Seven Steps Every North Shore Small Business Should Take Before an Emergency

The SBA warns that 25% of businesses will not reopen after a disaster, making a tailored emergency response plan one of the most critical investments a small business owner can make. For businesses on Minnesota's North Shore — where severe winters, spring flooding, and extended power outages are routine hazards — that statistic lands differently than it does in more temperate climates. Emergency preparedness here isn't a corporate formality. It's a practical obligation.

Here's a plain-language framework for building a plan that actually works.

Start by Knowing What Could Actually Hurt Your Business

Generic checklists don't work because generic risks don't exist. The SBA emphasizes that every business is vulnerable to something, and that both industry type and geographical region are major determining factors of risk that should drive emergency planning decisions.

For Lake County businesses, that means taking an honest inventory of your specific exposures:

• Supply chain disruptions caused by winter road closures on Highway 61

• Extended utility outages that could halt food service, manufacturing, or healthcare equipment

• Flooding risks near rivers or low-lying areas in Two Harbors or along the North Shore

• Staff shortages when severe weather prevents employees from reaching the workplace

Write down every threat that's plausible for your specific business, location, and industry. That list becomes the foundation of everything that follows.

Build a Written Plan — Then Actually Write It Down

An emergency plan that exists only in your head isn't a plan. A business continuity plan is a written document that outlines how your business will respond to different emergencies — who does what, in what order, and under what conditions.

At minimum, your plan should cover:

• Evacuation procedures and designated assembly points

• Communication protocols for reaching employees and customers quickly

• Assigned roles so critical tasks don't go undone during a crisis

• A decision tree for common scenarios: power outage, fire, severe weather, key staff unavailable

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety offers step-by-step emergency preparedness resources for businesses of all sizes, including a workshop and toolkit for ensuring workplace readiness for employees with disabilities — a useful starting framework for businesses that haven't built a plan before.

Set Up an Emergency Communication System

When something goes wrong, communication breaks down fast. A reliable emergency notification system — whether that's a group text chain, a dedicated communication app, or a call tree — ensures that employees, customers, and key vendors get accurate information quickly.

Decide in advance: Who makes the first call? Who updates your website and social media? Who contacts your landlord or insurance provider? These decisions are easy to make when there's no emergency and nearly impossible to make well when there is one.

Back Up Your Data Like You Mean It

Data loss after a disaster can be more damaging than the physical damage itself. If your customer records, financial files, and operational documents only exist on a local hard drive, a single flood or fire can erase years of work.

Back up critical business data to a secure cloud service or encrypted offsite storage — and test the backups periodically. Knowing your data is recoverable changes the entire character of a recovery effort.

Train Your Employees Before You Need Them to Perform

Your emergency plan is only as effective as your team's ability to execute it. Regular training sessions — even short ones — ensure employees know evacuation routes, understand their assigned roles, and know how to use safety equipment on-site.

When it comes to communicating emergency procedures, a visual presentation is often more effective than a written memo. A PowerPoint deck lets you walk staff through scenarios step-by-step, include diagrams of evacuation routes, and give employees a format they can review later. If your existing safety documentation is in PDF format, consider a browser-based PDF to PPT converter from Adobe Acrobat, which preserves original formatting when transforming PDFs into editable slides — no software installation required.

Know Your Insurance Gaps Before a Disaster Exposes Them

Here's where most small business owners are more exposed than they realize. Only 33% of small businesses carry business interruption insurance, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners — meaning most small businesses have no financial safety net when a disaster forces them to close temporarily.

The coverage problem runs deeper than that. A Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey found that only 17% of disaster-affected small businesses had business disruption insurance, and just 16% had flood insurance — even though 65% cited power or utility loss as their primary source of losses. If your standard property policy is your only coverage, call your agent and ask what a major power outage or temporary closure would and wouldn't be covered.

In practice: Don't assume your general business policy covers temporary closure. Ask specifically about business interruption coverage, flood insurance, and key person insurance.

Keep Physical Supplies Stocked and Reviewed

A well-stocked emergency kit matters most in the hours immediately after an incident, before outside help arrives. For North Shore businesses, where response times can be longer during winter conditions, this is especially true.

Basics to keep on hand:

• First aid kit, updated at least annually

• Flashlights and extra batteries

• Portable phone chargers

• At least 72 hours of food and water for staff who might shelter in place

• Copies of critical documents stored in a waterproof container

Review and Update Your Plan Every Year

Your business changes. Staff turns over, you add new equipment, you move locations, your customer base shifts. An emergency plan that hasn't been reviewed in three years may be protecting a business that no longer exists.

Schedule an annual review — tie it to something memorable like National Preparedness Month in September. FEMA's Ready.gov offers free, ready-to-use emergency planning frameworks for small businesses, covering communications planning, IT recovery, and full business continuity plans that can be implemented immediately. Use it as a checklist when you do your annual review.

For Lake County Businesses, Preparedness Is a Regional Responsibility

The North Shore's economy — manufacturing, healthcare, food service, skilled trades, tourism — runs on businesses that communities depend on year-round. A bakery in Two Harbors, a skilled trades firm in Silver Bay, a health clinic in Grand Marais: when any of these close unexpectedly, the ripple effect reaches further than the business itself.

Most small businesses carry less than three months of operating cash on hand for emergencies, making financial resilience planning an essential part of any emergency preparedness strategy — not just an afterthought. Combine operational readiness with solid insurance coverage and a cash reserve, and you're not just protecting your business. You're protecting the community that depends on it.

The Lake County Chamber of Commerce connects members with resources for business resilience. Reach out to learn what support is available to North Shore businesses working to strengthen their preparedness.

Bottom line: Emergency planning isn't about imagining the worst — it's about refusing to be caught off guard. Seven steps, one afternoon to document them, and a plan that could be the difference between closing permanently and reopening stronger.