Free Business Advice Event

Posted on January 10, 2014

Stay Calm, Prepare Today, Save Tomorrow
FREE Business Continuity Advice
for Bedfordshire and Luton Businesses

Theft, fire, flood or data loss could drive a small company out of business but having a business continuity plan enables companies to recover quickly and get back on their feet. Without a plan half of local firms affected by an emergency go out of business within a year, but during Business Continuity Awareness Week 17-21 March 2014, companies wanting to create their own continuity plans can get FREE help from the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLRFF).

"Planning for emergencies helps businesses survive disasters, lower insurance premiums and secure future contracts," explains BLLRF's Chairman, Chief Superintendent Mike Colbourne. "During Business Continuity Awareness Week in March 2014, our FREE, 30 minute sessions will help you prepare for, and deal with, emergencies like theft, flooding or data loss by providing a template for survival in times of crisis. In the current economic crisis a business continuity plan also helps reduce insurance premiums and enables you to compete for contracts that require a contingency plan to be in place."

The FREE sessions are being held between 8am and 6pm at Bedford Corn Exchange on Tuesday 18 March and the Tokko Building, Gordon Street, Luton on Wednesday 19 March. Working with professional emergency planners you'll create your basic plan and leave with a data stick containing your plan and other useful information. The session last about 30 minutes and pre-booking is strongly advised. There are also stalls and exhibitions by major responders from across the county.

"Getting started on anything is always difficult," says Chief Superintendent Colbourne, "but our message is stay calm, prepare today and save your business, and money, tomorrow. Our experienced emergency planners will guide you through an outline plan, assessing your business risks and helping minimise the impact of emergencies by creating a contingency plan which you can take away with you."

Attending the events will be police business crime experts, fire safety officers, environment agency, council trading standards, environmental health and health and safety staff, local business organisations like the Chamber of Commerce and Federation of Small Businesses and other local emergency responders.

Please pre-book for the one-to-one business continuity planning sessions by contacting the Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, [email protected], www.chamber-business.com/events/partner-events/ or by calling 01582 522448 (you do not need to be a member of the C of C or FSB to attend).

To get started why not check out the 10 minute checklist on the BLLRF website to assess your businesses' readiness to react to disaster and use the online resources to begin creating your own business continuity plan.

Why not join BLLRF's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter #BCAW201 and #BusWWYDI.