opening new business

[uctofeej]

As some of you know, I've just opened up a shiny new business offering disaster preparedness consulting to the private sector. I used to provide the same service to the public arena for nearly a decade.

If you're a small biz owner (or just want to play along), please tell me why this is a bad idea for a business. Don't hold back. I'm curious to hear all the reasons why this will never work. Since I live in a disaster-prone area, I'm gambling my financial livelihood (and the feej) that it will.

So, let 'er rip! The website is here

 

[sonicspeed]

hmmmm i think that in Baton Rouge you would make more money selling little shiny beer can openers ...

"ooohh it's so shiny"



good luck with your new business

 

[LDRydr]

Sounds like a great idea to me. I've spent the last 11 years providing computer-consulting services to small businesses. I can't tell you how hard it is to get the business owners to realize the importance of something as simple as having an off-site copy of a server backup tape in case of a disaster or burglary. A lot of good a backup does if they tapes go up in flame or down in the flood because they're sitting beside the server. Or having a backup that just copies files to a cheap external hard drive attached to the server, then having it stolen along with the server.

One furniture store client of mine simply "forgot" to swap the backup tapes on a daily basis, and then take the latest one off-site each night. That is until the electrical supply company two blocks down from him went up in flames one night and destroyed the place. Seems he got religion after seeing his charred neighbor, and he mostly remembers to change them now.

The hard part is getting them to understand that spending some money now can save them big bucks when (not if) some sort of disaster strikes. Ask if they could stay in business if one morning they came in and all their computing equipment was missing. This happened to one client of mine when a smash-and-grab burglar took their four PC's, the file server, and two large laser printers and was gone in under five minutes. They stayed afloat but it cost them big-time.

 

[Randy]

I've been in the industry for 15 years as both a customer and provider.

On your services, change Business analysis to Business Impact Analysis. Replace Plan implementation with Plan development/implementation. If 'solution design' means technical solution design, say so. Awareness sessions are hot as are technical solution alternatives (insource IT recovery vs. use of outside entity). Call center and workplace solutions are also getting a great deal of attention (where do the people go and how do they connect). If you are certified (i.e. CBCP), say so. If you aren't, get it.

Your opening paragraph says "the lack of a plan greatly increases the chance that a company will struggle to resume normal operation for an extended period. The Institute for Business & Home Safety reports that roughly a quarter simply never re-open." and later on you toss out other statistics that state "Nearly half of those without a plan never reopen following a disaster. One-third of those who do resume business are closed within two years. ". See the conflict?

Another key fact that is often overlooked that you may want to reference on your page and in your sales pitches - having a plan can be a competitive advantage. If businesses are part of a supply chain for another business, they will have an advantage over a competitor that may not have a plan. Likewise, if they do not have a plan and the competitor does, they could be excluded from future business due to the lack of a plan.

Finally, consider doing analysis of current plans. Many smaller firms create a plan and forget about it. You could review their current plan and provide a gap analysis of both the technical and business plans.

Good luck with your venture.

 

[SEA-FJR]

Two words: Red Cross. They offer disaster preparedness training (alongside First Aid, CPR, Defibrillator certification, etc.) to companies. It's inexpensive, and they have a lot of credibility, meaning companies don't need to spend the time and money vetting them.

Doesn't mean it couldn't work out for you as a private business, but you'll have a very formidable competitor and need to be prepared to explain why your services are superior (assuming you're not trying to beat them on price).

 

[Randy]

Two words: Red Cross. They offer disaster preparedness training (alongside First Aid, CPR, Defibrillator certification, etc.) to companies. It's inexpensive, and they have a lot of credibility, meaning companies don't need to spend the time and money vetting them.
Doesn't mean it couldn't work out for you as a private business, but you'll have a very formidable competitor and need to be prepared to explain why your services are superior (assuming you're not trying to beat them on price).

Good point, but, the same words don't always mean the same thing. His business is focused on how the business processes will continue to operate in the event of an unplanned interruption (doesn't have to be a flood, fire, tornado, etc where Red Cross typically gets involved).

 

[uctofeej]

Thanks for the helpful responses. Much appreciated.

LDRydr, thanks for the "smash-n-grab" line. That should be helpful in refining my sales pitch. Everyone around here is understandably focused on hurricanes right now. They all say they know how to prepare for that, but rarely consider how internal processes could be impacted. If memory serves me, certain parts of Louisiana has experience with smash-n-grabbers after hurricanes.

Randy, I made changes to my site based on your thoughtful comments. Thanks! Your suggestions will also be helpful in refining my pitch.

SEA-FJR, your response is one of the hurdles I am looking for. I know what I do, but am trying to understand what types of "resistance" or misunderstandings I might encounter so I can prepare for them. My experience has mostly been with government employees, so I am wondering what kind reactions I'll see as I ask people to spend their hard-earned money.

 

[sonicspeed]

WHAT? you didn't like my beer opener idea?

 

[uctofeej]

WHAT? you didn't like my beer opener idea?

Not a bad idea, but shiny won't quite cut it. 'Round here it has to be purple and gold for some reason.

 

[sonicspeed]

with beads of course and i reckon go has to be spelled geaux

 

[Jackson]

Your web site looks very polished and professional. Good job.

When I worked for the federal government in the late '90s I wrote several Continuity of Operations Plans for a federal agency in D.C. and other areas. I think that is basically the same thing that you are doing, making a plan for how the organization will continue to operate and conduct business following a disaster or a major disruption in the chain of command. We developed processes, for example, for how to serve our customers if a natural disaster, fire, anthrax attack, or terrorist attack, made it impossible to still operate in the same place under "normal" conditions. One of the plans was implemented on 9/11.

Is the term "Continuity of Operations Plan" still being used?

 

[Big-D]

Congrats on your new business!

Not to wish this on anyone, but you just may get the chance to test your business in action. The weather service thinks Hurricane Gustav could grow into a Cat-3 or higher by the time it reaches the Gulf Coast on Monday.

Mother Nature has been pretty rough on you folks living along the Gulf Coast.

 

[HaulinAshe]

In 2002, he taught and offered curriculum design services related to terrorism prevention and catastrophe preparedness for local, state, and federal government agencies.

Probably not how you mean it, but reads to me like one year's experience. Doesn't instill confidence or warm-n-fuzzy feelings in me.

Also, I specifically went looking for what type of ongoing/maintenance services you offer and have experience with. Anybody can do the pain and write the plan. My experience is that the truly difficult part is keeping it alive and viable a year later. How often does it need to be reviewed etc.?

Today's business environment is bombarded with outside and rapid changes. Email addresses, telephone numbers, even addresses and supplier company ownerships change at rates unheard of 10 years ago. If I'm going to hire you to do this for me, I want to know you are going to be around to help me keep it alive and, in case you screw up, you are around to suffer alongside.



Good luck!

 

[wfooshee]

Along the lines of competitve advantage for your clients, something we encountered as an IT reseller was the requirement to present our own disaster plan to large clients in order to get their business. A company that has such a plan demostrates a status of worthiness a little bit above a mom-and-pop shop with their oldest kid who "knows computers."

One of the things we had to do in our plan was to get training and badges from the county's emergency operations office so we can be in closed areas after a disaster. As an IT vendor we recognize that we not only have our own continuity and recovery to worry about, we have that of our customers.

 

[weekend rider]

I do not known much about your service that you are offering but it sounds like you need to be one good sales person and no one will know the results until a disaster strikes and they are doing with out your provided info.

How about aligning your self with companies that can come in and do the work that is needed to get them up and running their business again, kind of a whole package idea.

Interesting line of work, I like all the comments . You will succede in this venture :meeting:

 

[L2M]

Do you have a marketing and sales plan in place? I have started two companies, both in IT. One was quite successful and the other failed. The one which succeeded was opened when I discovered that I had people willing to pay me to do what I did (networks, custom web site development). I soon had sub contractors and several clients. Being young at the time and totally unaware of how rare it is to get a business actually running and pulling in a good profit, I closed that business...yes, closed, when I was 21 to go back to school and get my BA. Not a smart move.

The second had a better business plan than the first. It had all the financial calculations in line. I had a target market identified and had a unique offering. Didn't work. The price of gas ate my profit margin and I couldn't increase prices to compete. (Can't expect techs to uses motorcycles to get on site).

Anyway, the hardest part of business, if you are a technical expert in the field, is reaching your target market. I see that your target market is small business. From experience, small businesses operate on a tight budget and generally aren't going to willingly give you an audience if you are selling something they don't think they NEED. On the other hand, if they thought they needed it they would have it and you would have to compete either in a better capacity or at a lower price point. As you noted on your web site, most companies don't have a disaster recovery plan. It is a prospective market for you, but one which people may be reluctant to pay for. A good marketing plan will make sure you are successful.

Most of all, stick with it. Starting a business is not easy. However, there is nothing like owning your own business. I wish every day that I had not closed my first business. Now I'm stuck trying to form the plan for business #3. Good luck!

A point on the web site:

- People are lazy. They won't read all the text if they are just looking (unless you are on fjrforum.com, and then they still won't use the search option). We read it because we support you and want to read everything. Think of paraphrasing and putting important sale points up top. Think of your home page as the case for your company. You want them to call you so you can tell them the rest. Lots of that text may be useful in a FAQ or blog (if you are trying to get Google rankings)

 

[Fencer]

Could not sell it to me.

I guess I am TOO small to have an effect, with just a handfull of employees. and actually, I would be one making money on a distaster re-build.

I would just go by more tools on the CC and wait for the insurance check.

Just my.02

 

[TechJunkie]

(edit)
His business is focused on how the business processes will continue to operate in the event of an unplanned interruption (doesn't have to be a flood, fire, tornado, etc where Red Cross typically gets involved).

In my world we call this Business Continuity Planning. As the COO of a commercial bank we live and breathe this topic. I did not read the site word for word but one of the most vital areas of the BCP, as well call it, is testing the plan, it is also the step many leave out because it is time consuming and costly. Having a plan is a great first step, but unless it is tested and updated on a continual basis its usefulness diminishes over time as things change. One constant in business is change.

From my interactions with small to medium size businesses I can tell you that most do not have an updated and tested BCP. They may, if lucky, make backup copies of their servers or financial systems, but most do not even test their ability to restore this information.

The service is definitely needed by a large percentage of small and medium size businesses. IMHO your success centers on your ability to convince businesses that they need your service and building up a portfolio of satisfied customers that are willing to refer you. Many CFOs will look at you and say, we have insurance isn't that what's its for? Believe me I have heard this myself and it has come down to being cursed at. I won and later they came back to me and thanked me for having the right procedures in place when disaster struck. You will have to be determined and not get discouraged if things don't take off immediately.

I wish you success and would enjoy hearing how your journey goes.

 

[dj bill]

from the looks of the weather report your sales are gonna go crazy real quick