Businesses are encouraged to have a continuity plan to help them survive the storm AND stay in business. Owners of both large and small businesses need to have secure storage for data and files, alternative sites for doing business, methods of communicating with employees and customers and appropriate insurance. These are just a few items to consider when putting together a business continuity plan.

Pinellas County Economic Development offers a resource guide for businesses that is easy-to-follow and a good start to making your plan. Download the Business Continuity Plan or call 464-7200 to obtain a copy.

Set Up A Go Box For Critical Papers

Use a plastic, waterproof container that can be used to hold and carry important business documents and helpful forms including:

• A list of all employees, key customers and clients along with their phone numbers
• Insurance policies and agent contact information
• Back-up electronic data
• Equipment, computer software/hardware and furniture inventories
• A list of emergency vendors, like plumbers and restoration contractors
• Copies of essential business policies, plans and agreements
• Photographs of the business, both inside and out

Business Preparation Tips

• Take the necessary precautions. As a storm threatens, secure your building. Cover and move equipment and furniture to a secured area.
• Always protect your data with back up files.
• Make plans to work with limited cash and probably no water, sewer or power for at least two weeks.
• Contact your customers and suppliers regarding your continuity plans.
• Protect windows and glass doors.
• Clear the property or tie down any items that could become flying missiles.
• Fill fleet cars and equipment gas tanks.
• Turn off electricity, water and gas.
• If your business is in a non-evacuation area, think about having your business serve as a host home shelter for employees.

Employees Need TLC

Communicate your business hurricane plan with your employees. Remember, too, that your associates may need some extra consideration. Probably all of your employees need time to prepare their own homes and talk with their families about their own personal emergency plans.

Business Interruption Insurance

Business owners need to think about what they would do if their buildings were unusable after a storm. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Understand that Business Interruption Insurance will compensate you for lost income if your company has to leave the site because of disaster-related damage.
• Be sure that the policy will cover your company for more than a few days. After a disaster, it may take more time to get back up and running.
• Ask what the waiting period would be before the insurance coverage begins.
• Explore the cost of adding this coverage to your specific business type. Some businesses, like restaurants, might have to pay a higher premium based on risk.

Special Note For Home-Based Businesses

All businesses, large and small, are thinking about emergency preparedness. And, home-based business owners should be doing that too.

“Home-based business owners should be aware that after a disaster, they may qualify for SBA Disaster Loans and possibly unemployment benefits, if they are unable to work,” said Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Senior Manager of Business Assistance at Pinellas County Economic Development.

A Go Box is another critical item every home-based business owner should pull together. One action to take right now is to back up computer information on CDs or another portable medium. Store those back-ups in the Go Box too. Take photos of your home office, both inside and out, to take along.

“Just like all business leaders, home-based business owners should ensure they safeguard essential business documents and information in a Go Box,” said Johnson. Ideally, that box should be backed up in an alternative location in the event the home is destroyed.

Bridge Loan Program - A Life Raft For Businesses After A Storm

Should a devastating storm impact Pinellas County, the state's emergency bridge loan program is designed to provide a source of expedient cash flow to businesses impacted by a major catastrophe, enabling them to quickly begin repairs and replace inventory. The short-term loans are intended to "bridge the gap" between the time a major catastrophe hits, and when a business has secured other resources like sufficient profits from revived business, receipt of payments on insurance claims, secured longer-term loans to include U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loans, to operate successfully.

Short-term loans of up to $25,000 will be available to owners of small businesses in counties most impacted by a storm. The interest-free loans come in terms of 90-day or 180-day maturities. To be eligible, a business owner must have been operational for one full year prior to the storm, have less than 100 employees and verifiable, physical damage to their business.

Each county administers its own bridge loan program, in direct cooperation with the State of Florida, Enterprise Florida, Inc., and local participating banks. A five-member committee - comprised of three local bankers, one community representative, and one representative from Enterprise Florida, Inc., or the Governor's Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development - reviews applications for approval. Intended to be an agile process, the time from application through closing of loans can be as little as 72 hours.
Should a hurricane strike our region, Pinellas County Economic Development will quickly distribute information regarding available bridge loans to local businesses and the media.

Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center
Department of Emergency Management
Citizen Information Center
(727) 464-3800
(during an emergency activation call (727) 464-4333)