Small Business Stories - Homeland Security Video

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Small Business Stories - Homeland Security

Ivy Hartman: Hi, I’m Ivy Hartman here in the national Association of Women Business Owners Conference at Atlanta, Georgia and with me Erin Streeter of homeland security and Erin you’re on a couple public awareness campaigns for readying ourselves for emergency disaster preparedness. Not necessarily we recovery, but was be prepared for emergency or disaster and ready that is the resource that you can use online. But really let’s talk about businesses readying themselves with the ready business program. Erin Streeter: Sure, the ready campaign in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. Is the advertising council that helps us put this campaign together and educate people about what they need to do to prepare for an emergency? The ready business campaign is a great tool and resource for small, medium size and even large businesses to put together in the emergency plan. We found that a lot businesses are somewhat prepared and it’s very important but a lot needs to be done still at this point and because so many of our businesses really are the backbone of communities. The quicker the that they are able to get back up and running in a community is something should happen the more resilient that community is going to be. And life will return to normal state eve quicker. Ivy Hartman: In fact, the numbers are I guess in a national Survey that you conducted in 2006. They found that business in a series of thousand voices only 47% of them actually had and emergency or disaster plan in place already. What are some key things to know about getting ready or what you need to be have in place in your business? Erin Streeter: Well there are three things that the ready campaign really encourages businesses to focus on and the first is plan to stay in business. And what do we mean by that is that take a look at your operations and really assess what’s most critical if so something should happen. What do you really need to stay up and running also making sure that you have an emergency plan in place and talking to your employees about that is really important as well. The 2nd thing we encourage is that to definitely communicate and talk and practice with your employees whatever plan you put in place. As much as you can involve your employees, whether it is crew newsletters, emails or whatever and educating them about what your plans are if, something should happen, the more prepared everyone will be on the long run. The third thing that we have in the business is to really do is to protect their investment and secure their assets. There’s many different things that they can do, first and foremost is to look at your insurance coverage, since you have and insurance agent and really know what is in your coverage and what it really does cover. Look at your data and your equipment, how are you are securing that? How are you backing that up as well as cyber security issues you know. Are you installing firewalls in your computer to protect anything bad coming into your systems. So those are things that we really on the basis trying to get businesses to think about. Ivy Hartman: This campaign really started in 2004 but was the emphasis some of the disasters not new to us. But really it’s really on our minds a lot with Katrina that was devastating for business. For individuals 9/11 I think we’re on that mindset in our schools and in our business then in our own lives to say “okay what the worst case scenario”? Or what the if and the actually is a drill important then. What some of these disasters emphasis for this campaign Erin Streeter: Absolutely, I think the real key is you can have the best emergency plan on place but if you’re not drilling it down with your employees and practicing it. Then I won’t be successful and in fact we have spoken to businesses for example Morgan Stanley in New York City had emergency plan in place with the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Once that happen and they activated it they found that it didn’t work as quickly as they had hope. Because they hadn’t drill it down and practice, so they work on that and so when 9/11 happened their system and their plan work much more efficiently because they had really focus on. How they were they going to evacuate their place, making their employees knew exactly where they needed to go. And knowing what the plan was. So that absolutely is a very important piece of it. Ivy Hartman: Because of as community, you can explain to us. It’s not just be business that is impacted or me as the business owner by my loses but he economy as a whole so there is a benefit here for everyone to imply. Erin Streeter: Absolutely again it goes back to America’s businesses are the backbone of our community. And if they are able to recover and to get back to work quickly then our nation is going to be a lot more secure and our economy is going to be safer. So it is important to look at that and I think businesses play a real big role in the resiliency of communities coming back after disaster. Ivy Hartman: Okay the resources for you are all on line, it’s free for you so it’s readybuxiness.gov or ready.gov. Erin Streeter: It’s ready.gov. Ivy Hartman: And you can access all kinds of plans and any other resources that you like to flap it on them. Erin Streeter: We have sample emergency plans we also have a lot of tools to checklist and inventory list that I think we’ll get a lot of people who can afford to hire a business continuity manager. Or a vice president of security, the things that they need to do to start to get their plan in place. Ivy Hartman: And we’ll based on where they are located or what kind of business they have can their plan change or this kind of a cookie cutter that will fit in any business? Erin Streeter: I certainly think that you should always asses your plan. And just because that you put a plan in place things your lives change. And things are going to change; you have new employees who are coming into the system so I think you do contently have to take a look at. And you what is your plan? Is it current? Is this the best fitting plan for us at this time, so I do think that you need to go back and look at it? Ivy Hartman: And it is easy for you to do this at you home as well as your business by going to ready.gov. Erin thanks for being with us. Erin Streeter: Absolutely thanks for having that. Ivy Hartman: Absolutely very important issue how to make sure that you have a disaster recovery as well also an emergency plan in place for you and a peace of mind for your employees when you need to get back up and running if something should happen. Keep it right here at sbtv.com we’re bringing you small business news and this small business is our only business.

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Ivy Hartman: Hi, I’m Ivy Hartman here in the national Association of Women Business Owners Conference at Atlanta, Georgia and with me Erin Streeter of homeland security and Erin you’re on a couple public awareness campaigns for readying ourselves for emergency disaster preparedness. Not necessarily we recovery, but was be prepared for emergency or disaster and ready that is the resource that you can use online. But really let’s talk about businesses readying themselves with the ready business program.

Erin Streeter: Sure, the ready campaign in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. Is the advertising council that helps us put this campaign together and educate people about what they need to do to prepare for an emergency? The ready business campaign is a great tool and resource for small, medium size and even large businesses to put together in the emergency plan.

We found that a lot businesses are somewhat prepared and it’s very important but a lot needs to be done still at this point and because so many of our businesses really are the backbone of communities. The quicker the that they are able to get back up and running in a community is something should happen the more resilient that community is going to be. And life will return to normal state eve quicker.

Ivy Hartman: In fact, the numbers are I guess in a national Survey that you conducted in 2006. They found that business in a series of thousand voices only 47% of them actually had and emergency or disaster plan in place already. What are some key things to know about getting ready or what you need to be have in place in your business?

Erin Streeter: Well there are three things that the ready campaign really encourages businesses to focus on and the first is plan to stay in business. And what do we mean by that is that take a look at your operations and really assess what’s most critical if so something should happen. What do you really need to stay up and running also making sure that you have an emergency plan in place and talking to your employees about that is really important as well.

The 2nd thing we encourage is that to definitely communicate and talk and practice with your employees whatever plan you put in place. As much as you can involve your employees, whether it is crew newsletters, emails or whatever and educating them about what your plans are if, something should happen, the more prepared everyone will be on the long run.

The third thing that we have in the business is to really do is to protect their investment and secure their assets. There’s many different things that they can do, first and foremost is to look at your insurance coverage, since you have and insurance agent and really know what is in your coverage and what it really does cover. Look at your data and your equipment, how are you are securing that? How are you backing that up as well as cyber security issues you know. Are you installing firewalls in your computer to protect anything bad coming into your systems. So those are things that we really on the basis trying to get businesses to think about.

Ivy Hartman: This campaign really started in 2004 but was the emphasis some of the disasters not new to us. But really it’s really on our minds a lot with Katrina that was devastating for business. For individuals 9/11 I think we’re on that mindset in our schools and in our business then in our own lives to say “okay what the worst case scenario”? Or what the if and the actually is a drill important then. What some of these disasters emphasis for this campaign

Erin Streeter: Absolutely, I think the real key is you can have the best emergency plan on place but if you’re not drilling it down with your employees and practicing it. Then I won’t be successful and in fact we have spoken to businesses for example Morgan Stanley in New York City had emergency plan in place with the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. Once that happen and they activated it they found that it didn’t work as quickly as they had hope. Because they hadn’t drill it down and practice, so they work on that and so when 9/11 happened their system and their plan work much more efficiently because they had really focus on. How they were they going to evacuate their place, making their employees knew exactly where they needed to go. And knowing what the plan was.

So that absolutely is a very important piece of it.

Ivy Hartman: Because of as community, you can explain to us. It’s not just be business that is impacted or me as the business owner by my loses but he economy as a whole so there is a benefit here for everyone to imply.

Erin Streeter: Absolutely again it goes back to America’s businesses are the backbone of our community. And if they are able to recover and to get back to work quickly then our nation is going to be a lot more secure and our economy is going to be safer. So it is important to look at that and I think businesses play a real big role in the resiliency of communities coming back after disaster.
Ivy Hartman: Okay the resources for you are all on line, it’s free for you so it’s readybuxiness.gov or ready.gov.

Erin Streeter: It’s ready.gov.

Ivy Hartman: And you can access all kinds of plans and any other resources that you like to flap it on them.

Erin Streeter: We have sample emergency plans we also have a lot of tools to checklist and inventory list that I think we’ll get a lot of people who can afford to hire a business continuity manager. Or a vice president of security, the things that they need to do to start to get their plan in place.

Ivy Hartman: And we’ll based on where they are located or what kind of business they have can their plan change or this kind of a cookie cutter that will fit in any business?

Erin Streeter: I certainly think that you should always asses your plan. And just because that you put a plan in place things your lives change. And things are going to change; you have new employees who are coming into the system so I think you do contently have to take a look at. And you what is your plan? Is it current? Is this the best fitting plan for us at this time, so I do think that you need to go back and look at it?

Ivy Hartman: And it is easy for you to do this at you home as well as your business by going to ready.gov. Erin thanks for being with us.

Erin Streeter: Absolutely thanks for having that.

Ivy Hartman: Absolutely very important issue how to make sure that you have a disaster recovery as well also an emergency plan in place for you and a peace of mind for your employees when you need to get back up and running if something should happen.

Keep it right here at sbtv.com we’re bringing you small business news and this small business is our only business.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services