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| photo: Cory Lum |
GIANT STEPS
To say that Direct Support Resources is somewhat of a cryptic business name would be an understatement. Even company president Ryan Z Takaki has a difficult time explaining exactly what it is they do: "It's basically logistics management," he says, "which encompasses everything from warehousing, inventory management, distribution and transportation services."
Nonetheless, Takaki hopes the vague moniker will one day be as recognizable as that of its sister company, Island Movers. How he's planning to accomplish that is simple: He's taking tips from the nation's top entrepreneurs. In 2005, Takaki was selected for the prestigious Birthing of Giants program. Hosted jointly by Inc. magazine, MIT Enterprise Forum and the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, Birthing of Giants is an exclusive, three-year program intended to bring together and educate the future Bill Gates of the world. Each year, participants spend four intense days at MIT's Endicott House near Boston, Mass., learning six fundamental areas of business.
"The program is designed for business owners who want to become business giants. Entrepreneurial giants," says Takaki, who was chosen from more than 300 applicants worldwide. "So my goals for the program are, one, growth as a professional or business person; two, I want to be able to interact with other business people around the world, whether it be the classmates or presenters I've interacted with; and three, hopefully it transcends into the growth and betterment of our business."
When Takaki graduates next year, adding his name to a select list of local alumni, you probably still won't understand exactly what Direct Support Resources does. But don't expect that to last.
-Jacy L. Youn
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EVERYBODY'S SURFING NOW -- ALMOST More than three-quarters of adults in hawaii had some access to the Internet in 2005, according to Honolulu-based research group SMS. That's up from 60 percent in 1999. The percentage of adults who have personal e-mail accounts reached 62 percent in 2005, up from 28 percent in 1999. But SMS reports Internet usage is not expected to grow rapidly in the future. Older residents and low-income households make up almost all of the non-users. Here's a breakdown of the study: [ Top Activities ] [ Top Providers ] [ Top web sites ] |
| TOP 10 CITIES BEST PREPARED FOR AN OIL CRISIS
1. New York Source: SustainLane |
Believe it ... or Not
As a media outlet, we get a lot of press releases, some goofier than others. Most we expeditiously file in our circular cabinet. But when SustainLane, an online resource for sustainable living, ranked Honolulu as No. 7 on its list of the nation's top cities prepared for an oil crisis, we had to make a call. At the very least, we thought SustainLane -- because it did not appear that it knew -- should be informed that Honolulu is the most geographically isolated city in the world and, as of today, has no oil fields, a little guano maybe, but no oil. Warren Karlenzig, chief strategy officer of San Francisco-based SustainLane, admitted that "Honolulu was a bit of an anomaly on the list. If we were to have an asterisk with any of our cities on the list, it would have been Honolulu." Karlenzig says that the rating system did not take into account such issues as the cost of shipping, which is not a major issue for most American cities. He believes if it did, Honolulu would fall off the Top Ten list. So what does the most isolated city in the world have going for it in an oil crisis? One of the criteria for the cities on the list was their number of farmers markets, which he says generally equates to less dependency on imported food goods. Well, Honolulu has the highest rate of farmers markets per capita of all the 50 largest cities in the United States. Honolulu has more than twice the farmers markets of the next closest city, Washington, DC. Honolulu scored high in other noteworthy categories. Almost 16 percent of city dwellers car pool, the highest percentage SustainLane found. About 10 percent of city people ride public transportation, which puts us in the middle of the pack. Then 4.5 percent of the people walk to work; 1.5 percent bike. Compare that with Albuquerque, N.M., where less than 1 percent walk or bike, and our city starts looking pretty good. One last category was sprawl. We are the No. 3 least sprawled. Finally, having limited land pays off. -Scott Radway |
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$830 billion
That's the nationwide receipts for nonemployer businesses (those without paid employees) in 2003, up from $586 billion in 1997, according to the U.S. Census. For Hawaii, in 2003, receipts for nonemployer businesses, often "mom-and-pop" corner stores or home-based businesses, hit $3.4 billion, which was 41st among the 50 states. That's up 11.5 percent from $3 billion in receipts in 2002 and up from 76,000 to 80,000 businesses. The U.S. Census released that data in honor of Small Business week in mid-April. -Scott Radway |
Hawaii Business defines often-spoken words, new and old, to help you make sense of what's being said.| "I had a serious disadvantage and didn't know it having grown up here."
-Gillian Armour, today a Honolulu-based image consultant, on her Island-born fashion sense. |
| Neighborhood Watch: Pearl City, Aiea and Moanalua |
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| With Oahu's population increasingly moving westward, the boundaries of metro Honolulu have shifted. Pearl City, Aiea and Moanalua, 20 minutes from downtown and close to the island's three freeways, all major military bases and the airport, is now considered "town." East Honolulu's Hawaii Kai is once again considered the city's hinterland by some.
According to Realtor Adam Lee of Abe Lee Realty, Pearl City, Aiea and Moanalua are undervalued areas, which will soon be heating up as new and second-time homeowners forego the Ewa Plain for a shorter commute. "Town used to end somewhere around Nuuanu. But now, about 90 percent of buyers looking for a house in town will go as far as Pearl City," says Lee. "You won't get the new house or the planned community that you'd have in Ewa, but you'll be a stone's throw away from the city and still have easy access to west Oahu. I don't think people have noticed it [the rise in the market] yet because there are only a handful of listings, but it's happening." -David K. Choo |
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