 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Are You Prepared for a Disaster?
Yesterday I look at my calendar and saw that my newsletter was on my calendar for today. I wondered what I would write about. By the end of the day, I had my topic. Back-up and Recovery System. Are you prepared for a disaster? Around 2pm yesterday I looked up from my computer and saw a reflection of smoke. I knew right away someone's home was on fire. Thinking it was one of the homes behind me I stepped out my patio door. It was the house right beside mine that had caught fire. I immediately went out front to find two members of the family in shock. I found out 911 had been called and no one else was at home. The fire department was there within moments and started fighting the fire. I, like a lot of my neighbors, stood outside and watched with sympathy as this single mother with five children lost everything they owned. It always happens to somebody else, right? Not all the time. One minute my neighbor's house was on fire, the next, a whole opened up in their attic and the most amazing ball of flames shot directly towards my house. It was at that time I realized that I could also lose my home. I went in, grabbed my purse and my dog and was back out in the driveway. As I stood there I realized I didn't follow my plan. You see, since I started my business I've had what I considered a good plan incase of fire, I've even written up a disaster recovery plan. My business and its equipment are insured separate from my homeowners. It will also cover any lost income I may incur. I've burned copies of all my software and keep it off site along with copies of important business documents. I back up my entire hard drive daily incase my PC crashes. I keep my calendar on my PC and sync it with my palm; I also keep a paper calendar incase of power outage. Now, the plan was that on my way out of the house I would grab my external hard drive that is used as a backup. I stood there really hoping that my home would be saved and thinking I need a new plan because when push came to shove, my dog and purse were the only things on my mind. I was so shocked that after all that planning, my business didn't even come to mind. Well, I was lucky; my home suffered only some exterior damage. My neighbors, unfortunately, lost everything except what was in their garage. Note: fireplace ashes stay alive at least a week after the fire burns out. If you have not considered what you would do to get your business back up and running incase of a disaster, I suggest now is a good time to start. Kathy McHenry, Your Virtual Advantage, LLC - Virtual Assistant, Transaction Manager and founder of Your Virtual Advantage, LLC. Kathy is a brilliant resource center for entrepreneurs. Increase your success, reduce stress, and have time to focus on your billable hours. Visit her web site today at http://www.YourVirtualAdvantage.com and sign up for her FREE newsletter Distant Assistant
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Become An Effective Executive In his book, The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker pointed out that the effective executive is the person who focuses on making a contribution.This focus on the making of a contribution is the key. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines:Choosing an Effective Employee Recognition Program This article relates to the Recognition competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of how one company found the right recognition program by paying attention to employee feedback. Stopping The Brain Drain: How To Capture Key Business Knowledge Before It Walks Out The Door The verdict is in: More and more baby boomers will be leaving the workplace sooner, rather than later. Many industries are predicting that between 25 and 45% of their more senior employees will soon be departing their organizations. The Golden Key to Meeting Success We all attend many meetings. I'm sure you have been to some great meetings and some poor ones. Faith is the LIFE-blood of Your ACTIONS before the Benefit - Nothing has changed. Your ancestors lived by faith. Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic counseling interviews is the interviewer's tendency to talk too much. Numerous studies have shown that in counseling interviews the average manager will talk as much as 85 percent of the time. Identifying Potential in Ourselves and Others If there is someone nearby as you read this look in their eyes.� Look closely and you will see great potential inside this person regardless of how "successful" or accomplished they are. Delegate or Die! You Can't Do It All - Learning To DelegateThere is not a single management skill more critical to your personal and professional success as an entrepreneur than learning to delegate. But delegating successfully is much more than simply handing out assignments. Do the People in Your Organisation Dress For Success? What really amazes me, with all the personal and professional development seminars people attend, from executives in corporate world, business owners and employees alike, very little investment has been made into the way they look .. Take The Guesswork Out Of Problem Solving In today's chaotic world and uncertain economic times too many good people are burdened by too many problems that seem insurmountable and too many businesses find it increasingly difficult to compete effectively. The old traditional methods of finding solutions to these problems don't seem to work like they used to. Coaching Employees in the Workplace After a full week of training, you are still a little nervous about your new job. All of the information you need to digest, the new environment you are adjusting to, and the new faces you will be getting acquainted with is just a bit overwhelming. Beyond Management Coaching: When Things Are Getting Out of Control Leaders and Managers often ask us, 'What do you do when you have tried to coach and counsel an employee about a performance concern, and the employee has not responded?Unfortunately, we see far too many cases where the leader hasn't, in good faith, tried to coach the employee or to put the leader's concerns into words. Often, leaders look for a quick fix alternative to what is perceived as a difficult and painful confrontation. Thoughts on Empowerment People are empowered when they are given the authority and responsibility to make decisions affecting their work with a minimum of interference and second guessing by others.Empowerment is an overused and under?practiced term. The Retailers Calendar The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its general availability and familiarity make it a natural selection. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Coworker and Caretaker This article relates to the Coworkers competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It tells the story of a coworker whose performance consistently facilitated effective cooperation, collaboration, and communication between the employees within one organization. Budgets that Damage - The Downsides of Making the Numbers In my organisational career, I had budgets from the age of 22 to 47. I lived and breathed them and many times, budgets, the gospel that they were, caused havoc, albeit within the corporate retailer framework that I worked. Five Ways to Turn Resistance into Opportunity Resistance. It isn't something people cherish or enjoy encountering. Hiring Productive Employees: A Checklist for Assessing Their Appeal The characteristics of job applicants have a strong influence on whether or not they get hired. Their characteristics also indicate the level of their productivity. Focus On the Prize People talk to me about making personal and professional changes in their life. I hear comments about how hard they think it will be, concerns about their ability to be successful, pressure on themselves to produce results, etc. Learning To Let Go If you have the entrepreneurial spirit (which clearly you have!), you probably have a tendency toward being a control freak. I know the feeling well -- "No one can do it as well as me, so I'll just do it all!" While this may seem to be more efficient than trying to bring someone else in to help out, it's actually more time-consuming in the long run.
|
|
|
 |
 |
