Lyon Associates, Inc. is a Honolulu-based, father-and-son engineering firm with projects from Micronesia to Bahrain. Jim Lyon, 45, was born on Okinawa, when Frank, now 82, was working for another engineering company. After retirement, Frank realized there was more work and more excitement ahead, Jim says, so he bought the company back and has been expanding ever since. HB: What motivates…
Q. How much business income insurance coverage do I need? A. We’ve all heard stories about businesses that suffer a fire loss, take three months to rebuild and struggle to survive because of income lost during those months. That is why there is business income insurance. Should you buy this coverage? Consider three things while making that decision: • First,…
“Social media is a marathon, not a sprint. You just have to start,” says Toby Tamaye (@atmarketing), president of AT Marketing. He outlines five social media platforms that can help you connect better with your customers. On Facebook, provide content that your target market wants to hear from your business. That way they will share the information with their friends. Provide…
What do you really know about your customers? Do you know their ages? Where they live? How much money they make? How many kids they have? Do you know where else they shop? How they make buying decisions? Why they come to your store? Does your staff treat them well? Do you even know if they like your company? If…
>> James Carter, CSC, director of photography for Hawaii Five-0, remotely adjusts the camera exposure during a recent shoot of the television show. Inside the tent, Carter works with a digital imaging technician to add contrast to the raw, flat image and give the show its signature, saturated look. He is able to adjust the exposure on his own under…
Problem: Piracy costs the U.S. movie industry more than $20 billion annually, according to industry experts, who say illegal downloads and bootleg copies prevent many independent filmmakers from turning their passion into a livelihood. Solution: EggUp.com is a platform created in Hawaii by Key Asylum Corp., which allows filmmakers to securely upload movies, self-help videos, educational content and more, and sell them…
The airlines have trained me well: I pull out the safety card on every flight and follow along with the demonstration or video. I know that puts me in serious nerd territory, but I want to be prepared for that one-in-a-million chance of an accident. I also know most of my fellow passengers probably won’t be prepared, so someone has…
Q: You often tell people, ‘I do laundry,’ including Gov. Ben Cayetano when you first met him, but how did you get into that business? I had always been an entrepreneur, but I had just taken time off to have William, my son. It was 1987, and Masa Tasaka, head ofKuakini Medical Center, approached me. It was his vision that the hospitals…
Photo Courtesy: Skai Ventures When up to 20,000 guests attend the APEC 2011 Leaders’ Week in November, the local blue-ribbon committee promoting business investment here won’t be touting Hawaii’s old standbys. Photo Courtesy: Tissue Genesis Instead of focusing on tourism, agriculture and real estate, the APEC 2011 Hawaii Host Committee will be shining the spotlight on what it sees as four emerging fields of excellence…
Years ago, Dave Flintstone worked as a scuba instructor in the Caribbean where “I gathered an appreciation for rum.” He also did his homework and learned how to make sugar cane-based spirits from local distilleries, planning that, one day, he would open his own. Flintstone, owner of Island Distillery, incorporated his company in 2008, but he says strict federal laws…
The dog you choose as your best friend can make a big difference on your wallet. One of the most expensive pure breeds is the English bulldog, which can cost $4,000, according to the Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association. Bulldogs are not meant to breed naturally because of their body structure, so artificial insemination contributes to the high cost. But there’s…
Darrin Yakabu-Muramoto and Joie Yuen like their pork rinds, but wanted more than just plain or spicy flavors. They also didn’t like the Mainland varieties, which grew stale by the time they arrived in the Islands, so the two started Pork Grinds Hawaii, which makes fried pork skin in flavors developed for the local palate. The company fries pellets –…
When Bob Armstrong moved into his Nuuanu home 20 years ago, he couldn’t tell if there were fish hidden in the muddy water of his backyard pond. He didn’t know it then, but, along with the pond, the CEO of Armstrong Builders had acquired a hobby. Photo: Courtesy BRad Goda Armstrong spent the first few years clearing the mud…
Wage gap holds steady after shrinking for decades Almost no change since 2001 Hawaii Wage Gap 2009 Median wages in Hawaii for adult, full-time, year-round workers: Success in College Women are 1.5 times more likely than men to graduate from college or earn advanced degrees. African-Americans and Hispanic women are more than twice as likely to graduate from college than their male…
Some pet stores in Hawaii have stopped selling cats and dogs, and are instead partnering with animal shelters and rescue groups to offer adoptions of homeless animals. The unusual marketing strategy may be partly due to more pet-store owners’ concern that the puppies they sell may come from unscrupulous breeders, says Joanna Yeh, manager of Calvin & Susie, a pet-supply…
Each person’s road to success is unique, but these four women shared similar challenges and goals. Each explains that success has never been about money or power, but about personal goals and helping communities. • Attorney Crystal Rose, chair of Central Pacific Bank, also works as a Gentry Homesboard member, helping develop lots forHawaiian Home Lands, so families can have homes of…
Millions of people visit Hawaii every year from all over the world and many speak little or no English. Many local companies offer foreign-language tours for those visitors, usually focusing on travelers from the big Asian markets of Japan, Korea and China. A few companies target the niche market of European travelers. Victor Jarnot has operated Russian Hawaii Tours since…
After earning degrees at Harvard, California Berkeley and Cornell, and working at insurance firm MBIA in New York, Hilo-born Ally Park never thought she would take over the family business. However, “My parents needed a succession plan and they had not done well with outside mangers,” she says. She moved back to Hawaii in 2000 and became president of Clinical…
Name: Angela Tillson Job: Film-location scout/manager and casting director on Kauai Years on the job: 22 Experience: Tillson’s worked with big-name movie directors, including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Spike Lee, Alexander Payne and Rob Reiner, and hung out with actors such as George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston and Harrison Ford. She has also worked on music videos, TV productions, commercials and…
Last year, Jessie Salvador wanted to open his own business, a doughnut shop specializing in cake doughnuts. His employer didn’t want to see him go, so it opened a retail doughnut shop, Regal Bakery, and put Salvador in charge. The shop has quickly become well-known for its eclectic doughnut flavors, such as creme brulee, green tea, apple fritter and bacon…