Storm and Disaster Recovery for Small Businesses

Natural disasters can devastate small businesses. According to FEMA, 40–60% of small businesses that close due to a disaster never reopen. Proactive preparation is essential to survival and quick recovery. Here’s how you can prepare:

Identify Risks and Outcomes
Understand what types of disasters (storms, floods, wildfires, etc.) are most likely in your area. Assess the potential impact on your operations, property, supply chain, and staff. This helps prioritize resources and planning.

Develop a Communication and Response Plan
Create a detailed disaster recovery plan. Outline how employees will be contacted, how data will be protected, and how customers will be informed of closures or changes. Assign roles to key personnel. Keep both hard and digital copies accessible.

React and Recover
Once disaster strikes, focus on employee safety first. Then begin implementing your recovery steps—restoring data, securing property, and communicating with vendors and customers. A strong plan can help you reopen quickly.

Ongoing Preparedness Tips:

• Conduct semi-annual drills to evaluate your readiness.

• Train all new employees on emergency procedures.

• Review and update your recovery plan annually to adapt to new risks or technologies.

Preparation doesn’t prevent disasters—but it does make survival and recovery far more likely.

Fraud Prevention in Small Businesses

Small businesses face mounting risk from fraud—whether by employees, vendors, or external perpetrators—with the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reporting average losses of about $8,300 per month and schemes often lasting up to a year before detection.

Common scams include counterfeit invoices, phishing and SMS (“smishing”) communications, social media compromise, utility imposter threats, business identity theft, and employee embezzlement. Owners are advised to scrutinize invoices closely, educate staff to verify any billing or contact requests, and be skeptical of urgent payment demands.

Defensive measures center on both behavioural awareness and structural safeguards. The company recommends ongoing employee training to recognize scam tactics, fostering a culture of reporting concerns, and maintaining robust cybersecurity: enabling firewalls, SSL, antivirus tools, and regular backups.

Preventing internal fraud also depends on separation of duties and limiting access to sensitive systems and financial records. Dual sign-off procedures, independent review of bank statements, audit logs, and verifying vendor legitimacy all help reduce opportunity for misconduct. Monitoring and evolving these controls is crucial as new fraud methods emerge.

In short, small business owners should combine anti‑fraud policies, employee education, vigilant oversight, and sound technology practices to detect, deter, and mitigate losses from fraudulent activity.

life insurance

Building workplaces where equity extends beyond the office

A letter from the desk of Caitlin Anderson...

In dual-income households, the majority of working mothers still carry a disproportionate share of childcare and household management, despite also contributing significantly to the family’s income.

Some key numbers:

• According to Pew Research (2023), 80% of mothers say they manage their children’s schedules and activities, compared to 53% of fathers.

• A study published in Gender & Society found that working mothers perform 65% of the household’s cognitive labor, including planning, organizing, and managing family needs—even when both parents work full-time.

• The American Time Use Survey shows that women spend nearly double the time on childcare and household tasks than their male partners, regardless of employment status.

So what’s driving this?

Many working fathers believe they’re balancing the load by taking on traditionally "male-coded" responsibilities (such as yard work, car maintenance, and finances) rationalizing that their role as the primary financial provider offsets the need to be equally engaged at home.

But this overlooks a critical element: mental load, or the invisible labor of anticipating needs, tracking details, and constantly managing logistics. This work is not only time-consuming; it’s mentally and emotionally taxing.

Unlike physical chores, mental load is hard to see and even harder to measure. But it impacts everything: productivity at work, emotional well-being, and long-term career advancement (especially for women with young children).

However, this isn’t about blame—it’s about awareness.

• If we want to promote equity at work, we have to examine what’s happening at home.

• If we’re serious about supporting women’s careers, we need to acknowledge the invisible labor many are doing before and after hours.

• And if you're a working dad, this is an opportunity, not a criticism, to recalibrate, engage, and lead more fully at home.

The first step is asking: "Who’s carrying the load that no one sees?"

On a personal note, I feel incredibly fortunate to work for a company that does see this. Ford Insurance not only recognizes the complex demands placed on working parents, but actively supports flexibility, empathy, and trust in how we manage our time and responsibilities. That kind of leadership matters, and it has made all the difference.

Let’s keep building workplaces where equity extends beyond the office and into the realities of everyday life.