Contingency Plans & Why They’re Important

As a small business owner, you need to be prepared when things go wrong. If you’re aware at all of “Murphy’s Law,” then you know that if something can go wrong, it often will. Well, it’s not true, but it’s good to pretend that it’s true so that you’re prepared for when things do go wrong. Make no mistake, things will go wrong. Being prepared doesn’t mean you’re not optimistic, it just means that you’re ready – which ironically means you can be more optimistic. 

Just remember things happen. You may lose power, your computer may stop working, your internet may not work, your computer might totally crash – you could have a flood, a tornado, and other natural disasters that make it hard for you to get your work done. 

In most cases, these happenings aren’t really good reasons for you to not get your work done. Although, once you build your business to the point you want it, chances are you can easily miss out on working for a couple weeks without too much damage to your business. But when you’re first starting, you need to account for any contingency. Otherwise it might be hard to ever get to that place where your business is essentially self-running.

Buy Business Insurance 

You’ll need to talk to an insurance agent. However, there are many choices when it comes to buying business insurance. You can get insurance that protects not only your income but can help cover your clients if something goes wrong that affects them financially. 

Create a Contingency Plan Manual

Take the time to write down all the things that can happen – such as computer breaks, the internet is out, your child is sick – and move through from the least important to the worst thing that can happen and set up plans that you can put into effect if that thing happens. The good thing about having plans is that when you’re angry, sad, scared, or otherwise emotional, you may make poor choices. But if you have it written out in advance you can rely on the plan more. 

Set Up Your Plans So They Work

Don’t make your plans based on fantasy. Write down plans that you can implement. If you don’t have cash on hand to replace your computer right away if it totally breaks, you must decide what will you do? Will you go to Rent-A-Center and rent one? Will you borrow one from your dad? Be specific and realistic about these plans.

Go through each type of problem you may experience and write down a plan for if it happens. Contingency plans are essential for a business to survive in this world long term. Things will happen. You may not realize it right now, but as you grow your business and throughout your entire life, there are always ups and downs. Some you can expect to happen eventually, such as the death of an elderly parent, but some are harder to predict such as a house fire, for example.