Use The Local Internet To Disaster Proof Your Small Business By Sharon Fling

First Hurricane Katrina, now Hurricane Rita. As if small business owners don't have enough to contend with, being hit with a disaster from out of the blue has become an all too common reality.

It was almost my reality last week, as we watched Hurricane Rita approach Houston. We wondered if we should join the mass exodus, but ultimately decided to prepare as best we could and ride out the storm. (As an ex-Californian, I still would take a hurricane over an earthquake any day...at least you know it's coming!)

As we boarded up windows and prepared for life without electricity, I gained a renewed appreciation for having an online business.

If forced to flee, I could take my laptop with me. If the house blew away (and we got out in time), our business would survive as long as we had backups of all the files.

But what about people with brick-and-mortar businesses? With the exception of gas stations and convenience stores, most small businesses that depended on foot traffic suffered an immediate drop in income, and by Friday they were all closed.

Fortunately for Houston, Rita turned at the last minute and hit the Texas-Louisiana border instead. Most small businesses in the Texas cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange (my hometown) are still closed because everything is in shambles. Same thing in Louisiana, especially Lake Charles, nearby cities, and of course, New Orleans.

Just like that, they're out of business. For a month or more, if not permanently.

Could this happen to you? I don't know of any place in the world that's disaster proof, do you?

There was an article in the Houston Chronicle the other day about the owner of two women's apparel shops in Louisiana, one in the French Quarter and the other in a small city about 40 miles away. She had only recently started to recover from a rough patch, and was doing okay...until Katrina hit.

Now her French Quarter store remains closed, and sales are sluggish at the other location. She's being forced to deeply discount merchandise just to move it. Her few sales aren't even covering her costs.

She had insurance for business interruptions, but her insurer insists that damages should be covered by flood insurance. However, her flood insurance company says the policy won't pay because the store didn't flood. She's afraid that neither policy will pay. Even if one of them does, it may be too little, too late.

As she wonders how she will pull out of this, her warning for every small business owner is clear: you can't count on your insurance to get your business back on its feet.

So, if you own a brick-and-mortar business that depends on people to come through the door, then yes, it could happen to you.

And it's all the more reason for brick-and-mortar businesses to have an Internet presence -- one that will continue to function even in the face of disaster.

Now, I don't know much about apparel stores, but I do shop in them. And even if I couldn't visit my favorite clothing store in person, I'd still want to continue to shop there however possible. (Especially if I wanted them to stay in business.)

Off the top of my head, here are a few ways a retail store might use the Internet to stay afloat after a Hurricane Katrina-type disaster:

- sell merchandise online (can be as simple as just listing pictures of items for sale, or a full-blown shopping cart)

- actively collect email addresses from existing customers and prospects, then email them and announce new location, hurricane specials, etc.

- open up an eBay store and auction off unsold inventory

- write a how-to manual on your business & sell it online

- depending on the merchandise, possibly use Google Adwords or other Pay-Per-Click search engines to find buyers

Now, none of these ideas are terribly original but guess what? They don't have to be! These same methods are making money for small business owners every day of the week.

The wise brick-and-mortar business owner uses their online presence to enhance their offline operation, and that's what it should be -- another weapon in your marketing arsenal.

But in desperate situations, like those facing victims of Katrina, Rita, and the next disaster, having an Internet presence may not be simply another way to reach customers and prospects -- it may be the ONLY way to keep the business from going under.



Sharon Fling is the author of "How To Promote Your Local Business On the Internet", and creator of GeoLocal.com, which focuses exclusively on internet marketing for small local business. For more information, visit http://www.geolocal.com or send a blank email to:
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Padding Resumes with Erroneous Information Can Have Disastrous Results

(PRWEB) September 30, 2005 -- With the recent hurricane disaster in New Orleans, there were many people who came under scrutiny. One such person was Michael Brown, the head of FEMA. People questioned his credentials and the media began to dig deep into his background. What they found was a man who had padded his credentials.

Here are some of the items they found:

* He claimed to be on the Board of Directors of a Nursing Home. When contacted by the media, the personnel at the nursing home had never heard of Brown.
* He claimed to have been an Assistant City Manager of a town in Oklahoma. Brown never held this position. He did do an internship while attending college for this town.
* He stated that he had received an "Outstanding Professor" award from a college where he never taught. He was an adjunct professor for a college, but the college never had such an award and he certainly did not receive one.

A recent survey showed that about 75% of people "pad" their resume with credentials and position responsibilities they have never held. Many individuals stated that they enhanced their qualifications to be competitive.

"The most common inflationary statements on resumes are job title and education. Some of my clients want me to change their job title to a more mainstream title, which is alright, as long as they list the real title in parentheses. Other candidates want to change their title to appear to have more experience than they possess, which I will not do," said Kathy Sweeney, certified professional resume writer and interview coach from The Write Resume (www.awriteresume.com). "Further, I will never allow my clients to misrepresent their educational background. There are other areas we can strengthen on the resume, such as industry-specific training, which may be of more value to an employer."

Sweeney recalls a recent article regarding a woman who was fired from a government job because she claimed to have a PhD. When colleagues were perplexed as to how a woman, who had no previous education, could suddenly have three degrees in a two-year time-frame, they questioned it. What they found out was that she had "paid" for her degrees through an on-line diploma mill.

Due to the onslaught on this type of behavior, many companies have been conducting more thorough background checks. Some companies, such as Chili's Restaurant, have an on-line application where you must detail accomplishments and then "back them up" with a person who can verify that accomplishment. Other companies are hiring outside background checking companies to verify information listed on resumes and applications.

"Jobseekers need to understand the companies are serious about who they hire, especially for positions of great importance and responsibility," stated Sweeney, "When writing a resume, the best policy is to be honest and forthright with your qualifications. If a candidate is dishonest, it will eventually catch up to them -- whether in the initial hiring process or during their tenure with the company."

Sweeney advises job seekers to always be honest when stating qualifications on a resume or application. She warns that if job seekers pad their experience or credentials, they could end up in a position where they will flounder and eventually be fired for incompetence.

For more information on The Write Resume, visit www.awriteresume.com or contact Kathy Sweeney toll free at 866-726-9052.

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Press Contact: Kathy Sweeney
Company Name: THE WRITE RESUME
Email: kathys@awriteresume.com
Phone: 866-726-9052
Website: www.awriteresume.com