Survivors
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…
Small Business
My Job: Flying High and Free
NAME: Paul Franco AGE: 40 JOB: Paragliding and tandem instructor, Proflyght Paragliding, based in Kula, Maui START: Franco was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to an American mother and a Brazilian father. His father was an airline pilot and also…
5 Steps to Delivering an Effective Speech
As chief advocate for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kawika Riley’s job is to wade into some of our state’s most controversial and complicated issues. He presents before state legislators and department heads, members of Congress and federal agencies. Before…
The Careerist: Help! Food Pushers Are Stalking Me!
Q: I’m a vegetarian in an office that worships food. Daily spreads of manapua, brownies (not the kind from college), casseroles with ingredients I don’t recognize, and slow cookers of kalua pork (with a rice cooker on the side) fill…
Making and Re-Making Beds
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…
My Job: Everyone Needs a Hug
NAME: Celeste Indvik AGE: 25 PART-TIME JOB: Professional cuddler and co-owner of Aloha Cuddle Co. START: Indvik was born and raised in Orange County, California, received her B.S. in nursing from Hawaii Pacific University, and is now a full-time labor…
Repurposing With Style
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…
The Careerist: Am I Too Old to Change From White Collar to Blue?
Q: I’ve been in middle management for 25 years, and I have a closet filled with aloha shirts, khaki pants and work shoes to prove it. I’m good at what I do, but I’m bored. And I worry, that as…
Five Things to Know About the Trump Effect
“Change is ahead for your small business, and how do you prepare?” Jane Sawyer, Small Business Administration Hawaii district director, asked a room of more than 100 people at the YWCA Laniakea on Thursday. Jane Sawyer,…
