All Stories

Hidden Gems to Help You

Five government resources that can jumpstart your small business Island Princess, a local candy company, had been growing since it began in 1983 but struggled to stay alive when the economy nosedived after 9/11. “Sales were way down and we…

5 Steps to Motivating Employees

In good times or bad, motivating employees is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of running a business. Nicholas Mitsakos, chairman of Arcadia Holdings Inc., explains how to keep workers excited for the workweek, or “how to help your team…

Telecommuting Lessons

ComTel uses telecommuting technology to help businesses save money and improve their employees’ quality of life. For example, four years ago, after a pilot program allowed an employee and first-time mother to work from home, ComTel President Lou Darnell transformed…

New Hawaiian Hall

Remember the whale? It’s still there, along with a whole lot more, in the much-awaited re-opening, after a three-year closure, of the $21 million renovation of Hawaiian Hall, home of Bishop Museum’s most sacred artifacts. With its original native koa…

Living Art

Greg Lee, CEO of 1st Look Exteriors, combined his two greatest passions — plants and art — to create a niche business that’s so unique he’s the only licensed contractor of his kind in the state. 1st Look Exteriors designs…

Growing a Workforce, STEM by STEM

The Ke Alahele Education Fund has awarded more than $286,000 over three years to projects geared at building a Maui workforce focused on science, technology, engineering and math. The Maui Economic Development Board launched the fund in 2006 with $27,000…

What’s the Buzz On Your Company?

Free Internet monitoring tools can help businesses manage their online reputations by searching the most popular news sources, blogs and social networks. Type in a company name and a few key words, and you can read what people are saying…

Taking the Message to Japan

Marriott Resorts Hawaii is launching its Spirit of Aloha Tour in Japan this month to attract more Japanese to the islands and its six resort hotels. A weak global economy and fear of the H1N1 flu have cut the number…

Building Jobs

With Hawaii’s construction industry facing hard times, the state Senate hopes a new task force will come up with creative ways to save jobs and generate new ones. “We wanted to make sure that we did whatever could be done…

My Favorite Things

For Bill Corba, the best part of being the chief marketing officer for Kaiser Permanente is working directly with the Hawaii community. Since moving to Oahu three years ago, Corba has taken right to the aloha spirit. Abroad Experiencing new…

Waking Up to Working Out

Helping people balance their work, home lives and down time. Dr. Laurie Steelsmith won’t shower in the morning until she has worked out. That rule helps keep her exercising daily – even when she has a full day ahead. Fitting exercise…

What's it Worth?

$1,050,000 WHAT IS IT The Rotonde de Cartier tourbillon sapphire skeleton watch is part of Cartier’s latest fine watch collection, which launched in September. The skeleton-style watch boasts 18k gold barrels, crystal Roman numerals, 20 jewels and an alligator strap,…