October 10, 2007—A national survey of small businesses conducted by the American Red Cross and FedEx Corp. has found that while 94 percent of small business owners believe there is a potential for a disaster to seriously disrupt their business within the next two years, only 43 percent feel prepared for a one week disruption of their business, and 22 percent feel prepared for a one month disruption.
The survey found that many businesses do want to become better prepared, with almost a quarter of respondents indicating they are planning to take steps to prepare their businesses for disaster.
The Red Cross and FedEx have developed preparedness solutions to help small business owners develop an emergency plan and help their employees get prepared. A downloadable disaster preparedness checklist for small businesses is available online.
