Pau Hana with Jan Harada
Jan Harada knows there’s nothing like kung fu to get the blood flowing after a hard day and to stave off burnout. “My work is very rewarding, but it’s also very stressful,” says Harada, president and CEO of the nonprofit…
Lifestyle
Lessons Learned: Finding Partners
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…
14 percent: Why are women under represented in the C-suites of corporate America?
In the C-suites of America’s biggest corporations, just 14.1 percent of the executive officers are women, according to the 2011 Catalyst survey of Fortune 500 leadership. That’s one woman for every six men, and Catalyst says that basic ratio hasn’t…
Pau Hana with David Miller
When David Miller moved to Hawaii from Boston more than 40 years ago, he figured he should take advantage of the Islands’ active, outdoor lifestyle. Since he grew up in New York City playing handball – there’s not much of…
Pau Hana With Lea Hong
As the state director of the Trust for Public Land, Lea Hong spends most of the workweek poring over tax maps, talking with attorneys and raising money for land acquisitions. No wonder she likes to detach on weekends. For Hong,…
Innovation: Healthcare Alert app Reminds You of Your Checkup
The App: HealthCare Alert is a free app created by a Hawaii physician, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, who has an Ewa Beach practice. The app has iPhone, Android and Mobile Web versions that are all designed to alert users of preventive…
Ride in Style
“You know, it’s a massage seat, too.” The chauffeur, Philippe Deprez, pointed to the control panel on the door of the custom-built 2012 Rolls-Royce Ghost EWB, the only one in Hawaii. “Go ahead,” he says, “press that button.” Talk about…
5 Steps to a successful business meeting
Your next business meeting will go more smoothly with proper planning. Plaza Club GM Dan Bower offers five ways to ensure that you succeed and everyone who attends is impressed. 1. Have a clear vision. Before you start planning your meeting, it is…
Innovation: Electronic Shark Defense System repels sharks
Creator: Wilson Vinano Jr., avid surfer and owner of Z to A Innovations, has been inventing things for years and wanted to make the ocean safer for people. With the help of two local engineering and development companies, Vinano says,…
Ekso Pro at Rehab Hospital enables wheelchair users to rise and walk
Problem: About 6 million Americans live with some form of paralysis. At Honolulu’sRehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific, the staff works each year with 5,500 patients recovering from strokes or injuries, including brain, spinal cord, orthopedic and sports injuries. New Device: A robotic,…
The Business of Sports in Hawaii
When the University of Central Florida’s football team lost its last scheduled game in 2005 to Tulsa, its consolation prize was a berth in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. “Let me get this right,” coach George O’Leary quipped. “We lost and…
Pau Hana with Evan Fujimoto
Favorite spots: Blue Hole, Snipes, Paikos and Toes. Main boards: His favorite is a 6-foot Superbrand “Toy” squash tail, but he also likes his Erik Arakawa 6-foot, 3-inch rounded pin. When it comes to surfing, Evan Fujimoto’s mantra is, “No…
Career Change
Roger Higa, Melissa Chang, George “Chef Mavro” Mavrothalassitis and Shanah Trevenna are very different people with one thing in common: Each experienced a turning point that put them on an unexpected journey to a new calling. For Roger Higa, that…
Electric Car Range Anxiety
Margaret Larson has felt “range anxiety.” If you buy an electric vehicle in the near future, you will feel it, too. Larson is the electric vehicle specialist for the state Energy Office and was driving the state’s Nissan Leaf electric car back…
Our Favorite Things
Stacy Yuen Hernandez >> Writer Chocolate cream pie from Sunnyside Bakery: Pie is one of my favorite things in life and this Wahiawa bakery creates my all-time favorite. Zoku Quick Pop Maker: Got this cool contraption for Christmas. I’m fascinated…
Tetris Evolves into Facebook Phenom
COMPANY: Tetris Online has been headquartered in Honolulu since its launch in January 2006. Co-founders Henk Rogers and Minoru Arakawa have homes in Hawaii, and Rogers’ other organizations, including Blue Planet Software and Blue Planet Foundation, are based in Honolulu.…
Editor's Note: How thick is your bubble?
One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me as a child was something I did not want. That bittersweet legacy is a big part of who I am, yet I am thankful that my children will not inherit it.…
Ocean Learning
There’s a new way for children and adults to view tropical sea life and even touch some of it. The Living Art Marine Center near the airport has a modest collection of fish tanks with creatures from around the Pacific,…
Pau Hana with Barron Gus
At 4 on a Sunday afternoon, Barron Guss – businessman, entrepreneur, inventor – is often at the field mauka of Kailua’s Kawainui Marsh flying part of his vast collection of remote-controlled helicopters and airplanes. His passion for flight began in…
Train to be a Yoga Master
If you are seeking calm in a hectic world, you may find it at a yoga school in Puna, surrounded by a Big Island rain forest. Among the classes at the Yoga Oasis is a 200-hour, monthlong program for Yoga…
SEO Tips for your Small Business
When Todd Yamanaka joined Island Insurance 11 years ago, the company’s website,www.islandinsurance.com, was essentially a tool that shared basic information about the company’s products. That was it. Needless to say, the site didn’t rank at the top in search results,…
Best Practical Jokes at Work
First Place: Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering Inc. OVERALL WINNER - THE FOOSBALL HIJACKING Victim: STEVE BALDRIDGE, president, BASE Pranksters: BASE EMPLOYEES BASE employees wanted a foosball table, so when president Steve Baldridge was gone on a business trip, they bought a used table.…
Pau Hana with Joe Perez
Joe Perez has one of the toughest jobs in Hawaii, and finds his release in kickboxing. “There’s something about hitting that bag after a tough day,” says Perez, executive director of the Hawaii Meth Project. “I hear such emotional and…
Editor's Note: Connect with Hawaii Business on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Hawaii Business magazine’s mission is to cover big issues affecting our Islands’ economy and businesses in a way that is useful and accessible to readers. Although our main vehicle is a print magazine, we understand the importance of reaching and…