8 Ways To Prevent A Home Based Business
Catastrophe
By Khemal Dole
Is your work at home business doing good right now? Do you depend on
it, monthly? Does it generate a considerable amount of income for you?
What if I said you could lose it in a blink of an eye? Far too many work
at home business owners don't realize that their work at home business
is only as �stable� as the computer that they use for it. Think about it.
Many people build their entire work at home business around their computer.
The computer is their link to all of their websites that make them money.
It is also the place where they store their business software, e-books,
products, customer information etc. Take that computer away and how will
YOU go on?
Many people take their computers for granted. They think it's an absolute
which will always be there for them. Many people don't realize that all
it takes for that "life line" to be cut could be a small power surge or
a hard drive failure. Poof! Just like that, your work at home business
can be gone! Or imagine yourself the victim of a natural disaster, like
a hurricane. Could your come back and pick up from where you left off?
Or will you lose everything and have to start over from scratch? What can
a work at home business owner who makes a living on the internet and relies
on their computer, do to make sure he or she can recover from a catastrophe?
Here are a few suggestions.
1) Separate your business from your personal work..
Ideally it would be nice to have two computers, one for your personal
use and one for your business use. Perhaps you can't afford to have two
computers, If so, then organize your business data separately in different
folders on your computer. It can be as simple as creating a folder called
"Business" and storing all relevant data and information in that folder.
This will make it easy for you to locate and back up your data when needed.
2) Backup your websites.
This only applies if you have your own websites. It's always a good
idea to backup your entire website and download the "dump" onto your computer
at regular intervals. Backing up your website is a time consuming process
and should only be done when ever after you make a significant change to
it. Obviously you need to have your own web hosting account in order to
backup your site. Affiliates who promote other people's websites cannot
back up the site for obvious reasons. But even they can write down important
information such as usernames and passwords along with important website
addresses. Having a �hard copy� of important information is always a good
idea.
3) Get your computer a surge protector
Your home business computer can easily be wiped out by a simple power
surge. Protecting your computer from such a power surge is pretty easy
these days. It's also cheap. You can get yourself a surge protector from
a local Radio Shack for under $30. The latest ones also have a built in
surge protector for your phone line that stops a surge before it reaches
your modem. Those of you who have dial up modems should get this upgrade.
4) Print your important documents and file them
You might have important documents such as customer details or expensive
e-books on your computer. Print them out and file them neatly. Store the
files in a safe place like a bank's safety deposit box. You never know
when a "hard copy" might come in handy.
5) Backup your computer on external drives
Buy two external USB Hard drives. Right now, you can get a pair of 80GB
USB hard drives for under $150. Consider the cost as an investment and
ask yourself which costs more - your business or $150? Once you get the
two external drives back up your business data onto one of the drives regularly.
If you have organized your data into a "business" folder, simply copy it
onto the new drive. Make a backup of the first external hard drive onto
the second one at least once a week. This ensures that you have TWO identical
eternal hard drives at all times.
6) Don't keep the backups in the same place
I'd advice you to keep the second backup hard drive in a location other
than your home. For example at your bank�s safety deposit box. This ensures
that, God forbid, something happens to your home, you always have another
backup else where.
7) Make sure that your computer is protected from Viruses and Spyware/Adware
Having a backup is a good start but you must try to keep your computer
in good working condition so that you won't NEED to restore from a backup.
Make sure your computer has a virus guard installed and that you scan for
malicious adware and spyware programs. Preventing a break down is as important
as having a contingency plan.
8) Use common sense
And finally, there's no substitute for common sense. If that little
voice at the back of your head tells you that the monitor is not a coffee
cup holder, then listen to it. Try to prevent disasters before they happen
by using common sense. It might save you a lot in the long run! There you
have it. A backup plan for your online work at home business. I hope that
you take heed and actually DO something about it before you end up losing
your livelihood. Remember that prevention is better than �cure� and when
it comes to your work at home business, I�m sure you�ll agree with me on
this.
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