Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses [Hardcover]

Donna R. Childs (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 18, 2008

Improve business efficiency, eliminate day-to-day mishaps, and prepare for the worst-with effective disaster contingency planning

Now in a Second Edition, Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses presents you with proven guidelines for your small or midsized business to effectively prepare for catastrophes, including

• Rebuilding an IT infrastructure
• Setting up your insurance to expedite claims payments
• Assisting your employees and their families
• Getting your business up and running again
• Contacting third parties
• Handling insurance claims
• What to do if your main office location is not accessible
• Adequate insurance for property, business interruption losses, and workers' compensation

Successful planning not only can limit the damage of an unforeseen disaster but also can minimize daily mishaps–such as the mistaken deletion of files–and increase a business's overall efficiency. This essential, must-have guide is the only contingency guide you will need to ensure your company's continued success.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Childs, who has written "Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best", a guide to disaster planning for small business, noted that many of the problems that occur in a disaster are also ones that could happen in the best of times." (Associated Press, April 17th, 2009)

"….serves as a handbook to help businesses prepare for and respond to events ranging from natural disasters like fires, hurricanes, and floods, to human errors…" (Arizona State University, 9/10/08)

From the Inside Flap

We know, in our post–September 11/post-Katrina world, that disasters are increasingly catastrophic in impact. While major disasters cannot be prevented, you can equip your small business with the knowledge needed to mitigate your risks and recover quickly when they occur. Now in its second edition, Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses presents you with a structured, time-tested blueprint to help you evaluate your business in terms of its vulnerability and guide you through developing a cost-effective, individualized disaster and recovery plan.

In this new edition, author Donna Childs thoughtfully draws on the lessons she and her company learned while working in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, and working with small businesses worldwide coping with all types of disasters. She offers valuable strategies to prepare for a variety of unpredictable disasters to enable your small business to be prepared with a realistic, functional contingency plan. Carefully outlining procedures to undertake during a catastrophe and how to implement a successful recovery, Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best:

• Provides new guidance on how to rebuild a company's IT infrastructure

• Contains new material about disaster relief programs and the immediate financial payoff to contingency planning

• Includes new information on Redundant Arrays of Independent Disk (RAID) hardware backups, calling trees and the intranet,?power outages and suppliers, as well as wireless networks

• Adds new sections?on setting up an insurance program to expedite claims payments as well as on assisting employees and their families

• Walks you step by step through what to do during disaster recovery such as contacting third parties and handling insurance claims

• Reveals how a sound contingency plan can successfully combat daily "small" disasters, such as mistakenly deleting computer files, while also improving the overall efficiency of business processes

If you are a small business owner or manager, what you do before a disaster will determine, in large part, if you will be able to remain in business after the disaster. Whether a network break-in or an earthquake occurs, you can take steps to significantly improve the protection of your business in the case of a disaster. Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best, Second Edition shows you how to put in place a disaster preparedness plan that will yield a positive return on your investment even if disaster never strikes.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (April 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470170913
• ISBN-13: 978-0470170915
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Business Plans

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any small business owner, October 24, 2009

By 

NewYorker (NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses (Paperback)

This guide to disaster preparedness is useful to any small business owner who wants to manage risk and avert catastrophic losses. The first part of the book explains how to prepare for disasters, while the second outlines the best ways to deal with disasters when they do happen. The first part is critical; proper preparation can minimize the potential damage and enable getting the business up and running again faster. In some cases, proper preparation can avoid any losses at all even if a disaster strikes.

The thorough treatment of the subject of insurance in preparing for disasters and dealing with their aftermath is particularly useful. What differentiates the book from a number of publications on the topic is the very clear outline of specific steps that a small business could--and should--take in preparing to disasters. Such a truly practical guide has been missing until now. In today's world of heightened risk and potential crises, reading this book is a great first step toward being better prepared for disasters.

While the focus is primarily on the matters of particular importance to small businesses, the key elements of disaster preparedness are presented so well that, despite the title, they are relevant to businesses of any size.

Highly recommended!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging and helpful!, October 23, 2009

By 

Rachel Feierman "Rachel" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses (Paperback)

When I bought this book to learn how to ensure the safety of my small business I was expecting a dry introduction to the subject. Instead, the book was thorough, taking me step by step through every possibility and more surprisingly, it was engaging! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in protecting their business!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive & well planned, October 23, 2009

By 

E. Moccaldi "Sandy Beach" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses (Paperback)

This is the second of Ms. Child's books I've read. This one, however, is a superior read and while comprehensive in structure is easy to follow and digest. What I enjoy most is that everything the author writes is explained clearly or backed up by fact or example. The attention to detail is truly noteworthy. I highly reccomend this book to any small business owner.