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Ready Business workshops will be offered

Fifty individuals in North Carolina outreach organizations were recently trained to help North Carolina businesses be better prepared for disaster. Trainers with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, the Industrial Extension Service and the Small Business and Technology Development Centers and N.C. Community Colleges are now organizing teams to present workshop for small and medium business owners across the state.

In 2011, North Carolina was struck by a number of natural disasters, ranging from to tornadoes to Hurricane Irene. Both residents and businesses in these communities are still struggling to recover.

Research shows that in the aftermath of disaster, 40-60 percent of businesses that close will fail within a year. This partnership of trainers organized the workshop to ensure that North Carolina businesses are prepared for disasters so that they can recover and resume business.

Rick Atterberry of the Extension Disaster Education Network conducted train-the-trainer workshops in Rocky Mount and Hickory in early March. These trainers are now qualified to help businesses in their communities develop their own disaster preparedness plans.

Business owners who participate in a Ready Business workshop will:
• Understand the need for business continuity and disaster preparedness planning
• Know the concepts of business continuity and disaster preparedness planning
• Discover their disaster risks
• Begin writing their individual disaster plans

To learn more about EDEN’s Ready Business program, visit the EDEN website: eden.lsu.edu/EDENCourses/ReadyBusiness/Pages/default.aspx

-Written by Natalie Hampton, nhampton@ncsu.edu or 919.513.3128