One man's stab at explaining Hawaiian History.

[kalakoa]

The overall business climate is against you. Geography is against you. Local culture, values and norms are against you, when you attempt to start a business in Hawaii.

I guess I missed the memo -- nobody should ever try to start a business in Hawaii, either come here as a tourist (and spend all your money) or move here as a retiree (and spend all your money until you die).

Clearly I've been wasting my time -- I'll just go ahead and trade in my GET license for an EBT card -- then just hang around the Natch all day until it's time to visit the Hawaiian Acres Community Center for some heroin.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

business climate is against you. Geography is against you. Local culture, values and norms are against you

I have owned and operated a business in Hawaii since 1992.
I've also recently been described as infantile, moronic, and someone with no ability to make an accurate assessment of a situation, which one would think is a key component in running a long term successful company. So given that evidence, one would think almost anyone should be able to start a business in Hawaii.

[Sugarloaf]

quote:

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Originally posted by kalakoa

The overall business climate is against you. Geography is against you. Local culture, values and norms are against you, when you attempt to start a business in Hawaii.

I guess I missed the memo -- nobody should ever try to start a business in Hawaii, either come here as a tourist (and spend all your money) or move here as a retiree (and spend all your money until you die).

Clearly I've been wasting my time -- I'll just go ahead and trade in my GET license for an EBT card -- then just hang around the Natch all day until it's time to visit the Hawaiian Acres Community Center for some heroin.

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It is not that NO business can be started in HI, but there are many factors against it. Light Manufacturing, with energy costs, materials transportation costs, etc., would be a tough start. Other, tourist-related, or government contractor companies, not so bad. There is a tremendous federal presence, and they do a lot through contractors. They even have contractors to clean base housing in preparation for the next occupant. Opportunity like that exists if you are related to someone besides just Uncle Sam!!!!

BTW, it wasn't a Memo, per se, but scratched on the side of a coconut. Well, actually two sides (front and back).

[Sugarloaf]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sugarloaf

quote:

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Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge

business climate is against you. Geography is against you. Local culture, values and norms are against you

I have owned and operated a business in Hawaii since 1992.
I've also recently been described as infantile, moronic, and someone with no ability to make an accurate assessment of a situation, which one would think is a key component in running a long term successful company. So given that evidence, one would think almost anyone should be able to start a business in Hawaii.

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Your comments were so labeled, not you, per se, and properly so. Why don't you tell us about your business and some of the obstacles you see in HI that don't exist elsewhere or, if they exist, are to a much lesser extent. And since my comments were more-specifically directed to the prospect of opening a "light manufacturing" business, tell us if yours is of that type.

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[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

The overall business climate is against you.

Why don't you tell us about your business and some of the obstacles you see in HI

And since my comments were more-specifically directed to the prospect of opening a "light manufacturing" business, tell us if yours is of that type.

There are volumes written on the subject of business, and business in Hawaii. So we can only touch on a few points here.

First, I'm not in the light manufacturing sector, I'm a wholesaler and as such do work with both suppliers and customers as a manufacturer would. In the 20+ years I've been in business I've seen a fair number of suppliers, customers, as well as competitors go out of business. A few due to retirement or personal preference, but most of them due to some form of poor business practice.

You need reliable suppliers, or you won't have a product to sell.
You need customers who pay regularly, because if they don't, and they go out of business with 120 or 180 days past due, the loss could be so great you can't pay your own bills. Most businesses cannot just include large losses as "a cost of doing business" because you have competitors with similar products to yours and you have to match their prices.

Hawaii specifically? I suppose taxes are higher, but everybody else has to pay higher taxes too, so that is worked into your pricing structure. Good employees are difficult to find, but I don't know statistically if it's worse, or a little worse, or a lot worse than anywhere else. If you find a good one, it's worth any price to keep them happy.

Also, pay attention to what your vendors and customers say to you. Are they consistent? Do they have a lot of excuses for failing to deliver, failing to pay, or just a general confusion in what they ask you or tell you? This may reflect in the way that they make decisions, and in how they run their own business, to your detriment.

What about your own Marine based business?

[Rob Tucker]

Wasn't this topic about Hawaiian history?

Assume the best and ask questions.

Punaweb moderator

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

Near the end of the OP's link to an historical review of Hawaii, there was a brief mention of employment:

Most of what we Hawaiians have contributed, unfortunately, has been very detrimental to the economic, spiritual and environmental growth of these islands. We’ve done a great job of populating the prisons, filling the lists of the unemployed - homeless...
Our leaders need to educate all Hawaiians to "forget about the past and move forward into the future!"

I think that became the source for the comments that veered outside the "Cone of the Original Topic."

Out of the cone. No direct hits there. Sorry.