FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – August, 31, 2026 Members of Freeport’s small business community spent a recent full day building the kind of muscle memory that only comes from planning ahead of a crisis, not during one. The Grand Bahama Port Authority’s Invest Grand Bahama Small Business Bureau (IGBSBB) hosted “Built to Bounce Back,” a full-day risk management and recovery workshop for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) at the Pelican Bay Hotel.
The workshop drew business owners, bankers, insurers and civic leaders for a single message: resilience is not something businesses discover after a disaster, it is something they build before one. Sessions ran from morning welcome remarks through a hands-on continuity-planning exercise in the late afternoon, covering risk identification, crisis communication, recovery financing and the practical resources available through GBPA and IGBSBB.
“Every business owner in this room has lived through a storm, a shutdown, or a slow season that tested their limits – I know I have,” said Deann Seymour, Chief Financial Officer at The Grand Bahama Port Authority. “With Built to Bounce Back, we wanted to turn that lived experience into something practical: a plan business owners can pull off the shelf the moment disaster strikes, rather than scrambling to figure it out in real time. That’s the difference between a business that survives and one that doesn’t.”
The day opened with remarks reflecting on how far Grand Bahama’s small business sector has come since Hurricane Dorian and the disruptions of the pandemic, and how much further collective preparation still has to go. Tammi Mitchell, Administrative Manager of the Grand Bahama Disaster Consultative Committee, spoke to the progress made and the island’s shared responsibility to keep building on it.
“In the years since Dorian, we’ve made meaningful progress. Public awareness of disaster preparedness has increased, emergency response planning has improved, and far greater emphasis is now placed on building resilience before disasters occur, rather than simply responding after the fact,” Ms. Mitchell said. Ralph Hepburn, President of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, built on that message, reminding attendees that no business is exempt from risk — and that preparation is a responsibility, not an option.
“No matter the size, nature, or location of our operations, we are all prone to be affected by these events. So it is incumbent upon us to always have an executable plan and the means and resources to carry it out,” Hepburn said. “Involved in this planning are assets, equipment, data, finances, and connections with other companies and agencies — and the main ingredient is people. Employees and other persons play a meaningful role in the overall planning for before, during, and the aftermath of any storm or incident.”
Throughout the day, participants moved through a series of sessions and panel discussions. The morning began with a close look at risk management strategies for MSMEs, walking business owners through how to identify infrastructure, operational, technological, human resource and revenue-related risks before they become crises. From there, discussion turned to the resilience advantage – how businesses that prepare in advance recover faster, protect jobs, and safeguard revenue when disruption hits.
The day also addressed the human side of crisis response, with a session on communicating with clarity and leading with confidence, exploring the discipline of business continuity communication. Participants were given a clear overview of the resources available to them, learning how GBPA and IGBSBB tools and support services can help licensees build resilience long after the workshop ends. A dedicated session on the ABC’s of recovery finance broke down the practical essentials – emergency cash flow, financial documentation, grant readiness, and loan preparedness, giving business owners a clearer picture of what it takes to stay financially steady through a crisis.
The day closed with a guided exercise, giving every participant hands-on time to draft their own basic continuity action plan before leaving the room — turning a full day of insight into something they could put into practice immediately.
For many in attendance, the value was in leaving with something they could use immediately rather than a folder of theory.
“When I saw the ad for this workshop, I knew right away it was something I needed to tap into,” said Sobig Kemp, Pastor of Freedom International Ministries. “It’s so timely, given everything we’ve experienced over the past few decades. Too often, we take preparation for granted and we get caught up in the everyday responsibilities. This workshop reminded us just how important it is to be ready before the crisis comes, not after. Hearing from business owners who shared their experiences taught us a lot. It was a good gesture by the GBPA to invest in their licensees this way. I felt genuinely cared for, and that spoke volumes.”
Organizers say Built to Bounce Back reflects IGBSBB’s broader mission of strengthening the capacity of Grand Bahama’s small business sector, and that resources and planning tools introduced during the workshop remain available to MSMEs and GBPA Licensees through the Invest Grand Bahama Small Business Bureau.