A Simple But Important Evacuation Plan For Your Online Business

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I’m sure the title of this blog post threw you off. I mean, why would you need an evacuation plan for an online business, right?

Gimme a few minutes and I’ll explain.

Hurricane season is underway here in Texas. And so far so good but we also know that can change from one weather forecast to the next. Last year, we had hurricane Harvey. It wasn’t supposed to be as bad as it was but it was.

Thank goodness we didn’t have to evacuate. The water only came up to our driveway and we never lost power but there were some close calls.

Now hurricane Ike…that was a different story and a nightmarish one at that! Instead of listening to authorities and evacuate, we stayed home. When the storm had passed it left us without power for 5 days.

At that time I was still working on corporate America and we communicated via text messages and POTS. That’s AT&T telephonese for Plain Ole Telephone Service.

But now that I’m a Mompreneur, it’s a whole different ball game.

Evacuation Plan For Online Business Owners

When hurricane season starts our local news stations give us tips to prepare for a storm in case we have to evacuate or if we decide to stay put and ride it out.

You know things like:

• Have flashlights and batteries
• Water supply
• Food supplies
• Medications
• Items for your pets
• And important documents like insurance policies

But not much is said for businesses besides board up and hunker down.

Although when it comes to local brick and mortar businesses it can stay closed (if they choose to) until the storm passes and for days after to check any damages.

But when you’re business is online, your clients or customers can be from anywhere around the globe. And sometimes being closed for business is not an option.

That’s exactly what got me thinking about creating my own evacuation plans. I know what to do for my family and furbabies but it never occurred to me that I’d need one for my online business.

You want to make sure you don’t lose a client or customer even during an emergency like a storm. Especially if an online business is the main bread and butter.

So here goes a list of things to do and prepare for just in case you have to evacuate or if you’re going to ride out a storm at home. These might even come in handy if you plan to go on a road trip.

You might think the items on this list are common sense – and they probably are. But when you’re in an emergency situation and you want to get out as quick as you can, some of these might be the last thing on your mind.

Make An Announcement

First things first, keep your audience in the know.

If there is a storm is heading your way, let your audience know about it through a blog post and that you might have to go offline for several days.

Create a social media post as well and use the pin feature on Facebook and Twitter to pin that post to the top of your feed.

And keep ‘em updated if you don’t lose power.

For Email

Set up an auto-response for your email accounts to let messengers know you’ll be unavailable and when they can expect a reply.

For Your Mailing List

Last but not least, send an email to your mailing list explaining why they might not hear from you for as many days.

Important Docs

Your business evacuation plan should also include important documents.

You definitely want to keep a username and password list on hand. True story….during hurricane Harvey our lights were flickering but we never lost power. Still to be safe, I shut down Henry 2.0 – my PC.

I wanted to log in to the Hootsuite app on my phone but I couldn’t remember my password. The socialverse heard nothing but crickets for two days.

So to avoid a moment like that, keep a list with you.

And if you’re partnering up with brands or working with independent marketers, have their email addresses on hand as well in case you have to send emails on your mobile device.

Speaking of devices…

Devices and Equipment

Now let’s talk about your equipment.

If you use a laptop make sure it’s fully charged and in case you evacuate be sure to take the power cord with you.

Same goes for your mobile phone. Make sure your phone is fully charged and take your charger with you.

If you can, invest in a portable power charger for extra juice.

The hubs has a portable power charger like this Poweradd Slim 2 Ultra-compact Portable Power Bank External Battery Pack* I found on Amazon. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy and other devices.

And it comes in different colors so you can tell which one belongs to whom. And Prime members can get this for only $11.99 – which is not bad at all.

 

Over To You

So that’s the list I made for myself. How about you? Do you have an evacuation plan in place for your online business in case you have to go offline?

Tell us what’s on your business evacuation plan in the comments below.

Before you go, please share this post with other bloggers and onlinepreneurs.

Thanks!