Market Van Buren has announced a program to strengthen Van Buren County businesses through the development of custom resilience plans designed to mitigate the impact of unexpected business disruptions caused by hazards like natural disasters, supply chain shortages, and cybersecurity threats.
The “Build a Business Resilience Plan” program is a two-day workshop that will lead business leaders through the process of evaluating threats to their businesses, establishing preventative measures against those threats, and developing plans for addressing threats should preventative measures fail. The program will feature training from content experts on the four most common types of business hazards: natural and manmade disasters, cybersecurity threats, human capital crises, supply chain disruptions.
The workshop will be held on October 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and November 8 from 9:30 to 12 p.m. Attendance at both sessions is required.
“Large corporations recognize that this type of planning is a best practice, and many have whole departments focused on preparing for worst-case scenarios,” said Luke Barber, Vice-Chair of the board of Market Van Buren. “This program is a great resource for business leaders that want to ensure their business’ resilience and longevity.”
According to the Federal Emergency Management Administration, 40% of businesses affected by a natural or manmade disaster never reopen. FEMA also reports that of the businesses that manage to reopen after a disaster, 71% will fail within two years of reopening.
“While people tend to think about fires and floods when it comes to business disasters, cybersecurity threats and human capital crises can be just as damaging to a business’ ability to remain profitable,” said Zach Morris, Executive Director of Market Van Buren. “It is just as essential for businesses to have a plan to prevent cybersecurity breaches as it is to have a fire evacuation plan.”
The “Build a Business Resilience Plan” program is currently being offered to businesses in Van Buren County. Market Van Buren hopes to make the program available in other communities in the future.
Interested parties may register for the workshop at marketvanburen.org/rsvp. The deadline for registration is October 13. The cost to register is $95, which covers the cost of attendance for two staff members. Businesses interested in sending additional staff members should contact Sarah Snoeyink at snoeyinks@marketvanburen.org.
Development of this program was supported the Consumers Energy Foundation and program delivery is supported by Mercantile Bank of Michigan.
About Market Van Buren
Market Van Buren, a subsidiary of Kinexus Group, is an economic development organization dedicated to the advancement of economic growth in Van Buren County. The organization was formed to bring the public and private sectors together to advance the economic interests of Van Buren County. For more information, visit www.marketvanburen.org, follow us on Twitter @MarketVanBuren, or “like” us on Facebook @MarketVanBuren.
