Disaster Preparedness Plans

Maybe New Orleans' businesses thought they had a disaster preparedness plan. Or maybe they just didn't believe it would really happen. Either way, their preparations proved woefully inadequate when the big one hit - Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster in US history.

If a catastrophe hit your area - an earthquake, terrorist attack, flood, hurricane - could your business survive? We can help ensure that the answer to that questions is "yes."

Katrina rewrote the rule book for disaster preparedness plans. It taught us brutal lessons about what disaster preparedness means, about how to ensure business continuity. Even some companies who had disaster preparedness plans found they weren't adequate to ensure business continuity: Many couldn't locate their employees for weeks, or even months. Finding new personnel to ensure business continuity was virtually impossible, even if the building was intact and equipment survived.

The effects on businesses were devastating . . .
Some companies recovered, but many did not: A year after the storm, 42.4% of small businesses (1-5 employees) in the affected area had failed to reopen, according to Louisiana State University economists. Disaster preparedness planning for business continuity? It just wasn't there.

Could that be you, if a disaster hit your area?

NOAA reports that hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods produce average annual losses of $11.4 billion in the US. But here's the good news: Every dollar spent for mitigation produces an average savings of $4.

Maybe it's time to make your disaster preparedness plan a priority.

Do You Have a State-of-the-Art Disaster Preparedness Plan?

If a tornado roars through your area, a terrorist strikes, a blizzard shuts you down, or a disgruntled employee sabotages your operation, will your disaster preparedness plan ensure your business survives? Will it ensure that everyone in your company knows what to do?

If your answer is no, you need our Business Disaster Readiness Plan.

Will your disaster preparedness plan let you can contact your employees, if they evacuate hundreds of miles away? Do you know which employees are likely to leave your business in an emergency, to help family members who depend on them?

If not, our Employee Vulnerability Inventory and Readi Nets assessment can help.

And what about recovery-are you ready to help employees rebuild their lives? After all, the greater their ability to recover, the greater your chances of business continuity.

But who will your employees turn to, if the people they usually turn to aren't there?

Our Disaster Recovery Seminars, Readi Nets-Recovery, and Disaster Recovery Coaching can play a key role in helping your employees regain their momentum.

Disaster Preparedness Plans and Disaster Recovery Consulting

You probably know the importance of disaster preparedness plans. But developing a business disaster plan is often overwhelming - which is why many businesses fail to make a business disaster plan, or put together a business disaster plan that just won't do the job.

How We Can Help
We've developed a unique approach to developing disaster preparedness plans and cutting-edge services for business disaster recovery. Both draw on our decades of knowledge and experience.

Who We Are - The Optinet Team
Dr. Jeanne Hurlbert and Dr. John Beggs, Optinet Resources' owner-managers, are the country's leading experts on how individuals' social networks help prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. We've been featured or quoted in such media outlets as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Nature, and the Christian Science Monitor. Click here to see examples of our press coverage.

We've developed our expertise through studies of Hurricanes Andrew, Georges, and Katrina; data we collected in New Orleans before Katrina were used by FEMA to help formulate response plans. That research provides a powerful foundation for constructing disaster preparedness plans and for helping companies, and their employees, recover.

What Sets Us Apart - Our Powerful Partnership for Preparedness
In developing our unique approach to developing business disaster plans and recovery services, we've teamed with Mr. Charles D'Agostino of Developmental Consulting, Inc. to devise a state-of-the-art system. Mr. D'Agostino brings to the process 35 years of business experience, as well as expertise gleaned helping businesses recover from Hurricane Katrina. He's seen, first hand, the devastating effects of disasters - and learned what kind of disaster preparedness plans will ensure business continuity. That's why he's been featured in such media outlets as the BBC, Business Week Online, the Canadian World Report, and the Times-Picayune.

We're also partnering with Engensus, the country's first hurricane engineering firm. The Engensus tem includes leading experts on wind engineering, Forensic Engineering to determine the cause of hurricane damage, and wind load consulting. With that expertise, we're uniquely positioned to work with you in developing your disaster preparedness plan. And, if the worst happens, we'll be there to help you recover.

We Help Ensure Business Continuity

Our disaster recovery consulting focuses on getting your business up and running - particularly on getting your employees back to work. Social networks play a critical role in that process, providing vital business resources and the social support that helps your employees deal with the devastating effects of disasters. Here, too, we partner with Developmental Consulting to bring you the experience and expertise you need to ensure business continuity.

Our model is to PUT a plan in place: Plan, Update, and Test your business disaster plan. If you're ready to PUT your plan in place, click here.

If you've experienced a disaster and you want to get your business and its employees on the road to recovery, click here to get access to our Disaster Recovery Seminars, Disaster Recovery Network Assessment, and Disaster Recovery Coaching.

CNN Health.com Smart Money