By Brian Buonassissi:

This may seem a bit of a morbid scenario, but if your company’s data was destroyed in a fire or some other unforeseen incident and you had to pick up the next day right where you left off, would you be able to do so? After all, lose your event data, leads in the pipeline, contact information, contracts, playlists, music, etc. and you’ll lose business.

Here are a few tips on how you can ensure your data doesn’t take a dump on your bottom line…

Create videos or manuals Some of your repetitive procedures and tasks should be documented either with videos, manuals or both. For one, this takes the liability out of having everything being in one person’s head. It also saves you time if you bring on somebody to take on that task and it keeps things consistent. Of course, I recommend going through all of those things regularly and updating them as need be, but at least you have a baseline.

Have an online cloud-based storage mechanisms We utilize Dropbox for most of our items (including those videos or manuals mentioned above) but Google drive, iCloud, etc. all make for great places to store training documents, music, etc. For our sales leads and event tracking, we use an online CRM and event planning software. We don’t want all the planning forms in one guy’s bag. Should a DJ of ours get in a car accident on the way to an event or something catastrophic happens, we need to immediately be able to have someone step in and be up to speed with the least amount of disruption possible.

One Password! We utilize one password to store key log-ins and other valuable data. This allows you to give access to certain people based on a hierarchy system. Things like our wi-fi codes, accountant contact, company credit card information, EIN#, banking info, etc. is all stored and given to the appropriate personnel.

Have a succession plan in place Similar to having a will that gives your family/loved ones direction should something happen, we want a clear and concise protocol in place as to how the company moves forward. With our company, this is not only talked about regularly with key staff personnel but is documented so no one is left wondering what is next.

In our industry, we are dealing with events that are generally big moments in a person’s life. Sure, there may be a certain amount of grace someone will give you should your data disappear but it’s important that your business can pick up and not only limit the stress put on your clients but also save your staff and/or yourself some headaches as well. Assume you want to sell your business one day, how nice would it be knowing that you don’t have to spend a ton of time creating these things at the moment you need them but instead it is already built into your company’s DNA?

This all comes back to seeing your data as important and preserving it as best you can. Should you need some help in this arena, feel free to reach out. I’d be glad help you get started and find something that fits your business perfectly.

Based out of NYC, DJ Brian Buonassissi is a successful internationally traveling DJ/MC specializing in luxury destination private events. He runs a multi-city mobile DJ/event business with offices in Southern California, Destin, FL and New York City. You can connect with him at brian@djbrianbofficial.com.