• ‘How to Start a Business on Kaua‘i’ • Hawai‘i Life Real Estate Brokers acquires Koa Properties • Kaua‘i Made website getting a ‘revamp’ • St. Regis receives 2011 WAVE Award • Free seminar: ‘How to Write a Successful Business
• ‘How to Start a Business on Kaua‘i’ • Hawai‘i Life Real
Estate Brokers acquires Koa Properties • Kaua‘i Made website
getting a ‘revamp’ • St. Regis receives 2011 WAVE Award • Free
seminar: ‘How to Write a Successful Business Plan’ • Emergency
loans for homeowners
‘How to Start a Business on Kaua‘i’
Thinking about becoming your own boss and starting your own business?
The Hawai‘i Small Business Development Center is presenting a “How to Start a Business on Kaua‘i” workshop from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on July 19.
Participants will learn about entrepreneurship, forms of business organization, key ingredients for business success, steps involved in starting a business, sources of capital and services offered by the Hawai‘i SBDC Network, as well as other resources for the start-up business.
The event location is 3-1901 Kaumuali‘i Hwy., Lihu‘e. A registration fee of $20 is required. Pre-registration is required at SBDC’s website at www.hisbdc.org. For more information call 241-3148.
Hawai‘i Life Real Estate Brokers acquires Koa Properties
On July 1, Hawai‘i Life Real Estate Brokers acquired Koa Properties Land and Homes. Neal Norman, the company’s founder and owner, will stay on with Hawai‘i Life as the company’s top listing broker, as will 12 other Realtors from Koa Properties.
The day-to-day management of Hawai‘i Life’s new Kilauea location will be handled by Anthea Adair, broker-in-charge of Kaua‘i sales.
“It’s something that’s been in the works for a long time,” stated Norman in a news release. “I finally had the epiphany that, since I can’t beat these guys, I have to join them.”
The combination of the two company’s inventories will make Hawai‘i Life Kauai’s top listing brokerage, with close to $230 million in listings, the announcement said.
Kaua‘i Made website getting a ‘revamp’
Beth Tokioka, county director of communications and head of the Kaua‘i Made program, announced in late June that the Kaua‘i Made website is in the process of an update and upgrade.
“Our website has remained basically the same since it was launched in 2006,” she wrote in an email to Kaua‘i Made program participants. “This ‘revamp’ is being made possible by a grant from the Office of Economic Development to the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau. KVB has enlisted Tsunami Marketing — the best in the business — to do this work.”
Tokioka said the three goals for the new website are: to push member products to the forefront of the site giving everyone equal exposure; drive more traffic to the members’ websites; and increase traffic with enhanced search-engine optimization, new craftsman-style photography and an aggressive new marketing campaign, including print ads, Google AdWords and a Facebook program.
“The new website will feature our members’ product photos and logos in a much larger format than the current site,” she wrote.
For this reason, businesses with a Kaua‘i Made listing are being asked to send an updated, full-resolution photograph and logo, if applicable, to kauaimade@tsu.biz no later than Friday. Photos and listing updates received after July 15 may not be updated until January 2012, she said. The target launch date of the new site is Aug. 1.
St. Regis receives 2011 WAVE Award
The St. Regis Princeville Resort announced last month that the hotel has been awarded the 2011 WAVE (Western Agents’ Vote of Excellence) Award for the best new resort or major renovation in Hawai‘i.
WAVE awards recognize the outstanding qualities and services of travel suppliers, and the winners were selected by readers of TravelAge West, a publication for professional travel agents. Agents chose from a list of nominees determined by the publication’s editors.
The St. Regis Princeville Resort received the top accolades among the nominees, which included the Sheraton Waikiki, the Trump International Hotel and Tower Waikiki Beach Walk, the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort and the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.
“We were honored to be recognized by TravelAge West and the Western travel agent professionals,” stated St. Regis General Manager Milton Sgarbi in a press release. “Princeville’s majestic beauty and distinguished history have made it a beloved destination for generations of travelers. We are pleased to continue this legacy as the first St. Regis in Hawai‘i.”
The St. Regis Princeville Resort re-opened in September 2009 following a multi-million-dollar renovation.
Free seminar: ‘How to Write a Successful Business Plan’
Bank of Hawai‘i is hosting a free financial education seminar called “How to Write a Successful Business Plan,” from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 27 at BOH’s Kapa‘a branch located at 1407 Kuhio Hwy.
Seminar participants may learn how to write a comprehensive business plan designed to be the road map to starting and managing a successful company, a BOH calendar listing announced.
The seminar will feature: the importance of a business plan, the different components that go into one and how to put that plan into action.
The seminar is open to the public and led by financial advisors from BOH. No products or services will be sold at the seminar and no promotional materials will be distributed.
For additional information on upcoming topics and seminar schedules, go to www.boh.com/seminars or call BOH at 888-643-3888, press zero and ask about the Smart Money Seminars.
Speakers are also available free of charge to community organizations. Send a request via email to seminars@boh.com.
Emergency loans for homeowners
A new program launched by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers assistance to homeowners who need help with their mortgage payments, a county news release states.
The Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program is open to homeowners who are at least 90 days late on their mortgage payments and unemployed or working fewer hours because of the economy or a medical condition.
The maximum loan amount available through EHLP is $50,000 for up to two years.
The deadline to apply for the program is July 22.
For more information, visit www.findehlp.org or call toll free 855-346-3345. Information can also be obtained from several Hawai‘i agencies including the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawai‘i at 800-801-5999, Hawaiian Community Assets at 632-2070 or the Hawai‘i Homeownership Center at 877-523-9503.
