The Kickass Entrepreneur
  • About
  • Blog
    • All Blogs
    • Create Wealth (Investing)
    • Entrepreneur Interviews
    • Featured Top Posts
    • Growing Profits
    • Growing Revenues
    • Marketing
    • Positive State of Mind
    • Real Estate Investing
    • Retirement
    • Sales
    • Selling your Business
  • Book
  • Courses
  • Podcast
  • Resources
  • Contact
The Kickass Entrepreneur
Subscribe
The Kickass Entrepreneur
  • About
  • Blog
    • All Blogs
    • Create Wealth (Investing)
    • Entrepreneur Interviews
    • Featured Top Posts
    • Growing Profits
    • Growing Revenues
    • Marketing
    • Positive State of Mind
    • Real Estate Investing
    • Retirement
    • Sales
    • Selling your Business
  • Book
  • Courses
  • Podcast
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • All Blogs

Preparing a Disaster Recovery Plan for Small Business

  • July 1, 2021
  • 1K views
  • 6 minute read
  • Ashley Jenkins
variety of tools
Share
Tweet
Share

The wisest thing you can do is always to be prepared for the worst. Sometimes things are just out of your control.

Preparing a Disaster Recovery Plan for Small Business

You can do everything right, but your company will have to defend itself from a disaster due to external issues. If something like a cyberattack or a fire happens to you, it is crucial to ensure your business continuity.

 That’s why, here, you can get information on how to prepare a disaster recovery plan for your small business, including things like setting up an emergency response plan, mapping out the strategy, identifying critical business activities, and more.

Read on and make sure your business will handle anything!

Why is a Disaster Recovery Plan Necessary?

If you think that your business is safe from disasters, here are some reasons why you should think again. The first and the most important reason is that disasters do not choose who they visit.

They don’t care if you are a small or a big company. They don’t care about your business reputation or how much money you have.

You can be as prepared as possible, but you will never fully know what kind of disaster may strike you. It is better to be prepared for anything than to be sorry later on.

 It is true that your business continuity depends mostly on the well-planned structure of your business. It is important to say that you can be at risk for many reasons.

These include natural disasters like floods, fires, tornadoes, and earthquakes, technological hazards such as computer viruses and crashes, human-made incidents such as fire, utility interruptions, and crime.

Be sure of one thing: it doesn’t matter if your business is big or small. Even the largest businesses today can lose everything if they are not prepared for the worst.

Where to Start?

The first step is to create a plan for your business recovery in the case of a disaster. This means that you will need to identify what you consider critical activities and how they fit into the overall picture of your business.

The so-called critical activities are those that must be up and running within a short time after the occurrence of an incident. Also, you should decide what should be restored first because it is essential for the survival of your business.

 The second step is to make sure that everyone in your organization knows about the plan and understands what their role in it is. If there ever comes a time when your company needs to implement this plan, every employee will have to pitch in and do their part.

You should hold regular drills and review the plan in detail with everyone involved.

What Should Be Included in a Disaster Recovery Plan?

When creating your disaster recovery plan, you need to keep in mind several things:

Documentation

To make it easier, you can use templates created by software developers to provide instructions on how to recover from specific types of disasters such as power outages and water damage. Also, there are free templates available online which can be used as a guideline for creating your own documentation.

Make sure to include all the details needed for recovery in case of an emergency: contact information, procedures to follow and who should do what, and any additional information related to supporting activities. The documentation must be easy to understand and accessible to anyone who might need to use it.

Backup Locations

Know where you can store all your critical data and keep them safe from weather conditions and other potential threats such as fire and flood. In most cases, this means storing backups off-site in a secure location away from your office building.

But remember: being on-site means that these backups are always ready for use. That’s why the best solution is to choose an off-site backup strategy coupled with an on-site backup strategy that will become active only in case of an emergency.

Test Your Backup Strategy

It’s important to test your backup solution regularly so that you’ll know exactly what will happen in case of a disaster. This means backing up your data, restoring it, testing it (for example, by using a different computer), and then restoring it all over again. You should also test your restore process to find problems before they happen and fix them before it’s too late.

Backup Frequency

You should determine how often your business activities should be backed up and how long backups should be kept in storage before they are deleted automatically. The frequency will depend on what components of your company’s data must be protected and how much data needs to be backed up. Be sure that you maintain enough storage capacity on-premises so that you will not run out of space when performing backups.

Disaster Recovery Capabilities

Determine what services or equipment will be needed to recover from a disaster by examining what critical processes need to be restored as soon as possible and by planning what resources need to be replaced in the event that systems or facilities are destroyed or damaged beyond repair.

The most common resources are power, telecommunications, data storage, security, heating/ventilating/air conditioning (HVAC), office supplies, etc. Also, make sure that everyone knows how to access these resources before a disaster strikes so that they will not waste time trying to find out where they are located during an emergency situation.

 Security Measures

Make sure that security measures are taken into account throughout all stages of the recovery process, including restoration of business operations and systems testing. For example, don’t restore systems without securing them first because this can put your business at risk if another attacker discovers the vulnerabilities created during the restoration process and hacks them in turn.

Test Your Disaster Recovery Plan

After creating and implementing the plan, you should test it to ensure that the actions described in it will work in a real disaster situation. This can be done as part of regular business continuity procedures, but you should also perform periodic tests by simulating various types of disasters.

Cost of Implementing Disaster Recovery Plan

The cost of implementing your disaster recovery plan will depend on what you are planning for and how much data you need to protect. Also, there is a chance that you may need to spend money on annual maintenance for the hardware or software needed to carry out the disaster recovery plan.

What are the Benefits of a Disaster Recovery Plan?

Your disaster recovery plan will help you to:

Reduce Downtime

Once you have implemented your disaster recovery plan, you will be able to recover from the most common business disruptions almost immediately.

If you are using an off-site backup strategy, this can result in hundreds or thousands of lost dollars per minute.

Even if you are using an on-site backup strategy, you will still save time by avoiding the need to ship tapes to a remote location for off-site storage.

Save Money and Resources

Your business can avoid a lot of unnecessary expenses related to equipment replacement, long-distance communication charges, and data recovery fees.

Also, if you use a combination of on-site and off-site backups, you can significantly reduce the number of tapes and other storage media that you need.

This can also save your company the cost of hiring additional personnel to manage off-site storage facilities or tape rotation.

Improve Customer Relations

Customer satisfaction is a crucial factor for the success of any business today. When you are able to recover your business operations quickly after a disaster strikes, your customers will appreciate it and stay with you for longer.

This means more profit for your company. Also, if they notice that your customer service is great even during disasters, they will be likely to recommend you to their friends and colleagues.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter how well you plan for disaster recovery; disasters will happen at some point. It is important to remember that you can never predict when and how they will strike. So, it is better to be prepared as much as possible.

As a small business owner, you should know that there are many ways to mitigate risk. The best way is to prepare for the worst and be ready for anything.

 

Thank you for your interest in THE KICKASS ENTREPRENEUR'S GUIDE TO INVESTING. Three Simple Steps to Build Massive Wealth with your Business's Profits. Please check your email to confirm the book download. Form: 400529

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Related Posts:

  • Post-COVID-19 Business Recovery with the Help of Invoice Financing
  • How to Create a Business Plan for Your Delivery Business?
  • How to Create a Business Plan Presentation
  • What is a 529 College Savings Plan and How Much Should You Save in Your 529…
  • How to Create a Solid MSP Business Plan For the Next Year
  • 4 Tips for Crafting a Strong Business Plan
Share
Tweet
Share
Ashley Jenkins

Ashley is, first and foremost, a mom to an amazing young son and a wife. Ashley has started and sold a couple of small companies over the last many years, and now has decided to take some time off to spend time with her family, and raising her son. Ashley managed a team of 11 staff and intends to start another business shortly. Ashley is an avid saver and investor and is knowledgable about not only entrepreneurship but, also investing.

Previous Article
computer keyboard
  • All Blogs

How Businesses Benefit From Job Postings Data

  • June 30, 2021
  • Ashley Jenkins
View Post
Next Article
transport trucks
  • All Blogs

How Route Optimization Software Can Improve Dispatch Efficiency

  • July 2, 2021
  • Ashley Jenkins
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • All Blogs

9 Essential Financial Management Strategies for Business Owners

  • May 18, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
View Post
  • All Blogs

Top Tips on How to Retain Your Customers

  • May 17, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
men typing
View Post
  • All Blogs

4 Tips and Tricks to Make Your Remote Employees More Productive and Engaged

  • May 17, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
View Post
  • All Blogs

7 Ways To Build Your Confidence in the Business World

  • May 16, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
open signage
View Post
  • All Blogs

Stealth Tactics for Entrepreneurial Success

  • May 16, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
contract
View Post
  • All Blogs

Tips On Not Letting Low Credit Stop You In Times Of Need

  • May 16, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
man driving
View Post
  • All Blogs

The Most Important Consideration When Choosing Auto Insurance

  • May 16, 2022
  • Meg Rivera
Collaborative work Software engineers website developer technolo
View Post
  • All Blogs

How To Build a Successful Partnership with a Tech Company

  • May 16, 2022
  • Meg Rivera

Join 6,472 Entrepreneurs That Get My Business Building and Wealth Creation Posts by Email

I can teach you how to build a successful, profitable business, and turn that into millions in personal wealth.

Thank you for your interest in THE KICKASS ENTREPRENEUR'S GUIDE TO INVESTING. Three Simple Steps to Build Massive Wealth with your Business's Profits. Please check your email to confirm the book download. Form: 400529

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won’t send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

Recent Posts
  • Best-online-stock-broker 1
    5 Best Brokers For Penny Stocks with Great Track Record
    • May 18, 2022
  • online teaching 2
    How To Make Money With Online Courses: Learn From The Billionaire Way
    • May 18, 2022
  • 9 Essential Financial Management Strategies for Business Owners
    • May 18, 2022
  • Digital scheme with businessman hand with bitcoins, tablet and s 4
    Should You Lend Your Crypto?
    • May 18, 2022
  • cyrptocurrency 5
    How Investing From Home Is Made Easier Using ASIC Miners From CoinMining Direct
    • May 18, 2022
Featured Posts
  • how to become wealthy
    The Entrepreneur’s Secret to How to Become Wealthy and Build a Personal Fortune
  • Most Profitable Small Businesses
    27 of the Most Profitable Small Businesses to Open in 2022
  • Become a Decamillionaire
    How to Become a Decamillionaire, Grow your Net Worth to $10 Million, and Join the 1% Club
Categories
  • All Blogs (846)
  • Canadian Financial Products (4)
  • Create Wealth (Investing) (106)
  • Entrepreneur Interviews (21)
  • Featured Post for Main Menu (4)
  • Featured Top Posts (23)
  • Financial and Investment Calculators and Economic Data (81)
  • Fitness (1)
  • Growing Profits (60)
  • Growing Revenues (98)
  • Growing Revenues (63)
  • Marketing (77)
  • Millionaire and Business owner interviews (2)
  • Positive State of Mind (63)
  • Real Estate Investing (13)
  • Retirement (13)
  • Reviews (12)
  • Sales (14)
  • Sell Me This Pen (7)
  • Selling your Business (13)
  • Startup Ideas (6)
  • Technology (8)
  • Top Products (4)
  • Uncategorized (44)
Follow us
Author
Jeff Wiener
Jeff sold his company to private equity in 2017 and is now semi-retired. Jeff spends time…

    CHECK OUT MY BLOG, AND SUBSCRIBE

    about
    The Kickass Entrepreneur

    Expand Your Business, Improve Profits, Create Wealth

    Expand your business, improve your profits, and create wealth. Each one of the three can be elusive goals. Follow the right steps, and you, too, can create financial independence. It is possible … you just have to take the right steps.
    NAVIGATION
    • About
    • Blog
      • All Blogs
      • Create Wealth (Investing)
      • Entrepreneur Interviews
      • Featured Top Posts
      • Growing Profits
      • Growing Revenues
      • Marketing
      • Positive State of Mind
      • Real Estate Investing
      • Retirement
      • Sales
      • Selling your Business
    • Book
    • Courses
    • Podcast
    • Resources
    • Contact
    TAGS
    apartment BATNA Business business failure business growth business sale Capitalization Rate CAP Rate cash cash flow Creating Wealth Discipline entrepreneur entrepreneurship excel Featured goal setting Growing Business investing investment real estate M&A marketing Marketing KPIs Mergers and Acquisitions | M&A | Entrepreneur Blog Millionaire millionaire next door mistakes MUR Negotiation Peter Principle Profit profitability real estate retirement revenue Revenues sales sales management Semi-Retirement Blog | Entrepreneur Blog | Small Business Blog small business Stagnant stocks success Thomas Stanley wealth
    RECENT ARTICLES
    • online teaching
      How To Make Money With Online Courses: Learn From The Billionaire Way
      • May 18, 2022
      • No comments
    • cyrptocurrency
      How Investing From Home Is Made Easier Using ASIC Miners From CoinMining Direct
      • May 18, 2022
      • No comments
    • sofa
      10 Cheap Renovations That Can Add Value to Your Property
      • May 16, 2022
    • keys
      Understanding the Different Types of Investment Properties
      • May 13, 2022
    • cryptocurrency
      How Investing From Home Is Made Easier Using ASIC Miners From CoinMining Direct
      • May 13, 2022
    • Savings & Financial Planning
      Quick Guide on How Much Saving Should You Have By Age 25?
      • May 12, 2022
    The Kickass Entrepreneur
    • Coaching
    • Book
    • Blog
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Disclaimer
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Input your search keywords and press Enter.