Why Every Business Needs a Solid Business Continuity Plan — And How to Start One (2 minute read)

Why your business needs a business continuity plan.

Start now. Start small. Just start.

Let’s face it — things go wrong. Systems fail, natural disasters happen, and sometimes it’s just a matter of someone clicking the wrong link. But the businesses that survive aren't necessarily the ones with the most resources — they're the ones that are prepared.

That’s where a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) comes in.

A BCP isn't just a document you dust off once a year for audits. It’s a living, working strategy that helps your organization stay operational in the face of disruption. Whether you're running a startup, a growing mid-sized business, or a mature enterprise, having a BCP is not a luxury — it's a necessity.

So what is a Business Continuity Plan, really?

In simple terms, it's a plan for keeping your business running when something unexpected happens. This could be a cyberattack, a power outage, a flood, or even a key employee suddenly becoming unavailable.

A good BCP outlines:

• Critical business functions

• Roles and responsibilities during a disruption

• Communication plans (internal and external)

• IT disaster recovery strategies

• Alternative workflows

• Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs)

It answers the question: How do we keep going, even if X happens?

Writing a BCP: A Practical Approach

You don’t need to write a 100-page policy to be effective. Start small and build up. Here's a practical outline to get you going:

1. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Identify which parts of your business are critical and what the impact would be if they went down. This helps you prioritize recovery efforts.

2. Assess Risks and Threats Think beyond the obvious — yes, ransomware is a risk, but so is a regional internet outage or supplier failure.

3. Define Recovery Strategies For each critical function, document how you’ll recover it. Can staff work remotely? Do you have cloud backups? Is there a manual workaround?

4. Develop Communication Protocols Who needs to know what, and when? How will you notify staff, vendors, or customers during an incident?

5. Assign Roles and Responsibilities Your BCP should make it crystal clear who does what in an emergency. Avoid confusion when every second counts.

6. Test and Update A BCP that hasn’t been tested is just a guess. Run tabletop exercises or simulations, and update the plan based on what you learn.

Final Thoughts

A well-crafted Business Continuity Plan isn’t about predicting every possible disaster. It’s about being agile, minimizing downtime, and showing your clients, partners, and employees that you're serious about resilience.

Don’t wait until things break to figure out what to do. Start now. Start small. Just start.