According to new data from SingleHop just 6% or fewer businesses impacted by weather survived. This will certainly apply to many real estate businesses in the New England, and their tenants. So what makes the difference in surviving and thriving and not?

The statistics compiled in an infographic by SingleHop show that only 6% of companies without a disaster plan can survive if their data centers go down for just 10 days. Additionally only about half of all businesses that shut down will ever reopen, while 93% will ultimately go bankrupt within the following year.

The scariest part is that weather is responsible for over 30% of business downtime. Just having data centers hit can be disastrous, but Massachusetts businesses also have to deal with blizzards, freezing weather, and potentially other natural and man-made disasters including hurricanes which can disrupt income and work.

So how can real estate investors and industry firms insulate themselves from these storms and increase their odds of being one of the survivors?

1. Have a Disaster Plan

Obviously one of the best ways of increasing odds of surviving and thriving is to have an emergency and disaster plan established well in advance of a situation. Going further; have systems in place which automatically kick in when disaster strikes. A great example of this is emergency phone routing and call forwarding which directs calls to other numbers.

2. Diversification

Diversify into a greater number of buildings instead of just one larger investment. Diversify investments into different areas. Have staff, storage and operations spread among multiple locations.

3. Access to Money

Vendors are still going to expect to be paid even though banking may be disrupted. Have access to cash and alternate banking solutions to be on the safe side.

4. Have a Plan for Dealing with Tenants

Direct property damage may occur and tenants are going to want answers about repairs. Also expect tenants to be late on rent because their own businesses and incomes have been disrupted. Simply clearing house and making threats is not likely to be the best solution in the long run. Instead have a plan; know what you will do, what you can do and what you can’t and make sure you property managers are on the same page.

5. Have the right property management firm in place

Have a property management team equipped to weather storms and that knows how to handle these situations efficiently and as profitably as possible.