Question: I have six salespeople: four veterans and two who are quite new. While they are all selling, I know they could be selling more, and I’m amazed that the new ones are outselling the experienced ones. Any suggestions? Answer: It is not uncommon for new salespeople to sell more than their experienced colleagues. They are enthusiastic, fresh, haven’t learned…
When one penthouse isn’t enough, why not combine two? That’s what’s happened at One Ala Moana, the luxury tower being built above Nordstrom at Ala Moana Center, where a pair of condos recently fetched a combined price of $17 million, according to developer B.J. Kobayashi. One Ala Moana is a collaboration between The HowardHughes Corp., The MacNaughton Group and The Kobayashi Group. In January, the 206-unit project sold out in just 29 hours, before…
Maurice Kondo has been collecting things since he grew up on the Hamakua Coast. “My elementary school teacher would tell me, ‘Small things entertain small minds,’ ” jokes Kondo, a principal at INK Architects, whose office at Dole Cannery is a menagerie of treasures, from antique Hawaiian soda bottles to old typewriters. One of his “smallest” collections consists of about 500 subminiature cameras, matchbox-size, fully operational cameras…
Nandini Bhattacharjee is not your typical retailer. Her Kailua shop, Nomads Hawaii, abbreviated as Nohi, is based on her personal philosophy and approach to life. “I would not have done this if it did not allow me a way to help people,” Bhattacharjee says. “At Nohi, we’re proud to support those organizations that actively work to improve human lives, animal welfare and environmental sustainability.” Nohi specializes in fair…
More than 70 percent of new-home construction in Hawaii uses cold-steel frame studs in place of traditional wooden two-by-fours. “No other state comes even close,” says Tim Waite of the Hawaii Steel Alliance. “Second place goes to Australia.” On the mainland, steel framing is frequently found in multifamily housing projects, but only 0.25 percent of single-family homes completed in 2012 were framed internally with metal studs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Manufacturing…
For those who believe Hawaii’s economic future lies with innovative technology and global thinking, DataHouse can be a poster child. The Honolulu-based company, with offices in Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco, this year signed a contract to design and implement a web-based banking application for ANZ Bank. ANZ is Australia’s third-largest bank by market capitalization, with reported assets of…
Around 4 most mornings, I wake up and switch on my laptop. The first site I click is PacIOOS.org, an interactive and informative website that gives me all the real-time information I need to decide which surfboard to take to the beach that morning or whether I should stay in bed. PacIOOS stands for the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System. The free site, a partnership between UH’s School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology…
Name: Ben Isabel Job: Tugboat captain for Young Brothers, the main shipper of cargo around the Hawaiian Islands. Experience: Started with YB in 1994. START: Isabel served as an E-5 second-class boatswain mate in the U.S. Navy. But, to work for Young Brothers, he fi rst earned his able body seaman certification, a two-month course approved by the Coast Guard that is required to work on…
Football season is prime time for sports bars’ bottom line Baseball may be “America’s pastime,” and basketball and soccer reign as the most popular sports globally, but for sports bar owners in Hawaii there is no dispute: Football reigns supreme. “Football is crucial for us,” says Mike Kawazoe, owner of Rivals Sports Bar and UltraLounge. “It raises our revenues anywhere between 25 and 35 percent. We rely on football season to…
Conflict negotiation arises in many contexts, both business and personal, but successful negotiation does not just happen. Sharon V. Lovejoy, litigation attorney with Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher, offers these tips to help you negotiate a successful resolution. 1. Improve your understanding of the situation:Preparation is key to the successful resolution of any difficult conflict. A skilled negotiator who knows about…
Henry Kapono Kaaihue was already a well-known performer, with decades on stage and dozens of best selling CDs, when he met his wife-to-be, Lezlee. She was a successful, trained-on-the-job stockbroker and he was playing at the Pier Bar at Aloha Tower Marketplace. She took one look and said, “You need help on your business plan.” He laughs: “I didn’t have one.”…
Tuesday, 11:50 AM Coulter Construction, Manoa Valley Photographer Twain Newhart >> A crew from Coulter Construction lays down the concrete foundation for a custom-built home in Manoa. Pouring the concrete takes a week, but site preparation starts weeks in advance. The home will take about 75 days to complete. President and CEO Scott Coulter says the company builds six to 10…
Problem: Search online for, say, a traditional hula kahiko dancer, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a high-quality image you can easily download and use for your business. Daniel Leuck, CEO of the Honolulu-based creative agency Ikayzo, saw that need for good quality yet affordable, Island-inspired digital illustrations and images for businesses to use with minimal restrictions. Solution: In May, Leuck created…
Office layouts? Thank you for asking. Yes, I have thought a lot about the issue and do have strong views. Senior writer Stacy Yuen dives deep into the debate and you’ll read a lot of opinions on what works for different types of companies. Fun story, illuminating pictures and useful information, especially if you are thinking about redoing your office or reinventing…
Ho, 71, took over at the school on June 26, 2007, after nearly 40 years in executive roles at HMSA, including executive VP from 1994 to 2005. He also served as chairman of Damien’s school board from 2002 to 2006. His son, Chad, graduated from Damien in 1990, went to Stanford University and Harvard Law School, and is now lead…
A $1.4 billion construction project would be a big deal anywhere in the world, but for struggling Hilo and Hawaii Island’s moribund construction industry, it’s a gift from above – figuratively and literally. “It’s a huge project for us,” says Dean Au, field representative of the carpenters union, referring to the planned Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea. “Hilo is the poorest…
Source: Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations One way to follow a changing economy is to track the fastest-declining and fastest-growing jobs. The following infographic report outlines the state’s forecast for the biggest changes in Hawaii’s labor market, both in percentage changes and in absolute numbers. Construction occupations, still recovering from the recession, are expected to enjoy large gains as…
The coming construction boom will be very different from the last one: different kinds of projects, new ways of financing and maybe fewer rising costs. It’s often hard to say exactly when the business cycle turns. Some date the end of Hawaii’s last construction boom to the 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, then the fourth-largest investment bank in the country,…
The most heated argument about modern offices pits the relative privacy of cubicles and offices versus collaborative nature of open workspaces When the cubicle hit the furnishings market in 1967, it forever changed the landscape of office culture and the way we work. At the time, it was considered the tool for greater office efficiency. By the 1990s, the satirical…
Thomas Friedman, global columnist for The New York Times and the author of “The World Is Flat,” overflows with enthusiasm. “Nothing has more potential to lift more people out of poverty – by providing them an affordable education to get a job or improve in the job they have,” he wrote this year. “Nothing has more potential to unlock a billion…
12-year-old struggling with serious illness named Entrepreneur of the Year Skylar Soares’ accomplishments are remarkable considering the 12-year-old entrepreneur created her business while contending with three life-threatening medical conditions. Make-a-Wish Hawaii helped Skylar realize her dream: designing a fashionable hat line, HiSky, that teaches others about the importance of sun safety. “I really like seeing how happy people are getting…