Beating Murphy's Law!

by Skip Cohen

​I'm unsure why this is on my mind today, but so many of you haven't done a fire drill since grade school! And very few of you have ever bothered to think through all the negative "what-ifs." 

Murphy's Law is: If anything can go wrong, it will. Then there's Murphy's Second Law: Murphy was an optimist!

Here's my point - if you were ever in a car accident or even a minor fender-bender, you were incredibly cautious for weeks or months afterward. But over time, you got back to your old habits. The same thing happened through the pandemic, and now, as things go back to normal, we've stopped paying attention to some of the details of doing business that came out of being hunkered down.

So, here are a few questions to answer as you do your own fire drill:

• All your camera gear was just stolen or lost, and you've got a client appt or event coming today. What are you going to do for equipment?
• You've got a wedding to photograph this weekend, and you're down with Covid? Who's on your call list to cover for you?
• Your car just died, and in two hours you're supposed to be photographing a wedding or event. What's your plan?
  
• You had an emergency appendectomy, and you're in the hospital. Who's your backup for covering calls, email, and, if necessary, issues with your bank?
• A close friend or family member passed away unexpectedly; what happens when you're unavailable?
• Your computer blew up this morning. What have you been doing to back up your system? 

While they all sound so similar, the common denominator is that something happened that you just didn't plan. Take the time and do a few fire drills - You never know when Murphy is going to come knocking on your door. Hopefully, never, but you're working too hard to build your business and not be prepared with backup plans.