[ViewPoint] Are you a responsible adult?

I knew I was officially an adult the day my wife and I sat down with an attorney to prepare our last will and testament. As anyone who has gone through this challenging, yet ultimately essential exercise will attest, it’s a bit daunting to arrive at a decision about who will raise your kids or be awarded your assets in the event of your untimely death. (Although, to be quite honest, I would describe any day I find myself face-to-face with the Grim Reaper as "untimely.") However, just because something is uncomfortable – even something as universally distressing as preparing a will – doesn’t mean it should be ignored. After all, isn’t that what being a responsible adult is all about? At least that’s what I always thought.

As my middle-aged brother-in-law said at Thanksgiving dinner last year while dispensing some unsolicited advice to my youngest daughter, who was about to graduate from college, "Prepare yourself, responsibility stinks" ... with an emphasis on "stinks" for the appropriate dramatic effect. Everyone around the table laughed and, if I’m being totally honest, I’m sure I nodded unconsciously in agreement. But there also are rewards in planning ahead, mostly in the form of the peace of mind that comes with taking your responsibilities as a business owner seriously, which is the point of this month’s cover story, "When Disaster Strikes" (page 50).

This month’s issue highlights the experiences of two well-known PMPs who faced significant business challenges recently through no fault of their own, but because they planned ahead, the long-term impacts of those challenges were minimal. In the first article, Genma Holmes, owner of Holmes Pest Control, Hermitage, Tenn., describes how a comprehensive emergency response plan can mean the difference between waking up one morning without a business or surviving a natural disaster to serve one’s customers another day. And she knows what she’s talking about, having weathered the massive flooding in Nashville, Tenn., earlier this year when the Cumberland River crested at 52 feet, its highest level since 1937, causing more than $1.5 billion in damage. Fortunately, her business survived unscathed, but Holmes was prepared if "Mother Nature" had turned its ire on Holmes Pest Control, having created an emergency preparedness plan after hearing industry colleague Bob Kunst, owner of Fischer Environmental Services, Mandeville, La., share his story about how Hurricane Katrina had impacted his business five years ago. In this month’s issue of PCT, Holmes shares the key components of her plan, along with additional insights from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

A second article chronicles how veteran PMP Jim McHale, president of JP McHale Pest Management, Buchanan, N.Y., was awakened early one morning in 2007 by a phone call from a police officer who informed him that six of his vehicles had been destroyed by a fire. "As I threw on some clothes my mind was racing. I hopped in my automobile and raced to the scene while pondering my options," he recalls. "As I pulled in, the flames seemed to reach heights of 100 feet. Firefighters were all over and noisy fire trucks with flashing lights littered the area. As I exited my vehicle I heard these incredibly loud POP, POP, POPS. My first thought was the vehicles were exploding. I was told just the tires were popping from the extreme heat. My building was less than 10 feet away from the fire’s origin, which roared away as firefighters sprayed water. It was madness!"

McHale’s experience – much like those of PMPs in Nashville earlier this year – reinforces the value of preparing for the unexpected. In his first-person account of the fire, McHale offers a checklist of what PMPs can do to plan for the inevitable accidents that occur in virtually every business ("Buchanan is Burning," page 56). If you haven’t done so already, consider creating your own emergency preparedness plan, taking Holmes’ and McHale’s suggestions to heart. Responsibility may stink, but the alternative is worse.

The author is publisher of PCT magazine.