Any economist, politician, or business-related media would tell you that small businesses are the backbone of the global economy. They provide more jobs than any other sector of the economy, shape and support local communities, create a competitive market that boosts the quality of goods and services. However, at the same time, small businesses are those who are suffering most recently. The Pandemic of COVID-19 is still in action. It imposes numerous restrictions, and the ongoing climate changes that cause destructive floods worldwide mostly affect small businesses, making their work look like survival rather than healthy development on a competitive market.
Having vast experience in helping small businesses worldwide to protect themselves from floods and related losses, we decided to come up with a brief survival guide that can help you build your own anti-crisis plan for your business and pass this uneasy time with minimal losses.
Small businesses today.
Starting an independent business is a dream and lifetime opportunity for numerous people worldwide. However, recently, it has turned into a pretty risky and even dangerous idea.
According to the official statistics, small businesses have plummeted by 22% in the United States since the official beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Numbers in other regions are even more devastating. For example, Latin America has lost 32% of its entrepreneurs, Asian private sector dropped by 26%. African small businesses have suffered the most. Here the amount of officially registered and active enterprises decreased by more than 41%.
Since, as we have already mentioned, small businesses are the main job providers worldwide, these statistics will soon enough back shoot at the global economy with a wave of unemployment and migration the world might have not seen in its recent history.
However, the Pandemic is, of course, not the only reason for a small business to fail and get out of the market. Statistically, floods are among the most common reasons small businesses bear losses that can kick them off the market forever.
And although flood insurance will definitely cover some of the costs of the flood, there are certain losses you simply can`t reclaim even if you have flood insurance for your business.
What about European small businesses?
Against the overall background, the situation with small businesses in Europe might have no looked that devastating. Especially in those regions that did not rely on tourism, hospitality, and service sectors which have suffered from the Pandemic most.
However, the recent floods have caused the European private sector more losses than any pandemic, or even war might have done before.
Unpredictable and remarkably destructive, those floods took people`s lives and damaged properties beyond repair.
The situation is indeed dramatic in the European private business sector as those enterprises working this Summer were exactly the Pandemic survivors, which means that they were technically the last hope for their regions to make the passage to the post-Covid era most seamless and painless.
How do floods impact businesses?
As we have already mentioned, flood insurance can reverse some of the losses caused by floods.
However, there are several things that water will take away from you forever, making you start from scratch:
- Data losses. Water can damage computers and other digital equipment that stores data about customers, products, and networking information. As long as any business is as successful as its CRM, those losses can turn fatal for any enterprise;
- Loss of assets. The equipment, documentation, and even furniture can be damaged by water beyond repair and recognition. Once you don`t have a plan B, assets that can replace the lost ones immediately, you will have to go out of business for a certain time period or maybe even forever if your competitors managed to protect their assets from the flood and pick up the customers you will lose during the downtime;
- Loss of time. Time is money, and every day, your business is closed because you have to deal with the damage caused by floods, which will cost you much more than you imagined until now. First of all, you will still have bills and salaries to pay. Moreover, even the most loyal customers will gladly turn to your competitors once they offer a similar service when they need it.
Unfortunately, all the losses mentioned above can appear irreparable for any business, no matter how long and in which segment it works. In other words, your enterprise may literally get flashed with flood water one day if you fail to take precaution measures and protect yourself, your employees, and your assets thoroughly.
Flood survival guide for a small business.
Before getting down to the actual survival guide for your business, let`s see what exactly you should take care of.
There are several reactions you will have to answer to make sure that you can open your store or workshop after the flood:
- Is the equipment safe to use?
- Is the premise safe to work in and receive customers?
- Are I and my employees comfortable with getting back to work?
Now let`s see what you can do to answer "yes" all those questions and get back to work after the floods.
- Make sure that your employees and customers are safe during and after the flood. Listen carefully to flood warnings and follow the instructions. Make sure there is an emergency exit or a safe area in your premises in case of unexpected flash floods;
- Keep in touch with customers and employees. If you have to close for several days after the flood, make sure to contact all your employees, suppliers, customers, etc. Explain the situation and set clear, realistic dates when your business will be ready to open again;
- Backup data. Information is everything for the business community. Make sure to backup all data in a safe flood-proof place;
- Protect the assets. In many cases, the losses appear minimal, and businesses can go back to work right after the flood if they manage to prevent water from getting into the premises. Modern solutions like temporary flood barriers will help you protect your property thoroughly in a matter of several minutes and minimize the losses.
Contact Dam Easy Flood Barriers today and learn how our solutions can prevent flooding of any property no matter how severe the disaster is and how peculiar your premises' architecture is.
Our experts will gladly answer all your questions and provide a solution that will save your business from massive losses and bankruptcy in case of floods.
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