October is the calm before the season of nor’easters, ice storms and heavy snow. For a small business in New England, a single outage can mean lost sales, missed calls and frozen systems. The best time to prepare is now, while the weather is still mild and there is time to fix what a quick review turns up.

Protect Power to Critical Equipment

Even brief power flickers can damage electronics or corrupt data. Start with the basics:

• Put computers, network equipment and point-of-sale terminals on surge protectors at a minimum.
• Consider an uninterruptible power supply, a battery unit that keeps key equipment running for a short time and allows a safe shutdown.
• Label which outlets and devices matter most, so staff know what to protect first.
• If you use a backup generator, follow the manufacturer’s safety instructions, never run it indoors and have a licensed electrician handle any connection to building wiring.

Plan for Internet Outages

Many businesses now depend entirely on the internet for payments, scheduling and communication. Think through what happens if your connection goes down:

• Can your point-of-sale system process cards offline and sync later? Check its settings and limits in advance.
• Is a cellular hotspot or phone tethering available as a temporary backup?
• Do you know how to reach your internet provider’s outage information from a phone?
• Are your router and modem on battery backup so a short power blip does not drop the connection?

Keep Phones and Customers Connected

If customers cannot reach you, they may assume you are closed for good. Make sure your business phone line can forward to a mobile number. Prepare a short message for your website, social media and online business listings explaining any closure or changed hours. Write it now, so you only need to fill in the details during a storm.

Confirm Your Backups

Storms are a common time for hardware failures and water damage. Before winter, verify that backups of important files and systems are running and that you can actually restore from them. Keep at least one copy off-site or in the cloud, so damage to the office does not take your data with it. If laptops leave the office during storms, make sure they are encrypted and protected with strong passwords.

Write a One-Page Plan

A simple, printed plan is easier to follow in a crisis than a complicated binder. Include:

• Who decides whether to close and how staff will be notified.
• Contact information for your internet provider, phone provider, IT help and landlord.
• Steps to shut down and restart key systems safely.
• Where backups, passwords and important documents are kept.

Sign up for local emergency alerts from your city or town and follow official guidance during storms, including from the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. An hour of preparation in October can save days of disruption in January.

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