Author: Lee Ann Bowman

This House Offers Hope

The Rev. Samuel Cox doesn’t talk like a preacher when he speaks about the odds of a woman starting a new life after prison. He calls it like a gambler: “The dice are loaded,” and not in the woman’s favor.…

Lots in Common

Daniel B.T. Lau, co-founder of Finance Factors, was born in 1919, the year the treaty officially ending World War I was signed, and Congress approved Constitutional amendments that created Prohibition and gave the vote to women. Stephen Haugse, the owner…

Familiar Name Back in the Funeral Business

In late 2012, Ken Ordenstein started his own funeral business, building on a lifetime of experience.  His mother and father were Anna and Francis Ordenstein, co-founders of Hawaiian Memorial Park. At the Ordenstein home, which included four sons and three…

Helping Family Businesses

There is no typical family business in Hawaii – they are as diverse as the state itself. But each has at least one powerful strength and one potentially crippling drawback: the family itself. Michael Miyahira, the founder of Business Strategies,…

Family Tradition of Feather Work

Name: Paulette Kahalepuna Job: Feather artist and owner of Na Lima Mili Hulu Noeau, a store where Hawaiian feather work is taught, and supplies and finished pieces are sold. Experience: 21 years. START: In 1991, Kahalepuna helped her feather-expert mother Mary Lou and father…

Starting a Business After Age 50

Ready to move on after decades of experience, but not ready to retire? Consider becoming an encore entrepreneur: someone who takes over or starts a business in a field different from their main career. Many people are doing it in…

Open for Women in Business

It’s all in place: cubicles and copier, conference room and Wi-Fi, a bit of art on the walls and a verdant view of Iolani Palace. The Patsy T. Mink Center for Business & Leadership at the Laniakea YWCA on Richards…

Entrepreneurs After Age 50

Forget about retirement, gray hair means it’s time to launch a business What is it about people over 50? Just when they peek at that no-more-9-to-5 horizon, many do crazy things like travel the world, self-publish books or enroll in…