All Stories

ZERO Down for Solar Power

If a solar power system  is too expensive for your household budget, how about zero down and pay as you go? That’s what partner companies Sunetric and SunRun are offering to homeowners on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island. Here’s…

Ask SmallBiz

Q. I’m told my business would not have been covered if we’d been hit by the March 11 tsunami. But, last year, I added “water damage” to my insurance. What gives? A. I can see why you’re confused. A tsunami is…

Blending Old and New Marketing

Tourists have hundreds of ways to spend their money; here's how more than a dozen small companies draw them in. Well-tended tourists in skin-baring dresses and tropical shirts sip after-dinner drinks on the terrace at Duke's restaurant, while a Hawaiian…

Launching a Business

In November 2009, in the difficult aftermath of the Great Recession, Matthew Bittick left a cozy position as principal broker and sales manager at the Hawaii office of PM Realty Groupto strike out on his own. Now, as his new company, Bishop…

Innovation: Wearable Ads

Wish you could afford to run commercials promoting your company and products all day long? Now you can with Pacific Digital Signs’ sexy new Digital Nametag. “This will definitely stop people in their tracks and deliver a perfect message every…

Social Media Can Wreck Your Career

Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is the latest celebrity to be fired over social media, because of callous tweets about the devastating tsunami in Japan. In February, Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives after stories emerged that…

Banking Revolution

Choosing a bank used to be fairly simple: People typically selected the bank that was closest to home or work. That was before the Internet. Now there's banking everywhere through smartphones, with First Hawaiian Bank rolling out its app this…