The Resilient Business Series
A step-by-step series guiding small business owners through an editable continuity planning template to help them prepare, respond and recover from disruptions.
What is this program?
The Resilient Business Series is a practical, month-by-month program designed to help your small business, build resilience and continuity planning into your operations. Created for busy Sunshine Coast business owners like you, this series breaks down the essential elements of business continuity into manageable steps, empowering you to prepare for unexpected challenges and thrive in an ever-changing environment.
Why participate?
This free series equips you with the tools, resources, and confidence to safeguard your business from risks such as natural disasters, cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions, and more. Each month, the series will spotlight a key section of the continuity planning template, offering insights and actionable steps to guide you. Complete each section month by month and create a comprehensive continuity plan for your business in time for storm season.
Get started!
The Resilient Business Series begins now, download the Continuity Planning template and subscribe to our Business E-news to receive notification of each month's topic.
Complete the sections below month-by-month and together, we’ll build a stronger, more resilient business community.
June - Risk Assessment & Business Impact Analysis
June - Risk Assessment & Business Impact Analysis
Welcome to the Resilient Business Series - June Focus
This month, we are taking the first critical step in building your business resilience.
Your June action: Complete pages 5-11 of the Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Template.
These pages guide you through identifying your business risks, planning to reduce those risks and understanding the potential impact disruptions could have on your operations.
What You'll Be Doing
Risk Assessment
Identify the internal and external risks that could affect your business operations - from cyber threats and natural disasters to supply chain disruptions.
Mitigation Plan
Plan the actions you can take now to reduce the likelihood and impact of those risks. This proactive step can save time, money and stress in the long run.
Business Impact Analysis (BIA)
Analyse which parts of your business are most critical and how long you can manage without them. This helps you prioritise what to protect and recover first in a crisis.
How to Complete It
Refer to the Business Continuity Planning Template and follow the four simple steps outlined for each section:
- Identify - What could go wrong?
- Assess - How likely is it to happen? How severe would the impact be?
- Plan - What actions will reduce the risk or help you recover faster?
- Review - Keep your plan relevant by reviewing regularly
Tip: Use your favourite Ai platform to help you begin brainstorming - here is an example prompt for Chat GPT.
"I run a [type of business] located in [location]. Please help me complete a basic risk assessment for my business. I'd like to:
- Identify the top risks I should be aware of (including natural disasters, cyber threats, supply chain issues, and other operational risks relevant to my industry and region);
- Understand the potential impact of each risk on my business operations;
- Get suggestions for practical preventative actions I can take to reduce the likelihood or severity of each risk; and
- Outline a simple contingency plan for what I should do if each risk actually occurs."
Why This Matters?
Understand your risks and preparing now means:
- Faster recovery when disruption strikes
- Greater confidence in decision-making
- Long-term protection for your people, profits and operations
To Do
- Download the template
- Complete pages 5 - 11 by 30 June
- Stay tuned for July's focus.
We would love to hear from you - reach out to the Local Business Support team anytime - [email protected].
July - Data & Cyber Security Resilience
July - Data & Cyber Security Resilience
Welcome to the Resilient Business Series - July Focus
This month, we are focusing on protecting one of your most valuable business assets - your data.
Your July action: Complete pages 12–16 of the Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Template.
These pages guide you through understanding your data risks, improving your cyber security measures, and helping you create a plan to recover from data or cyber incidents.
What You'll Be Doing
Data & Cyber Security Assessment
Identify your key business data sources, where they are kept, who has access to them and how it's protected. Secure information handling is key to both compliance and continuity.
Data Recovery Strategy
Understand how to restore your data, systems and operations quickly and safely. Backups only help if they are up to date and can be accessed when needed.
Protective Measures
Review and implement strategies to reduce your cyber risks. Complete the Cyber Security Best Practice checklist, on page 14, for easy-to-follow steps.
How to Complete It
Refer to the Business Continuity Planning Template and follow the four simple steps outlined for this section.
Consider:
- Identify - What data or systems are most critical, what threats exist?
- Assess - How likely is the threat to occur, what would be the impact?
- Plan - What actions can you take to protect your data and respond to a breach?
- Review - Test your systems and update your plan as your business changes.
Why This Matters?
A single cyber security breach can lead to financial loss, damage to customer trust and legal consequences. Being prepared means:
- Less downtime and disruption in the event of a cyber incident
- Better protection for customer data and business reputation
- Confidence that your systems and information are secure
To Do
- Download the template
- Complete pages 12 - 16 by 31 July
- Stay tuned for August's focus
We would love to hear from you - reach out to the Local Business Support team anytime - [email protected].
August - Financial Resilience
August - Financial Resilience
Stay tuned for what's to come in August by subscribing to Council's Business E-news!
September - Supply Chain & Resource Resilience
September - Supply Chain & Resource Resilience
Stay tuned for what's to come in September by subscribing to Council's Business E-news!
October - Emergency Contact List and Essentials Kit
October - Emergency Contact List and Essentials Kit
Stay tuned for what's to come in October by subscribing to Council's Business E-news!
November - Premise Preparation and Communication Planning
November - Premise Preparation and Communication Planning
Stay tuned for what's to come in November by subscribing to Council's Business E-news!
