Last month I had to make a quick decision about what I needed to run my business, because I was forced to evacuate from my home, due to a nearby wildfire.
Since I work from home, everything to do with my work is based there.
Fortunately, I’ve been a little crazy about having my files backed up and accessible in multiple places, and pretty much everything I do is web-based.
So, as I fled my house, I was able to focus on my family and dogs, as I needed minimal items from my office to continue working.
I grabbed my laptop, phone, and chargers. I also picked up my iPod and iPad, but those were not essential.
How did I set it up, so I could access everything I needed?
Well, a few years ago I switched over to Google Apps accounts for Gmail. This enables me to manage the Affiliate Summit email server easily and there is tons of space (25GB of email storage per employee). So no issues with email access and locally installed software.
Pretty much all of my sites are on WordPress these days, so they are not dependent on local software.
And for my files, I do four different things to backup my data. Not only for my various documents, but also my archives of podcasts, photos, videos, etc. for Affiliate Summit, and other projects.
I have an HP SimpleSave 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive that is set to automatically backup any new files nightly.
I also use Jungle Disk and SOS Online Backup to backup new files. These are also set to make an incremental backup each evening. Jungle Disk becomes a virtual drive on my computer(s), so I can access those files from anywhere, and SOS Online Backup can be accessed online, as well as through my phone and iPad.
Plus, I’ve got a lot of vital, current business files on Dropbox.com, which is a sync’d folder on each computer where I have it installed.
I use another online backup service, Mozy, for my wife’s computer, so her files, photos, and videos are backed up offsite.
Having all of this redundancy makes me comfortable. Some people might call it paranoid, but it’s a modest fee to know my data is safe.
And when I was forced to evacuate, I didn’t miss a beat. The same goes for whenever I travel – I can access everything I need and never have to freak out about lack of access.
If you had to flee your office right now, would you be able to keep your business running?