by Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management | May 1, 2017
This is National Small Business Week, established by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA). Locally, Pennsylvania Small Business Week is promoted by the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development. From April 30th through May 6th, there is a focus on the contributions of small businesses in the commonwealth along with information to help them flourish are shared with current companies, future startups, and entrepreneurs.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, small businesses contribute to 98% of all employers within state boundaries. This accounts for one million small businesses employing 2.5 million workers.
Small businesses make up the flavor of many of our streets in the City of Philadelphia and towns across Pennsylvania: they contribute to economic diversity as well as commercializing innovative new technologies.
This is why it is so vital that businesses and non-profits be able to survive an emergency or disaster.
According to national numbers from Ready.gov, up to 40% of businesses never recover after experiencing a major emergency.
An August 2015 survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Nationwide insurance says 75% of small business owners do not have a disaster recovery plan in place. More than half say it would take at least three months to recover from a disaster.
Our goal at Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management is preparedness and resiliency. We want to see businesses survive and thrive before, during, and after an emergency or disaster. That is why we offer our READYBusiness workshop to businesses, city agencies or non-profits in the City Of Philadelphia.
If you have a business, whether it’s Main Street mom-and-pop or Broad Street high-rise, OEM’s READYBusiness workshop gets you ready. The workshop covers hazard assessment, staying open during emergencies, communications, protecting investments, evacuation routes as well as other topics.
Some basic questions we ask of business owners during this workshop are:
- How long can your business stay open if you lose power and are on generator?
- Has your business ever been closed by an emergency? What if it happens again?
- What if your shipping routes are impacted by storm damage?
- Do you have back-up contracts?
- Do you back your data up off-site?
Contact us if you are a business, of any size, or non-profit in the City of Philadelphia and would like to request OEM to present a READYBusiness Workshop for you and your employees.
An essential way to be prepared is to stay informed. Get emergency alerts from OEM’s ReadyPhiladelphia program sent to your phone or email to keep you informed prior to and during an emergency. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on Facebook.