Ask SmallBiz: Transferring Ownership
Q. We are growing our business and want to make sure that we are able to perpetuate it long after we are no longer active in the company. We have no children, so what are our options to ensure the…
Business & Industry
Ask SmallBiz: Getting Loan Approval
Q: I’m a small business owner and I’ve heard about the new ARC loans. How do I get approved for these loans? A: For small-business owners, the American Recovery Capital loan seems like a silver bullet, the solution to many…
Marketing Lessons
Jon Jepson knows the Hawaiian seas like the back of his hand, but when he began marketing for Makani, the $1.8 million catamaran he helped hand-build, Jepson found himself testing new waters. Now in its third year, Makani Catamaran takes…
5 Steps to Boost Web Traffic
You finally caught on and created a company Web site. The problem is, nobody knows about it. Mary Fastenau, president of StarrTech Interactive, explains how to drive more eyeballs to your Web site for little or no cost. OvercommunIcate your…
5 Steps to Motivating Employees
In good times or bad, motivating employees is an important, but often overlooked, aspect of running a business. Nicholas Mitsakos, chairman of Arcadia Holdings Inc., explains how to keep workers excited for the workweek, or “how to help your team…
5 Steps to Prevent Credit-Card Fraud
Credit-card processing is a ubiquitous and major expense for businesses. Most of the cost is upfront, according to Matt Sakauye, senior consultant at credit-card processing firm Gravity Payments. Once things are running, he says, “credit-card processors are pretty automated. But…
Island-Style Dress for Success
In this job market, competition is fierce. That's why it's important for candidates to make a favorable impression in the first interview. Your skills are crucial, but don't expect to be offered a job unless you also look the part,…
Negotiate Your Way to a Better Job (and a better life)
It’s a workday morning late in the week and attorney Ellen Carson is at her home computer, in her pajamas, working on affidavits. She’s been at it for three hours — since 6 a.m. — but by 9 she’s able…
Building a New Girls' Network
Something major is happening. Women everywhere are mobilizing — themselves and each other — to get into the community, grow their contact lists and build meaningful relationships to advance their careers. This new age of wahine networking is a far…
Ask SmallBiz: Personal Branding
BY Piia M. Aarma, President, Pineapple Tweed, LLC Q. How do you build a personal brand? A. This above all: to thine own self be true.” Those words by William Shakespeare sum up how you need to look at branding.…
5 Steps to Stopping Fraud
By Brian Ishikawa, Senior Vice President of Corporate Security, Bank of Hawaii During this challenging economic time, it’s more important than ever for businesses to protect their money. No one is immune from fraud, but there are ways to reduce…
Internet Transforms Home Sales, but Realtors Survive
Some say real estate professionals might be more important than ever Less than 20 years ago, prospective homebuyers could look at newspapers and drive around to find yard signs. However, most would call a Realtor because they alone had access…
Local Life Lessons
A little book has important advice for some of the Islands' big-business leaders Growing up, Wesley Park aspired to be ordinary. He ended up being extraordinary. When he was 4 years old, Park was stricken with polio. The debilitating disease…