This Kaimukī Shop Helps Customers Make Their Own Jewelry
Brendan and Jill Barry’s Bead It! is stocked with jewelry-making materials and offers classes in soldering, drilling and other techniques.
Small Business
Mana Cruises and Charters Operates Three Small Vessels in Waikīkī and Ko Olina
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Co-founders Jacob Kahiapo and Mash Hatae want to be “exemplary models of responsible tourism.”
Picket Fence Florist: A Place for Flowers, Friends and Family
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Owner Sadie Akamine has spent five decades in the “very emotional business” of flowers.
Service Printers Hawaii Still Flourishes Despite a Challenging Market
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Mother-and-daughter team Kathy and Jodie Yamashiroya run the family business – Hawai‘i’s only union printing shop.
Family Mediation Hawaii Helps Divorcing Couples Focus on What’s Best for Kids
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Owner Katie Bennett’s background in law and sociology helps her navigate custody issues.
Kaimuki Auto Repair Offers Straight Talk and Fair Prices
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Owner and mechanic Alan Nakamura works to earn customers’ trust in the family business.
Jams World Features Colorful Textiles Turned into Unique Clothing
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award Hall of Fame: Pua and Heather Rochlen run the family business started in 1964, with six stores across three islands.
B. Hayman Offers Industrial Mowers and Strong Customer Service
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: President Al Kakazu says his main job is to make the customers’ job easier.
Roy Sakuma Ukulele Studios Shares the Joy of Music with All Ages and Abilities
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Roy and Kathy Sakuma operate four studios on O‘ahu, and would “never say no to any parent.”
Nisshodo Candy Store Blends Local Favorites with New Flavors
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award Hall of Fame: Michael and Ursula Hirao make and sell mochi and other Japanese treats from their Iwilei facility.
Natsunoya Tea House Has Been a Gathering Spot for More Than a Century
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Awards Hall of Fame: Lawrence Fujiwara is the third-generation owner of this historic landmark in ‘Ālewa Heights.
Lonohana Estate Chocolate Is Committed to Ethical Farming and Manufacturing
2025 SmallBiz Editor’s Choice Award winner: Co-founders Lawrence Boone and Seneca Klassen grow cacao trees on O‘ahu’s North Shore for their chocolate bars.
The Best of Small Business in Hawaiʻi 2025
Meet 13 local companies that create, repair, innovate, feed, entertain, sustain and thrive. Two are new inductees to the Hawai‘i Small Business Hall of Fame.
An Old Family Recipe Remains a Classic at This Līhu‘e Restaurant
Tip Top Motel, Cafe & Bakery’s bestselling oxtail soup uses Chinese and mustard cabbage, long rice, bamboo shoots, green onion and plenty of meat.
How Hawai‘i Women Can Overcome Obstacles and Build Thriving Businesses
A Bluesky executive keynotes a major event for women entrepreneurs on May 2 that helps them finance, launch and grow their businesses.
They Scour the Ocean to Recover MIA Service Members from World War II
The nonprofit Project Recover and divers with Honolulu-based Legion Undersea Services help bring closure for families.
Hawaii Entrepreneur Awards 2025
25 years of honoring outstanding local startups and innovation.
At This Restaurant, the Chef Decides What You’ll Eat
Sushi Gyoshin has only eight seats, which allows Hiroshi Tsuji to focus on a few special dishes each night and conversations with customers.
Create, Wait, Celebrate
Potter Lauren Shin teaches classes at her tranquil Norae Ceramics studio in Kāne‘ohe.
Five Daughters Who Stepped Up in the Family Business
Profiles of Hisae Uki, Candice Sombrero Ishikawa, Alison “Bo” Tanaka, Heather Cutter and Clarice Casamina
“Uncle’s” Updates an Old Classic with New Flavors
In the company’s Waialua kitchens, cookie and ice cream crews use peanut butter, liliko‘i, ube and other local favorites to make ice cream sandwiches.
Handmade on Moloka‘i
Each of the garments made at Kealopiko’s screen-printing workshop are one-of-a-kind and tell a story.
Wear Your Aloha
Local designers explain what makes alohawear unique to the Islands, and why they wish the touristy “Hawaiian” prints would just go away.
Turning Local Crops into Lucrative Food and Beverage Startups
The new Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center rents equipment and space for small businesses to ramp up production.