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Hurricane Sandy and Winter Storm Athena have caused billions of dollars of lost revenue due to road closures, power outages, and tight gas supplies. Many companies had business continuity (or disaster recovery) plans in place that got their businesses up and running much quicker than those who did not. One of my clients in New Jersey was lucky enough to have one in place, and had tested it two weeks before Hurricane Sandy devastated the eastern seaboard. Their business remained open throughout the days leading up to, during, and after Hurricane Sandy wreaked her havoc.
No matter the size of your business, you should have some kind of business recovery plan in place. It can be as short as 1 page or over 100 pages. At minimum, it should include contact information for all staff, telephone and account numbers for critical vendors (i.e. utility companies, telephone and Internet providers, computer and other critical hardware vendors, and backup record locations.) Your business recovery plan should also contain alternate vendor numbers that should be reviewed and/or updated regularly.
All key staff members should have a copy at the office and at home.
While there is no way to account for every eventuality, a good business continuity plan goes a long way to help you get your business up and running as quickly as possible in the event of a business disruption.
Here are a couple of links to help you develop a business continuity plan for your business:
http://www.businessweek.com/small-business/legal-forms/running-a-small-business/departmental-business-continuity-plan-template.html
http://www.inc.com/tools/business-continuity-plan-template.html | 
