Globally, we have a terrorist problem. This is not a disputed discussion, this is a fact. Everyday our lives are affected by it in one way or another. What of our businesses? Along with acts of terror come looters and customers shying away from leaving the house. All businesses no matter how large scale or small scale are affected.
The thing with terrorism once the bad guys have been captured or escaped, and a commission of enquiry formed, life must go on. Business must continue, normalcy must return. What can a business person do to minimize the effect – in relation to their businesses – of these heinous acts of terror?
- Have A Good Insurance Policy
Although some unscrupulous insurance companies are using the probability of terror to cash in from customers, it is a small price to pay should the terror act actually take place. Not only I mean ensuring that you’re covered by an insurance company, but have an insurance plan of your own. This could vary from an amount of money saved up specifically to replace the lost stock in the event of terrorism or to repair damage etc. It could also be in the form of emergency stock that is not kept at the location of business (but this should only be applied for non-food stuffs). Consequently, this would work best while you are awaiting for the insurance company to process your claim
- Maintain The Team You Have
When the act has passed, things should go back to normal as much as possible. I believe it is wise to make sure that you have the same staff and suppliers once business resumes. The more things are the way they were, the more likely you are not to lose any clients. Additionally because of your well thought out plan you will probably attract more clients. For this reason you must talk to all employees and try as possible to help them work through any post-dramatic-trauma that they may be dealing with. It costs a lot less to do this than to train a new employee. Besides the cost, there is the relationship and common understanding that you’ve formed at this point. Wouldn’t you want to preserve that?
- Have An Alternative Means of Business
Especially in this day and age where technology is such a huge part of our lives, not having a place of business does not mean not being able to operate that business. To demonstrate, I will use the practical example of Egypt. A few of the shops that operate in the capital have an online shop which has served them well as a substitute when there are protests. There is no reason why this cannot work for anyone else. In conclusion all of this is “in the event of,” as you may never need to implement any of these measures, but it never hurt anybody to be prepared.
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