 What's
your plan for survival?
Did you know that 43% of businesses that face a catastrophe or interruption, which
causes them to "temporarily" close and never reopen? A catastrophe can either
be natural, manmade, or technological. It doesn't take a hurricane. A fire caused
by lightning in your neighbor's suite, or a computer virus could lead to a catastrophe.
I read an article recently in Disaster Recovery Journal that was written by Nelson
Bean, that I thought I would share with you.
In today's competitive environment,
a business must achieve continual improvement just to stay even in the market
place. Any interruption in one's presence in the market place is devastating.
It is, therefore, incumbent upon management to respond immediately to any catastrophic
event which interrupts the business and restore its operation as quickly as possible.
Subsequent to a catastrophe, many executives become distracted by the
challenge of getting the building and equipment repairs completed rather than
continuing their business function. This distraction may be challenging, but it
is deadly. Businesses, large or small, begin dying the moment a catastrophe occurs.
Restoration of business must proceed at the highest level emergency.
Focus on the Customer
Customers, be they retail, wholesale, or
service-oriented, must continue their supply from some source. Even if the damaged
business can maintain a continued supply by virtue of partial operations, the
customers feel it necessary to look for secondary sources of supply in case their
now-damaged primary source of supply fails. If supply is interrupted, these customers
must go elsewhere immediately, and their orders may be difficult to regain.
Beware of Hidden Costs
In addition to the strong potential for
loss of business, there are other hidden, and often uninsurable costs which combine
to create a devastating effect on the business. These hidden costs begin accumulating
immediately after the disaster occurs. Some of these costs include:
Vastly increased unemployment compensation premiums resulting from the layoffs
in the work force.
Substantial increases in advertising and special promotions expenditures necessary
to rebuild the volume of business.
Often
underestimated and significant cost of training new employees or eliminating the
"rust" from old employees who have been idle for a period of time.
Increased
production mistakes inherent in a restart with new or rusty former employees.
Overall
lowered level of efficiency in the operation which adds significantly to the cost
of production.
These
hidden costs may sound innocuous; however, they are deadly in 71% of catastrophes
which produce a "temporary" facility closure. Even when the damaged business regains
its pre-catastrophe volume, generally there will be a significantly reduced profit.
In a worst case scenario, after a catastrophe there will be a net loss where that
same volume during the pre-catastrophe period would have resulted in a reasonable
profit. This is due to the combined effect of the hidden losses which accounting
systems are generally not set up to track. Consequently, the business person is
often unaware of the problems which are causing cash flow difficulty.
These circumstances contribute to statistics cited by BASF/Wyandotte which show
that 43% of businesses closed by a catastrophe never reopen. Twenty-eight percent
of those that do reopen, experience financial failure within three to five years.
Those that never reopen simply do not have the financial resources to weather
the period of time they are closed due to the catastrophe. These numbers include
those which are well insured because many of the hidden costs are not insurable
expenses. Those that are insurable are often under-insured due to underestimating
the maximum foreseeable loss. Clearly, immediate action must be taken if a business
is to have any chance of recovery.
Act Immediately
After
a catastrophe, the insured should immediately concentrate on the health and continuation
of the business. Sales staff should contact customers, thank them for their past
loyalty, and assure them an aggressive effort is being taken to restore the business
and, therefore, the supply. Appropriate management staff should have immediate
and frequent communications with the employees so they are available when the
business reopens. Accounting staff should follow through on collections, billings,
payables, and vendor communications. Furthermore, management should focus on locating
additional inventory, preparing reopening advertising, and developing new promotions
to restore the business.
The restoration of a facility should be left
to professionals capable of doing so at a high rate of speed, while working closely
with the insurance provider. It should be obvious by now that the fastest restoration
of the facility and equipment is crucial for a business unable to relocate. Utilizing
a team approach, with the insured focusing on the continuation of the business,
a reputable high-speed specialist restoring the building and equipment, and rapid
funding of the restoration by the insurer, the facility should be back into operation
in the least amount of time. Anything which shows the process can be devastating
for the business.
Conclusion
Other alternatives that take
additional time will, with rare exception, prove to be devastating to the business
regardless of advantages they may appear to have.
Best Regards,
Michael
DiTocco
Chairman of the Board
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All
Homes Realty
Frank Rhoden
10185 W. Sample Road
Coral Springs,
Florida 33065
954-263-2680
Cost Segregation Services, Inc.
Joseph Conte
1127 SW 44th Terrace
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442
954-243-8581
Credit Matters, LLC.
Cindy Pearlstein
5491 University Drive, Suite
202B
Coral Springs, Florida 33067
954-510-7826
Dooley Mack
Constructors
James Orlando
11971 NW 37th Street
Coral Springs,
Florida 33065
954-345-8288
Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union
Brian Bailey
7290 W. Atlantic Boulevard
Margate, Florida 33063
954-247-3694
Florida Marlins
Kevin Goldman
2267 Dan Marino Boulevard
Miami,
Florida 33056
305-626-7358
HSBC
Sandra Bailey
1291
S. Pompano Parkway
Pompano Beach, Florida 33069
954-979-5040
Landmark
Lending Group
James O'Donnell
4425 Banyan Trail Drive
Coconut Creek,
Florida 33073
954-464-5555
Massage Envy
Mark Engebretson
10341 Royal Palm Boulevard?
Coral Springs, Florida 33065
954-757-3689
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M.E.M. Scanning & Copying Services, Inc.
Miguel Figueroa
5944
Coral Ridge Drive, #162
Coral Springs, Florida 33076
954-918-3033
Mortgage Movers
Nicole Pearlstein
5491 University Drive, Suite 202-B
Coral Springs, Florida 33067
954-757-7071
Pakmail
Jennifer
Irizarry
10693 Wiles Road
Coral Springs, Florida 33076
954-255-3440
Panache Interior Design
Drema Webb
5072 Coconut Creek Pkwy
Margate, Florida 33063
954-979-8874
Sophia's Pizzeria Restaurant
Arthur Sargsyan
760 Riverside Drive
Coral Springs, Florida 33071
954-796-0405
Software Your Way, Inc.
Don Williams
5944 Coral Ridge Drive, Suite
315
Coral Springs, Florida 33076
954-345-2525
Weinberg & Company
P.A.
Bruce Weinberg
6100 Glades Road, Suite 314
Boca Raton, Florida
33434
561-487-5765
Wiggans, Inc.
Rick Wiggans
775
NW 83rd Drive
Coral Springs, Florida 33071
954-821-3528
WineStyles/Heron
Bay
Kathleen Doczy
6240 Coral Ridge Drive
Coral Springs, Florida
33076
954-755-3625
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Heron Bay Golf Club
Jamie Kaufman
11801 Heron Bay Boulevard
Coral Springs, Florida 33076
954-796-2014
| Zentis
Associates, Inc.
Ramon Zentis
8451 NW
24th Court
Coral Springs, FL 33065
954-345-1989
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| Commercial
Property Group
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| Marketing
Your Business through the Chamber
Your membership in the Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce provides a multitude
of cost effective marketing tools that provide an opportunity to expose your business
to over 1300 local business professionals
Here are just a few ways that
you can market your business through the Chamber: -
Free Listing on the Chamber Website, alphabetically by your company name and
also by your business category. Our site gets over 5,000 visits monthly. This
includes a link to your website and a map to your location - www.cschamber.com
-
Free Listing in the Chamber/City Relocation Directory - distributed by the
Chamber, City of Coral Springs and over 25 distribution points throughout the
city and surrounding areas.
-
Free Ribbon Cutting for all NEW businesses
- Free
Chamber Membership Plaque and Door/Window Decal
-
Free listing as a New Member in the Chamber E-Newsletter
-
Free download of Chamber logo to attach to your advertising-"Proud Member
of Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce"
- Free
listing as a participant in the Chamber "Hot Deals" Discount Program. Just email
us the discount you would like to offer to other members and it will be posted
on the "Hot Deals" section of our website. Email: reuley@cschamber.com
- Free
showcase to market your business cards and literature at the Chamber office
- Mailing labels
for all Chamber Members - only $25
- Advertising
banner on the website - starting at $99
- E-mail
blast to over 1,300 email addresses - only $99.
- Advertising
in Chamber Monthly E-newsletter - starting at $50
- Member
Spotlight on Chamber website - only $100 per month
- Access
to Networking Events, Referral Groups and More
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Ambassador
Committee
| Education
Committee
| Chair:
Connie Carberg
Meets: Tuesday, June 5th
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Place: Chamber
Office
| Chair:
Kimberly Knox/Steve Laska
Meets: Wednesday, June 20th
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Place: location to be announced
| Technology
Committee
| | Chair:
Amir Watynski
Meets: Monday, June 25th
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Place: Chamber
Office
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