Business continuity planning requires a strong foundation to work from and a strategy optimized for you company's unique workflow. To this end, it's important to research the different solutions you implement for disaster recovery and preparedness, while establishing priorities and managing expectations. Companies that focus on optimizing disaster mitigation above all else will struggle when a crisis breaks through their careful planning, while those that over-focus on recovery will be subject to the whims of every emergency that comes their way. The key to maximizing business continuity is in balancing the various factors that will affect success, and ensuring the strategy is as strong as possible for the risks that the firm faces.

Here are three tips for creating a stronger business continuity plan:

Assess risks – The first step is always to assess the risks your company faces and create a plan that truly prepares you for them. Some firms may not need to establish a strategy for overcoming an earthquake, while others aren't threatened by tornados, making it a waste of time and resources to prepare for these threats. Focus on real risks to your company, and optimize your plans around them.

Communicate – Businesses also need to make sure these plans are properly communicated to employees, partners, vendors and the like, to ensure a strong network of recovery and preparedness in every department and area of operations.

Establish downtime tolerance – Another key part of business continuity planning is establishing minimum downtime allowances across systems and departments. A business that acknowledges that downtime is unavoidable in certain circumstances will be able to better recover when it happens.

The creation of an adequate continuity strategy may require outside assistance. Consider hiring expert business continuity consultants to minimize risk and optimize preparedness for any business crisis.