So I have to preface this with my sincere apologies to all of my subscribers for disappearing from the blogosphere. For me and my family, the first few months of 2008 have been…eventful…to say the least. We’ve faced everything from major illnesses to the wrath of Mother Nature. In February, all five members of our household were violently ill with sinus infections, stomach viruses, food and medication allergies and to top it all off, two of us were hospitalized with pneumonia. By the time we were all healthy again, we had made 10 doctors visits and there were enough prescription drugs in our house to start up a pharmacy. But we wouldn’t want to do that since my pharmacist and I are on a first name basis.

Just when things began to settle down, on Friday April 4th, five tornados blew into town. I would assume that everyone in the country heard about the path of destruction these little forces of nature left behind, but because I’m convinced the state of Mississippi doesn’t even exist as far as the rest of the US is concerned, this might be news to you. Rather than continuing on this subject and opening up a huge can of worms, I’ll just stick to the topic at hand.

Typically, as an entrepreneur just starting out, we’re on our own. It’s up to us to take care of everything from bookkeeping, administrative duties and marketing to business development and custodial duties. As our business grows, and our clients come to depend on us more and more, we become busier and busier. Then when something happens like life, God or Mother Nature, we’re left there, forced to deal with catastrophe while running our business in the midst of it all. Ultimately our clients suffer and that’s unfair.

My question is what happens to your business when something unthinkable happens?

I can’t stress the importance enough of documenting everything you do to run your business. Everything from the way you answer the phones to detailed accounts of services you provide. It’s so important to set up systems and processes in your business. As solo entrepreneurs we should all be working towards a set of clear procedures and policies so that if something happens, you can hand everything over to a trusted colleague and they will be able to pick up and take over while you deal with whatever it is you need to deal with.

What would you do it you woke up tomorrow and there was a power outage? What if, God forbid, your house burned down or something happened to you? What happens to your business?

Don’t put this off until it’s too late, you owe it to your clients and yourself to get prepared before you’re in the midst of crisis. Fellow virtual assistant, Yvonne Weld, has written a guide to writing your own business manual.

As for me, I am off to take a very overdue and extended vacation with my family in just a couple of days. Who will be handling things while I’m away? My very AWESOME project manager, Victoria, and talented team members we refer to as Team Worx.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!