Every year, a few of my clients experience some kind of life-altering event. Health issues, deaths, divorces, cyber attacks, conflicts, and so on. The event may not happen to them. It may happen to a partner, family member, or key employee.

Either way, it can throw the organization—and the individuals in it—for a loop.

Last winter, two business owners I know—one a friend, the other a client—broke their necks and were paralyzed in unrelated, freak accidents. Their lives changed immediately. So did the lives of their families and the trajectory of their businesses.

These injuries didn’t just impact them. They impacted everyone who relied on them.

Neither was well prepared for an accident of this nature. But one was better prepared than the other. Even that level of preparation made a significant difference in his options.

An ounce of prevention can be worth many pounds of cure—if cure is even possible. Lack of preparation turns a painful or traumatic event into a catastrophic one.

Here are practical ways you can and should prepare for effective risk mitigation.

Risk Mitigation Essentials for Business Owners

1. Emergency Succession Planning
   Build a “plug and play” plan to continue operations if you—or a key team member—suddenly can’t perform your role, temporarily or permanently.

This includes:

• Interim leadership designations

• Durable or springing POA

• Banking and system access protocols

• Clear communication plans

Download my free Emergency Executive Succession Planning template. It’s part of the Succession360™ Toolkit.

2. Insurance Portfolio Review
   Cover what actually matters. Many businesses are underinsured (some are overisured). Talk to your advisor, but consider:

• Key-person

• Disability

• Life

• Umbrella liability

• Business interruption

• Auto/home (consider insuring beyond your minimums)

Align this coverage with your estate, succession and exit strategies.

3. Redundancy in Critical Roles
   Don’t build single points of failure. If you’re the owner or CEO, and no one can replace you for 30 days, you are that single point of failure.

Build a robust senior management team. At a minimum:

• Operations

• Business development/sales

• Finance & administration

This creates a “three-legged stool” that supports the business and frees you to lead. If something happens to you, this team can carry most—if not all—core responsibilities.

Then go one further. Build redundancy for each of those leaders. Every department should have someone who can step in without skipping a beat.

One of the biggest challenges for growing businesses is a lack of bench. Someone gets sick, injured, moves, or dies—and there’s no one (except the leader) who can fill the role. This is avoidable. Plan to avoid it.

This level of role specialization typically becomes possible at around $3M in revenue. If you’re not there yet, be aware this is a vulnerability. Apply the principle where you can.

4. Diversified Revenue Streams
   No one customer should account for more than 15% of revenue. This is the revenue-side version of the three-legged stool.

If you catch a whale, great. Your next move? Catch another. If you can’t handle two whales, hunt smaller sea mammals.

5. Up-to-Date Buy-Sell Agreements
   If you have partners, review your operating and buy-sell agreements regularly—annually, ideally. Don’t wait for conflict to prompt a review.

Make sure they address:

• Incapacity

• Death

• Disability

• Disputes

• Divorce

• Exit planning

6. Emergency Cash Buffer
   Maintain at least 90 days of reserves for payroll, operations, and core expenses. That’s a baseline.

If your business has irregular cash flows, large clients, or high operating costs, you may need more.

Keep it liquid—high-yield savings or CDs with appropriate terms.

7. Clear Record-Keeping & Access Protocols
   In many businesses, employees “just know” key contacts and passwords. When they’re gone, it can take months to reconstruct basic info.

Executives are often worse.

Centralize critical documents—contracts, SOPs, passwords, insurance, financials—in a secure, accessible (to the right people) system.

The Emergency CEO Succession Template will help you identify what’s essential.

8. Legal and Financial Advisory Bench
   Build relationships in advance with:

• A business attorney

• A fractional CFO or trusted financial advisor

• A strategic business advisor

Avoid crisis hires. These professionals should already know your business. Ideally, they’re on retainer. At minimum, they’re on your speed dial.

9. Cybersecurity & Compliance Protocols
   Mitigate digital and regulatory risk through:

• Employee training

• Up-to-date systems and policies

• Ongoing compliance reviews tailored to your industry

The Deeper Impact of Risk Mitigation

Years ago, my financial planner told me: “You’ll feel peace. It’ll reduce the load on your bandwidth.”

I was hesitating at the expense of both estate planning and the costs of implementing that plan. Felt unnecesary.

He was right. When I finally pulled it together, I felt the burden lift. I’d underestimated the psychological weight of feeling responsible for everyone else. Now I knew: If something happened to me, they’d be protected.

That was a relief.

But it also gave me confidence to reach further. It didn’t just mitigate risk. It created a stable foundation for growth.

Preparation isn’t just about avoiding catastrophe. It’s about creating capacity.

When you know your team can operate without you, you gain the freedom to lead at a higher level—strategic growth, legacy-building, personal reinvention.

It’s not just peace of mind. It’s permission to lead bigger.

So ask yourself:

Which one or two of these risk mitigation tips do you need to start on today?

Take good care,

Christrian