Do you have your Plan B?

COVID-19 has done at least two things for most wedding venues and suppliers. 

One: it’s forced us to look at our Terms and Conditions more closely, and...

Two: it’s highlighted the importance of having a back-up plan. So if you are at home with some time on your hands, why not create a business continuity plan that covers a range of all possible scenarios.

We asked Fi Passey of Corky and Prince Wedding & Event Flowers for some tips, as before Fi became a florist, she was a continuity and resilience expert in financial services. 

Read on for a fabulously helpful guide to preparing your Plan B... 

Be Analytical:

The first thing that Fi suggests we do is analyse our business to identify what things we may rely upon. A simple structure to do this might be as follows;

• People: who are the key people that deliver your business? Write a list and include what special or unique skills they may have.
• Buildings: where do you deliver your business from? What buildings do you need to access to deliver your service? Note down your main locations.
• Technology & Equipment: your business will use a range of technology, from smart phones to laptops, and for photographers, there is a lot of technology involved. Write a list of the key pieces of technology that you can’t function without.
• Suppliers: as small businesses, many of us are dependent on other suppliers from make-up companies to flower wholesalers to cash & carry for the cake makers. Note down who are your key suppliers.
• Other assets: this could be anything from your delivery van to your photo-booth.

Practical Planning:

Now that you’ve created an inventory of the things you rely upon, you can start creating a business continuity plan. This doesn’t need to be an elaborate document - the value comes from the time you spend thinking about contingencies.

People:

Your plan should include who can step in and help deliver for you if you or key people on your team are unable to work for whatever reason. Take time to think through the practicalities of bringing in other people to help you. For example, do you need insurance cover for them? Do you need to insure them to drive your commercial vehicle?

This plan could also cover peak periods where you may need back up. Sarah of “Cakes by Mrs F”, for instance, has a shared plan with another cake designer to provide support to each another during busy periods.

Buildings:

If your business premises or home became unavailable (for example due to flood damage) then it makes sense to identify an alternative location. This could be a family or friend’s house or a commercial location such as a Business Hub. The key piece of planning is to make sure your back-up location has the facilities essential to your business e.g. ovens, power, space.

Technology and Equipment:

The technology we rely on has permeated every part of our working lives. Prevention is better than a cure so get into a good routine of backing up your files and equipment to separate hard drives or cloud storage so that you have at least two copies of all client correspondence. Look after your kit with regular software and hardware updates and housekeeping routines to avoid break-down and malfunction.

Your technology & equipment continuity plan should be practical and cover the key elements such as:

• What will you do if you lose or break your phone? Make sure you have information stored in multiple locations by using family sharing and synchronisation tools available.
• What will you do if your laptop/pc is damaged or unavailable? If you’ve backed up your work to the cloud, can you realistically access it from a new device? If technology is vital to your business, for example wedding photography, then having a back up copy of clients’ galleries at an offsite location would increase the resilience of your business.
• Specialist equipment: Keep an easily accessible list of parts and replacement supplier details so you know where to find things in an emergency. You could also find out who in your business network uses similar equipment to you and might be able to step in with spares at short notice. Matt Fox of “Matt Fox Photography” keeps a stock of two of every item he uses for peace of mind. If this could work for you, just make sure that you re-order as soon as you need to use the spare item so you maintain your preparedness.

Suppliers:

Many of us have developed relationships with our key suppliers, and whilst loyalty is valuable, having an alternative supplier is a sensible precaution. As a florist, Fi sources most of her flowers from a big flower wholesaler in Bristol but she also has delivery accounts set up with another Dutch flower company and with a network of local cut flower growers.

Wedding Day Planning:

For many suppliers, delivering their service on the day of the client’s wedding is thrilling, stressful and satisfying. Here are some contingency tips that we’ve picked up from other Whitewed Members:

Travel and Delays:

• Always allow extra travel time to reach a venue - even one you know well. Use AA Route Finder to get estimated journey times and spot road works/traffic jams in advance.
• Make a note of any major events that are happening near the venue e.g. Air Shows, Music Festivals, Country Shows. These all create traffic challenges and might require a lengthy wait or diversion.
• Carry a road map in your car or van in case you get lost in a phone coverage blackspot.
• Put the telephone number of the venue and a member of the wedding party (Best Man / Chief Bridesmaid, for example) on your delivery note in case you need to contact them.
• Call the venue the day before the wedding and check there are no local traffic restrictions or weather conditions that could delay you. Peter of “Vaughan’s Kitchen” for example, knows which of his regular venues are most likely to get hit by snow and ice, and which are well prepared with gritting boxes on their access roads.

Missing Items:

For decor and stylists who provide a lot of individual items, finding that something is missing or damaged on the day of a wedding is a constant worry. Sister duo Usha and Nisha of “Niche Events” have a great solution to overcome this potential problem:

• Assemble all the hired items 48 hours ahead of the wedding so you have time to deal with any unexpected issues.
• One person loads the van, the other checks off the order.
• Carry spares - for example if 4 lanterns are hired, take 6 with you to the venue.

Mishaps and Accidents:

Being prepared for small accidents and mishaps is part of delivering a great service. Polly Morton of “Polly Morton Make-up” always has a full toolkit to cope with most wedding day situations including wet wipes, crochet hook (for those tiny buttons), sewing kit, perfume, deodorant, plasters, paracetamol, immodium, mints and pins!

Breakages / Breakdown:

If it's feasible, having a spare item is a great back up plan. Music performers Danny and James from “Interlight” travel with spare guitar strings and a back up PA system so the show will always go on!

Keep your plan printed out and revisit it at the start of every wedding season to see what’s changed and might need updating. And remember: you can’t plan to fail, but you can fail to plan!

We recommend going through this with your partner, a close friend, or whoever it is that you would want to help you action the points raised above so they know exactly what needs to happen and can spring into action on your behalf straight away!

Our thanks to the very talented Fi Passey of Corky & Prince for her great advice and input in this article.

Happy Planning!

Team Whitewed