The Japanese love all things Hawaiian – from hula to music to fashion – which makes Japan an attractive market for Hawaii companies. But Japan is a complex business environment. “That means a company must be serious about wanting to…
It seems like a contradiction: The traditional hotel business in Hawaii is shrinking even while the hospitality industry recovers from the recession, more visitors arrive and they pay more per room than last year. The relative decline of stand-alone hotels…
In recent years, Hong has presided over major capital investments at Young Brothers. Here, he talks about long-term vision and what it means to young executives. What’s a good example of how long- and short-term vision differ? Young Brothers recently…
Last year, the state of Hawaii was worth $298 billion – at least as far as the taxman was concerned. That was the total valuation of all the taxable real property in the state, according to the latest figures compiled…
Yes, the Falls of Clyde is still a treasure. Today, the 133-year-old, four-masted barque that helped found the Matson shipping empire squats in disreputable shambles in her berth at Pier 7, between the defunct Hawaii Maritime Center and the Aloha…
As the economy recovers, small businesses that want to expand are going to need capital. Applying for a loan, though, always works better if you lay the groundwork in advance. Here are suggestions from Ray Ono, vice chairman at First…
The state got just what it was expecting in its Christmas stocking. Unfortunately, it was another lump of coal – more bad news about the state of Hawaii Employee Retirement System, which covers both state and county employees. In its…
Sailboats have been “the other woman” in a lot of marriages. At least Bill Deuchar was wise enough to name his yacht after his wife. Deuchar is a developer whose former construction company, U.S. Pacific Development, built landmarks such as…
Even with the decline in sugar and pineapple, Hawaii remains astonishingly agrarian. Nearly half the state’s land is still zoned agricultural and more than a third of that is dedicated to ranching. Source: Hawaii Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative
Tokyo, Japan — High on the stage of the Hawaii booth, overlooking the hubbub of Japan’s biggest travel fair, the musical group Manoa DNA launches into “Aloha You, Aloha Me.” It’s a catchy tune, sung mostly in Japanese, that has…
Q:How has the process of fundraising changed in your time at Punahou? A: When I first got hired, Punahou was leaning on its traditional donors, the kamaaina families that had sent their kids here for generations. But, as we expanded our…
Mark Dunkerley turned Hawaiian Airlines into a world-class carrier “You’d have to be crazy to get into the airline business,” Mark Dunkerley said wryly. The Hawaiian Airlines CEO was speaking late last year to a group of young leaders from…
Warren Haruki has seen his share of companies in transition. The current CEO of both Grove Farm and Maui Land & Pineapple, Haruki was also at the helm of Verizon Hawaii as it morphed into Hawaiian Telcom. Here, he gives…
The Hawaii Community Foundation is the best big charity in Hawaii and the Contemporary Museum is the worst, according to Charity Navigator, a national organization that rates more than 5,000 charities across the country. The ratings are based on a…
From the first time he saw the iPad, Shacked Software founder and amateur photographer Chad Podoski knew it was the ideal way to consume photos. So, when he and his partner, Dustin Bachrach, decided to create an iPad app to…
“When I look back on it,” says John D., the former executive director of a small but prominent nonprofit in Honolulu, “the board of directors just really didn’t understand what their role was.” He pauses for a moment, his face…
“Building affordable housing is complicated,” says Makani Maeva. She should know. As Hawaii director for the VitusGroup, an affordable-housing developer, she recently completed the Lokahi Apartments, 307 rentals in Kona. Between January 2007, when another developer laid the project in…
I’ve been hunting archery since I was a kid,” says Jeff Grundhauser, owner of the 5,500-acre Arrow One Ranch in Kula, Maui. And for more than a decade, his prowess with a bow has helped keep the ranch afloat. In…
What’s your advice to business executives thinking about volunteering? Do it. Get involved. Volunteer for something. If you don’t know what you like, try them all; find out what you don’t like. It’s just like restaurants: Sometimes you don’t know…
In November 2009, Robert Harrison was promoted from chief risk officer to president and COO of First Hawaiian Bank, the same positions, it’s worth noting, held by former CEOs John Bellinger and Walter Dods, and current CEO Don Horner. Harrison…
Successful events are a critical way of interacting with customers. Philip Richardson, CEO of Current Affairs, one of Hawaii’s most prestigious event-planning companies, offers advice on getting the most from your events. 1. Define your objectives “You’ve got to have…
For Kitty Lagareta, president and CEO of Communications Pacific, many of her passions revolve around Kailua, where she’s lived for 18 years. Acai “I have an absolute passion/addiction for the Lanikai Juice acai extravaganza bowl,” she says. Kindle Lagareta can…
When should a young executive take a risk? Take a chance after conferring with a small group of advisers; venture with people you trust and respect. And take bigger chances when you are young and have limited responsibilities for others.…
Most companies deal with hard times by cutting costs, laying off workers and focusing on their core business. Richard Schuman, owner of Makani Kai Helicopters, took a different path. For more than a decade, Schuman says, his company enjoyed strong,…
What's It Worth? $135,000 What is it? A lightly used, 1995 version of the classic carnival ride, Tilt-a-Whirl. What makes it special? Sellner Manufacturing Co. has been making the Tilt-a-Whirl since 1926. Today, more than a thousand Tilt-a-Whirls delight kids…
So, you want to be a real estate tycoon? If there’s one thing we’ve learned from two years of stagnation in Hawaii’s real estate market, it’s that there’s more to investing than simply buying low and selling high. That’s speculation.…
What a difference a billion dollars makes. Until recently, the state treasury – officially, the Treasury Management Branch of the Financial Administration Division of the Department of Budget and Finance – has operated in relative obscurity. With its staff of…
Idea Engineers used to rely on meteorological towers to measure wind speed. But “met towers” only give you data for one location; they don’t tell you anything about wind velocities around a valley or along a ridge. Wind 3D, a…
High on a ridge overlooking Maalaea Bay, a small group of students from the Horizons Academy scramble out of vans into the vast open space at the top of the Kaheawa wind farm. They gape for a moment in the…
It’s sometimes easy for locals to overlook Kualoa Ranch as just another visitor attraction. After all, the meat and potatoes of the Morgan family’s ranch are its horseback and ATV rides, and tours of film locations in the otherworldly landscape…
For most people, government is simply the sum of the services it provides: security and safety, for example, in the form of police and fire departments; education, in the form of schools and libraries; and transportation, in the form of…
“It’s OK as long as it’s for the children,” says Marion Higa. The state auditor smiles wanly to show she’s being sarcastic while commenting on her…
Allen Doane stepped down Dec. 31 after 11 years as CEO of Alexander & Baldwin. What was your first leadership job? It was at HT&T in Hilo, which had 200 employees, mostly union stevedores and truck drivers. I arrived there…
Even during the worst economy in decades, guests at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel can still enjoy a free hula show seven nights a week. There are also free lei-making and hula classes. And five times a day, staff gather in…
When Jmi Bassett opened her dental office in August, she wanted to distinguish her practice with high-tech tools like the Gendex CB-500, a $200,000 machine that takes digital 3-D x-rays. What’s more, she wanted a computer in each room so…
Land-use planning, more than any other public policy, shapes the way you live. It’s responsible for your 60-to-90-minute commute from Kapolei or Hawaii Kai. It’s why you live in a three-bedroom, two-bath home with a two-car garage. It’s what influences…
Financial troubles are mounting for Maui nonprofits. The latest: As declining county revenue forces budget cuts at the Department of Housing and Human Concerns, the department has revamped its Community Partnership Grants for fiscal 2011. That means many applicants —…
Last year, the Legislature authorized $842 million over six years to improve and expand the state’s harbors. Among Hawaii’s shipping companies and other harbor users, the feeling was, “It’s about time,” after what they saw as nearly 20 years of…
Andy Friedlander, principal broker at Colliers Monroe Friedlander, admits his two greatest passions are really causes. Hobby Friedlander likes playing golf with his buddies. “We play every Saturday and I’m generally the large loser. Then, we have lunch and cocktails…
Three Ways To Make Your Office Truly Digital A great stack of banker’s boxes dominates the scanning room of Sterling & Tucker, a law firm that specializes in estate and financial planning. The neatly labeled boxes are packed with hundreds…
John Henry Felix, dapper CEO of the Hawaii Medical Assurance Association, is a collector of South Pacific and Oriental art — a fascination he attributes to a childhood spent in the shadow of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and years…
As the state film commissioner, Donne Dawson runs the Hawaii Film Office, an agency responsible for simplifying the permit process for film and TV productions in the Islands. She acts as a liaison between production companies and agencies like the…
Kelly King thinks you should know more about your biodiesel. King, the vice president of Pacific Biodiesel, America’s oldest biofuel company, has long been a proponent for sustainably produced fuels and, when it comes to sustainability, she says local is…
Inspiring and training entrepreneurs are the main goals behind Global Entrepreneurship Week and that’s why one of the week’s highlights is the pitch competition. Bee-Leng Chua, director of Hawaii Pacific University’s Entrepreneurship Center, says the competition’s focus is more on…
If Hawaii is to answer the major questions confronting the state – How do we create a healthy economy while preserving what makes Hawaii special? How do we improve our public schools? How do we sustain effective government? – we…
Pulling into the driveway of the Manoa Heritage Center, a visitor could be forgiven for thinking that Kualii, the stately home of Sam and Mary Cooke, was the centerpiece of the museum. This Tudor mansion, built of locally quarried lava…
Will Hawaii profit from the boom? When the U.S. and Japanese governments announced plans in 2006 to move nearly 8,000 U.S. Marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam, they set in motion what may become one of the largest…
Does Hawaii need one? How should we get it? When it comes to diversifying Hawaii’s economy, Paul Brewbaker has his doubts. As a longtime member of the state Council on Revenues and the former chief economist at the Bank of Hawaii,…
Despite her relatively young age, Christine Camp is remarkably accomplished. She’s the founder and president of Avalon Development, one of the state’s largest real estate firms. At 38, she became the youngest chair of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce. She’s…
Take our quiz on what men should know about working with women You would think, by now, that men would have a clear grasp of how to deal with the nuances of gender in the workplace. Women, though, remain largely…
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Roy and Kathy Sakuma operate four studios on O‘ahu, and would “never say no to any parent.”
Globally, many popular destinations are experiencing a backlash against tourism. Here are multiple perspectives on the message that Hawai‘i should send to potential visitors.
