Small Business Information
Have You Outgrown Your Home Office?
Once, you dreamed of working at home. No commute, no boss breathing down your neck, no necktie, and no more boring staff meetings. Now, your business is so successful, you're feeling a bit cramped in your home office. Do you make the move to an office offsite, or continue working at home? Experts say this decision is becoming more and more common with freelancers everywhere.
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Preparing Your Business for Disaster
One of the most profitable business plans you can make is the plan that prepares your business for surviving a disaster. The Institute for Business and Home Safety, an insurance industry group organized to reduce deaths, injuries, property damage, economic losses and human suffering caused by natural disasters, estimates that as many as 25 percent of all businesses forced to close because of a disaster never reopen. Advance preparation for the possibility of disaster can help keep you out of that group.
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Safeguarding Key Business Records
Fire, flood or earthquake can destroy critical business records in a flash. Because it can be difficult to keep a business going without these records, disaster planning experts recommend that back-ups be made of all critical business records and that these records be securely stored offsite.
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Emergency Supplies for Your Business
While you and your employees may have advance warning of the potential dangers of a hurricane, blizzard or even tornado, all too often disaster is an unexpected event that can deprive you of many of life's necessities for days at a time. Just as families are advised to keep emergency supply kits on hand, so too, should businesses be prepared for several days of living without public water and electric supplies, telephone service and fresh food.
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Don't Forget Business Interruption Insurance
As you go about planning for disaster prevention and disaster recovery, don't overlook the very real possibility that a disaster could deprive you of income, for at least a period of time. What will you do then? And how will you pay for the new expense of opening up a temporary location?
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Self-Employment: Finding Support
Being self-employed can be a lonely endeavor - particularly if you are the enterprise's only employee. While those who work in an office environment with other people often find support and camaraderie in their co-workers, those who are going it alone often find themselves with no where to turn for help in sorting through problems, evaluating new ideas, or even having an occasional friendly lunch.
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