Special Report For Small Business Owners...

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1 Special Report For Small Business Owners... Here are some tips for what you, the small business owner Can -- and Must -- Do to Protect You and Your Business from Financial Catastrophe and to help you Continue to Operate and Generate Revenue! By Wake Clinard Your business is something you are proud of. Not only does it provide you with an income, it is a reflection of your personality and all the hard work you have invested in your business makes it very dear to you. Let s face it, your business probably provided you with your home, your children s education and you are counting on it to provide you with a retirement when that time comes. But financial disasters are always right around the corner, waiting like some evil predator to take your business away from you. Here s something most business owners never consider. While they think of their business as their most valuable asset, few realize that it is also your largest liability risk.

2 There are just so many things that can go wrong, from natural disasters to changes in the business climate to the way that your employees handle a situation with a client. There are so many things to worry about that most business owners just don t bother to try. But you are different. You have taken the time to read this information and that is the first step to making sure one of the greatest things in your life doesn t turn on you. You might wonder why I would take the time to prepare this report, chock full of valuable insider information and offer it for free to you. I do this because I want to help my clients and even those who are not my clients to best protect one of the assets that they count on the most. I know that when I give freely to others, the generosity always comes back to me, multiplied many times over. What if Disaster Strikes -- Are You Covered? That depends. Start by imagining the kinds of disasters that could strike your business. Assume you get that dreaded call in the middle of the night by the fire department, telling you that your business has caught fire. You go in in the middle of the night, wide eyed as you survey the damage. Inventory in ruins, the office area, destroyed. By the time you employees check in for work you have come to accept that this is going to be tough to recover from. Design Your Insurance Program to Cover the Worst Case Scenario Sometimes just imagining this type of situation is so painful that we find a lot of business owners just can t do it.. Sure, we are talking hypothetical here, but what if it really happened? Do you know what your current insurance policy would cover? Do you know what you would have to do to prove your losses to them? Would you have the funds you need to stay in business while you relocate or rebuild? Would you be able to respond quickly enough to fend off your now drooling competitors? Don t forget also that there can be smaller disasters. You may need to use insurance to protect these and in some cases you may be able to use non insurance techniques to give you a level of protection. Do you back up your data base every day? Is a version of the backup file taken off premises every day? This is an example of a non insurance technique to help manage the risks that your business faces. So, if there is a disaster that could shut down your business completely, you had better find a way to manage that risk. Insurance is usually the easiest and most effective

3 solution. So, if you use insurance, how do you get adequate coverage? How do you manage the process of getting the right amount of insurance and the right kind of insurance protection? Start by reading the rest of this valuable report. Here is an easy 4 step process to managing your risks: I ve been working with business owners for a long time, and I ve heard a lot of disaster stories. If they were my clients, we were able to take care of their problems. Quickly and easily. Why? Because we were prepared. So here are 4 steps you can and must take right away for the sake of yourself and your business. 1. Build a disaster recovery plan for your business.. Insurance can t cover everything, and all policies have limitations. This means that you need to develop a plan, just for your business that gets up back in business as quickly as possible after disaster strikes. If you feel unable to do this yourself, please call me and I will help you find a professional who can walk you through this process. For this recovery plan to be effective, you need to do the following: Have backup (off premises) copies of any written or computer records. Identify the most critical parts of your company s operations and have a plan to get them up and running quickly after a total loss situation. Have all of your employees trained ahead of time for exactly how you will implement your disaster plan and what their role will be in each process. Make sure that you have a full list of all of the critical contacts that you need and that this list is duplicated and a copy kept off premises. You need contact information for all your vendors, suppliers and financial people. Have plan in place to reach out to and contact all of your clients in the event of a business disaster. How will you reach them? How will you manage the relationship in the wake of the disaster? How will you fend off your hungry competitors who are waiting to pounce on your misfortune? 2. Have a professional risk manager study your business and help you develop a plan to avoid and manage your risks.

4 Since every business is different, you will probably need to hire a professional risk manager to help you identify and evaluate the risks inherent in your business. This step is more about avoiding the disaster, unlike step one which was about planning for what to do after the disaster. 3. Use an independent insurance agent. As a business owner, you want as many options as there are available for your insurance program. Therefore, you don t want an agent who is an employee of an insurance company. You want someone who will work for YOU. You want someone who has access to a variety of insurance companies, a variety of programs. You want someone who can compare price and coverage options. An independent insurance agent has the best chance of finding you the right insurance program for your business. Don t limit your company s chances of getting the broadest coverage at the best price. Always use and independent agent. 4. Use an independent agent who specializes in your type of business. Don t trust the future of your business to someone who does not have a full understanding and a great deal of experience working with the special problems small business people like you face every day. The idea that insurance agencies specialize may be new to you. But it is true. There s insurance for everything. (You want rain insurance? You can buy it.) And nobody can specialize in all of it. In fact, a professional independent agent can specialize in only a few niches -- and really understand them. I do. I ve studied the small business insurance market in our community for years. I know: Which insurers offer the most comprehensive coverage and the best rates for small businesses. Which insurance companies to turn to for a small business s specialized coverage needs. And which insurers provide the best claim service. What impact on your rates you will have from filing claims with each of these different insurance companies. Where Can You Get Professional Advice With No Fee? Let s face it. Anytime you want advice from a professional, you have to pay. Your accountant, your attorney, even the guy who looks at your car to figure out what that

5 bumping noise is under the hood. But call my office and we will take the time to work with you, listen to you, evaluate your business and give you our professional opinion and we will never, ever send you an invoice for this professional service. My clients stay with me because of my service -- and they refer me to their family and friends. I believe I serve small businesses in our community better than anyone in this area -- in any profession. I believe this because I spend a lot of time with my clients, determining their needs, their level of risk, and finding the perfect insurance program for them. So if you want to protect your business, and your future, from a crisis or catastrophe, call my office. My staff and I will be glad to help. Sincerely, Wake Clinard Clinard Insurance Group, Inc. Toll free: Visit us on the web at