My Mum always used to tell me to wear clean underwear when I left the house just in case I got hit by a bus….. We won’t debate the wisdom of this here, but it does raise the question – What happens to your business if you’re hit by a bus, or have to take time out for a bit?
OK, so maybe that’s a bit dramatic… but a recent experience has taught me it’s not too far off the mark really….
Many small business owners end up being the ‘centre’ of their business. All their passwords and accesses are locked away in their head or their personal password list and if something goes wrong, there is no-one who can step in and make sure the business remains operational.
Have you considered how your processes will cope if you, as the ‘centre’ of your business, will operate if you are incommunicado or just incapable of ‘being there’?
Seriously – this is a big thing. Recently, I was affected by the need to make a certain change to one of my systems and the ONLY person who could authorise the change was not available – and NO ONE knew when they would be available.
My only option at that point was to transfer my business to another supplier that could allow the change to occur….
This got me thinking – what of my processes rely solely on me? and how can I review these processes to ensure that ‘others’ can conduct Business As Usual if I’m hit by a bus.
Some simple things came to mind:
- An ‘organisational’ email address for all business communications – this means that multiple people will be able to access it….
- Privacy and Non Disclosure policies to ensure the privacy of messages within the business
- A ‘decent’ contact system – relying just on email probably isn’t the best way to be moving forward
- Written processes – I can’t say enough about this
- Defined responsibilities within the business….
Most importantly – it means that my ‘solopreneur’ business, mostly likely isn’t a solopreneur business… I may be the ‘front person’ – but the ongoing success of the business relies on a solid and strong team to keep things running.
There are a heap more things to consider to ensure your business survives the ‘Clean Undies’ test…
Share Your Thoughts…
What do you think is important for your business continuity?
A timely post Charly and the heading certainly caught my attention! I’ve been pondering exactly this recently now that I’m responsible for assisting a number of business owners across the globe! The systems & processes are there and the documented procedure manual but there’s no one to share it with … YET! 😉