1. Private Sector Voluntary Certification (PS-Prep)
Small Business Considerations
Debra T. Ballen
October 21, 2009

2. IBHS Mission:
“… to reduce the social and economic effects of natural disasters and other property losses by conducting research and advocating improved construction, maintenance and preparation practices.”

3. Importance of Small Business The Case for Planning Open for Business®
Topical Overview
Importance of Small Business
The Case for Planning
Open for Business®
Crosswalk of OFB and PS Prep
Implementation Challenges
Next Steps

4. Small Business in America
99% of employer firms
50% of private employees
60-80% of new jobs growth
45% of private payroll
Key link in the supply chain
Critical community role

5. Presidential Proclamation, September 4, 2009
The Ongoing Challenge
An estimated 15-40% of small businesses forced to close following a disaster never reopen.
“Preparedness is an essential element of a resilient and secure Nation.”
Presidential Proclamation, September 4, 2009

6. SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey1
Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) are the lifeblood of the global economy. Comprising more than 99 percent of all businesses, SMBs employ more than half the world’s workers. Most of the world’s patents and more than half of the world’s GDP come from small and mid-sized business.
A 2009 Disaster Preparedness survey1 of SMBs by Symantec reports a large discrepancy between how SMBs perceive their disaster readiness and their actual level of preparedness.
There are large, tangible costs to this lack of preparedness. SMBs can – and often do – lose business as a direct result of being unprepared for disasters.
1 SMB Disaster Preparedness Survey – Global.
September 24, Symantec Corporation.

7. Long-term Perspective Where to start?
Planning Impediments
Time
Money
Expertise
Long-term Perspective
Where to start?

8. IBHS Preparedness Program

9. Comments from “The Field”
“A great tool for implementing a disaster recovery program for any company.”
“Got us through the five business days that our office was closed.”
“Planning for the worst ultimately helps a business to operate at its best.”
“Open for Business® is the foundation of our disaster planning initiative.”

10. Open for Business® Alignment with PS-Prep
Developed in conjunction with certified business continuity practitioners and subject matter experts
Based on body of knowledge underlying professional practices of
Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII)
Business Continuity Institute (BCI)

11. Alignment with PS-Prep
Open for Business®
Alignment with PS-Prep
Crosswalk to target criteria for PS-Prep and ANSI standards
NFPA 1600 (2010 Draft Standard)
ASIS SPC.1: 2009

12. Alignment with PS-Prep
Open for Business®
Alignment with PS-Prep
This slide illustrates the Crosswalk.
Again, what IBHS strives to do is to help the close to 97% of businesses in the U.S. that have 100 or fewer employees to be more disaster resilient, to help them take on as much responsibility as possible for their own preparedness and resilience.
Resilience is about
building the capacity to absorb shocks, to bounce back and above all, to adapt to existing and evolving threats.
It is measured by the ability of an organization to get back to an acceptable level of operation within an acceptable time frame.
IBHS, conservatively, estimates that at least 25% of businesses that shut down because of a disaster never re-open. According to a Microsoft-sponsored survey, two years after 9/11, 90% of the companies that took more than 5 days to restart their business, were closed. 12

13. Applying PS-Prep to SMB - Challenges
Time, money, expertise, perspective
Concern about government regulation
Not all small businesses are alike
Focus is top down, not bottom up
Certification requirements
Updates / improvements
always needed

14. Applying PS-Prep to SMB - Opportunities
IBHS Expand reach of OFB and like-minded
programs, while PS-Prep moves forward
DHS Develop outreach to small business
DHS Develop alternatives to 3rd party certification
SMB Adopt and adapt the program.
Staying power = staying in business

15. Questions? Thank you!

16. DISCLAIMER
IBHS SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY, IN NEGLIGENCE, TORT OR OTHERWISE WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION AND/OR PRACTICES DESCRIBED IN THIS SLIDESHOW.  ALTERATIONS OR MODIFCATIONS TO ANY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS SLIDESHOW ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON AND/OR BUSINESS MAKING SUCH ALTERATIONS OR MODIFICATIONS.  NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS SLIDESHOW IS INTENDED OR WRITTEN TO BE USED, NOR MAY IT BE RELIED UPON OR USED, BY ANY PERSON AND/OR BUSINESS AS LEGAL ADVICE.