Q. I’m planning to outsource my company’s payroll and other human resource needs. What should I look for when choosing an HR company? A. With so many providers entering this field, you need to choose wisely. Here is what ProService suggests you consider when choosing an HR provider: 1. How long has the company been providing true HR administration services in…
Capital is essential to all small businesses. It allows owners to launch their companies and invest in their companies’ growth. Elizabeth Echols, regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, provides tips on how to access capital and make it easier to expand your business. 1) Develop a plan Whether you want to grow your business or are just…
Our scribe explains the practical pros and cons of cloud computing, while our artiste tells the same tale as an epic quest for the holy grail of computer nirvana Arnold Domingo, operations manager of HawaiiPrint, a graphics and textile printing service in Honolulu, was trying to do a physical inventory of company assets and accounts several years ago. He…
Greasing the Gears 5:16 pm, Thursday Aloha Tower Clock, Honolulu Harbor Photo: Twain Newhart >> Hermann Allerstorfer, Jr., oils the gears of Aloha Tower’s clock as his father, Hermann Sr., looks on. The senior Allerstorfer, a retired clock and watchmaker, has been maintaining the clock once a month since 1967 for the state’s Department of Transportation Harbors Division. He…
For a farmer, water is king. But rainfall is fickle and even irrigation systems can falter. That’s why scientists and technicians atSyngenta, a Swiss-based agricultural-technology company with seed operations on Kauai and in Kunia, have developed a new variety of drought-resistant corn. They call Agrisure Artesian the industry’s first “water-optimized” corn technology. In an era of climate change that threatens more droughts,…
I work and live in the modern world but know that I need to spend more time in a different place. Please don’t misunderstand me. I love the connected universe and I thrive in it. I’m in the information business, and connected laptops, smartphones, the web and all the rest exponentially increase my productivity and usefulness over what I could…
As executive VP and GM of dck pacific construction since 2008, Roger Peters has guided the company through one of the worst building climates in memory. With few major projects (except for rail) on the horizon, we ask Peters for his prognosis of Hawaii’s construction sector today. Q: Has there been any rebound in the construction sector? We’re seeing a…
Twenty years after the founding of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, celebrity chefs Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi are helping organize a major food festival to benefit farmers and the next generation of chefs. They aren’t just selling food but food-system values, and farmers are the stars along with the chefs. The tag line for the three-day Hawaii Food & Wine Festival is “Taste our love for the land.”…
Photo: Courtesy of Kukuula By any measure, Kukuiula on Kauai’s south shore has been an ambitious undertaking. When Alexander & Baldwin first proposed the private golf club and master-planned, luxury community in the early 1980s, it received a zoning entitlement of more than 3,400 residential units. But, for many on Kauai, the idea of a luxury development on that scale…
When Michael Harris and his sons acquired hives for their Wao Kele Farm in Puna in 2007, the beekeeping industry was much easier. “You’d buy a colony with a queen and hopefully it turned into a productive colony,” says Harris, explaining how simple it seems in retrospect. Today, a slew of problems have “overwhelmed” Hawaii’s beekeepers, says Danielle Downey, an…
After more than two miserable years, many in Hawaii’s construction industry think the near future will be brighter because of the Honolulu rail line, planned hotel redevelopments and other projects. “It’s cautious optimism,” says John White, executive director of the Pacific Resource Partnership, an alliance of the Hawaii Carpenters Union and many top contractors. “What we can control is ensuring…
As a former top executive at Aloha Airlines, Aloha Island Air, Roberts Hawaii and theHawaii Superferry, Neil Takekawa has had more than his share of high-flying corporate jobs, with their big salaries and big headaches. Now, as COO at the nonprofit Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, Takekawa says he is enjoying life as never before. He’s not making the money he once did,…
Terrifying Yet Exhilarating Twenty years ago, during his first retirement, Warren Evans tried mountain climbing while on a scouting trip with his sons in North Toronto. “We rappelled down this 100-foot cliff,” he says. “I was terrified, but, by the time I got to the bottom, I felt exhilarated. “I fell in love with the adrenaline rush. To rappel down…
There’s a way to avoid long airport lines and manhandling by TSA security agents, but it’ll cost you. What: Charter a private jet to fly you and your friends from Honolulu to Los Angeles, and you won’t have to arrive at the airport two hours early. “The plane will not leave without you,” says Roberta Latham, sales manager for Los…
With Christmas only three months away, many Hawaii residents are starting to plan their winter vacations in snow country. “Skiing and snowboarding are the flip side of water activities for people in Hawaii,” says John DeFreitas, product development manager for Panda Travel in Honolulu. When asked about where locals like to ski, he says the popularity of Big White in…
Talk about swimsuits that have been around the world and back: Acacia swimwear is designed on Maui as a fusion of low-cut Italian bikinis with a Brazilian fit, manufactured in Indonesia and then sent back to Maui for shipping. The daring and exotic line is the product of Naomi Newirth, who grew up on Maui, and Lyndie Irons, who grew…
After seven years as a judge in Family Court and six years as the administrative director of the state court system, Michael Broderick talks about the challenges of running one of Hawaii’s most visible nonprofits. Michael Broderick President and Ceo, YMCA Honolulu Q: How has being a judge prepared you for the job at the “Y”? One of…
During 100 years of service at Palama Settlement, the faces have changed. In the early years, the nonprofit helped Japanese, Chinese and Hawaiians. Later, a helping hand went to Filipinos, Samoans, Tongans and Laotians. More recently, Micronesians have been coming. What has remained constant is the nonprofit’s service to the people of Kalihi and Palama. “One word that has constantly…
Name: Joseph Everitt Teipel, aka Surfer Joe the Auctioneer Job: Owner, AuctionAction LLC Experience: 27 years Start: Teipel got his first taste of auctioneering in 1984: Jewelry and watch broker Hingkie Han hired him to conduct her popular fashion auctions in Waikiki nightclubs. Skills required: Auctioneers are a blend of marketers, entertainers and ringmasters, and the best know what they’re…
On a layover in Seoul, IT consultant Anthony Stanford needed a place to work, preferably with free Wi-Fi and a decent cup of coffee. Instead of Starbucks, he used a “co-working” space where people rented desks in a shared office. Unlike coffee shops, this type of workplace fosters social interaction and collaborative working – something the 24-year-old craved. “The real…
You can see from his face that Miles Hashimoto loves working, whether it’s assembling mobile-phone kits or shredding documents. Both jobs are at Goodwill Industries, and Hashimoto is no ordinary worker. Like an estimated 1.8 percent of Hawaii’s population – about 24,500 people – Hashimoto was born with a developmental disability. At Goodwill’s secure shredding facility, he quickly and expertly removes paper…
When we went looking for Hawaii Business magazine’s Best Dressed Executives and Professionals, we got more than a hundred nominations. It was a huge challenge – and a lot of fun – narrowing down that group of stylish people to the 12 winners you’ll see on the following pages. Each has a unique approach to looking his or her best…
In some ways, construction and Waikiki go hand-in-hand. After all, the pleasure palaces along the beach have provided many of the largest recent private construction projects in the state. By some counts, more than $2 billion has been spent over the last 10 years renovating and redeveloping Waikiki’s crown jewels. And that’s not counting the myriad smaller projects. But the…