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Could your business cope if you are seriously ill?

Have you ever thought what would happen to your business if, for whatever reason, you were forced to be absent through being seriously ill for a period of time?

The consequences of a long term absence can be alarming, especially for those who have a:

• small ‘life-style’ businesses
• businesses which are not large enough to sustain any level of absenteeism let alone your own
• businesses that have no formal structure or process
• businesses where there is limited capability within the work force

Contingency Plan?

It was a situation in which I found myself a few years ago.  I was forced, fairly abruptly, into absence for over six months.  Fortunately this came at a time when I had built up my business to a size where I had put a manager in place, working between myself and the operational workforce.  Although the new manager was neither ready nor willing to ‘step into my shoes’, he very quickly became my contingency and had to manage the business itself as well as the operational side of the business.  Ensuring that work would continue to come in, the workforce continued to perform, and that the cash flow of the business continued to sustain the wages of the employees and all other costs.  It all suddenly became quite challenging for the business and, at the time, very worrying for me.

We managed to get through the situation to the best of everyone’s ability, we even improved our margins!  However, had we previously considered the possibility of long term absence arising, what back-up plans might we have put in place?

Mitigate Risks

For small businesses, there are insurance products that owners can take out.  However, this is only a small part of what can be done to mitigate the risk of your absence on the business and reduce the impact on your livelihood.  Growing and scaling up the business to a level where it becomes less dependent upon you as the business owner acts as protection itself, and that can inherently enable [your] business continuity.

Taking your business to a level where you are able to re-structure and step back from the day-to-day issues and run it at a more pro-active level will not only provide you with a level of protection in case of your absence, it will also increase the asset value of your business should you ever wish to sell.

For more information or an appointment to discuss back-up plans in case of absence should you or key members of your business become seriously ill, please complete the form below.