Can Hawaiʻi Feed Itself?
A lot of elements are needed to make Hawaiʻi self-sufficient in food. Here are a few examples of struggles and resiliency that enable more productive local farming and food production.
Business & Industry
Still Crazy After All These Years
During Crazy Shirts’ 50 years of business, many T-shirt styles and designs have come and gone. What has persisted in the company’s culture, say longtime employees, is creativity, a sense of humor and a “go big or go home” attitude.…
Defense against Disease
Name: A. Christian Whelen Job: Administrator, state Laboratories Division Experience: 28 years in healthcare Responsibilities: If the Ebola virus somehow found its way from Africa to Hawaii, Chris Whelen would lead the local analytical testing to help the national Centers…
California Dreaming
Each year, the world’s best surfers – both men and women – compete against each other for millions of dollars in prize money at tournaments around the globe staged by the Association of Surfing Professionals and other promoters. Hawaii surfers…
Trust is No. 1
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…
Ask the Expert: Health Insurance Plans
J.P. Schmidt President & CEO, Family Health Hawaii familyhealthhawaii.com Question: What steps should I take to make sure I choose the right health insurance for my employees without breaking the bank? Answer: Dealing with health insurance doesn’t have to be…
She Shares Her Love of Ballet
Name: Vivienne Lim Job: Owner and artistic director, Royal Academy of Ballet Experience: Three decades in ballet Start: Born in Malaysia, Lim was just 3 when her parents enrolled her in a ballet program certified by the esteemed Royal Academy…
Stunts? “Sounds like fun!”
Name: Katie Wright Pere Job: Stuntwoman Experience: 14 years Start: While Pere attended Florida State University, she trained two to three hours a day, six days a week, as a competitive swimmer. She also rode Jet Skis and water skied.…
Talk Story with Pohai Ryan
Executive Director, Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association Ryan brings wide experience to her role, from managing an information office in Kailua to serving as a state senator. This Kamehameha Schools alumna plans to focus on culture and authenticity during her tenure,…
5 Steps to Prepare for a Crisis
Steady leadership is essential when bad things happen to good companies. Public relations expert Julie Ford shares advice on how C-suite executives can be prepared for – and effectively meet – a crisis. 1. Be prepared Even the best…
Too Old for Coaching? Think Again
To Donalyn Dela Cruz, coaches were people who led basketball practice and volleyball clinics – not shape executives into leaders. But when she entered the prestigious Omidyar Fellows program in 2012, she was paired with a professional coach who helped her…
How to Ask for a Raise
Thirty-nine percent of Americans believe they are underpaid – 42 percent of women versus 33 percent of men, according to a survey this year by the career website Glassdoor.com. If you are in that group, be aware that there are…
Off-the-grid Air Conditioning
Creator: Briand Achong, president and co-founder of Greenpath Technologies Inc., was an accountant and small-business consultant before establishing his photovoltaic business. “We looked at it from a roofing perspective,” he says. “The roof is the only part of a building…
Skai Ventures: Strategies for Takeoff
Twenty miles west of downtown Honolulu, inside a compact industrial building in Kapolei, engineers decked in white lab coats and safety goggles are carefully dipping silicon wafers into baths under industrial hoods and studying readouts that flash on monitors mounted…
Changing the World Has a New Birthplace
If you want your new business to make the world better, not just make money, consider launching it at Impact Hub Honolulu. That’s where social entrepreneurs will find inexpensive office space, training and other resources, and a network of like-minded…
More than just a Bartender
Name: Mike Hall Job: Mixologist Experience: Two years Start: When Hall moved from Maryland in 1999 to attend Hawaii Pacific University, he did what many college students do: He worked at a restaurant. It wasn’t until he got a…
Talk Story with John White
Executive Director, Pacific Resource Partnership PRP, a unique partnership between Hawaii’s top contractors and the Hawaii Carpenters Union, is a powerful supporter of rail. White talks about integrated communities and how they will help guide Oahu’s development. What are…
From Hawaii to Halfway Around the World
Just 25 years ago, Outrigger did not have a hotel outside of Waikiki. Today, it owns or operates 31 properties spread across the Hawaiian Islands and another 11 as far away as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Quite an achievement…
Kelley family and Outrigger Timeline
1947 Roy and Estelle Kelley build their first hotel: the five-story, 50-room Islander Hotel on Seaside Avenue, the first in Waikiki to cater to middle-income travelers and families. Four more hotels follow over 12 years. The…
Uniting Families Under One Roof
Chances are good that when additions or a major overhaul are made to a Hawaii home, the goal is to accommodate multiple generations on the same property. Sometimes the reasons are economic: Grown children with their own kids can’t afford…
Retiring and Starting Over at the Same Time
When veterans retire or separate from the military, they leave more than their jobs, they leave a way of life. What makes the transition tougher is their skills sometimes don’t seem to translate easily to civilian jobs or running businesses.…
Ask the Expert: Connecting with Asian Travelers
Question: How do I attract travelers from Asia to my business? Answer: First acknowledge that Japan, China and Korea are culturally unique. Understanding this key principle will enable you to create tailored campaigns that are relevant to the consumer…
5 Steps to Being a Presentable Presenter
Eloquence, confidence and command of material are important characteristics of a competent presenter. But to become a master presenter, you’ll need to pay more mind to an intangible factor that most executives overlook when preparing for public speaking: their image.…
How to Earn a Promotion
The keys to getting a promotion are not what you say when asking for one, but what you do to make the promotion more likely. Some of those actions may be obvious, but others might surprise you. Earning a promotion…