Think HBR

HBR's 10th Anniversary

Timeline

This issue marks the 10th Anniversary for the Hunter Business Review.

Commencing in 2005, HBR set out with the aim to connect and inform Hunter businesspeople. The first issue was only 16 pages compared to the usual 52 pages now published and the layout was quite basic, but it was well-received by local business people and we certainly received quite a bit of positive feedback from the outset. HBR has also strived to evolve and we have always been open to ideas on how we can do a better job and areas we need to improve.
With the support of the Hunter, HBR has now grown to be an established, high quality hard copy and online business magazine.
 
 
The origins of HBR
 
Edgar Adams, the publisher of the Central Coast Business Review (which celebrates 25 years this June), did a tremendous amount of work in setting up the publication, from identifying the need for the Hunter’s own specialist business publication to gathering prospects and building valuable contacts, many of which we still proudly consider as friends of HBR.
 
EDGAR ADAMS2
                                 Edgar Adams
 
I officially came on board as part owner around 3 months before the first issue was published and will be forever grateful for the work done by Edgar in establishing HBR and building the solid base for future growth.
 
BusRev 244 Garry
                              Garry Hardie
I took over Edgar’s share of the business in 2006 to allow him to concentrate his efforts on the Central Coast.
We were very grateful for the support from many, many businesses, organisations and individuals from the very start who could see the need for HBR and had faith that we could produce a quality product.
 
A variety of businesses came in with advertising support from the very first issue to make the publication possible. Special thanks go to Accent and Complete Staff Solutions who became long standing advertisers. Other regular early advertisers included Newcastle Airport, Hunter Star Motors, Kloster BMW and the Hunter Economic Zone.
 
 
The HBR aims and philosophy
 
HBR has stayed true to its original aims to connect and inform Hunter businesspeople. It is specifically written for businesspeople by businesspeople with extensive publishing experience.
 
Stories are kept short and to the point to allow busy businesspeople to keep up to date with local business news and issues without requiring a large investment of time. Many readers delve in and out of the publication over a period of time and also pass the publication to work colleagues.
 
We have the philosophy of encouraging feedback, whether it be positive or negative. Although we value our position of being independent and non-aligned, we have always been keen to work with as many businesses and organisations as possible.
 
We are also happy to receive news submissions from any source. We cannot guarantee that we will publish all submissions, but will consider all of them and include as many as possible in a future issue.
 
 
10 years of growth
 
Since 2005, HBR has grown to be the leading hard copy and online publication for Hunter businesspeople.
 
It usually has more than three times the number of the pages as the first issue and is now very much a multimedia with the website www.HBRmag.com.au, which is loaded with information and back issues, attracting many thousands of visits a month. HBR also has a growing social media footprint and uses this platform to both distribute and receive information of interest to local businesspeople.
 
The publication itself has had major improvements to its design and layout in recent years, mostly due to the hard work and expertise of Sandie Collie, our Art Director.
 
The success of HBR is also due to other skilled team members including Judy Andrews who looks after much of the administrative tasks, our Online Content Manager Jason Duncan and Assistant Editor Megan Hazlett.
 
HBR Team
                   Above: Sandie collie & Meagn Hazelett
                    Below: Judy Andrews & Jason Duncan
 
 
The future
 
HBR has never been content to rest on its laurels and understands that standing still in business is going backwards.
We have plans to continue to improve the publication and to provide an evolving information source for businesses in this great region.
Although the online side of HBR is an extremely important part of the publication, many readers still prefer the hard copy version. We have no plans to stop the hard copy versions of HBR but will seek to optimise our use of current and new communication opportunities to keep our readers informed.
 
We hope you will join us for the next 10 years and beyond.
 
Garry Hardie - Publisher & Editor
 
 

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