# Business Continuity Plan > Develops business continuity plans with risk assessment, recovery procedures, and communication protocols to keep operations running during crises. - Skill: `reaperinvest/business-continuity-plan` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add reaperinvest/business-continuity-plan` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/reaperinvest/business-continuity-plan/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: reaperinvest (https://skillmd.com/u/reaperinvest) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/reaperinvest/business-continuity-plan --- # Business Continuity Plan ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Create a plan for keeping business operations running during disruptions - Identify critical business functions and their recovery procedures - Build communication protocols for emergencies and crises - Prepare for scenarios like tech failures, health emergencies, natural disasters, or key person unavailability **DO NOT** use this skill for cybersecurity incident response, insurance planning, or legal liability assessments. This is for operational continuity planning. --- ## Core Principle A BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN IS INSURANCE YOU WRITE YOURSELF — THE TIME TO BUILD IT IS WHEN YOU DO NOT NEED IT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU NEED IT, YOU WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO BUILD IT. --- ## Phase 1: Risk Assessment Identify what could disrupt the business and how severely. ### Required Inputs | Input | What to Ask | Default | |-------|------------|---------| | **Business type** | "What does your business do and how do you deliver value?" | No default — must be provided | | **Revenue streams** | "What are your main revenue sources?" | No default | | **Key tools/platforms** | "What tools are critical to daily operations?" | No default | | **Team structure** | "Is it just you, or do you have team members/contractors?" | Solopreneur | | **Biggest fear** | "What scenario keeps you up at night business-wise?" | No default | ### Risk Identification Score each risk on likelihood (1-5) and impact (1-5): ``` ## Risk Assessment Matrix | Risk Scenario | Likelihood | Impact | Risk Score | Priority | |--------------|-----------|--------|-----------|----------| | Primary tool/platform goes down | 3 | 5 | 15 | HIGH | | Key person illness (2+ weeks) | 3 | 4 | 12 | HIGH | | Data loss / breach | 2 | 5 | 10 | MEDIUM | | Supplier failure | 2 | 3 | 6 | MEDIUM | | Natural disaster | 1 | 4 | 4 | LOW | ``` **GATE: Confirm risk assessment before building recovery procedures.** --- ## Phase 2: Recovery Procedures Build specific recovery plans for each high and medium priority risk. ### Critical Functions Map ``` ## Critical Business Functions | Function | Tools Required | Recovery Time Objective | Responsible | Backup Person | |----------|---------------|----------------------|-------------|---------------| | Client delivery | [tools] | 24 hours | [Name] | [Name/None] | | Payment processing | [tools] | 4 hours | [Name] | [Name/None] | | Communication | [tools] | 1 hour | [Name] | [Name/None] | ``` ### Recovery Procedure Template For each high-priority risk, document: ``` ## Recovery Plan: [Risk Scenario] **Trigger:** [What indicates this scenario is happening] **Severity:** [Critical / Major / Minor] **Recovery Time Objective:** [How fast must you recover] ### Immediate Actions (first 1-2 hours) 1. [Action step with specific instructions] 2. [Action step] 3. [Action step] ### Short-Term Recovery (24-72 hours) 1. [Action step] 2. [Action step] ### Return to Normal 1. [Action step] 2. [Post-incident review] ### Resources Needed - [Tool, contact, document, or access needed] ``` **GATE: Present recovery procedures for review.** --- ## Phase 3: Communication Protocol Define who gets told what, when, and how during a disruption. ### Stakeholder Communication Plan ``` ## Crisis Communication Plan | Stakeholder | Notify Within | Method | Message Template | Responsible | |-------------|--------------|--------|-----------------|-------------| | Active clients | 4 hours | Email | Service disruption notice | [Name] | | Team/contractors | 1 hour | Slack/text | Operational update | [Name] | | Key vendors | 24 hours | Email | Impact assessment | [Name] | | Social media followers | 24 hours | Platform post | Status update | [Name] | ``` ### Message Templates Provide pre-written templates for each stakeholder group: ``` **Client notification:** Subject: Service Update from [Business Name] Hi [Name], I want to let you know about [brief description of situation]. Here is what this means for you: - [Impact on their project/service] - [What you are doing about it] - [Expected resolution timeline] I will send another update by [date/time]. If you have urgent questions, [contact method]. [Name] ``` --- ## Phase 4: Maintenance Ensure the plan stays current and accessible. ### Plan Storage and Access - Store the plan in at least 2 locations (cloud + local backup) - Share access with any backup person or virtual assistant - Include login credentials in a secure password manager with emergency access ### Review Schedule - **Quarterly:** Review contact information and tool access - **Biannually:** Test one recovery procedure end-to-end - **Annually:** Full plan review and update - **After any incident:** Update the plan with lessons learned ### Emergency Contacts Sheet ``` ## Emergency Contacts | Contact | Role | Phone | Email | When to Contact | |---------|------|-------|-------|----------------| | [Name] | Backup operator | [#] | [email] | Any major disruption | | [Name] | Web host support | [#] | [email] | Site goes down | | [Name] | Accountant | [#] | [email] | Financial issues | ``` --- ## Anti-Patterns - **Plan exists but no one can find it** — a plan locked in a tool that is down during the crisis is useless. Store it accessibly. - **Too detailed to be usable** — a 50-page plan will not be read during an emergency. Keep recovery steps to 5-7 actions per scenario. - **Single point of failure ignored** — if only you have the password, the login, or the knowledge, that IS the risk. - **Never tested** — a plan that has never been tested is a theory, not a plan. Run a tabletop exercise annually. - **Written once and forgotten** — business changes make old plans irrelevant. Review regularly. --- ## Recovery - **User has no backup person:** Identify the minimum information a hired emergency VA would need to keep critical functions running for 48 hours. Document that. - **User has too many risks to plan for:** Focus on the top 3 by risk score. A plan for 3 risks beats no plan for 20. - **User thinks they are too small to need this:** Ask "What happens to your clients if you are in the hospital for a week?" That is the conversation starter. - **User already experienced a disruption:** Use the incident as the first case study. Document what happened, what worked, what failed, and build the plan from there. - **User has no team to delegate to:** Build a "break glass" document — minimum instructions for a trusted person to keep the business alive for 72 hours.