Zaun

In the quiet mornings after a storm has passed, the reality of recovery can quickly feel overwhelming. When disaster strikes, the immediate focus is survival, but the long-term fight is what truly tests a community. The numbers are sobering: 25% of small businesses do not reopen after a major event.

It takes immense determination to keep a local business afloat while facing worries about payroll, damaged property, and an uncertain future. That is why our goal is simple: we want to partner with you long before the unexpected happens, ensuring you have the necessary breathing room to bounce back stronger than before.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has streamlined disaster preparation into three actionable pillars designed to reduce your risk and build enduring strength for your community.

1. Know Your Unique Vulnerabilities: Assess Your Risk

Every business and household encounters distinct challenges. To begin building resilience, we strongly encourage you to identify which specific disasters–be it tornadoes, floods, or prolonged winter storms–pose the most realistic danger to your exact location. Understanding this localized exposure allows you to prioritize protection for your most critical assets and inventory first.

2. Build Your Roadmap: Create a Comprehensive Plan

A thoughtful response plan is your roadmap to recovery. This means going beyond simple insurance policies. For businesses, this might mean securing back-up suppliers in different regions so that an interruption in one area does not shut down your entire supply chain. For families, it means keeping a digital inventory of high-value personal property–like your vehicles or everyday cold-weather gear–to make future insurance or SBA claims easier. Equally vital is safeguarding your records. We highly recommend creating a digital “go-bag”–a cloud-stored checklist containing your Government ID, your Business EIN (if applicable), recent federal tax returns, current insurance policies, and all essential financial documentation.

3. Practice Makes Permanent: Execute Your Plan

A plan is only as strong as the team executing it. To ensure smooth operations when chaos hits, practice your communication and evacuation drills with your staff and your family until they become second nature. Easing this uncertainty provides genuine peace of mind–for your employees and for you.

We cannot stop natural disasters from happening, but by working together, we can secure the stable future our communities deserve. Don’t wait for the next storm to become reactive; let’s get proactive this weekend.

Taking action is easier than you think. Take just ten minutes to start your risk assessment and gather your critical documents. For a comprehensive look at protecting your livelihood, explore the SBA Business Resilience Guide at www.sba.gov/prepare, or call our Customer Service Center directly at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 7-1-1). We are here to help you build that stable future.

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Brad Zaun is the SBA Regional Administrator for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska and a former Republican Iowa State Senator.