Happy New Year
Happy New Year!
We are back - We have had a couple of weeks to recharge our energy, reflect on 2020, and put a plan of action together to reach our goals for 2021.
2020 was a challenging year. It seemed to be going on for much longer than 365 days. However, my reflections over the last weeks have reminded me that 2020 has had many positive facets.
I thought I'd share the up and downs of 2020 with you:
At the beginning of the year, we built up a very strong customer base in and around Christchurch. We managed to find and provide the right service at the right price for businesses and home users and were able to grow rapidly. We started putting plans in place to hire new staff.
All of a sudden, just before lockdown in March, it started to look very dire for ITstuff[ed]. We invested a lot of time and effort to come up with the right solution for our newly gained customers. Some, unfortunately, weren't sure about their future; contracts were put on hold or cancelled altogether. It was a difficult time to get motivated and keep going.
During the lockdown, we strived to support and work in with businesses we were looking after. For us to see our work making a real difference for our customers brought back the fire inside to keep going.
We were also deemed an essential service. We managed to get through the lockdown by supporting and with the support of our families and community.
Thank you @switchespresso @newbrightonmuseum @extremecarpetcleaning
After lockdown, it was time to reassess and readjust. With the learnings, we redefined our services. We started taking on new and larger clients. We helped many businesses to transition to a remotely accessible workplace in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. We put e-commerce solutions in place. We got homes ready to access faster internet - so people can do work efficiently and watch streaming services. We started working with many community organisations. We were very lucky that we were able to support causes we believed in, for example, @xchch and @specialchildrenschristmasparty
This is one of my fondest memory of 2020: Businesses that we supported through difficult months started to thrive again. They did not start to thrive just because of us but I'd like to think that we had something to do with it.
In September we picked up from where we had left off before lockdown. We hired Jayden, who also lives on the east side of Christchurch - we were incredibly lucky to have found the perfect person for the job. You will see more of Jayden on here soon too.
Thank you, Lisa, from @socialcurrency for your support in this process.
The remaining months of 2020, we kept chipping away at contracts that we had picked up over the last few months, completing most of them before Christmas. (Apologies Martha and Emily at the @NBproject, we will get you up and running first thing when you are back from your well deserved holiday, first thing in 2021.)
For the final weeks of the year, we managed to find some time to review and streamline our internal processes and to gain some more clarity.
What 2020 has shown me is, that we as a community in Christchurch are very strong. We care about each other; We care about you as a person and we care about the businesses we support. We are very fortunate to be able to express our sense of caring by looking after you, your computers and IT systems.
For 2021, personally and as a business, we endeavour to grow further, create more opportunity for other people to help us grow and grow with us.
We hope you had a wonderful time over the holiday season, got a chance to reflect and got some goals set for yourself
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.5% Yes
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14.8% No
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2.8% Other - I'll share below
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Tutu
“I’m from Tamaki Makaurau. I have a good job with Riverside market. I am security, and we need this area nice and clean. We don't want dirty things everywhere, like rubbish.
I like Christchurch because there's lots of entertainment, lots of people, all loving, give me aroha, tautoko mai. Kia kaha, be strong.”
I've been a hustler for 18 years now. I'm a lover, I'm a hustler. I'm in here to entertain Christchurch, all around Christchurch. I'm a busker and I'm an entertainer.”
- Tutu