A Third of Small Businesses Could Pay Staff for Only Weeks After a Shutdown

About a third of small business owners surveyed said they could keep paying their people for weeks, not months, if forced to close tomorrow. That figure anchors a new preparedness warning aimed at America's small businesses: the gap between how ready owners feel and how ready they actually are is often wide, and assumption is the greatest vulnerability when disaster strikes.

The guidance, published on Verizon's Small Business Digital Ready platform in partnership with the Entrepreneur contributor network, argues that genuine operational readiness requires more than optimism. It lays out six concrete steps owners can take now.

Why does one internet line matter so much?

A reliable network anchors any disaster response plan. If a storm takes out a fiber line or a cell tower, a single internet connection becomes a single point of failure, and that failure cascades fast: payments stop processing, orders go unfilled, customers cannot reach the business.

Backup connectivity fixes that. Fixed wireless or a mobile hotspot keeps a business operating when primary lines are down. The guidance calls backup connectivity one of the easiest, most affordable protections a small business can buy — and often one of the most overlooked.

What good is a backup you have never tested?

Files sitting in the cloud can look fine and still turn out corrupted, unreadable, or locked behind credentials that expired months ago. Owners typically discover that only at the moment they need the files, which the guidance calls the worst possible time to find out.

Testing also answers a second question: how long a full restore takes. If the answer is three days, that is three days the business is not operating. The recommended routine is automated cloud-based backups for business records, customer data and financial information, plus a test restore at least once a quarter. As the guidance puts it: "A data backup you've never tested is a backup you can't count on."

Can small firms afford real cybersecurity?

Even businesses that operate mostly in the physical world are exposed if they use card readers, store customer information, or manage inventory through software. Disasters make it worse: when systems go down and attention drifts elsewhere, bad actors move in, betting on the confusion.

The guidance points to AI-powered security tools as the accessible option. These tools monitor for unusual activity and flag threats in real time without dedicated staff watching a dashboard, alerting owners automatically so vulnerabilities can be fixed before exposure.

Who calls whom when the power is out?

Even tested backups, cybersecurity investment and reliable networks cannot cover every variable. What separates businesses that recover quickly from those that do not is often simply knowing who to call. The guidance advises owners to decide now who contacts employees, customers and vendors when disaster strikes, document the plan, share it with staff, and keep a copy accessible outside the primary office or system.

"A clear communications protocol before a disaster is as important as any technical solution," the guidance states.

How long is your financial runway?

Relief funding for small businesses exists, but it is not guaranteed and rarely arrives quickly. Owners should calculate their runway now and decide whether a line of credit or a dedicated emergency fund could bridge the gap between closing and reopening.

Where does the $5,000 grant come in?

Regional risk shapes everything else. Hurricanes present different challenges than wildfires, yet many owners never map local hazards until an emergency is already unfolding. Knowing the risk profile determines insurance needs, whether backup power must run for hours or days, and whether a continuity plan should assume a week or a month of remote operation.

Verizon's Small Business Digital Ready platform offers courses on identifying risks and building continuity and mitigation plans. Completing one course unlocks eligibility to apply for a competitive $5,000 grant through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Readiness for Resiliency program.

The next moves are deliberately small: explore backup connectivity, schedule a test restore, research security tools that fit the budget, and write down who does what when something breaks. Disaster preparedness, the guidance concludes, is not just insurance — it is an investment in the longevity of the business and the community that counts on it being there.