Surviving the Spill

For a day now, BP has kept more oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. But there are no guarantees the good news will continue, and nearly 90 days of oil pollution has hammered industries from tourism to fisheries.

So what are businesses affected by the spill supposed to do?

First, they’ll no doubt be crossing their fingers that the company and government are able to keep the spigot turned off. As of this morning, the Macondo well at the Deepwater Horizon site remained sealed. But if there are pressure problems, the company may have to allow more oil into the Gulf. Naturally, no one wants that to happen. But the permanent fix to the problem isn’t expected until a relief well is drilled early next month.

Second, they can hope cleanup efforts go exceptionally well, and that the delicate marshes that support the rich Louisiana fishery can recover quickly. Hundreds of miles of the Gulf have been closed to fishermen for months now, and they can only hope their livelihoods aren’t forever damaged. Businesses can also hope oil washed up on white sand beaches that attract tourists to the Gulf will be disposed of rapidly and those tourists will start coming back.

But those hopes are out of their hands. And entrepreneurs are generally people who want a little more control. There are some things that business owners can do to weather the disaster, and Bob Schmidt at Helium.com has a pretty good rundown of them.

Here’s a quick look at some of his advice:

• Find financial relief programs as quickly as possible to make up for the revenue you lost. There are official channels, like the $20 billion fund set aside under government pressure by BP. But there could also be bank financing available based on the likelihood you’ll get a claim payout. And of course, your insurance might help cover some of the losses.
• Businesses should band together to pool resources and brain power to help each other survive the catastrophe through such efforts as combining to advertising dollars for tourist destinations, or tapping into new fisheries for seafood processors.
• And finally, be willing to start over in some other business, if yours is damaged beyond repair. “Change is sometimes far better than one expects, and maintaining an optimistic attitude may be the final test that our survival requires. Just make sure to investigate every possible option so that any decision made is based upon logic and not pure emotion,” he writes.