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…
Small Business
North Shore Poke
A signature sauce and five-generation recipe keep people coming back for shoyu poke from Kahuku Superette on Oahu’s North Shore. “I call it ‘mother’s love sauce’ and, once you try it, you’re addicted for life,” says manager Diane Primacio. Market…
In Search of Pastrami
Honolulu delicatessens are better known for serving musubi than sandwiches, but sometimes you just need a piled-high pastrami sandwich, location be damned. For obvious reasons, Giovanni Pastrami fills the need. I sampled the Pastrami Reuben sandwich, the restaurant’s most popular…
5 Steps to Planning an Event
Successful events are a critical way of interacting with customers. Philip Richardson, CEO of Current Affairs, one of Hawaii’s most prestigious event-planning companies, offers advice on getting the most from your events. 1. Define your objectives “You’ve got to have…
Ask SmallBiz: Retirement Planning
Q. I own a small business. How do I go about planning for my retirement and for my (few) employees? A: If you are a Hawaii small-business owner, you have a lot to think about: sales, expenses, marketing, cash flow, competition.…
Stores Flourish in an Online World
Online competitors were killing off bricks-and-mortar music stores when Peter Dods bought Honolulu’s Easy Music Center from Servco Pacific in 2005. Since then, Dods has opened a second store and, with the two locations, has tripled sales and quintupled profits,…
Mediation Lessons
John Bates’ job as a mediator is to help find common ground. He has overseen thousands of mediations since opening his firm in 1991 and says mediation gives disputing parties power over a settlement’s outcome while providing confidentiality and certainty…
Hawaii’s Lowest Grocery Store Prices: Don Quijote
There are many factors that determine where you buy your groceries: location, service, selection, and product quality. But price may be the most important, because everyone likes a deal. During three weeks in May, I visited 22 grocery stores all…
Food Fight
We saw what happened to Aloha Airlines when go! flew in and started a price war that…
