Highlighting Small Business

Wednesday - July 22, 2009
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I was at the Honolulu Police Headquarters covering a press conference after the shooting of seven Xerox employees by Byron Uesugi for eNewsHawaii.com when MidWeek editor Don Chapman called me on my cell phone, asking if I’d be willing do a feature article on a gun group in light of the Xerox shooting. Oh, yes, I’d love to write for MidWeek!

That was November 1999. A handful of freelance articles later and in April 2000 I accepted a full-time job with MidWeek. I went from the minute-by-minute excitement of working full time with the Rick Hamada Show on KHVH Radio 830 AM, where I’d been since 1997, to the nuances of working in print full time. MidWeek kindly allowed me to continue to work with Clear Channel Radio Hawaii on weekends, producing shows and doing news updates.

In 2003 I took over writing the Entrepreneurs column on small niche businesses, previously handled by former television reporter Ann Botticelli.

Thanks to everyone who helps make this column possible.

There’s so many things I love about writing this column. My favorite part is learning the back story of how a small business is started. My maternal grandfather was an entrepreneur who owned a restaurant and a nightclub in Brooklyn, N.Y., where I grew up, so I have a deep admiration for business owners and the steps they take to make their business succeed. I like seeing entrepreneurs in the community, at trade shows, in their shops and promoting their businesses. Thanks to all the entrepreneurs who opened up to share your story with me.

Whether the person has been in business for several months, a few years or decades, I find each person’s story of courage to be inspiring.

One of the owners I interviewed said it best: If the business is something you are passionate about, you’ll continue with it, no matter how many rejections you get.