How To Make Money In Thrid Cirisis

Profiting from Disaster: How to Ethically Make Money During Times of Crisis

By Maurice Ramirez  | Submitted On January 22, 2007

When a disaster strikes--whether it be a hurricane, earthquake, flood, terrorist set on, or some other devastating outcome--many businesses are eager to volunteer and help those in need. They want to assistance rebuild the damaged homes and businesses, and they often donate the necessary materials and manpower to do then. Unfortunately, the resources that are brought in on a volunteer and donation ground typically run out much sooner than expected. And very often, those businesses who gladly gave their time and resources to those in need feel guilty charging for boosted services, so they pack up and leave the area, proud of their good deed, nonetheless leaving those in the disaster area with few recovery options.

A great example of this is what happened in Port Charlotte, Florida after hurricane Charley. Initially after the hurricane, a big number of contractors went to the area, donating services, supplies, and other things needed to rebuild the community. The federal government likewise came in and paid many of the rebuild bills, fifty-fifty things non normally covered by FEMA. But and then the coin started to run out, and the majority of the volunteers went home. The funny thing is that the residents of Port Charlotte didn't want the contractors to leave and would have paid the contractors their normal rate to stay and end the disaster recovery efforts. Just the contractors--those who were there on a volunteer basis--felt guilty taking money from disaster victims. Now, two years later, many Port Charlotte residents are however seeking reputable contractors to help them. It'southward an unfortunate situation that doesn't have to happen.

Possibly fifty-fifty more than apropos is that we're starting to run across a similar trend in the people and companies that aid with disaster preparedness. Recently the Register of Emergency Medicine, one of the largest emergency medicine journals, published an editorial aimed specifically at universities that were profiting from selling courses developed under grant dollars. That is, they created disaster preparedness materials using federal grant money, and and so they made hospitals and communities pay to receive the class materials. While such a practice is clearly unethical, many people idea the journal was implying that it'due south unethical to make a business of disaster preparedness--to go into communities and hospitals and charge a consulting fee or teach for profit how to be ready in the upshot of a disaster. In reality, cipher could exist further from the truth.

And so does that mean information technology's possible to profit from a disaster state of affairs and not feel guilty? Yes! And those businesses that are able to come up into a community later a disaster strikes and offer a needed product or service tin profit handsomely...and ethically.

three Ways to Profits

When it comes to profiting from disaster, nigh people think of price gouging or profiteering. Price gouging is not just immoral and unethical, simply in every country and every territory, it'due south also illegal. It's a criminal human activity in which you're taking advantage of people who have no choice simply to pay. When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, we heard examples of unscrupulous store owners selling generators (that normally retailed for a few hundred dollars) for 2 and iii thousand dollars. All those people received jail fourth dimension or fines, and their business license was revoked. Such people are not seeking to turn a profit from disaster; they're seeking to profit from misery. There are substantially three ethical ways to brand money after a disaster.

1. Volunteer and Donation. In this scenario you volunteer your time and donate your products or services. You cover all your own costs and take nothing in return, other than perhaps food and lodging. In render for your time and materials, yous go the warm fuzzy feeling of doing something good for the community. You become an everyday hero. If you lot're visible during this time, you lot also get keen publicity, which could lead to concern down the road from those who retrieve your good deed.

2. Discounted Services. This is the virtually common scenario, and just as the name implies, information technology means that you lot offer your products and/or services to the community at a discounted rate. Those who opt to go this route figure out how low they can price something without the determination being a burden on the concern. Realize, though, that no 1 in the community asked for the discount (although none will plough the discount downwardly either). Ofttimes, the business owner gives the discount because he or she has some level of altruism.

iii. Full Cost. In this scenario, you come into the community and bid a fair market cost for a product or service, roughly equivalent to what other companies would accuse during non-disaster times. And because it's fair marketplace price, people are more than happy to pay information technology. This is completely moral and upstanding. Unfortunately, few businesses make the transition to total fare after starting out every bit a volunteer. But if you lot really want to grow your business and turn a profit from disaster, this is the style to get.

From Gratuitous to Fee

So how does a business organisation make the transition from a volunteer to a paid consultant or contractor? Here are some suggestions:
* Be upfront. Land how long y'all can offering your products or services for gratis. For example, tell people, "I tin can afford to volunteer for 2 weeks. I can afford to bring X corporeality of materials. If nosotros run out of materials earlier 2 weeks, you lot supply the textile and I'll stay the residuum of the time I stated." Later on the two weeks are up, before you lot pull out and leave, talk with the people you've been helping. Explain once more that yous tin only beget to volunteer for ii weeks. Very often, at that bespeak, they'll ask yous to bid the remainder of the work. And so you can offer a fair market bid. If you get a "yes," then why would you lot not stay? Yous're already in that location, and now you're making money. If they say "no," so they're taking responsibility for their own recovery. At that signal, you can go home and tend to your business organisation, knowing that you've done a proficient human action.

* When your community does its disaster relief plans (before a disaster hits), put your company on the list of businesses available to aid in the recovery efforts. Businesses can work with their local communities to be "first-chosen" in the event that a disaster strikes. What does that mean? Assuming that the business is capable of responding, that business will put the community recovery (or specific targeted recovery within the community) at the front of the line. But that'south just the start. In some cases, a concern (let'southward say a hospital, for example) may contract with a service provider (such as a roofing contractor) and pay a retainer fee so that in the event of a disaster, that contractor will put the infirmary at the front of the listing. In render, that contractor gets the bid for the other piece of work the hospital needs done. The contractor is happy to give that deal considering it guarantees them business. This is completely upstanding. In fact, it's a win-win solution. The business gets the repairs they demand done and contractor has guaranteed work. What could be improve?

The bottom line is that businesses demand to understand the different ways they tin assist, and they need to get over the stigma of profiting from disaster. Realize that the people receiving your products or services don't mind paying for them. In fact, nobody on the receiving end of the products or services expects to go everything for free, and well-nigh of them will gladly pay a fair market price for annihilation you offer. And so take full advantage of this profitable market segment. Past doing and so, yous'll be helping people in need while helping your own business organisation grow.

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is co-founder of Disaster Life Support of North America, Inc., a national provider of Disaster Training, Planning, Response and Recovery didactics. Through his consulting firm High Alert, LLC., he serves on expert panels for pandemic preparedness and healthcare surge planning with Congressional and Cabinet Members. Board certified in multiple medical specialties, Dr. Ramirez is Founding Chairperson of the American Board of Disaster Medicine and a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer for the Section of Homeland Security. Cited in 24 textbooks with numerous published articles, he is co-creator of C5RITICAL and author of Mastery Against Adversity. Dr. Ramirez invites comments at: [http://www.disaster-blog.com]

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