All Work and No Job
There are a million stories in the white-collar gig economy. Let me introduce you to one. Alison Chock has two jobs: One is in retail, where she works nights at a boutique. Her other job is more unpredictable. The work…
Entrepreneurship
Creativity: Hawaii's Next Big Export
How a public-private program called Creative Lab accelerates entrepreneurs in six creative areas: screenwriting, broadband, interactive media, fashion, producing and music While Hawaii is known worldwide for its rainbows, aloha spirit and beautiful weather, Georja Skinner hopes to add “creative…
Inside the Mind of an Entrepreneur
In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success.” That’s how HBO describes its buzzy TV show, “Silicon Valley,” but is this characterization true? Ryan Louie shed…
Brewed and Bottled in Hawaii
Owning and running a brewery or brewpub is a lot of people’s idea of a fantasy job. The reality is there are casualties spread across the Hawaiian Islands. Companies that recently failed include Alii Brewing, Pacific Breach Brewing, Aloha Beer…
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…
Entrepreneurs Inspired by the Ocean
It’s no surprise the same ocean that inspires surfers, paddlers and swimmers has also inspired entrepreneurs to make a living off what they love. They start surf schools, design canoe paddles, cultivate marine livestock, run fishing charters or develop technology…
Ask the Expert: Buying a Home While Owning a Business
www.honhl.com 808.681.7500 loansonline@honhl.com Question: I’m a small business owner. What should I do to ensure I’m in the best position to finance a new home? Answer: When someone wants to buy a home or refinance one, a mortgage company looks…
Free training for small business owners with big dreams
In 2005, Lourdes Vergara Marcelo left her job as head nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center to start her own company in Mililani with just one client and another certified nursing assistant. Soon, Marcelo had hired three more CNAs and…
Starting a Business After Age 50
Ready to move on after decades of experience, but not ready to retire? Consider becoming an encore entrepreneur: someone who takes over or starts a business in a field different from their main career. Many people are doing it in…
Fueling Entrepreneurial Fires
Sam Craig thought it would be a great team-building activity for his HMSA colleagues to compete in last year’s Startup Weekend Honolulu. He didn’t expect to win. “We came in on Friday with a team and that’s it,” says Craig,…
Clothes for a Woman Warrior
There’s such enthusiasm for Nita Pilago that you may think you’re at a 90-percent-off sale as women push and shove at a craft fair to grab one of her Wahine Toa designs. Taught to sew by her grandmother, Pilago grew…
Wanted: Kitchen to Rent on Kauai
When Sandy Poehnelt launched her pie business on Kauai in 2009, one of her biggest obstacles was finding a suitable commercial kitchen. “For six weeks, I rented a space that was less than 100 square feet and I could use…
Free Legal Advice to Help Startups Succeed
One of the biggest obstacles faced by entrepreneurs is they cannot afford the legal costs to get their businesses up and running. A trio of attorneys – two recent law-school graduates and a veteran – aim to help deserving business…
Rookies Start Their First Restaurants
It was about two hours until dinner service, and there was a steady movement in, out and around The Grove, a family-owned restaurant that opened in Kailua in December. As bartenders got organized and cooks prepped for dinner, there was…
Hawaiʻi's Buy and Sell Entrepreneurs
Cory Asuncion was born to sell. He jokes that he would have rented space in his mother’s womb if that had been possible. “I could sell oil back to the Saudis,” Asuncion says confidently, and with good reason. He’s had…
Vance Roley, Dean of the University of Hawaii’s Shidler College of Business
Vance Roley Dean of the University of Hawaii’s Shidler College of Business As a student at Harvard University, Roley was determined to earn his master’s and Ph.D. in four years, so he set a strict 14-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week schedule. “I didn’t…
Launching a Business
In November 2009, in the difficult aftermath of the Great Recession, Matthew Bittick left a cozy position as principal broker and sales manager at the Hawaii office of PM Realty Groupto strike out on his own. Now, as his new company, Bishop…
Kava in a Can
Dustin Shoedel and Brian Brooks have an interesting new product – a relaxing drink made from kava and orange juice – and plan to tell the story of bringing it to market month-by-month on the Internet. The pair created RZO…
Taking a chance in a down economy
Johnson Choi, founder and president of the Hong Kong China Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, can tell right away if a business will be a good fit as a member. He asks: Is your company only interested in doing business in…
Hogan Students Help the Homeless
Over the past five years, a program developed by the Hogan Entrepreneurs at Chaminade University of Honolulu has helped about 75 homeless individuals write resumes and prepare for job interviews so they can find employment. Hogan students worked one-on-one with…
Calling All Entrepreneurs
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…