When properly done, mission statements inspire people by giving their work meaning and proclaiming the organization’s purpose. However, there are fundamental flaws in most mission statements: Too many words. Too many concepts. Addressing only the mind and not the heart. Not “sticky” or memorable. To prove my point, try to recite your company’s mission statement. I’m sure only a few…
Question: Delinquent accounts are hurting my business. What can I do to get this problem under control? Answer: Delinquent accounts are an unfortunate part of any business that extends credit. Effective collection efforts can help reduce your losses, but the first step is to establish and maintain prudent controls over delinquent or aging accounts. Here’s how: Maintain accurate and current…
Imagine a retail business in which one key measure of sales growth was up 42.2 percent last year, with similar growth this year. You’d be on Easy Street, right? Except this same business is plagued by a perennial problem: Customers can buy plenty of the product, but it’s difficult to get enough of the one thing that makes the product…
Obtaining a camping permit in Hawaii is quicker than ever. Rather than mailing an application or waiting in line, you can get a permit for most sites online. But first, you’ll have to figure out whether your desired site falls under the state’s or a county jurisdiction. For all state parks, visit the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Wiki Permits…
It costs just $8 for Hawaii residents to see the animals at home in the Honolulu Zoo, but each of those homes can cost millions of dollars to create. In fact, zoo exhibits nationwide are expensive. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Ohio recently spent $20 million on a polar bear habitat and Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo just paid $27.3 million for…
What was formerly a storage area under Shirokiya has become Vintage Cave Honolulu, a venue for food and fine art. Membership in the “private society” ranges from $500,000 for charter members to $50,000 for special members; member benefits include discounts and access to a private wine cellar. If the prices, location or anything else has you scratching your head, Vintage…
Kimberly Hahn says no escape waspossible. Growingupwithonly brothers near the red-dirt cane fields around Mililani meant growing up riding dirt bikes and loving it. “The boys weren’t going to play Barbies,” she says with a laugh. “So you either play with them or play by yourself.” Today, as one of two sales leaders for State Farm Insurance’s 80 Hawaii agents,…
Geckos are iconic in Hawaiʻi, as much as pineapples or ukuleles, and, like them, are not native to the Islands. The Polynesians brought them here about 1,500 years ago along with other plants and animals.
Name: Summer Shiige Job: Personal Stylist/Shopper Years of Experience: One year STARTING OUT: Shiige had always wanted to own her own business and, last year, after working in the retail industry for more than a decade, she started Summer Style, a personal shopper and stylist service. She offers door-to-door shopping with hand-picked styles from local boutiques. “As I strive to…
Some local businesses have an anxious relationship with Yelp, the international website that carries consumer reviews about everything from restaurants and stores, to auto mechanics and plumbers, and even hikes and radio stations. They say there are several reasons for their unease. A few businesses wonder why some positive reviews their customers write are “filtered” off the Yelp site, while negative reviews…
My wife says I’m crazy for taking on this subject and she’s right. The reasons for caution are endless: I’m no theologian; passions are running high; I have friends and family with strong views on both sides; this is a business magazine. Most important: Discerning God’s view on gay marriage lies outside the bounds of normal journalism. God doesn’t give…
Sellers joined Bank of Hawaii in 1987 as an officer in private financial services and has worked in various management roles since then. In 2003, she assumed responsibility for the risk management division and was promoted to vice chairman and chief risk officer in 2005. She explains the role of CRO. The job of CRO was developed in the 1980s in response…
If you have lived in Hawaii for a while, the ranking of the richest and poorest ethnic groups shouldn’t surprise you. The hierarchy has remained the same for the past four decades, says UH ethnic studies professor Jonathan Okamura, who published a book in 2008 called “Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawaii.” Simply put, people of Japanese and Chinese descent and…
Payday is always a great day. It means more money in your wallet or bank account. But imagine if your pay stub had an asterisk and tiny print that was hardly readable: *Each dollar worth only 82 cents. That’s what Hawaii’s full-time working women face, according to an annual report by the American Association of University Women. The AAUW says…
PHOTOS BY MARK ABEIT When people think about the fashion business, they tend to focus on the designer’s creative ideas and the finished products they buy. The beginning and the end. But it takes a great deal of work – and many hands – to get that garment from sketch to sales rack. To understand the process, we went…
Chinese companies and individuals are investing tens of billions of dollars in America. Here’s how Hawaii businesses and nonprofits are creating relationships with their Chinese counterparts and working to get a share of those investments, with varying degrees of success. Chinese companies and investors are awash in money and much of that wealth is coming to America. Their reach is…
Ahi, also known as yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna, have suffered from overfishing and are becoming harder and harder to catch in the wild. That’s why farm-raised ahi are so coveted, but the prize has proved elusive. Others are trying and Kraul has worked on the project himself since 2005. “Replacing or supplementing wild catch with hatchery-raised tuna makes sense,…