Hawaii Business Magazine August 2012 - Hawaii Business Magazine

Healthy Options at Lunchtime

"In this day and age of trying to eat fresh, there are some neighborhoods where there just aren’t a lot of options,” says Lesa Griffith, director of communications for Honolulu Museum of…

50 years on the Job at First Hawaiian Bank

Name: Nelson Nakagawa Current Position: Assistant VP, Card Services Division Started: Feb. 19, 1962 Total Jobs at FHB: 12 Why did you join? “It was a stable company, something I thought would provide me with a springboard to better things.” First day: “I was…

Feed The Hunger

When Denise Albano and Patti Chang founded Feed the Hunger Foundation in 2008, they had one goal: end poverty and hunger by providing low-income people with loans and other support. Though the foundation started with microloans to the poor and…

Helping the Shelters that Help the Homeless

Like other innovative companies, Upspring Media saw how technology could help organizations improve services and increase efficiency. However, in this case, the clients are homeless shelters, which means that, though the need is great, there’s little profit to be made.…

Photos That Look Great

The next time you forward an image to your communications person or a magazine editor, have a heart. Even though publication professionals often can make something wonderful with very little raw material, they can’t create a story where there isn’t…

Smart People, Dumb Mistakes

Why do some smart people keep repeating their mistakes and how can they stop such foolish behavior? Clinical psychologist Rosalie K. Tatsuguchi addresses those questions in her new book, “Why Smart People Do the Same Dumb Things: Causes and Cures…

Fueling Entrepreneurial Fires

Sam Craig thought it would be a great team-building activity for his HMSA colleagues to compete in last year’s Startup Weekend Honolulu. He didn’t expect to win. “We came in on Friday with a team and that’s it,” says Craig,…

Pau Hana With Lea Hong

As the state director of the Trust for Public Land, Lea Hong spends most of the workweek poring over tax maps, talking with attorneys and raising money for land acquisitions. No wonder she likes to detach on weekends. For Hong,…

Happy Hour App

Newlyweds Carey and Brandon Bennett were living on a budget, but still liked to go out, grab a drink and hang with friends. However, finding information about happy hours in Hawaii wasn’t easy. “It was difficult to find out which…

Aulani Timeshare

When you buy a stake in Aulani, the Disney resort at Ko Olina, you can enjoy your week there every year or use your points to stay at one of Disney’s other resorts.…

Ask SmallBiz: Exit Packages

Q: One of the key, long-term managers at our family-owned company – someone who is not a family member – is asking for an “exit package” in the event she is terminated or decides to leave the company on her own.…

Finding Franchise Heaven and Avoiding Franchise Hell

Owning a franchise is always hard work, but here’s how to avoid the hellish pain and reap the heavenly rewards David and Carla Lehn were first-time franchisees who hoped that by purchasing the only Quiznos fast-food restaurant on Kauai, they…

Behind the Scenes at Reyn Spooner

11:07 am, Monday Iwilei Photographer: David Croxford >> John Tau, a Reyn Spooner employee for more than 25 years, is “pinking” sample fabric on a commercial pinking cutter. Unfinished cloth edges easily fray and, while the sawtooth pattern created by pinking…

Innovation: Healthcare Alert app Reminds You of Your Checkup

The App: HealthCare Alert is a free app created by a Hawaii physician, Dr. Alfonso Jimenez, who has an Ewa Beach practice. The app has iPhone, Android and Mobile Web versions that are all designed to alert users of preventive…

Editor's Note: New leadership reinvigorates Aloha United Way

Spend any time with Hawaii executives and chances are the discussion will turn to leadership and community. The business leaders I know take a broad view of their responsibilities regarding public welfare, and are always looking for new initiatives to…