Risk and business continuity for Sydney small and medium businesses

When this is the right place to start

Things are going well, but you know the business depends on a few people and a few systems. Common signs:

• If a key person is away, work stops.
• One system going down would stop everything.
• You keep firefighting the same problem every month.
• Nobody can say what could actually take the business down.

What we do together

• Risk identification. We name the risks that quietly derail good plans. Each one gets a name, an owner and a plan, long before it becomes a crisis.
• Governance and controls. Practical rules and checks sized to your business, so execution stays safe and your market position stays protected. Not a compliance checklist.
• Business continuity planning. A plan you can actually use in a real emergency, covering people, systems, suppliers and customers.

How I approach it

I draw on ISO 31000 for risk and ISO 22301 for continuity, scaled down so a business of ten people can use them. The aim is a simple risk register and a short continuity plan, never a document that exists only for a lawyer to read.

I test the plan against the business as it really is, including the weeks when someone is sick, a supplier is late and a big client is waiting.

What good looks like

Risks have a name and an owner. The business has a plan for its worst week, not just its best one. Nothing that happens is a total surprise, and a key person's unexpected leave barely causes a ripple.

Where we start

With a coffee chat to get to know you and the business. Then a discovery and business review, and a clear set of options for you to consider. There is no pressure to decide on the spot.