How Can Business Owners Weather the Rainy Season? 9 Tips

Weather, especially the stormy kind, can significantly affect your business. It can influence customer moods and behaviors, damage your property, lower employee morale and disrupt business operations. 

You can prevent negative impacts from floods and other water-related weather events by taking time to plan and prepare. Follow these nine tips to fortify your business against storms.

1. Create an Emergency Preparedness Plan

The first step in navigating the rainy season is to design a response plan that prepares your workforce and your building to handle potential emergencies. Not every storm will cause an emergency, but having a plan in place will ensure you’re always ready.

You may want to include the following points in your plan:

• Research your risk levels.
• Assess potential hazards.
• Form evacuation routes.
• Ensure you have emergency supplies on hand.
• Determine merchandise or equipment protection priorities.
• Study your insurance coverage.
• Test procedures regularly.

2. Stay Updated on the Weather

Learn about the type of weather your area typically experiences and the extreme weather events you may encounter. Review weather reports frequently and sign up for alerts about changing conditions so you can make informed decisions about your business operations.

Safe travel is essential for your employees and customers, so watch for weather reports and advice from local authorities to see when it is safe and practical to open your business. Proactively monitoring the weather will help you prepare for rainy days and ensure the safety of your workforce and customers.

3. Keep Employees and Customers Informed

Create clear lines of communication so you can keep your staff informed about schedule changes, business operations and other essential information. You will also want to ensure employees can contact you and other important personnel in case of an emergency on-site.

If you need to limit or stop services during a storm, you’ll want to keep current and potential customers updated so they know what to expect. Plan ways to inform customers with appointments or reservations about cancellations or rearrangements. If you’lll be updating store hours or availability, send an email or create a social media post.

4. Protect Essential Documents and Data

Find a storage method for your physical documents to protect them from water and storm damage, such as a waterproof filing container. Make copies of essential records and store them off-site in a secure location in case your original information is damaged in a storm.

Use a cloud system to back up your data so you can access it from anywhere and on any device. Having data readily accessible through your cloud system will enable you to address damage and get your business back up and running as quickly as possible.

5. Plan for Employee Safety and Morale

Create employee safety plans that include evacuation protocols, general safety tips for wet conditions, emergency contact information and other essential safety procedures so your workforce is prepared to handle rainy weather and emergency situations. 

Dark, stormy days and water-related natural disasters can take a toll on employee morale. Declining mental health can affect employee productivity and satisfaction, so maintaining morale throughout the rainy season is essential to business operations and success. 

A few ideas to boost morale on stormy days include:

• Catering a free meal or snacks.
• Giving positive feedback and encouragement.
• Prioritizing the safety of employees when weather becomes severe.
• Providing mental health resources and support.

6. Minimize Physical Damage

You need to protect your building, inventory, equipment and other physical property from weather damage so you can maintain operations and customer satisfaction. If you work in an area with high winds, consider storm shutters. If you operate in a city susceptible to flooding, invest in sandbags, tarps and other essential equipment. 

Protecting your property is essential, whether you run your business out of a brick-and-mortar building or your own home. If you operate your company out of your garage, ensure you have sufficient insulation and a protective garage door. Wooden doors can soak up rainwater, becoming 20 pounds heavier than when they were first installed. The excess weight can strain your door opener and damage your system, leading to more problems for your business and home.

7. Gather Data Insights

Customers may be more likely to purchase certain items or services from your business when it rains. Keep track of which products and services do well on rainy days and create marketing plans to promote them throughout the rest of the rainy season.

If you sell clothing, rubber boots and rain jackets may be popular items when it starts to rain. If you run a restaurant or cafe, customers may come inside seeking warm soup and beverages to beat the wet, cold weather outside. Pay attention to how customer trends relate to the weather, then capitalize on those trends so you can meet consumer needs while driving more revenue.

8. Develop Flexibility

Flexibility is key to navigating the rainy season. As you adjust your services to meet customer needs and ensure your staff’s safety, you can maintain sales and boost consumer perceptions. 

People may be more likely to order delivery from your restaurant rather than dine in on a rainy day. You can exceed customer satisfaction and improve employee productivity by assigning more staff members to delivery tasks rather than serving roles so you can easily keep up with demand. If you operate a landscaping company, creating a rainy day policy will set expectations with your customers while keeping your crew safe in inclement weather.

9. Limit or Stop Service

If the weather is severe enough, you may need to limit or stop your services. While this may seem counterintuitive for boosting business, it can actually bring many benefits, such as:

• Enhanced brand image: Taking the time to show you value employee and customer safety will improve your image as a trustworthy brand.
• Improved employee loyalty: Employees who feel recognized and appreciated by their employers will be more loyal and productive.
• Increased satisfaction: When you proactively notify customers and employees about operational changes, you can enhance their experiences and satisfaction.

Weathering the Rainy Season Takes Preparation

Implementing these nine tips will help you prepare your business to navigate storms from one season to the next. As you protect your property and prioritize employee and customer safety, you will be able to create a solid, positive brand image while driving more revenue. Take the time to make a plan for the rainy season or reevaluate yours today.