BUSINESS ADVISORY SERVICE HELPS BLUEFLY TAKE OFF

Craig Colnan, Bluefly Computer Technologies

Bluefly Computer Technologies is an IT consulting firm specializing in the provision of computer systems, security consulting and support for small and medium size businesses.

Established in 2003, Bluefly is owned and operated by directors Craig Colnan and Tony Tuccillo, who both have over 20 years experience working in enterprise level data centres.

Their idea for the business was to take the skills and system designs used by large, enterprise size companies and scale them to smaller businesses at an affordable price. Their clients range from home office professionals to multi-site medium sized businesses.

When Craig and Tony were starting the business, they discussed options for obtaining business advice with an associate and he suggested contacting a Business Enterprise Centre.

'We each have a great deal of experience running corporate departments, including developing budgets and strategic plans,' explains Craig.

'We assumed that the same knowledge would equally apply in running our own business but we weren't entirely sure. Essentially, we were concerned that we didn't know what we didn't know.'

Craig and Tony were put in touch with adviser Ellis Sofair at the Eastern Suburbs Business Enterprise Centre. They asked Ellis to review their business plan and critically comment on aspects of their strategic direction, particularly in terms of target markets and promotional activities.

'Ellis was an excellent sounding board in clarifying issues and identifying opportunities which we might otherwise have overlooked', says Craig.

'Of particular value was Ellis' assessment of our advertising efforts. He helped us to see our offer through the eyes of the target market and suggested changes that we might make to strengthen our approach. Tactical advice, such as where we could achieve the best results for our advertising dollar, also proved invaluable'.

Ellis also encouraged them to focus on their understanding and experience of business concepts, rather than technology, as a differentiator when presenting to prospective clients. 'In a nutshell, we speak in plain English and we help our clients to resolve business problems, not push technology at them. They find that approach to be very refreshing'.

In terms of future development of the business, Craig is clear that the Business Advisory Service is a valuable resource which he will be likely to use in the future.

'Before embarking on any significant investment opportunities or service offerings we would be inclined to bounce the ideas off the BEC. The BEC business advisors have a great deal of valuable information to impart. They are like an expanding knowledge base because they also learn from the experience of their clients. In turn, this helps them to be better analysts for the next client.'

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