Running a business, small, medium or large, can be very challenging, especially here in Lismore and the Northern Rivers when you consider the natural disaster factor.

A new course called Business Beyond Disasters launches today and runs for 10 weeks. It is designed for the extremely busy lives of owners and managers alike, and will be open until the end of the year.

CEO of Resilient Ready, Renae Hanvin, told the Lismore App that the microlearning program is free for all businesses and nonprofits operating across the Northern Rivers.

"Each week, we issue out a new module which has a different topic. It's all focused on learning how to build resilience in your business or nonprofit in five-minute intervals. I know that, as a small business person myself, it's hard to find the time in the headspace to think about preparing for disruptions, so we've broken it down into little things that can be done in five-minute intervals.

"Each of the modules has some questions just to prompt your thinking; really simple questions. We've got really simple worksheets so you can print them out or fill them out online, catch up with the business person next door to again get you thinking about how to better prepare, and they also have a local case study video. So these are sort of about five-minute videos, which are with local Northern Rivers business people, and they share their experiences relating to each of the module topics." 

As an example, Renae spoke about filming Brad and Steve from the Goat Collective last week. The Lismore-based operation talks about competitor collaborations.

"They actually met as two competitors working in the rebuild after the flood recovery," Renae explained, "And they worked sort of side-by-side for 12 months, and then thought we should just go into business together, so now they're a great example of working together." 

The Business Beyond Disasters is not just focused on natural disasters; it deals with various disruptions to businesses, such as an economic downturn or a COVID-type scenario.

"The sort of impacts to your business is pretty much 80% going to be the same. So, the topics that we look at are things like the 80/20 rule, how you can plan for all types of disruptions at once? We look at your essential operation, so what are the baseline parts of your business that you need to make sure you can safely keep trading?

"We look at operating through disasters, like what things can you set up so if you need to operate from a different premises or again connecting to see some competitors and get those plans sorted; essential information, so the likes of your insurance premiums or other customer or client data. How do you get them when it's all being a bit disrupted?

"Insurance, I know lots of people hate talking about insurance. It's complex. It's boring, it's expensive. Some people can't get it. We've got a great case study from a local insurance advisor who's been in the business for 56 years in the Northern Rivers and Mike's got some awesome knowledge to share with people about the choices you can make.

"We look at financial viability. Again, don't put your head in the bucket; go and get help, there's help out there, because if your cash flow is not working and you're going back financially, that has major consequences both personally and professionally.

"We look at evacuation triggers, so if you know what the warning signs are for all types of disruptions, and disasters can bring opportunities. Whilst a lot of businesses we have spoken to have, I hate the word, but pivoted and are now doing some great things as an outcome of disruptions."

The Business Beyond Disaster program was designed by Renae back in 2021 with different communities in NSW, including Lismore. They have been run in Kangaroo Island, south of Adelaide, and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria with a large take-up and positive results.

"Disaster preparedness and thinking about your business operations is not necessarily what you wake up to do every morning, but the results have been really great. Some people have actually changed their whole business structures because looking at things like financial liability, they've realised that they've got one revenue stream and that's a major risk, so they've diversified revenue streams.

"We have a whole plethora of modules with about 50 module topics. In Yeppoon in Queensland, they had a module on Can't Keep Going and the data told us that 25% of those businesses wanted to close their doors, which is pretty alarming for a regional town. So, we then got to look at why and realised they just needed help with a bit of marketing, and again, things like diversifying revenue streams.

"Each module has two questions that we ask, and we share that back with the funders, which is Reconstruction New South Wales, so they can see what the trends are and look to do things to enhance it. So, like the Yeppoon example, where they were telling us that they were thinking about closing down. We did some workshops and got them some support in some key areas, and as a result, not many of them shut down, which is a great outcome." 

There are five specific versions of the Business Beyond Disaster program depending on the type of your business:

• Retail, professional services and education
• Agribusiness and aqua business
• Tourism
• Health and social services
• Construction, trade and manufacturing.  

More information can be found at the Reconstruction Authority (RA) website.

You can sign up for the 10-week program by clicking here.

Business Beyond Disasters is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the NSW Government.