Business Planning

Why Business Continuity Planning Is Essential For Your Company?

Soumava Goswami

Business Planning September, 09 2023

When crises happen in business, it is quite common to panic and make wrong decisions by remaining unprepared. Crises can happen anytime, and you must not start every day with the worst that can happen. However, you must stay prepared for anything to happen. You can do this with the help of a useful business continuity planning structure in place. This is because, if you do not stay prepared for the crises, it can cost your company a lot.

In this article, you will learn some general details about business continuity planning. Apart from that, you will learn the importance of having such a planning structure in place. Furthermore, we will also discuss some of the major benefits of business continuity planning, which you must be aware of. Finally, we will share with you the steps you can follow to implement business continuity planning.

What Is Business Continuity Planning?

Business continuity planning is essential for a company as it helps in creating a prevention and recovery from the various risks and threats that can potentially affect the company. Having the plan will ensure that the personnel and assets of the company are protected.

Protecting them will enable the company to start functioning by recovering quickly after a disaster situation. Business continuity planning is also essential to recover from situations like cyber-attacks where the company’s data gets compromised.

Why Is Business Continuity Planning Important?

According to TechTarget.com,

“The plan should enable the organization to keep running at least at a minimal level during a crisis. Business continuity helps the organization maintain resiliency in responding quickly to an interruption. Strong business continuity saves money, time and company reputation. An extended outage risks financial, personal and reputational loss.”

With the help of the business continuity plan, you are making the company look after itself. You are analyzing the potential areas for risks and gathering important information from those areas. You have to have full information about those areas which are helpful for disaster situations. Furthermore, having a business continuity plan is also important to comply with legal processes.

What Are The Benefits Of Business Continuity Planning?

According to Investopedia,

“Business continuity planning is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of major disasters such as fires. BCPs are different from a disaster recovery plan, which focuses on the recovery of a company’s IT system after a crisis.”

Basically, such a business continuity plan will help you to take stapes, including creating backups of projects, client information, and more. If something must happen to the company’s office, the satellite offices of the company will have access to all the essential information of the company.

However, a business continuity plan does not work if a large population in the company is affected. It can happen at times of an outbreak of a disease. Despite that, having a business continuity plan in place will help you to improve the risk management processes of the company.

Business Continuity Planning – Steps To Follow

To make a great business continuity plan, it is important to have a management that oversees the plan.

According to Hubspot.com,

“This type of management determines the potential threats to a company and how each of these threats might impact business functions. Based on these findings, business continuity management is able to tweak the company’s continuity plan to address any new potential hazards.”

There are some steps you must follow to develop useful business continuity planning for your organization. Here are they:

Step 1:

Select your Business Continuity Team. Here, you must assemble a management team. Make sure the team is well-organized and detail-oriented. Make sure there is at least an executive manager, a program coordinator, and an information officer.

Step 2:

Define the objectives of the business continuity plan. To do that, you will need to know about what your end goal is. Furthermore, you must also have good information on the resources and budget based on your current projects.

Step 3:

Find the key players of your department and interview them. Make sure to talk with the executives as they have a bird’s eye view of the organization. Furthermore, make sure to interview the key team members of each department. This will help you to get an analysis that is useful and comprehensive.

Step 4:

Identify the essential functions of the business and the types of threats. By doing so, you will be able to find the major areas of your business that require the highest level of business continuity.

Step 5:

Assess the Risks in Every Area. Here, all you need to do is quantify the information that you have gathered from the interviews.

Step 6:

Conduct an Impact Analysis. Here, you will need to summarize your findings based on the costs and benefits to find out further what your priorities are.

Step 7:

Draft the business continuity plan. You must have already got ideas regarding what to include in the plan. Include all the requirements of the plan, followed by the procedure and end goals.

Step 8:

Test gaps in the plan. Once you have created your plan, you must immediately test it for any gaps. You can do it by communicating with those who are implementing the plan.

Step 9:

Revise your plan on the basis of findings. This will be on the basis of your findings in Step 8. Here, you will need to correct the flaws that you have found throughout the process.

Bottom Line

Business continuity planning is essential to hasten an organization’s recovery from a major risk leading to a threat or disaster. Basically, the company identifies all the risks that can affect the organization. The continuity plan puts in place various mechanisms and functions. With the help of these, the organization allows assets and personnel to minimize the company’s downtime.

In case of a disaster in the company, it is important to implement business continuity planning to provide cover for the disaster. Do you have any recommendations regarding how to implement business continuity planning? Share your views and ideas with us in the comments section below.

Read More:

Tags:

Soumava Goswami

A passionate writer and an avid reader, Soumava is academically inclined and loves writing on topics requiring deep research. Having 3+ years of experience, Soumava also loves writing blogs in other domains, including digital marketing, business, technology, travel, and sports.

Business Continuity Plan – What Is It, And How Does It Work?

Your business can come across a disaster or a host of negative situations for the business, which negatively affect the work processes of the business. In such cases, business continuity planning is one of the most necessary things to have. A business continuity plan will enable you to stay prepared for any kind of negative situation for the business. This shall further ensure that the business is able to work the same. In this article, you will learn about a business continuity plan and what are its major features. In addition to that, you will also learn how a business continuity plan works for a business. Furthermore, we will also discuss the major benefits of having a business continuity plan for your business. Finally, we will guide you with a step-by-step procedure on how to create such a plan for your business and stay prepared. What Is A Business Continuity Plan? According to Hubspot.com, “A business continuity plan outlines directions and procedures that your company will follow when faced with a crisis. These plans include business procedures, names of assets and partners, human resource functions, and other helpful information that can help maintain your brand's relationships with relevant stakeholders.” The major goal of a business continuity plan is to deal with the situations that disrupt the business. These disruptions can be both minor and full-blown threats. The plan allows you to plan for contingencies ahead of time. Such plans, as well as preparations according to those plans, can allow your business to continue operations even at times of high risk. Having a plan will help you to deal with the risks and either prevent or mitigate them. Some of the major disruptions that can affect the business include a natural disaster, a man-made disaster, a network breakdown, a cyber attack, and various other factors. These situations are large enough to disrupt organizations of any size. In such situations, a business continuity plan benefits the business by providing it with a procedure, processes, and tools. These will help the business to operate properly and recover within a short span of time. Read More: What Is a Franchise, And How Does It Work? – Examples, Benefits & More How Does A Business Continuity Plan Work? According to VMWare.com, “Business continuity planning is critical because without it, an organization faces downtime and other problems that could damage its financial health. In major disasters, a lack of a business continuity plan could cause irreparable financial harm that might ultimately force a company to permanently close.” In a business continuity plan, the business defines all the risks that can affect the operations of the organization. Hence, the plan becomes an important part of the risk management processes of the business. Some of the major risks include disasters, network breakdowns, cyberattacks, and more. Since threats and disruptions include a loss of revenue and higher costs for the business, it can lead to a loss of business profits. Furthermore, it is also not a great thing for your business to rely on insurance alone. Also, since the business does not cover all the necessary costs, as well as the ones associated with customers, a business continuity plan is necessary to deal with such situations. What Are The Benefits Of Having A Business Continuity Plan? The disasters in a business can be of any size and degree and can even be catastrophic for the business. Hence, a business continuity plan is one of the most essential things you can have for your business. The plan will help you to identify all the major risks that can affect the work processes of your company. According to Investopedia, “BCP is typically meant to help a company continue operating in the event of threats and disruptions. This could result in a loss of revenue and higher costs, which leads to a drop in profitability. And businesses can't rely on insurance alone because it doesn't cover all the costs and the customers who move to the competition.” The following are some of the major benefits of a business continuity plan: It helps to continue operating even in times of disaster. However, it is different from a disaster recovery plan. Helps in improving risk management of the company. It can stop disruptions in the organization from spreading. Helps to mitigate downtime of business technology and networks. It helps to save a lot of money, time, and resources. Business Continuity Plan - Steps To Create Here are some of the major steps you will need to follow if you want to create a business continuity plan: 1. Business Impact Analysis According to Investopedia, “An important part of developing a BCP is a business continuity impact analysis. It identifies the effects of disruption of business functions and processes. It also uses the information to make decisions about recovery priorities and strategies.” Here, your business managers will need to identify the functions of the plan as well as related resources for the business, especially the ones that are sensitive to time. 2. Recovery In this portion of the plan, the planner will need to identify the steps and implement them. This will include the steps for recovery as well. 3. Continuity Team You will need to create a continuity team here. The job of the team will be to devise a plan to manage the disruption of the plan. 4. Continuity Training You will need to train and test the continuity team here. The members of the team will also need to complete various exercises for the application of the plan. Read More: Intrapreneurship – Definition, Importance, Duties, And Responsibilities Summing Up Hope this article was helpful for you in getting a better idea of what a business continuity plan is and how it can allow your organization to recover quickly from disasters or, in the best cases, prevent them. The plan is a great option to keep your personnel prepared, save your assets, and ensure the business starts functioning fast. However, you will need to test your business continuity plan from time to time to ensure that there are no gaps in it. To find out gaps, you can create dummy situations or drills with your employees. Do you have any more recommendations on how to create the best business continuity plan? Share your ideas with us in the comments section below. Read Also: Entrepreneur : Who Coined The Term ‘Entrepreneur’? Entrepreneurship – Definition, Meaning, Scope, And More Importance Of Entrepreneurship: Types, Features & Benefits

What Is Risk Management? – Find Out How To Manage Risks in Business

What is risk management? - Simply put, it is the process by which businesses identify, assess, and control the various risks that threaten the growth, capital, and earnings of the organization. The risks for the organization can come from a variety of sources, both internal and external. These can be financial problems, legal problems, management errors, accidents, tech issues, economic problems, disasters, and many more. In this article, you will learn about risk management in general and will get a good understanding of its essentiality in business. Furthermore, you will also learn the importance of risk management and how it can shape a business. Finally, we will share with you some of the best practices of risk management, with the help of which you can ensure a proper risk management system in place. What Is Risk Management? According to IBM.com, “Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and controlling financial, legal, strategic and security risks to an organization’s capital and earnings. These threats, or risks, could stem from a wide variety of sources, including financial uncertainty, legal liabilities, strategic management errors, accidents, and natural disasters.” Risk management is important for situations when an unforeseen event (internal or external) pushes the organization into a threatening situation. It can also be an economic situation where an unexpected surprise in the market can heavily impact your business. Hence, having a risk management framework for your business is really essential. The risk management framework will help you mitigate the risks in a better manner. Even if the risk affects your business, the risk management system will enable you to deal with that risk better. External risks are out of your control, and you cannot do a lot to receive the impact of the risks. However, you can do many things to stop and mitigate the internal risks for your business. You will need to anticipate and prepare for the risks, despite the size of the business or the level of impact of the risk in the business. Read More: Intrapreneurship – Definition, Importance, Duties, And Responsibilities Why Is Risk Management Important? According to Investopedia, “Risk management has always been an important tool in running any business, particularly when a market experiences a downturn. In any economic environment, an unexpected surprise can destroy your business in one fell swoop if you don’t have the right risk management strategies in place to prevent, or at least mitigate, the damage from that risk.” There are many risks that have enough potential to destroy the business and its operations. Hence, as a manager or CEO of the organization, you will need to identify what are the risks that pose threats to the operations of your business. It does not matter whether the business is a startup or an established one. Risks can impact the business a lot. Even if a risk starts impacting a business, a business that is well-prepared can minimize the impact of the risk on the business’s earnings. With the impact of the risk, the business can also lose a lot of time, productivity, and even customers. Hence, the identification of the risks of the business should be a key part of the business’s strategy and planning. You can identify risks in a number of ways once you implement a proper risk management system in the organization. What strategies you will employ to identify those risks should rely on the specific business activities of the company. What Are The Best Ways To Manage Risks? Having a proper risk management system in place is one of the major necessities. However, people still have their own biases. According to Harvard Business Review, “Multiple studies have found that people overestimate their ability to influence events that, in fact, are heavily determined by chance. We tend to be overconfident about the accuracy of our forecasts and risk assessments and far too narrow in our assessment of the range of outcomes that may occur.” Here are the steps that you will need to take to ensure that you have a proper risk management system in place: 1. Risk Prioritization If you have multiple risks, prioritizing the top ones will help you to deal with them as per their impact and possibility of impact. 2. Having A Business Insurance Once you purchase insurance, you are transferring the risks of the company to insurance companies. Furthermore, you are not paying a lot of costs. 3. Becoming An LLC If you do not want to be personally liable for the debts of the company, change your company’s structure to a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Corporation. 4. Quality Assurance Quality assurance of products and services will help your business in increasing its reputation. Ensure to test them before customers purchase them. This will allow you to make all the necessary adjustments beforehand. Also, ensure that your testing methods are foolproof. 5. Get Away From High-Risk Customers Implement a policy in your organization that the company will not entertain customers with poor credit. Even if the company deals with them, the customer must pay ahead of time. This shall lower the complications for the business in the long run. 6. Growth Control Training your employees is of the highest importance here. To sell your products and services, if you set big goals for your employees, they shall be tempted to take uncalculated risks. This can make things go wrong and damage your company’s reputation. 7. Risk Management Team Apart from paying an outside company to manage the risks in your business, consider having a risk management team of your own. To do this, you can appoint some of your current and experienced employees to work in risk management. Read More: Entrepreneur : Who Coined The Term ‘Entrepreneur’? Final Thought What is risk management? - Risk management basically creates insurance for the company from within and is really important to ensure the success of the organization. If you want to implement a system within your company, consider following the aforementioned steps. To shape a better strategy for your business, you will need to get a better idea of the business and the industry by diving deeper. Do you have any more recommendations regarding better risk management strategies? In that case, consider sharing your thoughts and views with us in the comments section below. Read Also: What Is Social Entrepreneurship? – Steps To Become A Successful Social Entrepreneur Business Entrepreneurship – What Should You Know Before You Start A Business? What Is a Franchise, And How Does It Work? – Examples, Benefits & More

12 Passive Income Ideas To Get You Rich In 2023

Some of the major passive income ideas include investing, side hustle, creative work, and more. A passive income is an income that you do not earn, and you generate differently. Passive income puts money in your pocket even when you are not working. You will not need to do active work while you are income passively, unlike the case where you are a traditional employee or a full-time entrepreneur. In this article, we will discuss different ways to make passive income in 2023 as we give you the twelve best passive income ideas. Along with the passive income ideas, we will also give you a brief explanation of how you can implement the idea for yourself. Hence, to learn about these extra income ideas, read on through to the end of the article. Passive Income In 2023 – A General Overview To earn passive income, you will not need to spend a lot of time, money, and resources. According to Forbes.com, “Passive income helps you earn a little extra. Every penny earned matters, and you can deploy the funds to build an emergency fund, start a systematic investment plan in mutual funds, etc.” In passive income, you can earn money by doing projects and making products with little work and essentially no maintenance. This is the money that you are earning from the assets that you control. However, you must note here that it requires some effort at the start, but as you progress, you will have little to no effort. Furthermore, with progress, you will not need to invest a lot of your time. According to an article in Time Magazine, "The cash stream from sources of passive income requires some upfront work, but once established, takes little to no time to maintain. While it can take some time to see the fruits of your labor pay off with passive income, earning money without regular work is possible.” Passive income helps to raise your income level by providing you with extra income options. Although there is a small investment in some cases, it is only one-time. You will not need to participate and devote a dedicated number of hours to the work. However, there is a need for maintenance in passive income, which is not a requirement in any regular income. On a side note, check out some of the best lead management software systems available in 2023 if you are into marketing and sales. The Best Passive Income Ideas For You In 2023 Here are some of the best passive income strategies that you can tryout if you are looking to start with a passive income in 2023: 1. Dropshipping Business Although one requires a little cash, you don't need a lot to start a dropshipping business. Here, to sell a product to a particular customer, you do not need to manage products physically. 2. Blogging It is the most tried and tested passive income that many people tried and got successful. However, it has a lot of competition. So, if you want success, try to be unique and simple. 3. Printing On-Demand If you are creative or understand designs, you can start an on-demand print store, as you can monetize your creativity by printing T-shirts, posters, backpacks, mugs, papers, and more. 4. Online Tutorial If you have knowledge of any subject or skill, you can start an online tutorial regarding the same. You can create video tutorials and create a package for learners to learn from. 5. Selling Digital Products To sell digital products, you will have to create your assets (digital products) once, and then you can sell the product to as many people as you want with your online business. 6. Dealing With Rental Property This is an ancient way of having a passive income. However, you will need to have the capital to buy properties that you will rent to others. The income level is also high. 7. Investment In Businesses And Stocks The most popular source of passive income is investments in stocks and business-related investments. However, investing in stocks requires heavy speculation skills, which you will need to develop. Off-topic: Are you looking to start a startup? Once you open a startup, you will need to consider having your startup insured. To check the best startup insurance options, click on the given link. 8. Affiliate Marketing According to Shopify.com, “a great source of passive income because you earn a commission whenever someone uses your referral link to buy the recommended product or service.” All you need is to recommend the product. 9. Social Media Influencer If you are good at social media, and have the confidence to influence a many audiences with your social media content, then this idea can do wonders for you. 10. Starting A YouTube Channel You can start a YouTube channel about anything that you know. Some of the best ideas, in this case, include – tech reviews, gaming videos, entertainment, tutorials, and many more. 11. Create A Digital Guide A digital guide can be about anything, from travel guides, tutorials, University suggestions, and more. You can create a digital guide once, and you can sell it to as many people as you like. 12. Design And Sell Websites If you are a website designer, then you can sell your designs to companies to earn. Furthermore, if you can code, then you can make full-working websites and sell them to customers. Summing Up One of the most underrated things about passive income is that it is the result of hard work and repeatedly working on the same thing. The more you work, the better returns it will offer you in the future. Once you add one of these passive incomes to your life, you will have better flexibility in work, more freedom, and better earning. Choose the one that suits your character and skills, and work on it consistently, to ensure future results. Do you have any other passive income ideas that you think can work amazingly in 2023? Share some of them with us in the comments section below.

Business Deductions And Tax Planning: Two Critical Steps To Save Money

As the owner of a company, doing tax planning is an essential part of sound financial management. Locating and making the most of all available company deductions is one of the most important aspects of tax preparation. Your overall tax liability will go down as a result of the reduction of your taxable income brought about by deductions. Continue reading to find out about some potential tax write-offs and deductions for your business that you may be overlooking, as well as some suggestions on how you might utilize these opportunities to reinvest in your company. Understanding Businesses Deductions And Tax Planning Steps For businesses are costs that are directly relevant to the running of a firm. When calculating your taxable income, these expenditures may be subtracted from the money generated by your firm. Expenses that are regular and essential, as well as those that are considered capital, may be deducted from a business's income. 1. Locating And Making A Claim For Tax Deductions It is essential to maintain precise records of your company's costs to properly identify and account for tax deductions. The Internal Revenue Service mandates that all expenditures must have supporting paperwork and receipts. Knowing which deductions you are eligible to claim is also very important since certain costs could not be deductible at all. 2. Utilize The Available Tax Breaks The qualifying business income (QBI) deduction allows owners of pass-through businesses to take a deduction equal to up to 20% of their share of the firm's income. However, this deduction is subject to several regulations and limits and does not come without restrictions. Figuring out who is eligible to claim the QBI deduction and then determining the amount of the deduction itself is not a straightforward operation. However, the deduction may offer a large tax break for owners of small businesses. If you believe you could qualify for this, you should discuss it with your accountant. 3. Investigate Different Ways To Cut Down On AGI Your adjusted gross income, often known as your AGI, is a primary factor in determining the taxes that you must pay. For instance, if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $200K, or if you are married, your AGI is less than $250K, then you will not have to pay the extra 0.9 percent in Medical taxes. You may reduce your AGI by the below methods or by lowering your salary: For example, by registering a company in the US we can obtain some benefits. Making contributions to a retirement plan that postpones paying taxes until later. Using the itemized deductions method if your total deductions are more than the standard deduction. Making contributions to a health-related savings account If you have any reason to believe that you will wish to itemize your deductions, you might think about keeping track of them on a spreadsheet throughout the year. 4. Learn To Leverage Tax Credits Tax credits are an additional method that businesses may use to reduce the amount of tax liability they are responsible for paying. Tax credits, in contrast to tax breaks, which lower the level of cash that is subject to taxation for a person or corporation, reduce the percentage of tax that is actually owed by the taxpayer. It is in the best interest of businesses to benefit from tax benefits. Consider the following few options: Credit for work opportunities offered: Access credit for the disabled: Tax breaks for health insurance premiums paid by employers with less than 25 employees 5. Delay Or Accelerate The Receipt Of Income When it comes to their financial records and tax filings, many small firms rely on cash. When using this cash method a business records revenue and costs at the time that the corresponding cash transaction takes place. So, it means records are taken when the cash changes hands. This opens up some intriguing possibilities for tax planning tactics. You could wish to delay receiving income until the next year if you believe that you will be in a reduced tax band the following year. 6. Purchase Assets At The End Of The Year In certain tax years, it can be helpful to estimate the amount of taxes your company will owe, and then to acquire assets, both new and already used, to lower those estimated taxes. 7. Pay Student Loans Of Workers Employers are now permitted to provide financial assistance to their workers in the form of student debt repayment via a clause that was included in the CARES Act 2020. This Act contains a condition that permits companies to claim a tax exemption for repaying employee student loans and eliminates it from employee income, which means that workers do not have to pay required taxes on the money. 8. Work With Independent Contractors If you engage independent contractors or freelancers for any reason linked to your company (for example, taking images of things for your online shop), you can deduct the cost of their services from your taxable income. Before independent contractors begin working for you, you should always make it a point to gather their 1099 forms and ensure that you file them correctly. 9. Reconsider The Type Of Business Entity Your choice of business entity has a big influence on the amount of Taxes You Will Owe. People who are self-employed and must pay self-employment taxes include those who operate their businesses as sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, or certain limited liability companies. If you anticipate that your company will owe a significant amount of money in taxes, one solution to this problem is to restructure your company so that it is treated as a different kind of legal organization. Last Words: Why Is It Important For Businesses To Plan Their Taxes? You are required to pay taxes as the owner of a company, but the amount that you owe should never come as a complete shock to you. It is crucial to understand how company taxes operate and to make estimations of the amount you need to pay each quarter or year to guarantee that you have sufficient funds. Tax planning is something that can help you generate correct tax predictions, make all tax forms and reports on time, and avoid the possible ramifications of not doing so. Planning your taxes properly may help you achieve all of these things. Read Also: How To Start A Logistics Company? An Expert Guide Biggest Stock Market Crashes In The World History 10 Best Investment Apps For 2021

Why Business Continuity Planning Is Essential For Your Company?

What Is Business Continuity Planning?

Why Is Business Continuity Planning Important?

What Are The Benefits Of Business Continuity Planning?