Creating a Contingency Plan for WAHM Businesses

By: Kandi Traxel


The last question that anyone wants to think about is "What would happen to my home business if I was to be seriously injured or if I die? Who would tie up the loose ends?"

It can be difficult to think about these things, but just as it is important to leave a will and/or final personal wishes for your family, it is important to leave information regarding your business. If you become seriously ill, are injured in an accident, or in the event of your death, then you owe it to your customers, clients, or business associates to make sure that things are taken care of in a timely and professional manner. They are the ones that helped you make your business what it is; without them you would not have one. Making sure they are taken care of is extremely important.

Below is a checklist of what types of information you will need to document, along with tips and suggestions for the person you leave in charge.

Make a list of all website names, links, hosts (with contact information), plus usernames and passwords for these accounts. You may also want to leave instructions for accessing any of your website files on your hard drive, how to make changes and how to publish those files.

Make a list of all email addresses detailing which address belongs to which site, along with usernames and passwords for those accounts.

Leave the link to and username/password for your PayPal or any other "merchant" or payment processing accounts. Also if you have a separate business checking account, leave the account numbers, and any online username and passwords to access the account. If you have debit cards associated with those accounts, make a list of the card numbers that go with each account, along with a description of the card(s). For example if you have a PayPal account with a blue MasterCard debit card and a bank account with a red colored VISA, then you could list something like;
PayPal, Blue MasterCard, Card Number 1234567812345678
Bank Account at First Federal Bank, Red VISA, Card Number 0987654309876543

Leave instructions for accessing your online store account (if you have one) and retrieving any and all pending orders, plus instructions for filling or refunding those orders, i.e. where to find products, order products, or how you want the money refunded. Leave your preferences such as refunds via money order, business check, PayPal, etc.

If you sell on EBay, Half.com, Amazon (or any other “auction” type site), make sure to list usernames/passwords for the account(s), and leave instructions for retrieving any pending auctions or shipments. In the case of Half.com or Amazon, be sure to give detailed information on deleting your inventory.

Make a list of current affiliates, clients, contacts, advertisers, etc. with which you are doing business along with all contact information. A database program such as MS Access would be perfect for this.

Make a list of groups or message boards in which you participate and usernames and passwords for those accounts. Leave instructions on whether or not you want a message posted on these groups or message boards letting others know what has happened to you and when you will be returning to the group.

Make lists of names, addresses, phone numbers of all of your wholesale suppliers, drop shippers, or companies for which you are a representative, etc. along with names and email address or phone number of any particular contact with those companies.

Finally, sit down and type out all of the information that you would like to have in the email that you want sent out, the info to type on the homepage of your website, and the info you want to have posted in your groups. This should include any information on when you will be returning (if you know) or in the event that you will not be returning, final words, wishes, etc.

Go over all of this information with the person you wish to leave in charge. Choose someone that would be able to handle the responsibility professionally as well as emotionally in the event of your death. It would probably be unwise to leave this responsibility to your husband, your mother, or a grown child because this would likely be the last thing they will want to think about. If you can count on a good friend or business associate to do these things for you then it would be better. If you are personally familiar with your web site host, one of your affiliates, your business suppliers, etc. then leave some of the information with them and ask them to take care of it. For example, if your web host is a friend, leave instructions with them on the type of information that needs to be posted on the home page of your site, and whether you want all the pages taken down, etc. If you are personal friends with the owner of any groups of which you are a member, then leave information with them for posting a message on the group on your behalf.

It is important that ANY business have some type of contingency plan in place in the event of an emergency. Remember if YOU were the associate or customer of a business that suddenly closed (and it happens all the time), and you were left hanging, how happy would that make YOU? Use this same consideration when making your own contingency plan. It is not only the professional thing to do, it is the ETHICAL thing to do as well.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com


Kandi Traxel is a WAHM and the owner of Shop With a Mom www.shopwithamom.com/ and A Love of Coffee www.aloveofcoffee.com/