Plan to Stay in Business By Darryl J. Madden, Director, Ready Campaign
As a business owner or manager, you are a leader in your community who sets an example for your employees, customers, and fellow businesses to follow. This September, the seventh annual National Preparedness Month (NPM), join your community in preparing for emergencies and disasters of all types, and leading efforts to encourage the community as a whole to become more prepared.
Disasters not only devastate individuals and neighborhoods, but entire communities, including businesses of all sizes. As an employer in your community, having a business continuity plan can help protect your company, its employees and its infrastructure, maximizing your chances of recovery after an incident.
Ready Business asks companies to take three simple steps: plan to stay in business; encourage your people to become Ready; and protect your investment.
This year, the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, with support from Coalition Members across the nation, including a wide range of businesses and organizations, is focusing NPM on encouraging American individuals, families and businesses to take active steps toward becoming Ready. We must work together, as a team, to ensure that our families, businesses, neighborhoods, and communities are Ready.
Ready Business, an extension of the Ready Campaign, helps owners and managers of small and medium-sized businesses prepare their employees, operations and assets in the event of an emergency. The Ready Business section of ready.gov contains vital information for businesses on how to get started preparing their business for their unique needs during an emergency.
For more information on NPM, or for help preparing your business, call 1-800-BE-READY, TTY 1-800-462-7585 or visit ready.gov/business where business owners can download or order free Ready publications and much more.