“Joe Volcano” saw an opportunity in the ban on smoking in workplaces and restaurants, so he quit his job selling ad space on tourist maps two years ago to launch Volcano E-cigs. The company says it is one of the country’s largest sellers of electronic cigarettes online, and now has two locations on Oahu and a handful of franchises on…
Need a unique Hawaii Christmas ornament, such as a grass-skirt wearing Santa surfing? Then visit Santa’s Pen, a local company that specializes in personalized keepsakes. Family ornaments that include everyone’s names and celebrate an occasion are popular, says Karen Sotomura, president of the parent company, Joseph K. & Co. Items range from $8 to $30, and each store is staffed…
There’s nothing more impressive than ordering the most expensive item on the menu at a posh restaurant – and doing it without bungling the name of the dish. Chef Mavro restaurant in Moiliili makes the pronunciation easy with its Trio of Sustainable Caviars, yet the pre-appetizer should impress even the most snobbish foodie. The sustainable caviars are Russian Golden Osetra…
Hawaii Island Gourmet is doing its part to improve the taste reputation of the often-maligned breadfruit. From September through the holiday season, when breadfruit trees on Hawaii Island are bearing fruit, the company produces seven-ounce packages of ulu chips. Though other varieties of the company’s Atebara Chips are available statewide, the breadfruit chips are sold only at the company’s store…
While leading friends down 18,500-foot Mount Elbrus in Russia several years ago, Djuan Rivers slipped from a snowy ledge and plunged 300 feet down a steep embankment. He stopped his fall by stabbing his ice axe into the snow, avoiding a further 1,000-foot drop. “It was a pretty scary, long, deathly fall,” recalls Rivers, VP and GM of Aulani, the…
Name: Ruby Alvarez Job: Hawaii executive manager, Batesville Logistics Years of experience: 23 Duties: Batesville operates the only casket-manufacturer’s outlet in Hawaii, so demand for its caskets, cremation containers and urns is high, Alvarez says. “Some customers might want a different casket for sentimental reasons. Or sometimes the funeral homes don’t carry the casket they want, and we have to…
The state says it now cashes excise tax payments much faster than it did a year earlier. In 2010, tens of thousands of GET checks from local businesses would remain uncashed by the government for a month or longer, but by the middle of 2011, that number was down to a few hundred. Local tax experts confirm the speed-up in…
Bruce Johnson CEO, Fresh Island Fish Co. and Uncle’s Fish Market and Grill Johnson always loved fishing, but, as a young entrepreneur, he worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Today, he owns a wholesale fish company and a seafood restaurant. We spoke to him from his home on Lanai, where he was taking the day off to go fishing….
Michael Kennebeck was recruited to play Santa Claus by an Ala Moana Center staffer who recognized that his personality and bushy beard made him a natural for the part. That was 18 years ago and Kennebeck has been playing the role at the mall ever since. The first year was “scary,” he says, because he didn’t know how to act….
As a vice-chair at Aloha United Way, I’ve had a front seat to many exciting changes this year. Most significant has been the energy and direction put into the organization by its new president, Kim Gennaula. Among the changes in Kim’s first six months is a renewed focus on fundraising as AUW’s core competency. But, rather than fight for a…
Shawna Emery and Danni Fry startedD&S Fry Plumbing in April and already have so many jobs they each work nearly 80 hours a week. Here, the two women share their early triumphs and obstacles. What are you doing to build your clientele? Shawna Emery: We’ve maybe spent $100 on PR and already have close to 1,000 clients, so it’s not impossible to…
Q. I often find myself face to face with prospective clients, but it feels tacky to introduce myself and start talking to them about my business services or to ask them about their needs. How can I get over this initial shyness? A. Selling is about getting to know your customers, so you can help them solve problems. Selling is…
Just about everyone has a family recipe or talk-of-the-town potluck dish they think is ono enough to be a grocery-store bestseller. These are our six steps to take your product from concept to consumer. Most of our guides are entrepreneurs who followed their own dreams and launched specialty-food businesses in Hawaii. They say the road to success wasn’t easy, but…
8:15 Am, Tuesday United states Post Office, Kailua Photographer: Rae Huo >> Customer Service Supervisor Greg Gittens, foreground, instructs the daily group stretching, a routine begun by the USPS across Hawaii in 2005 to reduce repetitive strain injuries. The postal workers will need it this month. In 2010, Hawaii post offices processed 97 percent more parcels during the holidays…
Kuyper was born and raised on Oahu, but, like many ambitious Hawaii youth, he was drawn by college and career to the mainland. Thirty years later, after working for blue-chip companies like the Boston Consulting Group, Wellington Management and Morgan Creek, he is the new CEO at Parker Ranch. He talks about his career and the future of the ranch….
Poll of 400 local business leaders goes inside the local economy and forecasts what’s ahead LOWLIGHT: Confidence for next year continues to erode. Highlight: Special survey of tourism leaders. PERFORMANCE INDEX Index consolidates the changes in revenue, profit and staffing for 400 local companies over the past 12 months. Very small businesses suffer the most The survey shows that companies with fewer than 10 employees…
“Past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare Darrell Hamamura punches his code into a keypad, pulls open the door to the vault and steps back into the past. As the land information systems manager for Kamehameha Schools, he tracks the endowment’s vast real estate holdings, more than 365,000 acres of industrial land, retail property, farmland and extensive conservation lands. In the…
The annual session of the Hawaii state Legislature is when issues are debated, compromises are forged, new laws are created – and legislators ask for your money. An analysis by Hawaii Business magazineshows that during the 2011 state Legislature, 14 of the 25 state senators held fundraisers during the session, according to filings with the state Campaign Spending Commission. Members of the state House…