Contingency Planning

Small Business Disaster Preparedness Guide Launched

December 12, 2007

The Small Business Administration and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company have teamed up to launch a disaster planning guide for small business owners.

SBA Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza and Nationwide’s Associate Vice President for Safety Bill Windsor made the announcement recently during an event at the National Press Club.

The 10-page guide provides information business owners need to develop an effective plan to protect customers and employees in the event of a disaster. The guide provides key disaster preparedness strategies to help small businesses identify potential hazards, create plans to remain in operation if the office is unusable, and understand the limitations of their insurance coverage.

“The most successful recovery efforts are always preceded by good planning,” Carranza said. “The more preparation that businesses complete before a disaster, the better able they are to rebuild and reopen quickly after a disaster.”

“Disasters can have a devastating impact on small businesses,” Windsor said. “How quickly those businesses can get up and running after a disaster can have a significant impact on a community’s ability to recovery. Understanding this, the SBA and Nationwide have created this guide to help business owners get their arms around the disaster planning process, and convince them to mitigate their risk.”

Hard copies of the guide will be distributed by SBA field offices, its resource partners around the country and disaster field offices. Nationwide will make additional copies available to its agents for distribution. An electronic version of the guide will be available online at http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/disasterpreparedness/index.html.