As more people become entrepreneurs, they are joining growing number of professionals whose employers allow them to work from home. The convenience and comfort of a home office is appealing to many who are eager to avoid the early morning commute and afternoon rush hour while enjoying the convenience of dressing casually and sometimes setting their own work schedules. However, the potential down side of running your business from home would include a home emergency. Whether something as simple as defective plumbing or a more urgent catastrophe like a windstorm that temporarily wipes out the home’s electric power, it is important to keep your business operating efficiently during these periods of down time. Here are a few tips that may help.
Reinforce the Foundation
If you use expensive equipment that may be heavy and hard to move, such as an office-size printer or copier as well as bulk supplies, you may want to have the foundation of your home reinforced by underpinning. This involves a solid foundation being laid below ground surface level for added support or strength. If your home does not have a solid foundation, such as no basement or a deteriorating foundation, underpinning might be a good idea in case of a major disaster, like an earthquake or destructive flooding.
Get a Generator
Having a generator on hand to supply power when the lights go out due to a storm or electric failure can help your business keep running while protecting your equipment and files. This may be a life-saver if you are in the middle of an important project or on a tight deadline when the power goes out.
Keep Emergency Supplies on Hand
Extra lightbulbs, batteries, and bottled water are common emergency supplies that may help you to keep working through a home emergency. A first aid kit is another important item to keep handy so that you can hopefully address minor injuries without shutting down the business operations.
Have a Back-up Plan
Despite our best-laid plans to prevent home emergencies, sometimes things happen that we can’t anticipate or plan for. Just do your best to imagine the types of events that could disrupt your business and take steps to prepare accordingly. Keep extra business supplies in stock in case a heavy snowstorm won’t let you out of the driveway or the car won’t start, for example.
Running a home business is exciting, and it often runs smoothly. But plan for the occasions when things might break down temporarily so you are not caught unprepared.
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