New Tips And Triks For You

When a fire broke out at swanky downtown Austin restaurant La Condesa in November, it was a tough lesson in disaster planning for co-owners Jesse Herman and Delfo Trombetta.

The restaurant was closed for six weeks and the repairs cost $75,000 - but then there were other costs for employee compensation, as well as the effect on the restaurant's vendors.

They saw how having the right insurance and making plans in advance of a disaster can pay off.

Herman and Trombetta were featured in an exclusive article in the Jan. 10 weekly edition of Austin Business Journal, describing how they worked through the crisis to reopen as quickly as possible.

We also asked several Austin entrepreneurs and other experts for five tips on how local businesses can be prepared in case disaster strikes. Eric Sanchez, founder and co-owner of ITC Infinity, said any disaster plan needs to cover your technology infrastructure.

"With technology, taking the basic precautionary measures can mean less heartache and downtime in the event of an untimely disaster," he said. "Some proper measures to implement in a technology disaster plan are computer and network security, local and off-site backup and a professional IT support provider."

Click on the photo to launch a slideshow with other tips on disaster planning. Follow this link to subscribe to Austin Business Journal.

Greg Barr is managing editor of Austin Business Journal, responsible for day-to-day digital and print coverage.