A major hurricane—winds at least 111 mph—hasn’t hit the United States since 2005, and I’m not forgetting about “Hurricane Sandy” and the devastation it caused. Technically, Sandy wasn’t a hurricane. However, we should take Sandy as a stark warning that stands in the midst of some pretty mellow years in terms of hurricane damage. While […]
The Girl Scout motto is “Be prepared.” In the 1947 Girl Scout Handbook, the motto was explained this way: “A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency.” A half century later, this […]
When a natural disaster strikes, such as the recent Oklahoma tornado, I’ve found small businesses get interested in learning more about disaster preparedness and managing their risk. Then when things calm down and the headlines move on to other stories, entrepreneurs revert to business as usual. There’s no more sense of urgency. Disaster preparedness gets […]
Major snow storms have paralyzed parts of the country so far this year. Thousands of people have been left without power. Many small businesses had to close for several days. Yet despite the prevalence of natural disasters recently, research from Alibaba.com shows 74% of American small businesses do not have a disaster preparedness plan, and 84% do not have any natural disaster insurance. More than one third don’t know how quickly they can get back on their feet after a natural disaster.