Owning a small business is rewarding . You make your own decisions, set your own hours, and choose your employees and coworkers. You can create your legacy through the business, and if you’re successful, make money doing it.

Small businesses, however, are vulnerable to a variety of risks, ranging from smaller scale events such as loss of power  and recurrent flooding to large-scale events such as a pandemic or hurricane. Being resilient in the face of these unexpected events requires preparedness and planning. Planning for expected or known events such as exit from the business or anticipating future changes such as the transition to e-commerce and online selling are also important for small business resilience.

Being able to withstand and adapt to change has become a focal point for businesses. Resilient businesses recognize the vital role that planning, preparation, and collaboration play in developing and executing an ability to respond to challenges, adapt to changes, and thrive. This Small Business Resilience Self-Assessment and Guide is intended to help you both assess your business’ resilience but also to develop a plan of action to build resilience.

The self-assessment is organized into four broad categories covering the following topics:

• Business planning including strategic planning, planning for e-commerce and online sales, and succession and exit planning;
• Emergency and disaster planning covering risk and vulnerability assessment, preparedness planning, continuity of operations planning, and crisis and emergency communications;
• Human resources and staffing such as hiring, training, and retention;
• Insurance and protection that addresses risk management through insurance, protecting physical assets, and cybersecurity.

This self-assessment is designed to provide an initial indicator of your business’ resilience to a variety of risks and its long-term sustainability.  For each category in the self-assessment, this guide also offers recommended actions for improving your small business’ resilience and additional resources. The last section of this Small Business Resilience Self-Assessment and Guide lists additional resilience resources for businesses.

A pdf and printable version of the Coastal Virginia Small Business Self-Assessment and Guide is available on the CCRFR website (here). The full Self-Assessment and Guide can be downloaded, as well as a workbook containing the self-assessment, a Guide to Business Planning for Digital Marketing and Online Selling, a Guide to Exit Planning and a Succession Planning Worksheet.