Why Every Small Business Needs a Backup for Its Backup
Here’s a question I ask myself often: if my main drive failed tomorrow, what would I lose?
For a photography and photo booth business, the answer could be heartbreaking. Wedding photos. Birthday parties. Corporate events. Years of memories that our clients trusted us to capture. And it’s not just photos. Contracts, invoices, layouts, and client records all live on our drives too.
That’s why I don’t rely on just one backup. I rely on three.
You never know when a client will reach out
It happens more often than you’d think. An email arrives from a client we worked with years ago. Maybe they lost the gallery link, their phone died, or they want to print photos for an anniversary. Their question is always the same: “Do you still have our photos?”
At Snapbox Collective, the answer is yes. I can go all the way back to 2013, when this business started with one homemade booth at my daughter’s first birthday, and still pull up every photo I’ve taken since. Being able to say “absolutely, here you go” is one of the best feelings in this business, and it’s only possible because of a backup system I trust.
My three-layer backup system
Layer 1: A NAS for everyday work
All of my daily files live on a UGREEN NAS (network attached storage). It’s my central hub, where I edit, organize, and access documents and photos from any device at home or in the office.
Layer 2: A DAS with redundant backup
Everything on the NAS is backed up to a DAS (direct attached storage) set up with redundancy, so my files are mirrored across multiple drives. If one drive fails, the copy on the other is still safe.
Layer 3: Cloud backup with Backblaze
My final fail-safe is Backblaze, an online backup service. This copy lives off-site, which protects my files from the things no local drive can survive: fire, flood, theft, or a power surge that takes out everything plugged in at once.
The 3-2-1 rule, made simple
My setup follows a time-tested guideline photographers and IT pros swear by, the 3-2-1 backup rule:
- 3 copies of your data
- 2 different types of storage
- 1 copy kept off-site
It sounds technical, but the idea is simple: never let a single point of failure take everything with it.
Why one backup isn’t enough
A lot of people assume that having a NAS or an external drive means they’re covered. But hard drives fail, often without warning. Laptops get stolen. Files get deleted by accident. Ransomware can lock up anything connected to your network. Even a drive with built-in redundancy can’t protect you if the whole device is damaged or compromised.
Each layer in my system covers a weakness in the others. That’s the whole point.
Tips for building your own backup system
- Start with what you have. Even an external drive plus a cloud service is a huge step up from nothing.
- Automate it. Backups you have to remember to run are backups that don’t happen. Set them on a schedule.
- Test your restores. Every so often, try recovering a few files. A backup you can’t restore from isn’t really a backup.
- Replace aging drives. Drives don’t last forever. Keep an eye on their health and plan to swap them out every few years.
- Organize as you go. A clear folder system by year and client makes finding that 2015 wedding gallery take seconds, not hours.
Peace of mind for you and your clients
Backups aren’t the most exciting part of running a business, but they might be one of the most important. Your files represent your work, your reputation, and your clients’ most treasured moments. Protecting them is part of the service.
So, how’s your backup system looking? If the answer makes you a little nervous, today’s a great day to start.
And if you’re planning an event and want a team that keeps your memories safe for years to come, let’s chat!