Thirty-six years ago, a designer on the North Shore walked into Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa and told the family he wanted to design a T-shirt for them. Just for them to wear, not to sell. Stanley Matsumoto, now the…
A visit to Alicia’s Market in Kalihi is like traveling in time, back to 1949, when the family-run business was opened by Raymond and Alicia Kam as a quaint neighborhood grocery store. Nowadays, the focus is on fish. Leonard Kam…
On weekends, Jeffrey Shonka likes to rip along the south shore of Oahu in his 20-foot Seaswirl speedboat. “Fifty-six [mph] is the fastest I’ve had it up to,” says Shonka, CFO of First Insurance Co. “At that point, my wife,…
FSC is a small, two-year-old, Hawaii firm that works entirely in Asia, especially China. James Freeman – the “F” in FSC – talks about size, technology and what it takes to succeed abroad. There must be real challenges for a…
The technical term is “vertical integration,” and what it simply means is that you create your own raw materials, process them in-house and sell the finished products directly to the public. It’s a huge challenge to do it all yourself,…
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…
Michael Kennebeck was recruited to play Santa Claus by an Ala Moana Center staffer who recognized that his personality and bushy beard made him a natural for the part. That was 18 years ago and Kennebeck has been playing the…
Name: Ruby Alvarez Job: Hawaii executive manager, Batesville Logistics Years of experience: 23 Duties: Batesville operates the only casket-manufacturer’s outlet in Hawaii, so demand for its caskets, cremation containers and urns is high, Alvarez says. “Some customers might want a…
Shawna Emery and Danni Fry startedD&S Fry Plumbing in April and already have so many jobs they each work nearly 80 hours a week. Here, the two women share their early triumphs and obstacles. What are you doing to build your…
