Question: Does it make sense for me to pay for gym memberships for my employees? Answer: The answer is an unequivocal yes. Many times, small businesses think this is an extra perk they cannot afford, but a little bit goes a long way. Company wellness programs are an investment in the company’s most valuable asset, its employees. It’s a win-win…
Winning companies in five categories: Green Business, Innovation, New Business, Woman-Owned, and Long-Term Best Green Business KYA Sustainability Studio Nominator: Scott Cooney, The GBO Group BY PAVEL STANKOV KYA Sustainability Studio is a think tank that specializes in environmentally friendly and culturally sensitive design, development and architecture. Full of young and energetic associates, the studio is the brainchild of architect…
Tuesday, 1:27 PM Hawaii Advanced Imaging Institute, Honolulu Photographer Kevin Blitz >> Chanel Kaneshiro, lead MRI technician at Hawaii Advanced Imaging Institute, tests a patient in a 3.0T Open MRI scanner. One of only two such devices in the state, it provides clearer images than traditional MRI machines, the institute says. With a 70-centimeter bore, it can service patients too…
Think you have a tough job? Try being an economist. Every November, economists around the world issue their forecasts of the coming year. There is always a huge range of opinions: One American economist may suggest U.S. GDP will rise a robust 4 percent, while another forecasts the country will slide back into recession. However, if you charted all of…
Pacxa becomes Hawaii’s largest locally based IT service provider with patience and a mix of strategies This January, at our monthly all-staff meeting at Pacific Basin Communications, company president Scott Schumaker ended the morning’s events with a surprising announcement: “Oh, by the way, effective immediately, George and Io no longer work for PacBasin; they now work for a company called…
About six years ago, Paul Alston bought 20 acres in Volcano on Hawaii Island. The plot was zoned for agriculture and Alston, who grew up in urban Southern California, had no idea what he was getting himself into. “After we got married, I told (my wife) I’d never own a lawn mower,” says Alston, 65, president and director of Alston…
Building a six-person koa outrigger canoe requires a lot of time and money: about $20,000 for the log and $60,000 to turn it into a canoe. “It’s not an overnight procedure,” says Bobby Puakea, 72, a canoe builder, educator and founder of the Puakea Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to perpetuating Hawaiian canoe traditions. “Once the log is cured, it takes…
Newt, the hat and sportswear store at the Royal Hawaiian, won’t sell you a hat over the phone or from its website. You’ll have to buy it in person, because co-owner Jim Tomasi believes every hat is unique and needs to be fitted on a customer’s head. “A fine Panama hat is priced like a Persian carpet that’s priced knots…
Carey oversees an empire of 35 hotel operations in the Pacific and Asia, with more coming soon. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, plus a law degree and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He joined Outrigger in 1986. How strong is the tourism turnaround? It’s extraordinarily strong, at least for Oahu. The velocity isn’t…
Photo: Courtesy Irehab Company: Irehab is a Hawaii-based company offering online instructional videos for physical therapists to prescribe to their patients after initial rehab. Product: “Through Web and mobile technology, we provide patients with specific treatment plans for musculoskeletal pain,” says co-founder Dr. Brett Carey. “We have an app available at the iTunes store that asks you 13 questions. Based…
Photo: Courtesy Akin In many impoverished countries, students are required to wear uniforms to attend school, yet often they cannot afford one. Akin Clothing Ltd. mixes business with humanitarianism by providing school uniforms for those children through proceeds of T-shirts sold on its website. Akin is “for-profit with a cause,” says Tom Pearson, a marketing executive for the Laie-based company….
Clinton Kala of Waianae is a thankful man. With the help of Kuleana, a local nonprofit that partners with a global microfinancing organization, he is starting his own vehicle-cleaning business. “The things I used to do, I’m surprised I’m where I am,” says Kala, 45. Kala got involved in drugs at an early age, which led to damaged relationships, lost…
Name: Lo Kaimuloa Job: Owner/Buyer, Riches Kahala Years of experience: 30 STARTING OUT: Kaimuloa spent five years learning high-end retail with jewelry designer Bernard Hurtig, then, in 1986, she opened Riches Kahala, an 87-square-foot kiosk in Kahala Mall. She expanded to 200 square feet in 2002. BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION: “That retail is easy, glamorous and fun. It’s just plain hard work!” Kaimuloa says. She…
Steve Sue, founder of BizGym, a cloud-based rapid-development application for startups and entrepreneurs, can’t say enough about Bee Leng Chua’s program, Hawaii Tech Asia. Below: Bee Leng Chua, HiBEAM and K.O. Chia, president of the Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.Photos: courtesy bee leng chua “Our business benefited wildly,” says Sue, who lives in Hawaii, noting that, soon…
The Manoa Innovation Center – home to many small, high-tech startups – must find a new location by the time its lease with the University of Hawaii expires in April 2015. UH wants the space for its own programs, but bills have been introduced in the state Legislature to keep the center in its existing space. A state agency, the…
32 local companies and champions honored as some of Hawaii’s best Each year, the Hawaii region of the federal Small Business Administration celebrates some of the state’s best small businesses and small-business advocates. Hawaii Business honored the 2013 winners at the Hawaii Business Small Business Luncheon on Feb. 28 and is proud to profile them in the following pages. To…
Hurricane SandyWhen Iniki hit, many property owners were uninsured, under-insured or covered by a company that couldn’t handle all its claims When a massive storm like Hurricane Sandy strikes, the effects on the insurance industry are felt around the world, including in Hawaii. Add in the threat that climate change could spawn many more natural disasters globally, and you have…
Hawaii’s economy is hard to predict. Hawaii Business compared a decade of annual economic forecasts against the actual numbers and found most forecasts correctly predict whether key indicators will rise or fall. But the forecasts rarely get the actual numbers right and are often way off. Economic forecasting is an inexact science with good reason. The national economy is made…