What's a Sole Proprietor to Do?

[eLIANT]

I spent the first 3 weeks of December in a medically-induced coma, and the last week of December relearning how to walk and feed myself.

Suffice it to say that when I got home, I saw how utterly and completely unprepared I was to leave my business behind should I be called "up yonder."

I use Outlook to remind me to send out bills.
I only have about half my passwords recorded in KeepPass.
I just set up a cron last week to automate all my backups.

!!!!!!!!!!

But even if I had a fully-automated, self-sustaining operation, who would my customers call when they have a question? Who would make changes to their site's content (which is why they've been paying those automatically generated bills each month)? Who would set up a new email account when they hire a new employee? Who would upgrade Coppermine for them over the weekend without them even knowing it?

Who would YOUR customers call if you and I were involved in a fatal accident?

Have any of you made contingency plans?
Do you have a partner?
How would I find a partner when there isn't even enough part-time work for me?

[esl]

I'm sincerely sorry to hear about your medical problems and and I do hope you are recovering well! Have you considered actually selling your entire business?

[eLIANT]

Originally Posted by esl

Have you considered actually selling your entire business?

Many times I have thought about the day when I will divest myself of this little enterprise, but today is not that day.

My wife and I fell from a combined income of about $135,000 USD back in 2001, to a combined income of whatever I can squeeze out of my 20 web customers. She and I are both unemployed, and I'm looking to increase my eLIANT business any way I can. However, I still have to make an effort to develop and implement a "business continuity" plan.

So if anyone ELSE out there is looking to get out of the business, or if you have customers who are asking you for more than you can deliver, I have fairly decent MySQL/PHP skills. (I'm actually VERY good at database design.)

Or - if your business continuity plan is as conspicuously absent as mine, PM me about some sort of partnering arrangement.

[bookmom]

This is an excellent and thought-provoking post.

I see two possibilities: either partner with someone just starting out (probably my first choice) or with someone in a similar situation. That way your customers will get more attention than if they suddenly were forced to go to a bigger firm where they'd get less attention. If they happened to be friends of yours and the event causing the switching was your death, they'd definitely need a little more understanding and attention.

Just my .02, knowing how I'd want to be treated. Hope you continue to improve.

[Target2019]

A brother and a very good friend wait in the wings to pick up the accounts. We all share the cost of hosting at a few different companies, and so there is familiarity with each other's needs.

Your post brings up good things to discuss, like a formal continuity plan. Thanks for the reminder.

[lwheelr]

One of my trainees has a service for just this event. She checks in with you once a week, and then follows your contingency plan if you are unreachable. She can notify clients, notify a single contact person, keep a record of critical access information, refer your clients to the backup provider of your choice, etc. Cost is either $10 or $25 per month, depending on the level of service you choose.

http://www.collins-admin.com

She's reliable and trustworthy, I've known her for many years now, and have been training her for over six months. We pay for this service for all of our trainees as part of their training benefits.

Laura
Firelight Web Studio

[twohawks]

Reviving an old thread. eLiant, I hope you and yours are doing well ;^)

I have been scratching me head over this issue.
Right now I am considering what are competent options for passing on critical passcodes to relevant clients when I pass on or if become incapacitated.

However, the ideas I am having do not necessarily set a protocol for continuing operations for a set time in the event I am expected to return.

I hope some folks chime in about how they are handling these things.

=========================
For now, I am considering that a 2 key passcode system that relies on independent encryption would be the most useful foundation to work with.

I haven't thought it through all the way yet, but the idea goes something like this....

As an example, Passpack relies on client side encryption, so there is theoretically no back door (however, I bet the government has trump-authority, but aside from that...) ...so that type of service might be a starting place...

Passpack also requires a login and a packing (decrypting) key to access your account codes, and it allows use of a Yubikey or similar...

So I imagine if I shared out pieces of these keys to trusted people (or attorneys or whatever), where the keys could only be combined and then used in the event I was incapacitated etc., i.e., these people would have to join together in order to then access the account,

I could simply store critical information and other pass codes/keys in that account and they would be safe, but available in the right way when/if needed.

---------------
The reasoning for using an online storage system is several reasons:
- not reliant on gaining access to my computer (say I went down in flames with it),
- I already utilize pass codes management systems, and I don't want to create a lot of extra work for double-management efforts for codes,

Additional security or benefits:
- a Yubi or other key could be kept in a safe deposit box only accessible through proper Power of Attorney, or by a trusted someone if I wish

========
Like I said, I haven't thought it all the way thru, but essentially I am musing over how to leverage a simple two-key system that can keep things simple yet secure.

Cheers,
TwoHawks

[twohawks]

As for a "protocol for continuing operations for a set time in the event I am expected to return"...

There are virtual resource agencies that provide centralized services with remote desktops, support desk, field technicians, and the like. I am betting one could approach such an agency and set something up for not too much investment.

Not sure how I would structure the arrangement, but I think it would go something like... when the right people get the keys and obtain access to my code-bank, there would be instructions for them to be contacting the agency to begin execution of strategies I laid out... Taking client calls, handling tech business, etc., with a responsible member on my end being consulted for executive issues/decisions in the interim.
That way I do not have to worry about the people whom I have left code-access to needing to be engineers, only responsible.

And I can rest assured my clients' business concerns that I steward may be responsibly cared for.


Of course, I always endeavor to make sure my clients are in full possession of their own data and codes, but in my experience you cannot rely on non-technical clients to manage such things responsibly.

Later,
HTH