Alfredo the Snowman
Oh, the weather outside was frightful. Online, business was delightful. 
Our internet business model just kept humming along as usual. Not so for local businesses.
The worst blizzard in over a decade shut down our mountain town last weekend. The storm, now referred to as Snowpocalypse, kept shoppers from their usual holiday buying frenzy on Super Saturday, the weekend prior to Christmas.
Heavy wet snow, sleet, ice and wind ravaged our region, breaking thousands of tree limbs that fell onto power lines. 67,000 people lost power. Although rumors were circulating that some parts of the neighborhood had gotten its power back, tweets from the power company couldn’t promise when ours would be restored.
However, where business was concerned there was a rainbow overhead, even though the storm was still raging. Because the heart of our internet business model is automated, it didn’t skip a beat. On the user end, our Web sites continued to look and behave as usual.
Evan and I curled up on leather sofas, watching the snow fall and socializing with the neighbors. Great people.
What about giving customer support?
I hear you.
We were worried about that too, because normally we respond to our clients over email every day, including weekends.
Luckily, our laptop operated with back-up power from a generator, and we were able to pick up a wireless modem signal from our next-door neighbor.
On Monday when the power was restored, we discovered we had a very good money weekend, while unable to get online much or work at all.
Friends who own retail stores and businesses downtown had no choice but to close shop early Friday when the storm hit. They were able to open by Monday, but many roads throughout the mountains were not plowed as yet, and shoppers were slow to return.
The storm left us without heat and power for three days
We were snowed in. But the fierce Snowpocalypse didn’t affect our internet business model. It didn’t cause the loss of even one penny due to missed work.
Three days later, from the comfort of my warm perch, I can say I had a very good time last weekend. We forged new friendships, bonded over Scrabble, storm stories and tuna sandwiches. We played Farkle and chess. One of us knitted. We generally managed to laugh a lot and keep each others’ minds off the lack of heat and power, the frigid temps and the snow piling up outside.
Thankfully, all because of our ever-growing online business, we were not stressing over a work load piling up equally high inside.
Blizzard-enforced days off would have created anxiety for someone with a typical job. Getting behind and having to hustle to get caught up after several days can be as stressful as the storm itself.
So in case you’re wondering, I’m not exactly looking forward to the next storm. It was fun and all, but hey, I can knit while the sun is shining. 
However, I have learned how easy it is to get online and check in with the business, even without access to cable or a phone. BlackBerries, iPhones, the Droid and other gizmos all operate via cellular service. If necessary, you can use Twitter to alert clients to a problem or delay.
And finally…
One of the nicest benefits of operating an internet business model is self evident during a blizzard. No driving in life-threatening conditions.
