Case study
| "As a plumber I am used to seeing things go wrong all the time. I would advise any business to think about what they are doing to protect themselves." |  |
Q: A little bit about you?
I have 30 years experience as a plumber. I now run my own business and operate as a sole trader.
Q: What made you think about business continuity planning?
The wife nagging me! My wife works for a small business support organisation and she knows about how important it is to prepare against things going wrong.
Q: Did you find the Continuity Check easy to use?
Absolutely. You go the website and log into it. Then answer questions yes or no. I did it at home at the weekend.
Q: Did you act upon any of the suggestions in the report?
Yes. We have leased a van instead of buying a second hand one, this gives us the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong with it we get an immediate replacement.
We have bought a device (about £10) that you can plug into your mobile phone and it copies all the numbers from the sim card. This will help if I ever lose my phone, all my work contacts are on there.
We have spoken to a local hire firm, who have agreed that if the tools were stolen out of the van for example, they will be able to source the tools I need the same day.
We have bought a usb memory stick for the computer and my partner updates it every time she enters anything onto the spreadsheets we use for the business. This way if the computer breaks down at least we have the books for the business on memory.
Our other worry was what happens if I can't work? We have come to an arrangement with a plumber friend of mine so that if I am sick or cannot work he will cover any outstanding jobs without question. I, of course, have agreed to do the same for him.
Q: Your advice to other businesses?
It made me think about things in a different way. I feel more confident about the business being able to cope if things go wrong. When speaking to new customers I can mention how my business is prepared so I won't let them down.
As a plumber I am used to seeing things go wrong all the time. I would advise any business to think about what they are doing to protect themselves.