Over the past nine years, Phillip Jones has invested his time, money and passion to turn his networking business in Canberra from a part-time venture into a full-time business. Now, with a branch in Melbourne, eight employees and many volunteers, Phillip says protecting his business from emergencies is more important than ever.
“No business owner likes to think about emergencies, but my business is not just my livelihood—I also have staff and clients that I need to take care of,” Phillip said. “What happens if a staff member is sick, or something happened to the office?”
The new emergency planning resources available at business.gov.au make it easier for busy small business owners to deal with emergencies.
The resources include online emergency information, a template and guide for creating an emergency management and recovery plan, and checklists to ensure business owners don’t miss any important steps. The free iPad application, MyBizShield, has also been developed to give small business owners access to emergency planning information anytime, anywhere.
Phillip says that the new resources are important because they encourage business owners to take practical steps to protect their business.
“It’s easy to let your guard down when you’re busy running a small business,” Phillip said. “I operate the Canberra arm of my business from my home office and, when working in your own environment, you don’t always have your risk management hat on.
“The business.gov.au emergency planning resources makes you think about how your business could continue to operate, your staff could still get paid and your customers could be looked after in an emergency situation.
“The resources are not only valuable to people starting a business but also help existing business owners to consolidate their emergency planning into one spot, identify gaps and analyse risks to their business.”
Phillip says resources are important because they allow business owners to create an emergency plan tailored to their business.
“Every business is unique, with different risks around their core business,” Phillip said. “My business is a mix of event management, networking and professional development. I have to consider issues like OH&S at our events, emergency procedures, first aid, alcohol consumption, attendance records and duty of care.”
The new resources help small businesses prepare for any emergency—not just natural disasters. So, whether you’re the victim of data theft or a flood, the information and practical tools will help your business get back on its feet as quickly as possible.
“There are risks that aren’t often thought of as emergencies,” Phillip said. “In a home office like mine, what happens if the house gets burgled or the house burns down? An emergency management & recovery plan forces you to think about these issues.”
Phillip says that MyBizShield is an important part of the resources because it compliments the way he runs his business.
“Although I have a home office, I spend 80 per cent of my time out of the office at functions, meeting clients and travelling interstate,” Phillip said. “Having the plan in a portable iPad app means you can update it on the fly and share the information around easily.
“It’s also transferable, which is a risk mitigation strategy in itself because it’s not sitting on my computer at home. It’s virtual, so I can give my employees access to it.”
Phillip says business.gov.au saves him time and money by making it easier to find useful information and resources from all levels of government.
“There’s lots of information out there but you could spend forever trying to find it and you don’t know the value of it,” Phillip said. “Having a central place for small business information at business.gov.au makes it really efficient. And, because it’s a government resource, it’s credible, impartial and tested.”
What to do...
- Download our free MyBizShield ipad application now, or if you don't own an ipad create an emergency management and recovery plan by downloading a Word version of the template and guide.
