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…
Business & Industry
Planning a High-rise? You’ll Need a Tower Crane
What’s it Worth? $25,000+ Oahu boasts 473 buildings that are 10 stories or higher, according to the SkyscraperPage database, with more on the way. Building all those high-rises took brains, sweat and lots of tall cranes. Renting a tower…
Legacy of a Popular Candy: Millions in Scholarships to Local Students
Erica Shin graduated from Kalani High School in May with an ambitious plan that carried a huge price tag: biology major and pre-med student at UH-Manoa, before attending the John A. Burns School of Medicine. That’s why she was surprised…
Research into Hazards Leads to Device that May Save Lives
Problem: Doctors didn’t have a reliable, noninvasive method to measure changes to the water in a patient’s lungs – an important factor in the early detection of heart failure. Heart failure affects an estimated 5.1 million people in the U.S.…
Translating Development into Hawaiian
For a couple of years in the late 1990s, Robert Iopa worked in Kuala Lumpur for WATG, the Honolulu-based, international architecture firm specializing in resort development. For the young architect from Hawaii, it was an exciting time, but doing this…
House for Sale, So Let’s Party
It was a great party at the 4-acre oceanfront estate in Olowalu, about four miles south of Lahaina: The music was lively, the neighbors enjoyed it and money was raised for a good cause. The owners weren’t there, but they…
Good Locations, Lots of Space, but Unused for Years and Years
Each of these 10 vacant buildings has problems, whether termites, fumes, asbestos or just a lack of tenants. Some owners are moving forward with new plans, while others are still trying to figure out what to do. While new buildings…
Diamond Head Theatre is Fun and Frugal
The Diamond Head Theatre is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season, but there was a time when it seemed like it might end its run right around its 80th anniversary. A few bad decisions – including paying actors more than…
Kakaako: Remade for the 21st Century
No matter which lens you use, Kakaako is where the transformations in Hawaii’s 21st-century life are most clear. The demographic lens: You already know there are more older people today, while young people are delaying both marriage and their families,…
Your Credit Card Partner
Credit cards are no longer an “if” question for most businesses, but “what” and “who” questions. “What technology should I use to process credit card payments and who will be my partner?” Answer those questions well, and you will take…
Divorce Is Big Business
Divorce is big business – maybe even bigger than the wedding business in America. That’s because contested divorces involve more than just lawyers. There are also accountants, parenting consultants and other niche specialists to be paid, plus the money spent…
Doing Business Island Style, 2014 Remix
The world has changed. Is Hawaii still stuck in the past? Or were we ahead of the times all along? Remember 2004? That year, a BlackBerry was the height of executive cool, while the first iPhone was still three years…
Five Steps To Ensuring Your E-mails Get Read
1. Keep It Short People are more likely to read your e-mail if they see a short message, ideally no more than three to five lines. Few have time to wade through a long, dense e-mail and read until the end. …
Ask the Expert: Attracting Foreign Investment
Question: The Chinese have been investing heavily in the U.S. mainland. Now their interest is spreading to Hawaii. How do I ensure that, once I meet with potential Chinese investors, I can attract them to my local business? Answer: Creating…
Job-Hunting Advice for Young People
Alec Brownstein didn’t want to join the millions of young college graduates who settle for jobs they don’t want, because they fail to grab the right person’s attention. Instead, he acted boldly and it paid off. Brownstein hoped to get…
Chefzone Provides Help for Busy Restauranteurs
Shopping at warehouse stores can be crazy: Traffic frequently jams inside and outside the stores as badly as on our highways, and that’s especially difficult for restaurateurs and other business people who need to grab supplies fast and get back…
New Rules Make Paycards More Costly for Companies
Payroll cards are an alternative to paying employees by cash, check or direct deposit, but a new state law will make them more costly for companies. Paycards have gained traction nationally and about 14,000 workers in Hawaii are already paid…
My Job: Weather Anchor
Name: Guy Hagi Job: Weather anchor at Hawaii News Now Experience: 15 years Hagi will never forget his first day as the weather anchor at KGMB. He had just returned from a family vacation to New York City. It was…
Dustin Shindo: The story behind what happened at Hoku and his new venture in healthcare IT
Thirteen years after he and his partner, Kaleo Taft, founded their fuel cell startup in a Waikiki apartment. Nine years after he put the company on NASDAQ in a $21 million IPO. Seven years after he and his colleagues gave…
The Navy and private companies collaborate to turn wave energy into electricity
Photography Courtesy of Northwest Energy Innovation Devices to measure wave energy and convert it into electricity will be deployed in Kaneohe Bay near Marine Corps Base Hawaii starting this year, say the Navy, state Rep. Cynthia Thielen and a…
Talk Story with Chenoa Farnsworth
Since she helped found the VC firm Kolohala Ventures in 2006, Farnsworth has been a linchpin in the startup community in Hawaii. Now wearing multiple hats, she talks about the institutions and personal sacrifices it takes to build an ecosystem…
Talk Story with Jeffrey Mikulina
Photography by David Croxford In April, the state Public Utilities Commission ordered Hawaiian Electric’s utilities on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island to take action in four ways: “aggressively pursue energy-cost reductions, proactively respond to emerging renewable-energy-integration challenges, improve the…
5 Steps to Networking
1. Target the Trinity Always talk to the most important person in the room, such as the guest speaker. Also challenge yourself by meeting someone who might intimidate you as well as someone you can learn from. Meeting these individuals…
Ask the Expert: How do I make my business more energy-efficient?
Question: As electricity rates rise, so do operating costs. How do I make my business more energy-efficient? Answer: Invest in energy-efficiency solutions. The savings are immediate and the benefits are lasting. Here are some ideas: Switch to Smart Lighting Hawaii’s…