Small Business BC Series: Part 9: Testing, Exercising, and Validating Your Continuity Program Executive Summary A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is only as strong as its last test. Small businesses often build continuity plans but never validate them — leaving staff unprepared, recovery steps untested, and assumptions unchallenged. NIST SP 800‑34 requires organizations to test […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 8: Crisis Communication for Small Businesses: Internal, Customer, and Regulatory Messaging Executive Summary When disruption hits, communication becomes the most visible part of your continuity program. Customers, employees, vendors, and regulators judge your organization not by the outage itself, but by how clearly and confidently you communicate. NIST SP 800‑34 […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 7: How to Write a Business Continuity Plan (BCP): A Complete SMB Template Executive Summary A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is the operational playbook your team uses during disruption. It tells people what to do, who does it, how to communicate, and how to restore critical operations. For small businesses, […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 6: Continuity & Recovery Strategies for People, Process, and Technology Executive Summary Continuity strategies are the bridge between knowing what matters (your BIA) and being able to recover when disruption hits. For small businesses, the right strategies don’t require enterprise budgets or complex infrastructure — they require clarity, prioritization, and […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 5: Setting Recovery Objectives: RTO, RPO, and Minimum Service Levels Executive Summary Recovery objectives are the backbone of your continuity strategy. They define how quickly you must recover (RTO), how much data you can afford to lose (RPO), and what level of service you must maintain during a disruption (minimum […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 4: Risk Assessment & Scenario Planning for Small Business Continuity Executive Summary A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) tells you what is critical. A risk assessment tells you what threatens it. Scenario planning tells you how to respond when it happens. For small businesses, this step is essential. SMBs face unique […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 3: Business Impact Analysis (BIA) for Small Businesses: A Practical Guide Executive Summary A Business Impact Analysis (BIA) is the backbone of your continuity program. It identifies what’s critical, how long you can afford to be down, what resources you depend on, and how disruption impacts your customers, revenue, and […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 2: How to Build a Business Continuity Policy Your Small Business Can Actually Use Executive Summary A Business Continuity Policy is the foundation of your entire continuity program. It defines who is responsible, what the program covers, how decisions are made, and the level of resilience your business commits to. […]
Small Business BC Series: Part 1: Why Business Continuity Matters for Small Businesses Executive Summary Small businesses are operating in the most disruption‑heavy environment in modern history. Cyberattacks, cloud outages, supply‑chain failures, and key‑person dependencies can halt operations instantly — and most SMBs are unprepared. Business continuity is no longer a “big company” discipline; it’s […]
Business Continuity for Small Businesses Series: Introduction – Why SQ Risk Created the Business Continuity Series Small Businesses Are Facing a New Reality If you run or support a small business today, you already know the truth: disruption is no longer rare. It’s constant. Cyberattacks, cloud outages, supply‑chain failures, staffing gaps, and regulatory pressure have […]