Whenever a natural disaster like a hurricane happens or is predicted to happen, the population who rely on brick and mortar locations from where they earn their income are affected.

Flooding can wipe away your home and belongings, and if your place of business is flooded, you might be without income for months.

The average family lives paycheck to paycheck, so a disruption in their ability to make an income can ruin their credit, home and savings.

Those in a home business have known that wherever their phone and computer is, that is where their online business is.

Here are my top 10 tips to keep your internet business up and running when a natural disaster is predicted to occur.

1 Back up your files. I recommend an external portable hard drive to back up files from your computer. Choose one which does not need an external power supply and can work from a USB port.

2 Keep your backed up files on CD or external hard drive in a fireproof safe. Flooding does not normally occur without at least some notice, but a fire can start at anytime, better to be prepared than sorry.

3 You may also wish to back up your files onto the internet, you can find many storage solutions by doing a search for 'online file storage'.

4 Invest in an air card for mobile broadband internet access for your laptop, to keep mobile when your home internet is down, or you are on the move.

5 If you live in a hurricane prone area, you may also wish to invest in a back up battery for your laptop.

6 Keep copies of your most used documents on a separate disk as well as on file.

7 Invest in a portable printer. They have become smaller, lighter, even wireless and more affordable. To be prepared for the unexpected is priceless.

8 Have a disaster plan check list placed in a visible location itemizing what you need to pack incase disaster hits. When in a panic mode we humans tend to forget our most needed files, disks and information. Similar to having a home disaster plan, you should be versed in a business relocation disaster plan.

9 If you are using VOIP for your phone service, have a spare cell phone which you can use when not hooked up to the internet.

10 Sit back and know that you can move your office on a moments notice and that you will not miss a beat, call, email or fax message no matter where you might be.