A new partnership is working to help small businesses prepare for potential weather disasters.
Jennifer Pipa, vice president of American Red Cross Disaster Programs, said a lot of small business owners think they are prepared for a potential disaster, but statistics show many have not taken concrete steps.
“(That includes) things like developing an emergency plan or backing up important records or identifying how they will continue if there's a disruption in power or communications," she said.
Now, the Red Cross is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to give small business owners a way to evaluate if they’re ready, and a resource to use if disaster strikes.
Small businesses can now use the American Red Cross Ready Rating Program, where they can assess the risks they’re most likely to face in their geographic area and use templates and tools to build emergency plans.
Business owners who complete that can enroll in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Readiness for Resiliency Program, which offers $5,000 recovery grants.
Rob Glenn, vice president of global resilience at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, said there are roughly 93,000 small businesses in the Syracuse area, and they employ more than 164,000 people. But it can be hard to prepare for the unexpected.
"Usually that boils down to it either costs too much, or they don't feel like there's enough time for being prepared for disaster, but let's be honest,” he said. “The more steps you take before a disaster makes getting through the disaster so much easier."
