We all know this is a difficult time for many businesses. Some have seen their income drop precipitously, while others have seen more modest declines. The spirit of the business community is also quite dismal, with many that I know of questioning whether they want to continue into the future. Despite some signs of hope,...Read More

In the beginning When Kona Impact began in 2006, we would take on almost any project (for which we were capable) for almost any client. I think most businesses start like this. Soon, though, we learned that all customers were not equal. Most were easy to work with, paid on time, and would, on the...Read More

Nearly every small business owner I know has a “Yelp experience”, which is often negative.  Yelp is an online directory and review site for local businesses. It has been around years. Their business model is selling online advertising to businesses on their directory site. These ads appear at the top of the page, so if...Read More

Now, more than ever might be the time to develop a small business in Hawaii. There is plenty of office, industrial and commercial space with more becoming available soon. We’ve all be struggling through the pandemic, and, perhaps some have come up with some good ideas. I have no interest in pursuing these ideas myself,...Read More

It’s now August 2020, and we’re in the midst of the 2020 COVID epidemic. Travel to and within Hawaii is restricted due to a mandatory 14-day quarantine, which means travel and tourism are basically shut down. This, of course, has decimated our economy and created what most estimate to be a 20% unemployment rate in...Read More

Some businesses go through employees quickly, looking at them as workers filling a role. If the roles are properly-defined and not too challenging to manage, employees can be replaced with little loss in production or efficiency. Fast food restaurants certainly fit this model, but for most businesses, high training costs and specialized skills make employee...Read More

I like to think of business ethics as what guides how you behave when no one is watching. It’s your moral code. Following a strong ethical code in business is what allows me to sleep well at night and go to the grocery store and not be worried about meeting someone I have wronged. It’s...Read More

Imagine a year from now, the late summer of 2021. By most indications, we’ll have the COVID epidemic’s health issues–infection and treatment–under control. A vaccine will be widely available, and very few people will be dying from the virus. For years, the economic effects will be with us, but let’s imagine that the health issues...Read More

One of the biggest missed opportunities most businesses have is not organizing and using the hundreds, if not thousands, of contacts they already have. That is, businesses that use their contact lists effectively have, in our experience, far greater success than those who don’t. This even more important in the time of the COVID pandemic....Read More

Doing everything yourself is almost always more expensive in the short and long term than hiring professionals. A good rule of thumb is only to learn new skills that are important to your business and ones that do repeatedly. Learning how to make your own website is a waste of time, as you’ll spend hours...Read More