With this time of year comes our regular Christmas and New Year break.

Our office will be closed from the 20th of December 2009 to the 24th of January 2010.

During this time, we’ll be jetting to London and Rome - just to make sure we actually stay away from the office!

If any urgent matters arise during this time, please head to our support page and fill out a support request. This will be the easiest and fastest way to each us. Please note that we will not be checking phone messages during this time.

We’ll be back in the office on Monday the 25th of January, 2010. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year!

We would like to say a big thank you to all of our fantastic Central Coast clients, friends and supporters for voting for us in the 2009 Central Coast Business Achiever Awards. Your votes were enough to push us through and make it to the finals again!

On Wednesday November 25th, we’ll be heading along to the Central Coast Express Advocate 2009 Business Achiever Awards Dinner to celebrate with other finalists and business people, and find out the results!

If you’re interested in coming along to the Awards Dinner for a great night of fun, food and entertainment, buy your tickets online or call 02 9553 4820.

There have been times over the last few years where suppliers have promised one thing, then gone out of their way to do 20 other things to make me happy. I know it would have meant a lot more to me if they had forgotten about the other 20 and simply done the one thing I was expecting.

It’s always nice to put those extra touches on your service - but not if it means compromising on what you’re meant to deliver.

How do you do things in your business? Do you do only what’s expected or do you go above and beyond? Are you making sure you’re not sacrificing the basics?

Wow! We’ve just had some fantastic news!

Bergan Blue has been nominated in the 2009 Central Coast Achiever Awards. We now need your help!

Please click here to vote for us and you could win an indulgent weekend at the newly transformed Crowne Plaza Terrigal. You will enjoy 2 nights in a new Pine Suite including full buffet breakfast, a three course a la carte dinner in the Seasalt Restaurant, a relaxing treatment in the Tea Tree Spa, a bottle of sparkling wine in your room and complimentary parking.

So, please place a vote for Bergan Blue! We’d absolutely love it if you did!

Thanks!

– Jon & Marnie

For urgent requests during this time, please email us.

Please note: This will not affect the schedules of any current projects.

Over the last couple of years, being in business has taught me the importance of finding the right match. I’m talking about finding products, services or people that suit your business, suit what it needs, suit your personality and your culture.

Recently we spent some time looking for a new bookkeeper and then a new accountant. When finding the bookkeeper, it became really clear to me that I didn’t just need someone I felt was competant doing my books - I also needed someone who I felt shared the same values as we do at Bergan Blue and one who I would feel happy to just have a chat to.

So with a shortlist of two bookkeepers, I went with my gut. I went with the bookkeeper I felt would be the best fit for us.

Three or four months down the track, I can honestly say I have not doubted my decision once.

Needless to say, a couple of months later when looking for a new accountant, I went into it with the same attitude - I wanted to find an accountant that I felt was a good match for us.

We were rather strapped for time and after meeting the first accountant, decided we would probably just go with them. But then I stopped and realised that things didn’t quite click with them for me. Although we were already running late on finding a new accountant and we felt the first seemed very good at their job, we decided to arrange an appointment with another local accountant just to be sure. Like the bookkeeper, Jon and I walked out of the meeting with this other accountant with smiles on our faces and knowing that we had found the right accountant for us.

To date, both our new bookkeeper and accountant have gone above and beyond, answering any questions we might have, no matter how silly they seem.

I think it’s important to understand though that finding someone who is the right fit for you doesn’t just extend to the person who designs your website or who does your accounts. Finding customers/clients that you also click with is really important.

If you’re fortunate enough to be in a position where you can pick and choose your clients, I’d really suggest listening to that inner voice when meeting new potential clients.

Do you feel they would be a pleasure to work with? Do they value your opinions and professional judgement? Looking past the dollar signs, would you be happy to work with this client if you were doing it for free? Are any red flags going up in your mind? Is there something small about this person that’s niggling away at you?

Those tiny things that get shoved aside in the beginning often turn into something big in the end which leaves both the client and the supplier unhappy. So listen to what that little voice has to say. Go with your gut. It might just turn out to be right.

Whether you’re an individual or a business, Twitter is getting harder and harder to ignore.

I signed up to Twitter on the 8th of April, 2008. While the site launched in March of 2006, it still felt relatively young and “What on Earth is Twitter?” was a common question that didn’t result in a room full of people gasping from shock.

Since then, the microblogging site has soared. Today, it’s in the news, it’s in the White House, it’s in Hollywood, and it’s even on Rove! Whether you’re browsing the internet, watching television or talking to your friends, there’s no getting away from Twitter.

Businesses of all sizes have started to realise that Twitter is a powerful source of information and have embraced the service by creating company and staff accounts to regularly update followers on promotions, news, and more importantly to connect with consumers in a way previously not available.

While the team here at Bergan Blue have been tweeting away for quite a while now via personal accounts, we wanted to create a central account where clients, suppliers, associates and fans alike could get updates on what’s happening at our office. We want to be able to connect with other like-minded people (and businesses) via Twitter to inform, to assist, and to stay in touch.

If you have a Twitter account, you can follow us at http://www.twitter.com/berganblue. If you do not yet have an account, what are you waiting for? Head to Twitter.com, sign up, and start tweeting!

Previously, our quote form was very static and relied on us to ask multiple questions once the quote had been submitted. Although this method worked well, it required numerous emails or phone calls to/from the client to clarify everything. So, we decided to make things easier on everyone.

Probably the biggest change we implemented was the introduction of dynamic questions. In other words, we made the form react to the options the user selected whilst they progressed through the form. For example, when a user selects Web Design as a service they’d like us to quote them on, the form instantly displays a number of new questions relating to that service. This functionality occurs with various service types throughout the form and really does allow us to get some clarity on what the client is after.

Interested in seeing these changes in action? Take a look right here! You’d be suprised at how much better this works. If you do run into any problems, please let us know.

We hope you find these updates worthwhile.

Take care.

Regards,
Jon

These issues have now been resolved. Read about it at the Twit It Up page and download the updates!

How many of us stop and take the time to wonder if our business needs a makeover too?

There are many reasons a business would want or need to rebrand. The number one rule of branding though is that you don’t want to do it too often. Branding your business is about establishing an image for yourself that is easily recognised. If you change your brand too often, people will no longer recognise you.

You might decide to rebrand because of:

• Market change - You’re in a market where trends change frequently and you need to adapt
• Your business has a bad image - You’ve recently undergone a large change that has left you in ill favour with the public or only barely survived a PR disaster
• Your current brand doesn’t match your goals - You’ve gone years operating with a home made logo that doesn’t have much impact, doing work for micro businesses, and have now decided to shift your focus to corporate clients - you need your brand to reflect that change.

It’s also important to remember that changing your brand isn’t just about having a new logo designed. It’s about making substantial changes to the way your business looks, performs, is perceived, and even your and your employees’ mindset.

If you’d like to discuss making over your business image, give us a call for a chat!