Canadian Retailer - Fall 2013 - 40

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE WORST
With the floods now months in the past, and the initial shock subsiding, business owners across the region are engaged in the difficult work of picking up the pieces. Many have begun to wonder,
"Could I have done things differently?" Is there truly a way to prepare for the unexpected? Can a business actually protect itself from
disaster? While there is no way to shield oneself from the damages,
there certainly are ways to make the rebuilding process easier and
less stressful.
Ensure the proper insurance: Even though rebuilding Pixie Hollow
has so far been a slow and painful process, Sigglekow says it could
have been far worse. "It was fortunate that we had flood extension
on our insurance policy. We had a second policy for the contents
which, we discovered, was not high enough. Our content value was
at least double what was insured as our policy was set up. Lesson
learned. We should have made sure it was all covered. This experience has taught us how important it is to be informed on how your
policy is set up and to make sure it fits your business needs," she says.
In fact, most experts will tell you that the most important part of
any disaster recovery is to have the right type of insurance coverage and the appropriate amounts of coverage for business and
property loss before a disaster strikes.
Consistently update your insurance policy: As your business grows
and evolves, be sure to update your policy each year. Do not rely on
your insurance broker to automatically update your policy. Even if
you have instructed your broker to update the policy automatically,
you will still need to let your broker know of any significant changes
in your business' insurance needs.
Finally, talk with an insurance agent to see if you need businessinterruption insurance. This type of policy covers loss of income if
your business cannot operate normally. For example, a store that is
out of commission for repairs for weeks or months will not be able
to generate income while closed. The right business-interruption
insurance can help protect against loss of income and is therefore
important to have.
Create a continuity plan: "The most important thing a business can
do to prepare for a disaster of any kind is create a continuity plan,"
asserts Glenn McGillivray, managing-director of the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction. "We find that most medium and large
companies have a continuity plan because they have the resources
to create a committee to address these needs or hire a consultant
to do so on their behalf. Independent retailers, however, generally
do not have such resources and therefore most often don't have a
continuity plan prepared. But those that do will be better prepared
to rebuild their business."
What exactly is a continuity plan? While the needs of every business are different, at its core a continuity plan contains all of the information an owner requires to ensure they can move forward after
the disaster. The Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction offers a
free continuity planning kit online (www.ICLR.org) specifically designed for small businesses. It consists of forms a business owner
fills out that together constitutes a fully defined and detailed plan,
and it only takes a few hours to complete.
Back-up critical data: Consider having an off-site backup source
for all critical data located within computers. There are many lowcost services you can subscribe to (i.e., iDrive) so your computer information is backed up automatically and confidentially to protect
against in-house data loss. Experts also recommend having "jump
drives" or external hard drives stored nearby all personal computers in case you have to "dump" data in a hurry and take it with you.
Be sure to back-up your files regularly in-house.
"Having a continuity plan has always been important, but it will only
become more important as weather becomes more unpredictable
and storms fiercer," McGillivray says. "Research sadly shows that
only one-in-four small businesses reopen after a catastrophic disaster because of a lack of preparedness for what comes after."

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A community effort

And yet, there's another takeaway from the
lessons learned in Alberta last spring-one
that's as uplifting as the flood damage is heartbreaking. Through countless moments of charity and camaraderie, retailers learned how incredibly tight the bonds between themselves
and their customers, their community, and
even other retailers truly are. Every lending
hand (literal or figurative) raised the spirits of
devastated business owners, providing them
with the encouragement and motivation to rebound and rebuild.
The owners of Pixie Hollow, and many other
retailers located in areas affected by the flooding, experienced this firsthand. In the days
after the flood, when things seemed darkest, Rowley and Sigglekow found their mood
brightened by an act of generosity that began
in far-off Toronto, reaching them in a circuitous manner.
Ella Minnows Children's Book Store has
been a fixture of Toronto's Beaches community
since 2006. They've enjoyed good fortune and
have never suffered from disaster. But nonetheless, when owner Heather Kuippers learned
what happened in Calgary, she was immediately empathetic toward those who were affected.
"Canada's bookselling industry is small and
close-knit. We knew some of the people who
were affected by the flooding, like Owl's Nest
Book Store in Calgary. We felt bad for them
and thought, 'what would we want people to do
for us if we were in the same situation?' We decided we'd want the support of our colleagues,"
explains Kuipper.
As a symbol of solidarity, and to assist their
colleagues at Owl's Nest through troubled
times, Kuippers decided to split the sales of a
Saturday at Ella Minnows with the beleaguered
Calgary store.
The story moves west

Located just south of the most badly flooded area in Calgary, Owl's Nest bookstore was
spared from the ravages of the rising water.
Still, it was far from unaffected by the floods.
Power, for example, was down for a full day
(Important lesson: During large-scale disasters you can be 100 per cent sure that some, or
all, utilities will be disrupted. You should take
steps to mitigate the potential effects, such as
portable generators for power and gas powered
heaters if necessary). More critically for Owl's
Nest, as much as 75 per cent of its customers

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Canadian Retailer - Fall 2013

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