Business Resilience Workshop | Beyond the Basics
Free workshop aims to help small-business owners recover more quickly after natural disasters.
Thriving in Florida’s business climate means surviving the various potential disasters associated with its dynamic environment. Yet small business owners often find themselves confronted with so many daily duties and unforeseen challenges that they postpone—perpetually—preparation for what they don’t want to happen.
However, operating a small business amid South Florida’s weather patterns requires expecting the unexpected. That’s why the Business Development Board of Martin County is hosting a free workshop so business owners of every kind can gain the knowledge essential to protecting their company, their employees, and their investments, whatever comes their way.
Business Resilience: Beyond the Basics will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on May 29 at Indian River State College’s Chastain Campus in Stuart. Breakfast and refreshments are included.
The program will address, among others:
- Perils of unpreparedness: Too few business owners know that a business plan, operations plan, and current books are essential to qualifying for disaster-relief funding.
- Step-by-step navigation: Detailed instructions on applying for no- or low-interest economic-injury loans.
- Supply-chain contingency plans: Expert insights on the importance of knowing how the scope of a disaster can impact your suppliers, vendors and customers—and how to build viable backup options.
“Fires, flooding, hurricanes, and as we all recently found out—even tornadoes—pose real threats to people, property, and overall public safety,” says William Corbin, BDBMC executive director, whose Stuart community endured a direct tornado strike during Hurricane Milton. “While there are things homeowners can do to prepare, business owners’ responses must go beyond shutters and sandbags. That’s where the Business Resilience workshop steps in, providing actionable strategies every CEO will want to know.”
Numerous nationwide studies show that as many as 40 to 60 percent of small businesses permanently close their doors after widespread disasters. Common contributing factors include failures to back up essential data and financial information, lack of proper insurance, and unrealistic estimates about their abilities to withstand extended interruptions in supply chains, vendor payments, and making payroll.
“Natural disasters wreak havoc in countless ways,” says Corbin. “Even if there’s no loss of life, the loss of property and time that it takes to recover can impact individuals’ lives in major ways and hurt the local economy. We’re especially appreciative that so many of our partners embraced the importance of participating in this workshop and sharing their knowledge and expertise with others. A more resilient economy is to everyone’s benefit.”
While the BDBMC works closely with light manufacturers and legacy industries such as aviation and marine, the strategies shared in the workshop remain relevant for every business owner regardless of specialty.
Presenters include the Martin County Emergency Management Agency, FPL, FloridaMakes, CONNEX, South Florida Manufacturers Association, Small Business Development Center at IRSC, Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, CareerSource Research Coast, Solar Energy Loan Fund, and several other subject-matter experts across the private sector.
Registration required; CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY!
Speakers
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Katherine CulhaneAssociate Director, Small Business Development Council at IRSC
Florida SBDC at Indian River State College / Entrepreneurship Development Institute
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Michael AllerDirector of Supplier Development - FloridaMakes
Michael Aller’s areas of technical emphasis and strategic engagement include helping Florida’s aviation & aerospace, defense, medical devices, personal protective equipment and power generation manufacturing industries strengthen their domestic manufacturing supply chains, as well as improve their resilience to adverse events and identify and capture new opportunities in commercial space, critical infrastructure, national security and other fast-growing markets. With colleagues and partners across the state and the nation, Mike has worked to develop and roll out value-added tools and resources to support the interconnectedness, growth, productivity and resilience of Florida’s and our nation’s manufacturing ecosystem. These value-added resources include the Connex Florida supplier connection platform, the Florida Defense Cybersecurity Training Program, supplier opportunity forums in high-growth and nationally critical sectors of manufacturing, and a series of assessments for supply chain risk management and disaster recovery and resilience for manufacturers of all sizes.
Prior to his role with FloridaMakes, Mike helped to establish and lead Energy Florida, an industry-led non-profit association that has developed a robust ecosystem of support services for the Southeastern U.S. energy technology industry. Mike also served as Director of Technical Affairs for the Gas Turbine Association (GTA) and Consortium for Advanced Production and Engineering of Gas Turbines and Rotating Machinery (CAPE). The GTA and CAPE consortium work with a broad coalition of industry partners from across the country to outline the necessary steps to develop new materials and industrial processes, testing standards and certification parameters which will enable the next generation of gas turbine design, engineering and manufacturing in the United States.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Aller served in a variety of public policy roles in Washington, DC, including serving on the staff of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Brookings Institution, and the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He has also taught international economics, emerging economies (China and India), and global energy and resource issues at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He holds degrees in economics and technology policy from Georgetown University and the University of California, San Diego. Mike is a former member of the United States Rowing National Team and lives with his wife and 2 children in Winter Park, Florida.
