While speaking with a business owner last week about a big project he’s been working on for over a month, I asked, “Are you backing up your work to the cloud?”
Crickets.
I asked him the same question again—more crickets. I then asked him, “Do you back up any of your work?” He finally muttered, “no.” I wasn’t shocked, but admittedly I was surprised. I didn’t have to tell him the risky game he was playing leaving all his work and critical information only on his laptop. I then said, “You know what happens if your laptop crashes, right?” That got through and it took us less than 10 minutes to upload his work to the cloud, where he now has access to it from all of his devices.
So, here’s my tip for you this week, play the “What If” game to protect yourself and your business from potential calamities. Write down 8-10 questions starting with “What if…” and then answer them. For example, “What if…my computer crashes?” “What if…I become disabled?” “What if…my home, office, or store burns down?”
When you’re finished, review your answers, and back the document up to the cloud. This is now your “Emergency Response Plan.” If or when something happens, refer to it, and instead of making a bad decision when life is upside down, you will know what to do. Whatever happens may knock you and/or your business down, but it won’t knock you out.
And mark your calendar to review and update your Emergency Response Plan every six months.
In the meantime, enjoy today!
Brian
Brian Moran, CEO
Small Business Edge
Brian Moran & Associates
brian@smallbusinessedge.com
