An unforeseen disaster closes your business. The clock is ticking, but you may not realize how urgently: Unless you reopen within five days, chances are you never will, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Ninety percent of businesses that don’t reopen within that time frame fail.

If you want to beat those odds, you need a business continuity plan that you’ve communicated to all stakeholders and practice regularly. These government agencies can help.

Small Business Administration

In a 2009 survey, 90 percent of small companies (those with fewer than 100 employees) reported they spend less than one day a month on business continuity. To help small businesses increase their chances of disaster recovery, the SBA earlier this year launched Prepare My Business, a site that guides small-business owners through disaster planning, education, testing, and assistance with downloadable checklists and templates for risk assessment, communications plans, and practice exercises. Prepare My Business also offers free monthly webinars. The next one, on May 17, is “Protecting Your Business This Hurricane Season.”

The SBA’s main website provides applications for the agency’s disaster loan program, which offers:

• Business physical disaster loans of up to $2 million to cover uninsured or underinsured losses.
• Economic injury disaster loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations.

If you’re not sure whether you qualify as a small business on the SBA’s terms, check the agency’s table of small business size standards.

Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Homeland Security site provides visual guides and tip sheets about recognizing the effects of biological, chemical, and nuclear attacks. Like the SBA site, Ready.gov also offers information and worksheets that help businesses of any size prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Its “What Does it Cost?” PDF lists security measures that can be implemented for free, for under $500, and for over $500.

Small and midsize businesses can participate in the DHS’s Ready Business Mentoring Initiative, which relies on volunteer private-sector instructors. Through the Extension Disaster Education Network, DHS offers a downloadable three-hour classroom-style course called “Ready Business: Developing a Business Continuity and Disaster Preparedness Plan for Your Business.” All course materials (including event notices, PowerPoint slides, and instructor guide) are available free online.

Federal Emergency Management Administration

If you’d prefer that a temporary FEMA disaster recovery center not be your first experience with this agency, download its Emergency Management Guide for Business and Industry at Fema.gov. This in-depth publication walks you through a vulnerability analysis and developing and testing a continuity plan.

FEMA is the most wired of these agencies. Using its mobile website, you can locate the nearest disaster recovery center and apply online for assistance. Its social-media page links you to the FEMA blog, regional Twitter feeds, and other access points.

Internal Revenue Service

Businesses and nonprofits should log on to the Internal Revenue Service's website for tax-related disaster relief. After the April floods in Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi, the IRS postponed some business tax-filing deadlines and waived the failure-to-deposit penalties for certain employment and excise tax deposits.

The IRS’s downloadable Disaster Losses Kit for Businesses (publication 2194-B) includes all the tax forms you’ll need for filing natural-disaster-related losses. The IRS also provides assistance if your tax records are lost.

---

Nancy Goll is a freelance writer based in Bainbridge Island, Washington.