You have a business that is doing well and paying the bills. Maybe it has put one or two children through college. The kids are working, maybe on the Mainland, and not interested in taking over the family business. Now…
Brian Kimura sees an unfortunate trend in the sewing industry. “With all the discount stores coming here,” he says, “they’re bringing in so much cheap clothing. Before, it was cheaper for people to sew their own outfits for the kids.…
Monday, September 11, 2017, 11:30 am - By Noelle Fujii The customer is king because customers control whether a business succeeds or fails. Today, effective ways to reach consumers include social media, websites and mobile apps. …
Thursday, January 1, 1970, - By Noelle Fujii There's an old saying, "The customer is king." Today, the customer really is a king: well informed, very demanding, willing to change their mind at a moment's notice - and with their…
Thursday, January 1, 1970, - By Noelle Fujii “A digital media strategy is not something that you should…
Thursday, January 1, 1970, - Figuring out how to share your brand’s message and the right audience to share it with is becoming more difficult in today’s noisy world. After all, businesses now compete for attention with information that’s available…
The customer is king because customers control whether a business succeeds or fails. Today, effective ways to reach consumers include social media, websites and mobile apps. Navigating those platforms can be difficult for some small businesses, so Hawaii Business put…
A family business is one of the oldest forms of capitalism, but that doesn’t make it easy.
Ross Shigeoka starts his day at 6:30 a.m. by mixing and rolling dough for the noodles he serves at Shige’s Saimin Stand in Wahiawa. He cuts the dough using this 1950s-vintage Japanese machine to produce 60 to 80 pounds of…
Past or present, people remain the soul of Kakaʻako Ewa-uplifting its concrete facade, splashing color and character across sullen streets, and creating new spaces for communions and opportunities.
When Jin Hong started visiting bar and restaurant suppliers as the new GM for Café Duck Butt, people remembered him. Some giggled when he said the name. “Back in the day, people thought I was either a pervert or that…
I just finished three days of providing testimony and participating in the national Small Business Administration’s Regulatory Fairness Board meeting. Twenty-two board members from across the U.S. attended and represented their states and regions. I represented Hawaii and served as…
For many Hawaiian musicians and singers, performing is both their passion and their livelihood. So, when there's not enough places to perform locally, or the pay is too low, they have to improvise. Some work day jobs and perform at…
When Sai Yeung opened his bar and grill over 30 years ago, he wanted a lucky name. His choice was 8 Fat Fat 8 and the lucky name seems to have worked, as the restaurant has been in the same…
“A digital media strategy is not something that you should be afraid of,” said Thomas Obungen, digital and…
Small businesses are so crucial to Hawaii that they must be nurtured and protected for the overall economy to grow. The federal Small Business Administration has different definitions for a small business depending on the industry, but, if we use…
My last column explained why small businesses are so crucial to Hawaii and that they must be nurtured for the overall economy to grow. This column offers a simple but effective strategy to manage your business to maximum capacity. First,…
A family business is one of the oldest forms of capitalism, but that doesn’t make it easy. “It’s hard enough running a business, but then you have all of these family things that are overlaid on top of it,” said…
The JamBio for JamBios goes a little like this: An entrepreneur with successful ventures sees ideas everywhere. As she walks down the street, Beth N. Carvin pulls ideas from her surroundings, her daydreams, and the people and things in her…
Discover the Human Resources and Experts that will help take your small business to the next level. Click here to view the section
UPDATED: MAY 1, 2017 Maui Brewing founders honored as 2017 National Small Business Persons of the Year WASHINGTON, D.C. – Linda McMahon, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, today announced that husband-and-wife business partners Garrett and Melanie Marrero of Maui Brewing Co.…
It’s Sunday morning and the aisles of Kauai’s Kukuiula Market are empty, save for a middle-age man scoping out the beer selection and a teen devouring a giant acai bowl. As a six-pack and a Spam musubi land on the…
Richie Stewart builds 15 new platforms a day at the Green Bed Factory, a division of Ross’ Appliances and Furniture. The frames take the place of traditional boxsprings (though the company calls them by that traditional name, “boxsprings”) and are…
Ross’ Appliances & Furniture was founded in 1975 by Ross Wigney, an Australian who served as an electrician’s mate aboard Jacques Cousteau’s ship Calypso. “He met a girl on the Mainland, and when the Calypso pulled out of port, Ross…