Hawaii Business Magazine - June 2013

Lessons Learned: Business Philanthropy

Danny Boren, founder of Maui-based Skyline Eco Adventures, understands that philanthropy is serious business. To date, Boren says, Skyline has donated more than $600,000 to Hawaii nonprofits and was the first zipline company in the world to join the “1%…

Ask the Expert: Buying a Home While Owning a Business

www.honhl.com 808.681.7500 loansonline@honhl.com Question: I’m a small business owner. What should I do to ensure I’m in the best position to finance a new home? Answer: When someone wants to buy a home or refinance one, a mortgage company looks…

Free training for small business owners with big dreams

In 2005, Lourdes Vergara Marcelo left her job as head nurse at Tripler Army Medical Center to start her own company in Mililani with just one client and another certified nursing assistant. Soon, Marcelo had hired three more CNAs and…

5 Great Edu-Apps

Interactive Alphabet What’s Learned? Letters Description: Hawaii-connected app-maker Piikea Street won instant recognition for Interactive Alphabet, which charms your littlest technophile through the early stages of literacy with easy, interactive play. Latest versions offer lower-, upper- and mixed-case letters and…

Soccer Perfectly Fits His DNA

Dustin Sellers is a poster child (and adult) of the evolution of Hawaii soccer. ProService Hawaii’s president of business development and marketing was 5 when the American Youth Soccer Organization launched its first season in the Islands in 1974. “My…

Many Ways to Measure the Value of a Human Life

It’s impossible to really say what a human life is really worth, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying. It happens all the time in wrongful-death suits, which are designed to compensate family members and dependents for their economic loss.…

Guiding Tomorrow’s Leaders

Training for Fellows in the omidyar program goes through three stages: • Looking at yourself, including strengths and weaknesses; • Looking at You as part of a team; and • Looking at your leadership in the community. Mark your calendars, future leaders of Hawaii: June…

Building Bridges

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Papakilo search engine and database aims to become a one-stop site for all things Hawaiian. Though still a work in progress, Papakilo’s creators consider it a “database of databases” as it offers online access to…

Your Body Was Not Meant To Sit All Day

There’s a new mantra going around Hawaii offices: Ditch your seat and get on your feet. Standing and sit-stand workstations are not just for geeks any more. Eric Shearer used to suffer excruciating pain from sitting in front of his…

Hawaii Golf Courses Avoid Local Sand

Hawaii is known worldwide for its beautiful beaches, but most local golf courses import their sand from Vietnam or California. In fact, golf-course and athletic-field constructors prefer the more manageable, industrial varieties of sand based on silicon dioxide, as opposed…

Profits now help feed the mission at some nonprofits

Child & Family Service – one of Hawaii’s biggest nonprofit, social-service providers – now offers a personalized care program called Kupuna Concierge as part of an effort to divesify its income. Prices start at $38 an…

Miles From the Telescope, He Watches the Stars

Name: Marc Kassis, Ph.D. Job: Support Astronomer for W.M. Keck Observatory Years of Experience: 9 Starting out: In high school, Kassis thought physics was “the coolest stuff ever” and went on to earn a Ph.D. in astronomy from Boston University.…

Parting Shot: Diagnostic Laboratory Services

  Thursday, 2:17 PM Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Aiea Photographer David Croxford >> Medical laboratory technician Jayson Ababa checks complete blood count samples using an automated hematology analyzer system. DLS tests samples from Hawaii, Guam and Saipan and performs about 37,000…

Talk Story with Janet Liang of Kaiser Permanente Hawaii

What changes have you seen in the healthcare industry during the five years you’ve been with Kaiser? We’re seeing more accountability and transparency around quality, and we’re seeing the healthcare systems beginning to integrate. The hospitals are hiring doctors and…

Staging a Race is No Walk in the Park

The costs add up because even small sports events need planning, permits, cones, cops, signs, safety and much more On any given Sunday, hundreds or thousands of weekend warriors are on the roads…

Top 100 Realtors 2013

How We Create the List Welcome to Hawaii Business magazine’s Top 100 Realtors for 2013. This is the only objective ranking of Realtors in the state. The information was compiled using the Multiple Listing Service databases from the Honolulu Board…

Returning Home to Hawaii After Years Abroad

OK, so you grew up in Hawaii. You know your spam musubi and hula kahiko. Then you moved away – for education, for work, to prove yourself. You’re having a great time. You visit often, but never stay. Then, maybe,…

Hawaii Business BOSS - June 2013

18 Insights from the BOSS survey of 401 local business leaders Plus 10 nuances we thought you should know about 1. Performance Plateau The Performance Index is at 113, virtually unchanged from October 2012. This index is the BOSS survey’s…

Hawaii Beekeeping Makes a Comeback

“My bees were dying. I was crying. I had 40 hives and 36 of them were dead. My friends said, ‘Find a new job. The bee business is done.’ ” Diminutive Puna beekeeper Jen…

Training Pilots for Hawaii's Future

Retired TWA pilot Peter Forman says the growing airline industry is not prepared for a looming pilot shortage and that’s why he wants to grow the Commercial Aviation Program at UH’s Honolulu Community College. Forman is the coordinator of the…