IBHS News Releases

Tampa - Communities survive disasters only if their businesses survive.  But many small business owners are so busy running day-to-day operations that they don’t dedicate any time to prepare for an event that could shut down their business for days, weeks or months at a time.

And it’s not just large-scale disasters that can cause a business to close. Power outages, fires or even gas leaks could limit access to your facility and cause a major disruption.  

To help small business owners do a quick self-assessment, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) developed 10 Questions: Is Your Business Ready?  By taking the short quiz and then ranking preparedness based on “yes” answers, business owners will learn how disaster-ready they are.

After completing the quiz, site visitors will be directed to the Institute’s free disaster planning toolkit, which will help them take the next step toward developing property protection and continuity plans.

The Open for Business^SM  Toolkit helps businesses reduce the potential for loss should disaster strike and reopen more quickly if forced to close.  It includes materials to help organize the business’s critical information and review its essential operations. 

This guide can be downloaded from the site or free single copies in booklet/CD-ROM format can be requested by writing info@ibhs.org or calling toll-free 1 (866) 657-4247.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety works to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other property losses by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.