Not in the business plan
Sept. 11 left many small firms with problems no insurer or industry lobbyist can easily fix
(Page 3 of 3)
So far, cash grants are slow in coming. Three hundred businesses called Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields after she announced $30,000 in grants to small-business owners. The money has already been spread among 28 owners.
Two weeks ago, an association of area businesses, the Alliance for Downtown New York, announced it will distribute $6 million in aid to small businesses. The money will fund grants, loans, technical assistance, and wage subsidies designed to keep small businesses in the neighborhood, says Sharon Greenberger, the alliance's vice president.
The city government's Economic Development Corporation hopes to soon match the Downtown Alliance's grants funded by private foundations and nonprofits. Even so, Ms. Greenberger says nonprofits, foundations, and the city government can't meet the need alone.
Equally important, Greenberger says, is making sure that small-business owners' customers stay in the area. So, the Downtown Alliance joined city officials and US Sen. Charles Schumer to push for incentives to keep commercial tenants anchored around the financial district.
"We need much more money, but it's a place to start," Greenberger says.
The World Trade Center attacks provided an unfortunate but valuable lesson in why even small businesses need to plan for disasters in advance.
While all companies were caught off guard by the tragedy, small businesses, which generally lack the money or staff to plan for such a catastrophic event, were particularly hard hit.
Nonetheless, small-business owners can create emergency plans and adopt simple measures, ranging from keeping duplicate records off site to buying business interruption insurance, the Small Business Administration advises.
"Just as a business prepares a business plan and a marketing plan, it ought to have a disaster-preparedness plan," says Herbert Mitchell, associate SBA administrator for disaster assistance.
That means first identifying what items the business simply can't operate without - including key equipment, parts, and suppliers.
A list of employees and suppliers' phone numbers - along with copies of essential business records - should be kept off site, Mr. Mitchell suggests.
Companies should also determine whether their insurance would provide enough money to restart after a disaster. Business owners should review the adequacy of coverage each year.
In New York, many companies discovered after Sept. 11 that they lacked the right kinds of insurance or hadn't purchased enough insurance to cover their actual losses.
"You think, 'I have insurance for theft, what more could happen?' " says Sharon Greenberger, of the Alliance for Downtown New York.
Riders may be needed to cover such unusual events as earthquakes, tornadoes, or floods. Don't assume that just because an area has never been affected by such natural disasters, it won't happen in the future, the SBA warns.
In addition, companies should maintain business-interruption insurance that kicks in when operations are shut down or suspended. That can help cover payroll, vendor, and inventory expenses needed to restart operations.
