By Vineesh Madaan, Managing Director-Bluestone Leasing
We have recently completed our 19th year in business, and I am proud to say that I have been involved with the business from almost the beginning. Here are some things that have changed in 19 years since Bluestone Leasing came into being.
- Technology
Do you remember the days without emails? When we started it took us about a year to get a computer up and running to send and receive emails. The only problem was that we didn’t have anyone to send an email to! Everything was done by fax machine, and now they are almost obsolete.
- Team
We started off with a team of just 4 people who were in charge of everything from speaking to partners/customers to proposing deals to the finance companies, raising paperwork and getting partners paid. Nineteen years later we have over 30 people and growing. We now have individual units dedicated to specific aspects of the business to ensure the highest quality of service. Our team is the jewel in the crown of the business and it makes me so proud to work with each and every one of them.
- Marketing
At the beginning our Marketing was ad-hoc with little bits being created here and there in MSWord and then printed out in large quantities to hand out. Social Media was ‘Friends Reunited’ and forget about a website, we didn’t even own our own domain name (refer back to point 1)! Roll forward 19 years and we now have an impressive marketing proposition. Don’t just take my word for it though, our partners are also impressed and our marketing collateral is just one of great tools that we offer to partners through our Attain Programme.
- Finance Companies
In the early days there were only 5 finance companies who provided the type of finance we needed. Back then, all required documents were handwritten and the entire leasing process took much longer than it does today. Presently, we deal with over 40 finance companies, enabling us to ensure that we can provide finance for all types of equipment and end user credits. A number of the finance companies take proposals online so decisions can be instant or take up to 24 hours maximum. Documentation is now raised electronically, for a swift and painless process.
- Leasing in general
When we started in this business our challenge was to show our partners/customers the key benefits of leasing. Now leasing has become more widespread and those we work with are more sophisticated and understand what they want from a leasing company. In line with this, as competition has increased, we are constantly reviewing our business proposition to ensure that we stay ahead of the crowd. It’s hard to put into words (especially when I have been limited to the number of words I can use for this post) how much Bluestone has changed in its first 19 years of operation, but I look forward to seeing the changes over the next 19 years!
To learn more about Bluestone leasing and what we do please check out our website
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