Small businesses struggle after Katrina-Rita

All over the southern United States people have fled their homes and entire communities have been abandoned. Lives have been destroyed, houses have been leveled and small businesses are struggling to get back to square one. The wake of Katrina and Rita have left many Americans homeless and out of work.

In the United States, small businesses account for 99.7% of all employers. They are the driving force that makes our economy turn. Without them unemployment would skyrocket and our economy would crumble. Small businesses fail not only due to the fact that they themselves may have experienced a disaster but also due to the fact that another small business, one that perhaps supplies them with necessary parts or services has experienced a disaster. Far too often, small businesses are the last to implement proper business continuity plans and due to that are the most susceptible to failure.

According to the United States Department of Labor 40% of all businesses that have experienced a disaster never reopen and over 25% of those that do reopen go out of business within 2 years. After the 2 years we are left with 35% remaining. How did they survive? They were prepared. They created a plan and invested both time and money into preemptive disaster recovery measures.

Larger corporations survive due to the fact that they tend to back up their important information, such as employee names and phone numbers, previous customers contact information, and insurance information at offsite locations. This however is not a viable option for many small businesses due to cost and the need for instant retrieval.

According to Johnny Klemme, President of K.L. Security Enterprises, LLC  there are many options out there for small businesses that are both very effective and affordable. “Hurricane Katrina devastated many businesses and there is no doubt that many of them will never recover. Many of them did not take the necessary steps to assure that they would be able to quickly access their important records and be able to keep in touch with both their customers and their employees. Many of our customers in the affected areas have purchased equipment such as the Schwab Corp line of Trident File cabinets that are designed not only for fire protection but also water protection and I am sure that they now see the value in their decision. In the event of a flood or even a fire that is being doused with thousands of gallons of water their documents are going to stay dry.” Mr. Klemme goes on to say, “Whether you are in a flood prone area or an area that is susceptible to forest fires or earthquakes we have solutions for everyone. One of the newest products available is called the ioSafe. This is the latest technology in on-site computer hard drive data backup and is designed as a cost effective way for small businesses to insure their survival in the event of a disaster.”Visit the following link to find out more about the Disaster Ready Drive