Business Round Table is about the personal insights and philosophies on life and business in the own words of the company executive.
Below are the last 10 Business Round Table columns
Crazy In Hawaii For 45 Years
Wednesday - November 04, 2009
By Mark Hollander
President & CEO of Crazy Shirts
It’s hard to believe that Crazy Shirts turned 45 this year. We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings, Rick Ralston selling airbrushed designed shirts to tourists from a little grass shack in Waikiki. Today, we’ve got 22 stores on all major Hawaiian Islands and 14 across the Mainland, as well as a growing mail-order catalog and Web site.
Read Column>>Timeshares Aid Isle Economy
Wednesday - October 28, 2009
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, “I want to buy a timeshare.” It is an unsought product. Every day thousands of hardworking Hawaii residents show people a different way of vacationing hase an interest - traditionally one week annually, but sometimes more or less - in a resort accommodation to use for a set number of years, or often, as in fee simple real estate, in perpetuity.
Read Column>>Going To Seed For Profit
Wednesday - October 21, 2009
By Adolph Helm
President of Hawaii Crop Improvement Association
Hawaii’s seed industry is striving to become the gateway for worldwide agriculture. Considering that almost every line of commercially distributed seed corn spends some time being developed in this state, we undoubtedly play a major role in agricultural systems worldwide. Seed companies have operated here in Hawaii for more than 40 years
Read Column>>Hawaii’s Local Gas Company
Wednesday - October 14, 2009
“It is truly a blessing to be able to work and live in a place that reinforces and rewards a value-based life and business. It’s a definition of ‘paradise’ that most visitors and newcomers don’t associate with Hawaii, but one that I think may be the most important reason to call Hawaii home.” I wrote that for this column four years ago, and find it to be truer now. The past two years especially, as I have had the opportunity to be connected with a small, value-based, locally owned and operated company, Mid Pac Petroleum.
Read Column>>Red Spoons In The Islands
Wednesday - October 07, 2009
By Alex Choi
Owner/Hawaii Master Franchiser for Red Mango Hawaii
People often ask me, “With all the other frozen yogurt franchises, why Red Mango?” The answer is simple. I believe in the product and the lifestyle behind it. The frozen yogurt concept is fascinating to me. Once the craze hit the Mainland, it took off and “fro-yo” shops were opening everywhere. Being the entrepreneur that I am, I soon realized that this was something that I had to be a part of and bring to Hawaii.
Read Column>>Taking The Hassle Out Of HR
Wednesday - September 30, 2009
By Matt Delaney
President & CEO of Hawaii Human Resources
Businesses are in survival mode, laying off employees and streamlining operations. Conventional wisdom would suggest it’s a good time to take cover and apply a more conservative approach during this current economic “perfect storm” we are experiencing, right? Well, yes and no. At Hawaii Human Resources (HiHR), we’ve found there are opportunities for companies willing to not only provide the expected
Read Column>>A School Modeled For Success
Wednesday - September 23, 2009
Sometimes to succeed in business you have to break the mold. Island Pacific Academy (IPA) exists as the 13th largest independent, nonprofit school in a state replete with independent schools, occupying more than 70,000 square feet of modern, air-conditioned classroom space because three people.
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Enriching Dining Experiences
Wednesday - September 16, 2009
By Taro Yoshida
Director of WDI International-Hawaii
WDI International may not be a household name in Hawaii, but many of you have patronized our affiliated businesses , such as Tony Roma’s (California, Hawaii, Guam), Taormina Sicilian Cuisine and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse by Wolfgang Zwiener in Hawaii; and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (Japan, Indonesia), California Pizza Kitchen (Japan), Capricciosa (Japan, Guam, Saipan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan), Hard Rock Café (Japan), Inakaya (New York) and numerous other restaurants in the U.S., Japan and around the globe.
Read Column>>Friendly Service In The Sky
Wednesday - September 02, 2009
In a recent in-flight survey, one of our passengers, Christy Koizumi from Kauai, told us that she loved the friendly service of Mokulele staff as much as the fact that her pet flew free with her! People like Christy remind us all the time that, in the airline business, you can never lose sight of the fact that it is all about the people, those who serve and those who are served: the dedicated, well-trained crew that keeps the planes flying, those who make sure passengers are comfortable and safe, and the customers who trust us to keep providing an affordable, high-quality travel experience.
Read Column>>Turning Old Asphalt ‘Green’
Wednesday - August 26, 2009
By Arist E. de Wolff
Superintendent, Alakona Corp.
Every year, thousands of tons of asphalt are removed from Hawaii’s roads and parking lots to sit in our overcrowded landfills. As a family-owned asphalt paving and paving maintenance company, we at Alakona Corp. see firsthand the enormous amount of pavement dug up each year when repairing roads.
