How to Protect Your Startup Business

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

If you’re looking to start a new business, you want to make sure it has a fighting chance to thrive for years to come.  Statistics show that two thirds of startups don’t survive the first three years of operation.  While the reasons for business failure are many, some of the most prevalent are undercapitalization, overestimation of sales volume, and failure to adequately protect the business from the risks inherent to the marketplace.  While I can’t help you raise or make money with your latest venture, one of the things I can show you are ten ways to protect it from the slings and arrows of the free market.

Lightning the Load

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

It’s that time of year again in Florida when just about every afternoon you can expect a passing thunderstorm to make an appearance.  As well as the gusty winds and torrential showers, thunderheads also pack a wallop every time they unleash a lightning bolt that can discharge up to a billion volts n an earsplitting instant.  Like it or not, lightning isn’t only a hazard to life and limb. It can also do some serious damage to home.  Lightning strikes in the US cause more than $1 billion in property damage every year. To help you understand the kinds of hazards an electrical storm presents to your home and how to mitigate the danger, I’ve created a top-10 list of lightning hazards.

10 Ways to Prepare Your Home for a Flood

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

Most everyone in north Florida breathed a sigh of relief after Tropical Storm Elsa blew through town last week.  While there were some downed trees and powerlines, it wasn’t nearly as hair raising a storm as Hurricane Irma was a few years back.  While the high wind and torrential rain that comes along with a named storm leave many people quaking in their boots when the weatherman tells them one is headed their way, what most homeowners don’t realize is that when it comes to severe damage, there’s another peril that can be unleashed whenever severe weather rears its ugly head.  I’m talking about flooding.  We insurance agents know that when it comes to damage claims, flood damage trumps wind and rain damage by far.  To help you get prepared for the next named storm, I thought I’d give you ten was to prepare your property for a potential flood.

How to Keep Your Kids Safe at the Pool and Beach

 By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy Pixabay

When it gets hot, many families like to head to the beach or a swimming pool to cool off.  While getting in the water is a great way to beat the heat, it’s also a danger zone for children.  Like it or not, drowning is the number two cause of accidental death for kids aged 5-15 and the number one cause for children aged 1-4.  Of the approximately 750 children who drown every year, half do so within 25 yards of a parent or other responsible adult.  If you want to keep your kids safe in the water, here’s what you need to know.