Ask SmallBiz: Recruiting
Q. I need to hire a general manager, but no one working for me now has the right stuff. How do I find the best person? A. Recruiting can take a lot of time and, though many employers are proficient in…
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Hawaii’s Vertically Integrated Small Businesses
The technical term is “vertical integration,” and what it simply means is that you create your own raw materials, process them in-house and sell the finished products directly to the public. It’s a huge challenge to do it all yourself,…
Innovation: Autism Training Solutions Teaches the Teachers
Problem: Autism diagnoses are increasing as much as 17 percent a year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but school districts nationwide lack enough highly qualified teachers to help these children. Solution: A Hawaii startup called Autism Training Solutions (ATS)…
Editor's Note: How Hawaii Business picked the CEO of the Year
Starting each August, the editorial staff of Hawaii Business debates the pros and cons of each candidate for CEO of the Year. Though we call the honor CEO of the Year, we never take just one year into account. We chose both Eric…
Talk Story with Glenn Sexton of Xerox
Sexton has been with Xerox for more than 30 years, guiding the Hawaii branch through dramatic changes in business and technology, and one of the greatest tragedies in Hawaii history: the mass murder at the Xerox warehouse in 1999. We talk with Sexton…
Did APEC change the Hawaii Convention Center’s Future?
The expansive Hawaii Convention Centerhasn’t always lived up to its original billing as a regular gathering spot between East and West. It is rarely fully used and has often sat empty since it opened in 1998, squeezed onto the former lot…
Hawaii Business CEO of the Year: Eric Yeaman
In the 4 a.m. darkness each workday, Eric Yeaman slips out of his house and into the garage. Closing the door, he flips on a large-screen TV for the latest news and sports, and runs three to six miles on…
Akamai Finance Academy Gives Kids Wall Street Experience
Caitlyn Laborte is a sophomore at Pearl City High School, but she’s already been to Wall Street and had a glimpse of a possible future for herself in finance. Laborte and 50 other students from Hawaii talked finance with the…
Hawaiʻi's Buy and Sell Entrepreneurs
Cory Asuncion was born to sell. He jokes that he would have rented space in his mother’s womb if that had been possible. “I could sell oil back to the Saudis,” Asuncion says confidently, and with good reason. He’s had…
Joe Volcano Offers Alternative to Cigarettes
“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…
Part-time Job, Full-time Rewards
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…
Advice from the top
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…