Tweet

Business Continuity Planning - What Happens If Something Happens To You?

Guest post by: Charly Leetham

Article Overview: Many small business owners end up being the ‘centre’ of their business. All their passwords and accesses are locked away in their head or their personal password list and if something goes wrong, there is no-one who can step in and make sure the business remains operational. Have you considered how your processes will cope if you, as the ‘centre’ of your business, will operate if you are incommunicado or just incapable of ‘being there’? Seriously – this is a big thing. Recently, I was affected by the need to make a certain change to one of my systems and the ONLY person who could authorise the change was not available – and NO ONE knew when they would be available. My only option at that point was to transfer my business to another supplier that could allow the change to occur….

Business Continuity Planning - What Happens If Something Happens To You?

My Mum always used to tell me to wear clean underwear when I left the house just in case I got hit by a bus….. We won’t debate the wisdom of this here, but it does raise the question – What happens to your business if you’re hit by a bus, or have to take time out for a bit?

OK, so maybe that’s a bit dramatic… but a recent experience has taught me it’s not too far off the mark really….

Many small business owners end up being the ‘centre’ of their business. All their passwords and accesses are locked away in their head or their personal password list and if something goes wrong, there is no-one who can step in and make sure the business remains operational.

Have you considered how your processes will cope if you, as the ‘centre’ of your business, will operate if you are incommunicado or just incapable of ‘being there’?

Seriously – this is a big thing. Recently, I was affected by the need to make a certain change to one of my systems and the ONLY person who could authorise the change was not available – and NO ONE knew when they would be available.

My only option at that point was to transfer my business to another supplier that could allow the change to occur….

This got me thinking – what of my processes rely solely on me? and how can I review these processes to ensure that ‘others’ can conduct Business As Usual if I’m hit by a bus.

Some simple things came to mind:

1. An ‘organisational’ email address for all business communications – this means that multiple people will be able to access it….
2. Privacy and Non Disclosure policies to ensure the privacy of messages within the business
3. A ‘decent’ contact system – relying just on email probably isn’t the best way to be moving forward
4. Written processes – I can’t say enough about this
5. Defined responsibilities within the business….

Most importantly – it means that my ‘solopreneur’ business, mostly likely isn’t a solopreneur business… I may be the ‘front person’ – but the ongoing success of the business relies on a solid and strong team to keep things running.

There are a heap more things to consider to ensure your business survives the ‘Clean Undies’ test…

Related Articles
  Business Continuity Plan
  5 Steps to a Successful Continuity Program
  More On Strategic Thinking
  Key Team Roles - What Happens If,,,
  “Do You Know Where Your Succession Plan Is? And Do You Know What To Do If You Can’t Find It?”
  A case for a business plan - September, 11’s lesson for small and medium business owners
  Service Continuity -- Key Factor To Consider While Selecting Your Outsourcing Vendor
  Business Continuity is not just about backups....
  How much Planning is enough - Use Lean and Standardize
  100 Ways to Succeed #95
  Considering BCP in relation to Cloud/SaaS
  Extended Warranties: Sensible Insurance or Waste of Money?
  “Ten Top Benefits of Strategic Thinking and Planning For Business and Not For Profit Organizations”
  Succession Planning: Laying the Groundwork for Continued Success
  Strategically Structured Succession Planning For Company Leadership According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach
  A Backup Plan For Your Business: How Good Is Your Second Serve?
  BUY/SELL AGREEMENT
  Planning Vs Worrying
  Creating a Disaster-Preparedness Plan
  Business Exit Planning - Can Your Business Survive If You Could No Longer Manage It Tomorrow?

Article Tags: business continuity planning, passwords, small business owners
Referred by: http://www.outrageouslyhealthy.com



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Seek Venture Capital & Funding - Hello, Greetings from India. I am Seeking Venture Capital for Offshore Software Company Start-up. Need advise along with Business Model Sample. I have a basic outline for an offshore company. 1. Technology - like Microsoft Dot Net, Java, LAMP 2. Talent Team - Found Good Technology Developers. 3. Where I can get the leads/potential customers - Leads have been identified who are willing to move forward offshore projects. 4. I do not have resources like funding. It is a very critical factor to me Industries: Manufacturing, Real Estate, Retail, Insurance, Distribution & Logistics, Healthcare, Industry Associations and Software Product Development, Agricultural Industries and Etc. Services: Offshore Software Development Company. Offices to be located: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India and USA. Products/Services/Applications in areas like POS & Billing, Sales & Distribution, Production Planning, Material Management, Inventory Control, Plant Maintenance, Purchasing, Accounting and Logistics. Dynamic Web Programming with Database Driven Content Management Systems, Online Stores for E-Commerce, B2B Solutions, Community Portals, Website Redesign and Development, Custom ERP with Enterprise Wide Functional Modules such as Marketing, CRM, Accounting, Inventory Control, Sales & Distribution, Production Planning, Purchase & Stores, Logistics and Supply Chain. Seek your further questions and help. Thank you, Best Regards, Jayapratap.
Re: How do you make the most of your day? - Planning, To Do lists, and deadlines all help me. Also being self critical of my own time management helps me raise the bar. I still check email too often though.
HRPreneur - Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and I recently started my own Human Capital (HR) consulting firm called HRPreneur Inc. HRP focuses on making human capital a strategic differentiator for SME's. Below is a summary about HRP; Who We Are: HRP is a Human Capital consulting firm with 30 years of experience that becomes an extension of your company by providing a full array of services to help you create a highly engaged workforce focused on achieving strategic results in order to build a long lasting great company! Mission: HRP provides small and medium sized businesses a Strategic HR Business Partner to increase employee engagement, resulting in cost savings, increased productivity and results at an affordable rate! Vision: To inspire and warrant SME's reach their full competency! Cost Effectiveness: We provide over 30 years of experience at a fraction of the cost at a strategic executive HR business level You will save between 50% to 60% in costs per year on salary, bonus, benefits, training, office space alone We will provide you additional cost efficiencies through our services Services: • Strategic Human Resources Planning • Organizational Redesign • Change Management • Organizational Culture Development • Employee Engagement Programs • Leadership Assessment and Development • Compensation Design • Talent Acquisition • Assimilation and On-Boarding • Performance Management • Talent Management & Succession Planning • Human Resources Due Diligence • Human Resources Audit • Full Service HR Outsourcing
Re: Success - I think it was Gary Player who said the harder I practice the luckier I become when it came to his success as a world class golfer. Planning and dedication to a task can make all the difference between success and failure. MichelleJ


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

SEO Gurus, Software and Ebooks

Join Conversations Politely, Part 1

Tips for the Novice Traveler

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.