How to Handle Cash Flow When Disaster Strikes What you need to consider to keep your business up and running when forces beyond your control cause you to temporarily shut down your business.

Q: How do you handle cash flow when natural disasters or other forces beyond your control cause you to temporarily shut down your business?

A: Having lived through the devastation of Hurricane Sandy at the Jersey Shore, I have given this matter much thought recently. As I write this, businesses all around me are still struggling; unfortunately, many won't figure out the answer. A sober estimate from the American Red Cross says 40 percent of businesses shut down by a natural disaster like Sandy never reopen. Ouch.

So the real question here is not about cash flow--it's about survival. And the first step to survival has nothing to do with cash. Rather, it has everything to do with people: your employees, customers and vendors.