As the year draws to a close, we'd like to thank everyone for their business and support throughout 2009. Here are some personal messages from some of our managers...

Aaron Alsweiler (General Manager)

And breathe…… Yes it does seem that the end of the year with its festive celebrations is once again upon us. I am normally one of the few that always feels like it is at least a year since the one previous. This year however I am wondering which month, or two, I missed along the journey. It seems to have passed in what can only be described as a blindingly fast short space of time.

That said I am in no way negative about the year that we have had. We, like everyone, have had our share of difficult moments but as we look back we have also had a year of gains and improvements. Like many businesses in many sectors (self storage included), the challenges that came with the shifting of the economy meant that there was no longer a large wave of growth to ride. So we, again like everyone else, had two choices. We could either run and hide or reinforce and battle on. We made the decision to stand tough and do what we could to find the benefits wherever they were.

This has seen us implement new systems and processes, restructuring our staff situation and really taking the time and effort to find the best from, and for, our staff as they are our most important asset. During the last year we have introduced a dedicated Admin person to the company (drum roll please for Nardia) and an added sales person (Timm). Nardia has jumped in boots and all to get her head around and find better ways to manage our daily admin processes. This has had its challenges but she is now getting on top of the new role and slowly getting the rest of us to toe the line.

Timm joined us in the middle of the year to assist on our sales team. Unfortunately for us after only a short period Timm, who until then was making great inroads for us, asked to be released to follow a path that he had long aspired to see where it lead. I am pleased to report he has now completed that journey and will be back with us come the new year. We look forward to having him working the phones again.

We have had a very busy year with Development as I am sure the Dev team will attest to and the spoils of which have and will reach you shortly. I trust you will approve. The Support Teams have been incredibly busy working to timelines for delivery and standards of service that previously we would not have thought possible all so they can deliver an even better level of service.

The sales team have attended around 20 conferences this year which enabled us to get some great feedback and also the opportunity to meet existing as well as many new customers. This is one of the best parts of this job and I want to thank our customers both existing and new for becoming and continuing to be our partners as we try to do the best for you that we possibly can.

This leads me to thank all my staff for their hard work and understanding while we have, and continue to, implement changes and to congratulate them on areas of personal growth and rising to the challenges that have been laid before them. From my family (both work and personal) to you and yours I bid you a very Merry Christmas and have an awesome New Year and should you be donning traveller’s shoes and packing bags then please do travel safely and we will see you in the New Year.

Chris Corcoran (United Kingdom Sales & Support)

Another year has gone! Christmas trees are popping up and kids are getting excited about getting a new Power Ranger (or whatever is the must have toy this year). The grown-ups can hopefully look forward to a hard earned respite before getting back to the grindstone with a belly full of Xmas over-indulgence.

I joined StorMan in January when the decision was made to expand StorMan into the UK and Europe. My main role was to offer my technical knowledge to new and existing StorMan users in the UK. Whilst still undertaking this role, I have added 'Sales' to my repertoire - representing StorMan at trade shows around the UK. There has not been a dull moment this year for me, that’s for sure!

When I look back over the last 12 months here at StorMan, I see so many improvements and additional features that I struggle to believe that they have all been implemented in such a short period of time. The credit for this has to go to our hard working development team in NZ. Keep up the good work guys (and girl)! Remember, most of these new features have been suggested by YOU - so keep them coming in and don’t be shy!

It's also that time of year when we find ourselves looking forwards to what the coming year may have to offer and how we can achieve our personal goals and keep on moving forwards – never finding reverse.

I think I can speak on behalf of StorMan as a company and say that this is the case too. There are already some exciting new features in development & in the pipeline for our clients to look forward to in 2010. From here in the UK, I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a very happy new year – and don’t eat too many mince pies or pudding!

Steven Barker (Australian Technical Support Manager)

With a growth in the client base comes an increase in training & technical support usage - and although 2009 would have to be one of my busiest years at StorMan, it's also seen some great improvements in terms of the internal systems we use to manage and track your technical support requests.

These systems not only allow us to help you more quickly, but also provide more detail and relevance in our assistance to you. Our myStorMan online customer portal, which has grown exponentially over the past 6 months, has also aided us in this respect, by providing up-to-date articles and movies on virtually any StorMan task, feature and function.

If you haven't had a look yet, I suggest you do - particularly in preparation for those instances where we may be closed over Christmas and you still need technical assistance. Remember, you get free, unlimited access to myStorMan as part of your annual Support & Upgrades plan, so make sure you keep it bookmarked!

From myself & the rest of the gang in the Aussie Technical Support team, thank you for all your support during 2009. Have a great Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all again in 2010.

Ben Williams (Australian General Manager)

Xmas greetings to everyone and welcome to yet another end of year update. To be honest, if I had known what this year would bring this time last year, I think I would have stayed in bed! Okay... you know I don’t mean that!

It has been a challenging year for StorMan - but in a good way. We have added over 70 new facilities to the StorMan family in the last year with many more to come by the look of it. This has resulted in many training sessions, attending SSAA dinners and generally flying from one end of the country to the other on a regular basis.

I think I've clocked over 600 flying hours this year alone (I could probably get my pilots' license, had I spent those hours at the yoke rather than enjoying the hospitality of Virgin airlines). Bear in mind that this growth has been achieved in one of the worst financial years ever seen. This is not only a testament to our industry but to the strong underlying “underdog” attitude of Australians in general. So from all the team here, thank you to all of our new and existing customers who supported us this year - we definitely appreciate it!

Looking back over the year we had some other really positive milestones, for those of you who read our blogs you would know that we won a global contest and retained Kennards business against a worldwide search for the “best self storage software”. We also delivered to our customers online reservations, online payments, dynamic rent control and a new integrated call centre module all within the software.

Other highlights include previewing our flagship StorMan version 8 software at the SSAA conference on the Gold Coast (see photos & related blog). There was also a great Storage King conference that was also held on the Gold Coast at which StorMan was lucky enough to be invited to attend (see related blog).

This year also saw a major consolidation phase of many smaller facilities but what amazed me the most was the jump start that has been experienced within the UK. Having visited the UK for the SSAUK conference, I then spent a week with Chris in our UK office to identify potential customers and, in doing so, realised that the Self Storage market in the UK was coming back on an even keel very nicely. I am confident that this will give Chris some good sales early in the new year.

The excellent growth that we have experienced this year could not have been done without the help and support of my team and I would like to publicly thank those team members but also welcome a new one. Nardia joins us in the Administration department and has helped with all those little tasks that can become overwhelming. So a big thank you to Nardia.

It is lovely to be heading into Xmas this year with a great sense of achievement and satisfaction at many of the things that StorMan has accomplished this year. So to all of you a big THANK YOU and I really look forward to 2010 and the start of a new decade. Merry Xmas to you all and I sincerely hope that the New Year finds you well and refreshed and ready to proceed forward into 2010.

Robert Richardson (Development Team Leader)

This has been a long and exciting year for the development team, so much so I’ve totally lost track of what day it is and am now reliant on my wife to tell me if I’m supposed to be at work. At least so far she hasn’t got me in on a weekend. While many of you may have been expecting a new major version by now we chose to leave it in beta testing for longer to try and ensure when you finally get version 8 it really is our best version ever, it will hopefully be a great belated Christmas present for you all.

This year we’ve had a few changes in the development team with Nick Collins leaving us to setup a dedicated QA department for the company and Nicholas Wykes starting to do development when he isn’t busy working on solving problems for our New Zealand customers. We’ve also changed the way we develop internally which has resulted in faster and better feature development, you will get to see the results of that in version 8 (and 9.... ssh it’s a secret!).

Next year we plan to concentrate on making more of the software able to interact with your website so your customers can get things done without having to even leave their computers (at least till it comes time to load up their units!). If you have any great feature requests please ask one of our support team to file it for you, it may end up in a version sooner than you think!

I hope you all enjoy your holidays and time with family & friends, I’ll be doing so in Melbourne and Sydney over the Christmas break as long as I can cope with the heat & then back in to it all in January for another year. A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

The Entire StorMan Team

From everyone here at StorMan - we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a safe, happy New Year.

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Continue reading Claire's article online...

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StorMan Australia - Andy picked "Pavlova"

"While some of you will likely spend Christmas in cold white snow, I'll be spending it out on the back deck in shorts, a singlet and 30 to 40 degree (Celsius) heat. Welcome to Christmas in Queensland!"

"Foods at the table will generally include items from the BBQ, mango & chicken salad and a few German potato salads & desserts (our family is German). My favourite Christmas food would have to be pavlova, or 'pav' for short... mainly because it's fairly light and 'airy', served cold, and covered in fruit - perfect for the hot day that Christmas will likely be."

"If you've never had pav before, you'll either love it or hate it. It's sweet and not very healthy, but... it's Christmas (so long as I stick to that 'gym' New Years Resolution I think I'll be able to work it off!). Interested in making pavlova? Check out this link for the recipe or click for some other traditional Aussie Christmas recipes."

StorMan United States - Wayne picked "Sweet Potato Rum Casserole"

Wayne's partner has kindly provided her own recipe for this Christmas dish...

3 sweet potatoes (peeled, cooked & mashed)
1/4 cup butter (melted) + some for greasing the dish
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup dark rum
1.5 teaspoons vanilla essence
Raisins (optional)
6 marshmallows

Combine first seven ingredients, mixing well. Spoon into lightly greased 1.5 quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees (F) for 45 minutes. Arrange marshmallows on top. Bake until marshmallows are lightly browned.

StorMan New Zealand - Nyree picked "Nut Roast Loaf"

"Christmas to me means cherries and strawberries! Last year I spent July & August in our USA office and, as I wandered around the supermarket and saw all the strawberries and cherries, it made me think of Christmas!"

"There is a part of us though, on the sunny side of the world, that still likes to pretend on Christmas Day that we’re in the depths of a northern hemisphere winter. Christmas food to me also means a roast... roasted potatoes, kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin, onions and carrots and runner beans. There is usually a roast chicken or turkey but to me Christmas isn't quite Christmas without a Nut Roast Loaf with gravy."

"There are various renditions of this dish, but here's one interpretation along with a Christmas menu for the vegetarians among us... :-)"

StorMan United Kingdom - Chris picked "Christmas Pudding w/Rum Sauce"

"I'd rather join the Aussies and have a warm Christmas in the sun! I don't think we've had a white Christmas for 30 years or so."

"Traditionally, Christmas dinner is served after the Queen's speech. Foods at the table usually consist of prawn cocktails or soup as starters, followed by roast turkey, ham, roast potatoes, peas, stuffing, carrots, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Dessert is a choice of trifle, Yule log, chocolate mousse & Christmas pudding. All accompanied with a beer or wine and a cracker to pull!"

"Then about an hour later the big buffet comes out with a selection of hams, cheeses, biscuits, pork pies and, you guessed it - more turkey!". Check out this recipe for Christmas Pudding with Rum Sauce.

This month's Facility of the Month is U-Can Store It, located in Varsity Lakes (Queensland, Australia). We recently caught up with Patsy for a quick chat...

AP: "How long have you been with U-Can Store It and what is your position within the company?"

PT: "I have been managing the facility since December 2008, but have been living on-site since 2006. My official title is Resident Manager."

AP: "Tell us a little about the unit mix..."

PT: "We currently have 359 storage units and 43 vehicle spaces. Most of our spaces, including vehicle spaces, are under cover - providing protection from those hot, sunny Queensland days for our customers and their goods."

AP: "How long have you been using StorMan for?"

PT: "Since 2006."

AP: "Do you have any funny stories to tell?"

PT: "Our guard dog (pictured on right) is a Rottweiler / Doberman cross and for some reason he absolutely hates anything being towed – caravans, trailers, boats. No matter how much our regular clients try to bribe him with treats and belly rubs (he is actually an old softy) he barks madly determined that anything being towed is being stolen!"

AP: "Anything interesting about your area, or the building itself?"

PT: "U-Can Store It was built in 2000. We have gradually expanded over the years adding in some drop down sheds and extra vehicle spots. We are looking forward to even more exposure when the new Varsity Lakes Railway Station is completed (December 2009), extending the current line from Brisbane to Robina through to Varsity Lakes. It will also add retail shops and restaurants all within walking distance of our Facility."

AP: "How has StorMan made things easier for you?"

PT: "StorMan allows me to keep tabs on all areas of the business. In a couple of clicks I can see who is moving-in or out, who is in arrears and which sheds need cleaning. If only StorMan could actually go out there and sweep for us!"

AP: "And finally... what's your favourite StorMan feature?"

PT: "Daily Processing - by sending/emailing reminders, overdue letters, automatically billing next charges… this feature make’s life a lot easier for everyone."

Thank you to Patsy & the team at U-Can Store It Varsity Lakes for their time and input. If you'd like your facility to be featured as a Facility of the Month, please get in touch with us.