
When life changes for the better, it is generally something we are expecting to happen. Whether it is an engagement, the birth of a child, or a promotion at work; with winning the lottery aside, such advantageous events are rarely characterized by luck. It is the life-altering events that are unexpected and/or unexplained, such as a natural disaster, a tragic car accident, or sudden illness, whose circumstances are rarely in our favor.
If you run a small business, the same rules apply. A hardworking company does not hold luck accountable for their successes. However, it is almost guaranteed that negative situations will arise, with adverse results for the company. My advice?
Be Prepared!
We published an article in Small Business Success entitled “Flirting With Disaster” by Sheere Curry who shared with us some shocking statistics. According to a survey conducted by Continuity Insights magazines and KPMG, 1 in 4 businesses will experience a significant crisis in a given year. Of those businesses that experience a disaster and have no emergency plan, 43% never reopen. Of those that do reopen, a mere 29% are still operating two years later.
Preparing for catastrophe is even more important for small businesses than large corporations. The smaller and newer the company, the more you have to lose in a crisis. “The little company has fewer resources, less money in the bank and less experience to cope with these things,” says Larry Smith, President of the Institute of Crisis management in Louisville, Kentucky. While it is hard to plan fully for a natural disaster, fire, sudden death or resignation of a key employee, there are some crises that can be avoided all together. Computer backup plans are now available on the Internet, providing full recovery up to the minute of data loss.
From our article, here are five inexpensive steps you can take TODAY to protect your business from an unrecoverable crisis.
1. Make duplicates of important communications materials.
Keep them at home or in another location. These items include: checks for business account company letterhead, important phone numbers, and passwords.
2. Keep copies of important records in a remote location.
Copy and store important documents in another part of the country with either a family member or a safe deposit box in another state.
3. Run through a test drill of your disaster plan.
This prevents defects from occurring during the crisis as opposed to solving the problem before it happens.
4. Prepare multiple contingency plans.
Always have a plan B incase you run into trouble with your initial solution.
5. Don’t skimp on insurance.
It is important to remember that there is no way to protect your small business from everything that comes its way. However, careful planning and preparation will make for a more stable company in a time of crisis, and can prevent long term problems within your growing business.
Life Changes on a Dime - To learn more about this author, visit Brian Moran's Website.
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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