As some of you may know the Caribbean, the Eastern United States and Eastern Canada are experiencing what's known around here as "heavy weather."

The New York City Department of Small Business sent out an email on Sunday (read it here) to encourage all owners of small businesses to prepare for the possibilities of flooding, fire, long-term power outages that require you to move work location, etc.

I thought this was an excellent list, even if many of the suggestions aren't relevant to my own business. As it happens, I'm in the midst of teaching an online course about establishing a professional practice, and we'd been talking about business risks and disaster plans. This list describes many of the basics we'd discussed, and that freelancers and small business owners sometimes forget.

So, to those of you who run a business, I'm wondering: Have you established a disaster plan? Do you have one in your head, even? Have you identified and isolated the basic information you'd need if you had to move from wherever you work now?