Kahala Shell Closing | Friedman Dinner Tomorrow | Guv’s Mainland Ad | Moo | HTA Soliciting Bids | Sales Tips

BY SAM SLOM – Final Call: SBH SUNRISE Tomorrow. The next SBH SUNRISE Networking Breakfast will be held tomorrow, Thursday, July 31, 7 – 8:30 am, in the Pineapple Room at Macy’s in Ala Moana Center. It is a great place to meet new people and do business. Good for those running for office to talk to real small business owners. There will be networking, a full buffet breakfast and all participants are introduced and permitted to promote their business. The special guest speaker this month is Sarah Allen, the state Procurement Officer. Learn about contracting opportunities for business and the mysterious Hawaii procurement code. The cost is $25 per person. Call me at SBH, 396-1724 (or cell 349-5438) for info and to make reservations TODAY. Advance reservations required.

Health Care Talk Today. I will be speaking to the insurance industry, including members of the Professional Insurance Association of Hawaii, today at noon in the Japanese Cultural Center. The topic is “The Current RX for Hawaii’s Health Connector.” Prognosis is negative.

Kahala Shell Closing. One of the best service stations on O’ahu is about to close. The Kahala Shell gas station is another victim of Kamehameha Schools/ Bishop Estate, the landowner. Kahala Shell will cease all repair and other services tomorrow, July 31, and will end its gasoline sales a month later. The buildings will later be razed making way for possibly new luxury residential development on the valuable Waialae land.

Milton Friedman Dinner Tomorrow. The annual tribute to the late economist Milton Friedman is the “Friedman Dinner for Educational Choice,” tomorrow evening, Thursday, 6-8 pm at the Japanese Cultural Center. The annual birthday event is sponsored by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. Speakers this year are Oklahoma Sen. Jabar Shumate (D) and Rep. Jason Nelson (R), who will discuss Oklahoma’s school choice initiatives. School choice is non-partisan (except in Hawaii). To carry on the bi-partisan theme, State Senate President and Congressional candidate Donna Mercado Kim and I will introduce the keynoters. Phone 591-9193 for reservations.

Taxi, Taxi! By now, you’ve seen the TV commercial for Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s re-election campaign in which he plays a cab driver who is thrilled as his two passengers point out good things going on in Kaka’ako. (Some people don’t think the coming sprawl for investors and the wealthy is that good).  Pacific Business News asked its readers-where exactly is Abercrombie picking up his two passengers? Downtown Honolulu? Waikiki? The airport? With the jump cuts, it’s hard to tell, so PBN hit the pause button, scanning the details for clues. Flower pots hanging from streetlights. Horizontal traffic signals. Red bricks in the road. Didn’t look like anyplace in Honolulu PBN could think of. That’s because it’s Miami, PBN reports. “Exteriors were filmed in Miami, the interiors were filmed in a studio here,” says Shane Peters, director of communications for Abercrombie for Governor. The ad was created by the Hamburger Company, a Washington, D.C. agency.

No production companies in Hawaii? No left over Yellow taxis? At least the Guv was wearing a lap belt (shoulder belts weren’t required until 1968). Next time, he should call Charley’s Taxi!

Barack Has Abercrombie’s Back. In a new commercial, President Barack Hussein Obama endorses Governor Neil Abercrombie, saying in part, “…he’s had my back even before I was a twinkle in my parents’ eye…” Scary.  Votes Cast Already. About 98,000 absentee ballots were mailed out two weeks ago and more than 20,000 have been returned to date. More to come as voters seem to choose absentee or early walk-ins more often than actually going to the polling places on Election Day. Watch and listen for a tsunami of political commercials from now until Primary Day, Saturday, August 9. Media folks are smacking their lips over the ad revenue that is pouring in. Also pouring in, more complaints of defaced and stolen political signs and banners (mostly all Republican) and last minute allegations of various wrongdoing by candidates in both political parties. Decorum and civility have left the building. Issues are nowhere; it’s name recognition, pretty pictures and high school identification.

Moo Moo. eBay founder and Civil Beat CEO, Pierre Omidyar’s Ulupono Initiative, has had to down size some of its initial plans for a Kauai dairy farm. Hawaii Dairy Farms, a planned 578-acre facility on Kauai’s South Shore, received criticism from environmentalists, residents and neighboring resorts. The proposed dairy would double statewide milk production. The original plan called for an initial 2,000 cows; now there may be only 650. (Maybe the others can apply for Hawaii’s over generous unemployment compensation benefits).

HTA Soliciting Bids for Projects. The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), together with its partners, the City and County of Honolulu, counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai, and the Hawaii Community Foundation (HCF), are soliciting proposals for its Brand Experience programs including:

*    Product Enrichment Programs (PEP)
*    County Product Enrichment Program (CPEP)
*    Kukulu Ola-Living Hawaiian Culture Program (LHCP)
*    Community-Based Natural Resources Program (NRP)
*    Signature Events (SIG)

The HTA’s PEP support community-based projects that enhance resident and visitor experiences, as well as create opportunities for economic development, natural resource preservation and perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture. Signature Events include major events that provide unique, world-class experiences that celebrate Hawaii’s diverse multi-cultures and communities. Click here>

Kaiser Free Forum. Employee health is a key driver of health care and workers’ compensation costs and impacts employee engagement and productivity. Join Kaiser for a FREE seminar to learn what actions you need to take to position your business for success.

Population Health as a Business Strategy

Thursday, August 14, 8:30 – 10 a.m.
Kaiser Permanente Honolulu Medical Office
1010 Pensacola St., Room 1B/C – Honolulu
Breakfast will be provided

Seating is limited!
To reserve your place today visit:
kphealthhonolulu.eventbrite.com

Putt Straight. You are invited to join JA Hawaii again this year at Hawaii Prince Golf Course for their 15th Annual Junior Achievement Golf Classic, sponsored by American Savings Bank on Tuesday September 30, 2014.

The JA Annual Golf Classic Tournament raises funds to provide financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship programs to JA’s K-12 students. All the funds raised stay in Hawaii.

SBH Going “Virtual.” As previously announced, Smart Business Hawaii (SBH), founded in 1975 by Lex Brodie, will leave its Hawaii Kai office in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center, after more than 20 years, effective August 31. SBH will go “virtual.” As SBH begins to clean out, you, or someone you know, may be interested in desks, file cabinets, chairs, and other office furnishings. Call (808) 396-1724 for details.

 “No Problem” I’ve noticed over the past few years that many restaurant servers, when thanked for their service, respond by saying, “No problem.” That phrase bothers me. Have you noticed? What do you think would be a more appropriate response, if any, or is it just me?

Good Sales Tips. From Jan Kaeo of Dale Carnegie:  

4 Tips for Gaining Credibility in Sales:

1)  Give general benefits – Cite general benefits your company provides that relate to the buyers needs, wants and issues. Prepare and research the prospect before you communicate with them. When you present the ideas it will show that you were interested in helping the prospect not just making money.

2) Be specific – Give results of how past clients have benefited. Talk specifically about return on investment. Instead of saying that “This product improves efficiency”, say “Company XYZ started using this product last year, since then they have saved $500,000.”

3) Suggest similar benefits – If a company is going through the same issues as previous companies, tell them.Since you have already given general benefits and then given specific examples it is logical to tie them together.

4) Don’t sell- Focus on the buyer. By knowing the wants, interests and needs of the prospective client, giving specific examples of results, and then connecting them together, you are appealing logically to a client.Make the logical connection and prospect will know you are not just another sales person.

Want More Business? JOIN SBH! Is YOUR business a member of SBH?  No? Lots of benefits. Strong networking organization. Call 396-1724 or go online to  smartbusinesshawaii.com.

Hawaii Reporter.com, Hawaii’s first electronic daily newspaper launched in 2002, has all the breaking news and unlike other publications in town, is still free. Award winning Hawaii Reporter and Malia Zimmerman report daily (M-F) on the Rick Hamada Show heard on KHVH radio on 830 AM at 7:05 am. Malia will share the news behind the news.

Tune in to Panos Prevedouros. SBH Director and UH Engineering Professor Dr. Panos Prevedouros is a weekly guest on Rick Hamada’s morning radio show every Tuesday from 7:05 a.m. to 8 am. Tune in!

Read SB NEWS. Don’t forget to read your current monthly SB NEWS by PDF attachment or link. More expanded news and views for the Hawaii business community.

Advertise Here. Some readers have inquired about placing an ad on the right margin of these weekly blasts, which reach more than 15,000 people. Interested? If you want your business ad posted, the cost is $50 for one placement or $150 per month (4-5 placements). Contact 396-1724.

Want more local business information? Please visit the several SBH websites at www.smartbusinesshawaii.com, www.educate808.com and www.sbhfoundation.org

Celebrating a business milestone? Your business press releases are welcome in the weekly SBH News & Views e-News, which reaches more than 15,000 business owners and government leaders in Hawaii.

What? Not receiving your copy? Send PR, additional requests and email address to  SBH@lava.net or call 396-1724.

As always, SBH appreciates your support, so please consider joining or sending a donation to help SBH continue to assist the private, independent businesses in our community.

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