The Importance of Business Protection Planning

I wanted to start this week’s blog by thanking all the people I have heard from asking how my family was doing with the fires in Los Angeles. We heard from many old friends and were pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Paul Bieber wishing us well. Thank you all.

Of course, we thank all the city and county fire departments that risked their lives to help us all. My family and I were fortunate not to be involved in any of the fires this time. Most people I have spoken with have been affected to some degree by this disaster, whether it was friends who lost homes or were evacuated or areas that were without power for days because of the high winds.

This past year, our industry has been impacted by many disasters, such as hurricanes, fires and even computer hacks, which have affected glass businesses nationwide. We all need to pay attention to safeguarding our businesses and homes.

In my neighborhood, we have a group, “The Sand Canyon Fire Safety Council,” that was started by a group of retired firefighters. They put together a canyon shortwave radio system, including repeaters around the canyon so we can communicate with portable radios. There are volunteers in each zone set up in the canyon who have licensed radios and are trained in how to use them as a team.

We have a monthly radio check on the first Wednesday of the month to keep us current. My wife and I represent Zone 1. This way, we can keep up to date on emergencies. It was comforting the last two weeks to keep the radio on tracking fires that may have affected us.

It is important to do the same with your business. Have you reviewed your business protection plan lately? Are all your employees up to date on what to do in emergencies? What is your plan if you lose power? Do you have a generator? Flashlights? Battery backup systems?

Depending on your business, there are different levels of protection, but most can be scaled to fit small or large businesses. At FHC, we added a Tesla battery backup system to power lights, computers and the phone system. We need a Starlink connection to keep our Wi-Fi and telephones working during a power outage. These types of systems can start as low as a few hundred dollars for small businesses or thousands for larger ones.

Last week, I was happy to find that my chiropractor kept his office open with a small battery backup system and lanterns set up in each room. Their power was out for three days. All businesses should have a well-thought-out business protection plan to share with their employees and customers. Being good corporate citizens will make your business more valuable to customers and create a safer workplace for employees.