U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): Entrepreneurs Need to Prepare for Natural Disasters - the Time is Now

By Ashley D. Bell, Region IV Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
Covering: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

September is National Preparedness Month. I view this as not a celebration, but as a critical reminder for entrepreneurs across the Southeast of how important it is to be prepared in case of any natural disaster, whether it is a hurricane, tornado, wild fire, algae bloom – the list goes on. In order for a small business to survive a natural disaster, it must be prepared.

Here are a few tips for entrepreneurs to keep in mind, especially as we reach the peak of hurricane season across the Southeast:

Review your hazard and flood coverage to ensure your insurance policy is in effect before a storm hits.
Keep your insurance policy information as well as phone numbers for your insurance agent and the claims department handy.
Know whom you can call to help you clean/rebuild your business, and have a restoration plan in place so you can focus on the task of quickly reopening your business.
Maintain an updated list of all your employees’ contact numbers and email addresses to ensure safety, as well as keeping everyone in the loop about the recovery progress.
Obtain a line of credit or have enough cash to run your business for at least three months.
Move your important business records, personal memorabilia and anything that’s irreplaceable to an offsite location. Save as much as you possibly can to the cloud.

Currently, there are 11 disasters declared by the President or the SBA across the Southeast Region that are eligible for loan assistance. These declared disasters range from Hurricane Michael to gas leaks and flooding incidents. A complete listing of open disaster declarations may be found here with pertinent information such as disaster assistance deadlines.

Please keep in mind that the SBA provides low-interest loans and assistance to allow affected businesses, homeowners and renters to rebuild and recover.

Specifically, the SBA:

Provides loan assistance up to $200,000 to help homeowners repair or replace their damaged or destroyed primary residence.
Provides up to $40,000 in loan assistance to help homeowners and renters replace damaged or destroyed personal property such as furniture, clothing, appliances and vehicles.
Provides up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged real estate, leasehold improvements, furniture and fixtures, inventory, and machinery and equipment for businesses of all sizes and private non-profit organizations.
Offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most private non-profit organizations that have suffered economic injury caused by a disaster. These loans provide working capital to a business or organization until normal operations can resume.

Please stay prepared, and you are always welcome to reach out to the SBA for assistance at www.sba.gov/disaster. Our job is to help you build a lasting business for many generations, no matter what nature has in store for us.

Please follow us on Twitter @SBASoutheast for the most updated information.

NOTE: For even more information including a Disaster Planning Toolkit and other resources, please visit www.HighlandsBusiness.com/disaster