Maui Surfer Girls founder Dustin Tester proves that, with hard work, you don’t need a business degree to own one. Tester’s love of surfing and her Adventure Education degree from Prescott College in Arizona inspired her to start an all-girl summer surf camp. “I gave a presentation on building self-esteem in girls through outdoor education and it was then that…
Some people have the natural ability to speak with confidence in front of large audiences. For everyone else, Mark Blackburn, treasurer of Honolulu’s Downtown Business Association Toastmasters, offers tips on being a better public speaker. “It’s a real challenge, but with coaching and practice anyone can become a great communicator.” 1) SET A GOAL Know your content and your speech…
Transforming your workplace from an electricity-sucking abyss to an energy-efficient operation offers tons of benefits – it’s good for the planet, could increase employee productivity and morale, and may even win you a few new customers. But beyond the “soft” gains, experts say, going green can also produce a solid ROI, which means more money for you to invest back…
Q. How can a woman small-business owner succeed in the male-dominated construction industry? A. Women leaders face unique challenges in the workplace, no matter what industry we are in. Yet, as women, we bring abundant talents to the table and can do extremely well in any industry, even those that have long been dominated by men. To be successful in this…
6:32 A.M., Thursday Aulani, Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina Photography by Twain Newhart >>Father and son crane operators Jim and Mike Beyer walk along the counter-jib catwalk of dad’s crane, 280 feet above the Aulani site, to check on the hoist drum that controls cable reeling in and out. Four cranes went up June 15, 2009, for construction…
It’s been a dizzying year for Craig Carapelho, CEO of Honolulu-based Team Vision Virtual and honcho of what’s billed as the world’s first 3D travel Web site. In April, he completed a Series A round of investor financing, led prominently by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Ohana Holdings. Since then, he’s accelerated staff hiring and enticed Paul Onnen, a former chief…
The old saying that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” holds true for Dana and Shaun Roberts. The owners of KonaRed are taking the red fruit of the whole coffee bean, which is usually thrown away, and processing it into antioxidant-packed products. Photo: David Croxford How It Began The Robertses got the idea in 2008 after reading a University…
It’s time for a reality check on affordable housing in Hawaii. We are fooling ourselves if we think that current policies and incentives will eventually create enough homes for the tens of thousands of working families who want places of their own, but can’t afford them. The current system doesn’t come close to succeeding and no amount of tweaking is…
Hawaii is not an easy place to be a fashion designer. While inspiration abounds, the business of fashion in the Islands presents a unique set of problems. It costs more to source materials and have them shipped here. Finding people to grade (size), cut and sew garments has become increasingly difficult since most sewing contractors have gone out of business….
Only 1,800 qualifiers and lottery winners make it to the Ford Ironman World Championship starting line in Kona out of the tens of thousands who try to get there. The world- famous triathlon, which combines a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and 26.2-mile marathon run, will be held this year on Oct. 9. Source: World Triathlon Corp., based on 2009…
You’ve seen bumper stickers with a variation on this theme: “Tokyo, Paris, London, Waimanalo.” Now, a new one might soon appear: “Bejing, London, Rio, Honolulu.” The reference is to the Summer Olympic Games, which – if a group of planners and dreamers centered at the University of Hawaii School of Architecture has its way – could come to Hawaii in…
One group of high-powered executives is giving new meaning to the old concept “Ladies Who Lunch.” The Art of Lunch (AOL) is an informal, all-wahine networking group formed on a whim about two years ago when Louise Ing, a shareholder and director at the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd and Ing, and Laura Takahashi, owner of Takahashi Design Studio, met…
The sluggish economy prompted interior designers Jean Wall and Joan Robinson-Whitaker to start an affordable, one-day design service. Designer for a Day launched in August 2008 after Robinson-Whitaker was laid off from Castle Resorts & Hotels and Wall’s business ended. “We reinvented ourselves and our business model,” Wall says. The two owned their own businesses for more than 25 years and…
When Sandra Fowler was laid off in 2009 from the buying office of a local clothing company, she looked high and low for a job in a similar field. Pickings were slim and salaries seemed meager, “But I thought (my experience) was more valuable than what they wanted to pay,” Fowler says. So she and her husband, Brian, thought about…
Participants in this discussion: Margery Bronster Partner, Bronster Hoshibata and former state attorney general Shari Chang Senior VP, marketing and revenue management, Aston Hotels and Resorts Kathryn Inouye COO, Kobayashi Group Constance Lau President and CEO, Hawaiian Electric Industries Janet Liang President, Hawaii Region, Kaiser Permanente Dee Jay Mailer CEO, Kamehameha Schools Gwen Pacarro Complex Manager for Hawaii, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Shara Enay Moderator, writer, Hawaii Business Magazine…
When kamaaina think back to the old plantation days, many don’t immediately recall the poor living conditions and backbreaking work. Instead, they reminisce about a tight-knit community of people from all backgrounds pitching in and pooling resources to get things done. Many local leaders say it’ll take that kind of collaboration to revitalize the state’s economy after two years of…
“Building affordable housing is complicated,” says Makani Maeva. She should know. As Hawaii director for the VitusGroup, an affordable-housing developer, she recently completed the Lokahi Apartments, 307 rentals in Kona. Between January 2007, when another developer laid the project in her lap, and July 2010, when the apartments first were offered for rent, almost all the financial and technical details…
Sleek as seals, 24 high school students slip into the turquoise water off Coconut Island, snorkels and swim fins in place, gripping scientific gear to measure the health of the underwater reef. The work – part of a summer program through Windward Community College – is providing important information to scientists working at the University of Hawaii’s Hawaii Institute of…