HBRC hosts successful seminar, offers no-cost consulting.
The University of Houston Hurricane Business Recovery Center (HBRC) presented CAN YOUR BUSINESS WEATHER THE STORM? to a near capacity crowd on Thursday, May 3, 2012, at the San Luis Resort and Conference Center on Galveston Island.
“Our seminar was a huge success. It was a great opportunity for the area’s small business owners to learn about the latest in business resilience and disaster recovery.
It was also a tremendous networking event for those who attended,” explained James B. Evans, HBRC’s director.
Anthony Pizzitola, a certified business continuity expert based in Houston, was the keynote speaker. His presentation on business sustainability set the tone for the remainder of the day. “We absolutely must continue to help entrepreneurs stay prepared for storms, and disasters of any kind,” explained Pizzitola. “Unprepared people can lose all that they have worked very hard to build over a lifetime in just a few moments.”
The numbers make a compelling case for being prepared. According to statistics available from both the Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration, over 40 percent of businesses that are damaged by a natural disaster or by a major fire never reopen. Of those that do reopen their doors after a catastrophic loss, 50 percent fail within two years.
The HBRC hurricane event’s agenda included break-out sessions that focused on using cloud storage to protect data, the role of social media in disaster communications, and understanding insurance. KPRC TV Channel 2’s Chief Meteorologist Frank Billingsley shared hurricane stories and important information about the upcoming hurricane season.
“We urge all small business owners along the Texas Gulf Coast to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season,” said Evans. “HBRC offers no-cost, one-on-one consulting services to help entrepreneurs create a plan for business sustainability.” More information on HBRC’s services can be found at www.hbrc.uh.edu.
ABOUT HBRC: HBRC is a business consulting and training center of the UH Small Business Development Center Network. Funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, HBRC provides no-cost and confidential business counseling and no-cost workshops to small business owners along the Upper Texas Gulf Coast who were impacted by hurricanes in 2008.
