How Resilient Are You?
Most entrepreneurs know that a well-conceived business plan is critical to the success of a new business. It should be just as clear that a business resiliency plan will be critical to the sustainability and success of your business.
Every business will face an unexpected disruption at some point. The planning you do now can mean the difference in how quickly—or whether—your business recovers.
Resiliency Plan
This Business Resiliency Plan is meant to work with America’s SBDC Business Resiliency Guide, the goal is for you to create a plan that will help you respond to most emergency situations and recover as quickly as possible. If more space is needed on any of the tables provided in this worksheet, they are provided on a single page, so that you can print out more copies.
Start by identifying your critical business functions and their supporting resources. Using the Business Resilience Guide, identify risks your business could face, including ones that may not be listed in the guide. Analyze how these risks could affect your critical business functions and resources, including cashflow. With this information you can create your business continuity plan (as well as the communications plan from the Business Resiliency Guide). Then fill in the preventative measures you can take to mitigate risk from your most likely hazards, and perhaps unlikely sources. The final step is making the necessary contacts or preparations so that you are ready to implement your plan when it is needed.
In the identify section of the Business Resource Guide you identified the hazards your business is most exposed to and their severity. The last section of this business resiliency plan provides a template for you to take those hazards and develop emergency response plans. These plans encompass both preparation for hazards and the appropriate actions to take in reaction. The America’s SBDC website has resources you can use to help develop your emergency response plans, including a workbook specific to Emergency Procedures.
Templates and Training
To assist you with creating your own Resilience Plan, please refer to the following template documents (Google Drive), links, and webinars.