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…
Lawrence Pai VP and Business Banking Team Manager, Central Pacific Bank Question: What’s the best way to accept payment from customers? Answer: As a small business owner, the more payment options you offer customers, the more convenient and accessible are…
Steve Novak Business Operations and Strategic Planning consultant, Owner, PPR Management Services, LLC Question: Our company is having trouble turning a vague list of long-term ideas into a concrete plan. Even worse, we can’t seem to reach our short-term targets…
You make your own bitters and brew your own beer. Your iPod playlists get rave reviews from your friends and you know how to throw a party. Why not profit from your obvious talents? The lure of owning a bar, nightclub…
Legacy Isle Publishing is a new company that says it removes the stigma of the “vanity press” by giving self-published writers access to professional editors, designers and printers to enhance their books. Creators: George Engebretson and Dawn Sakamoto, respectively publisher and…
It’s inevitable that China’s economy will overtake America’s in the next 20 years, right? After all, Chinese gross domestic product grew at an average annual rate of 9.3 percent over the past five years, according to the World Bank, while…
Grace, a Maori, originally from Turangi, New Zealand, began his career at the Polynesian Cultural Center 30 years ago as a student performer. He climbed the ranks to senior VP of sales and marketing, assumed the newly created post of COO in…
Moy took the helm on May 20 after serving 12 years at Hawaii Gas’s parent company, New York-based Macquarie Infrastructure. As a senior VP at Macquarie, Moy worked on the acquisition of Hawaii Gas in 2005 and 2006. The native…
Welcome to the Hawaii Business Top 250, the most comprehensive ranking of Hawaii’s business elite. We list local companies based on annual gross sales, and include the number of full-time employees, names of key executives, a description of the business, parent company, website…
Kevin Lefforge says there’s nothing like the aroma of a garage housing a classic car. The lifelong “gearhead” and Steeltech project manager was on a quest for a hobby car while living in California in 2005. He ended his search when VW restoration specialist Lenny Copp showed…
Adult’s definition of parkour: a noncompetitive sport that builds coordination, strength, patience and discipline, while emphasizing safety, community and creativity. Kid’s definition of parkour: ninja skills and Spiderman training. Parkour, which originated less than a generation ago in the immigrant-rich suburbs outside of Paris,…
Once a month on a Saturday morning, Francis Imada flips on radio station 105.1, and heads to his backyard, where 20 miniature trees await his gentle care. Then, with Hawaiian music playing in the background, the CFO of Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii spends two hours snipping, pruning…