Since the ukulele arrived in the Islands late in the 19th century, it has been a symbol of Hawaii and the aloha spirit. That aloha is shared widely and generously by ukulele makers, performers and teachers, both locally and around…
“If you find the right organization – someone whose work you admire – (volunteering) does not feel like a lot of work,” says Leighton Yuen. For attorney Yuen and banker Cori Weston, that organization is the Hawaii Opera Theatre, and…
Robert Nichols spends his workdays focused on modernizing the interisland terminal at Honolulu International Airport as program manager for Parsons Corp. On many Saturdays, the engineer’s focus shifts to the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii’s Youth of the Year…
Online marketing and meditation are not an obvious combination, but Kit Wynkoop incorporates both into his life. As CEO of Hoi ka Ha LLC (“breathing life back into”), he helps clients, such as Honolulu Community College, the Hawaii Restaurant Association…
Randi Song had just begun working in the nonprofit world when she started looking for ways to get more involved as a volunteer. “I surfed the ’Net and landed on HIHO’s Facebook page,” she says. It was just what she…
Managing fields to produce high- yield seed corn for U.S. and foreign farmers is no small task. Yet Alika Napier, field operations manager at DuPont Pioneer, still finds time to volunteer at Lanakila Meals on Wheels. He is part of…
Attorney Nancy Youngren was looking for a volunteer opportunity that would really make a difference in an individual’s life when an ad for Hawaii Literacy caught her eye. She looked no further. Starting in early 2011, for almost three years,…
Earning trust is absolutely crucial if nonprofits are going to succeed, says a national expert who will be speaking at a Hawaii conference on National Philanthropy Day James M. Greenfield, a national expert on fundraising, says the most important best…
Volunteering Is Fun For Ashley Gadow, volunteering is often a family affair, as she tries to include her 11-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter. “They’re water babies,” Gadow says, so one of their favorite causes is Malama Maunalua, which aims to…
Massive fishponds in the areas now called the Wailupe and Niu penninsulas once helped feed many people, but they are gone. Chris Cramer, who teaches Spanish at the Honolulu Waldorf School, is dedicating his free time to preserving the remaining…
The home page of www.ulukau.org has few words in English, but a click on “English Text” reveals this translation: Ulukau: “In the same way that unexplained supernatural interpretive powers can be divinely given to a person, so knowledge and understanding can…
Matt Luttrell and business partner Chance Carpenter have added a new publication to the crowded field of surf magazines. The title, nude, is sure to turn heads. “It is supposed to be provocative,” says Luttrell, the editor. He says the name also reflects that the…
Young professionals often think volunteering is something they’ll do later in their careers because they’re too busy now. But James Chan, a Realtor, a partner at Prudential Locations and a Big Brother, says, “Do it!” and he means now. “Maybe…
If “opera” brings to mind a tuxedo or a black dress and pearls, Hawaii Opera Theatre has a date for you: opening nights on Fridays. But if you feel younger or edgier than black tie, new executive director Simon Crookall suggests…
Collin Kobayashi plans to make a paddleboard with his 3D printer. Some people, including his wife, may chuckle at the idea, but the president and chief 3D officer of 3D Innovations LLC has the expertise and technology to do it. He’s already…
What was formerly a storage area under Shirokiya has become Vintage Cave Honolulu, a venue for food and fine art. Membership in the “private society” ranges from $500,000 for charter members to $50,000 for special members; member benefits include discounts…
Chaminade University has long emphasized the study of ethics in its business programs, so it was gratifying when a group of Chaminade students took first place in an international business ethics competition. “We knew that the students worked really hard on the competition and they were ready, but it was a very…
Imagine buying a home without visiting it. That’s what a California buyer did to a Waikiki penthouse listed by Realtor Margaret Murchie, thanks in part to a video the buyer first saw on YouTube. Such videos, unlike a virtual tour,…
Maui-based Jennifer Varner is an ecommerce veteran. She started BellaBluMaternity.com, which grew into one of the largest online maternity stores. She sold it in 2006 and, six years ago, founded Pure-Ecommerce.com, which helps people start their own ecommerce businesses and offers ready-to-go…
Clinton Kala of Waianae is a thankful man. With the help of Kuleana, a local nonprofit that partners with a global microfinancing organization, he is starting his own vehicle-cleaning business. “The things I used to do, I’m surprised I’m where…
Steve Sue, founder of BizGym, a cloud-based rapid-development application for startups and entrepreneurs, can’t say enough about Bee Leng Chua’s program, Hawaii Tech Asia. Below: Bee Leng Chua, HiBEAM and K.O. Chia, president of the Hong…
The XBR 4K LED TV is the largest high-resolution TV ever made by Sony. Also known as the XBR-84X900, it has a diagonal measurement of 84 inches – that’s seven feet. The “4K” in the name comes from the horizontal…
Sam O. Hirota Inc. has a high-tech answer to Oahu’s pothole problems. The local company has contracted with the city of Honolulu to create 3D images of thousands of miles of city streets using technology derived from NASA’s Mars Rover.…
Volta Industries has established a network of free-to-use charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) across Oahu. Scott Mercer, Volta’s co-founder and CEO, talks about finding partners and expanding the business. Who are your partners? Mercer: We provide our stations to shopping…
People have joined the growing Eat Local movement for myriad reasons, including reducing their carbon footprint, supporting Hawaii businesses and keeping agricultural lands in agriculture. Grocery stores and restaurants tout their local-food credentials, and more farmers markets keep popping up…
Small and medium businesses are not the only local organizations that are outsourcing their human-resource tasks. More and more nonprofits, such as Aloha United Way and Kalihi-Palama Health Center, have also made the jump and realized significant savings. AUW president…
For companies looking to buy heavy equipment, it is important to get up close to the big machines, see them in action and look under the hood. The Hawaii division of Hawthorne CAT lets its clients do all that, but…
If Eric Rose appears serious, it’s probably because he’s thinking. Born in Chicago, Rose worked in the food industry in Oregon for more than 20 years before moving to Hawaii, where he loved the surf. He opened Morning Glass in…
Company harvests some trees sustainably to help pay for other permanent forest. Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods is challenging the view that the only way to make money after planting a tree is by cutting it down. Founded in December 2008 by…
SpeediShuttle is on the move, expanding its Oahu service, transferring its headquarters from Maui to Honolulu, adding a frequent-rider program and persuading many people to change their travel habits on the four main islands. One of those people is Bill…
When military families and retirees arrive in Hawaii, they often lack the local knowledge and connections that are so important to finding the right job. The Navy has tried to remedy that situation with the Joint Employment Management System, one…
The state says it now cashes excise tax payments much faster than it did a year earlier. In 2010, tens of thousands of GET checks from local businesses would remain uncashed by the government for a month or longer, but…
Cynthia Arnold, second from left, sits between Nellie and Herbert Lum, who needed help moving out of the home they had lived in for 40 years. Arnold and Dan and Julie Ihara, at right, operate Senior Move Managers to help…
Millions of people visit Hawaii every year from all over the world and many speak little or no English. Many local companies offer foreign-language tours for those visitors, usually focusing on travelers from the big Asian markets of Japan, Korea…
You can see from his face that Miles Hashimoto loves working, whether it's assembling mobile-phone kits or shredding documents. Both jobs are at Goodwill Industries, and Hashimoto is no ordinary worker. Like an estimated 1.8 percent of Hawaii's population – about 24,500…
With Christmas only three months away, many Hawaii residents are starting to plan their winter vacations in snow country. “Skiing and snowboarding are the flip side of water activities for people in Hawaii,” says John DeFreitas, product development manager for…
Local businesses have responded quickly and generously to help the victims of Japan's tsunami disaster. In fact, every one of the dozens of companies contacted by Hawaii Business says it has either launched its own fundraising effort or contributed to…
Sherri Loo and her Hawaiian Electric Co. coworkers have found an easy way to clean out their closets and help other women. For two years, Loo, environmental services manager at HECO, has coordinated a suit drive to benefit Dress for…
Angel Keene, who trains aircraft mechanics for Aloha Air Cargo, is used to people’s surprise when they first meet her. Blonde and 5-foot-2, Keene is often told she doesn’t look like a mechanic, but she keeps her sense of humor.…
In its first few months, Haleiwa-based greenteaHawaii has generated a buzz. The October issue of “Life & Style” magazine mentioned that “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Bristol Palin (Sarah’s daughter) drinks its green tea for energy and weight loss. Ryan…
Who would have thought that a company started in the middle of a recession could succeed so quickly? Hawaii Human Resources, or HiHR, has been growing steadily since its start in early 2009. A provider of human resource needs ranging…
When Sandra Fowler was laid off in 2009 from the buying office of a local clothing company, she looked high and low for a job in a similar field. Pickings were slim and salaries seemed meager, “But I thought (my…
Tom Park, founder and owner of Leather Soul, which carries exclusive men’s shoes, can’t believe his success in following a dream. “I’ve always loved shoes, from when I was in kindergarten,” he says. In March, his flagship Waikiki store moved…
Teddy’s Bigger Burgers does well in a good economy and better in a bad one, says co-CEO Ted Tsakiris. That’s one reason Teddy’s opened its fourth restaurant on Oahu in May, at 2424 S. Beretania St., near University Avenue. In…
Online competitors were killing off bricks-and-mortar music stores when Peter Dods bought Honolulu’s Easy Music Center from Servco Pacific in 2005. Since then, Dods has opened a second store and, with the two locations, has tripled sales and quintupled profits,…
Ever go to the beach and wish you had somewhere to stash your keys, ID and a few dollars? Cameron Olson has created the solution: Sandaloha surf slippers with a heel compartment secured invisibly with Velcro. “The Sandaloha is one…
Kealoha, a retired Air Force brigadier general, has been with Hawaii’s Better Business Bureau since 2006. This year, the Hawaii BBB marks its 65th anniversary and Kealoha says it is strong and healthy. “Who’s getting old?” he asks. Not the BBB, which…
Most pet owners would agree that if there’s something wrong with Fido or Fluffy, it’s hard to wait for an answer. That’s why VCA Family Animal Hospital in Pearl City is open around the clock, with a veterinarian onsite. “Our…
Praseuth “JJ” Luangkhot of JJ’s Bistro & French Pastry is confident, even in a down economy. He recently added a party room that seats about 45 people — the second expansion since he opened in 1995. The first expansion in…
Your online business can be “hijacked” if you don’t pay attention to business listings on the Web. “People who are victims don’t even know they are victims,” says Daniela Stolfi, interactive marketing specialist at Boss Hawaii, which specializes in Web…
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.
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: President Al Kakazu says his main job is to make the customers’ job easier.
