One of the not-so-secret secrets in business is that companies do not treat all customers the same. This should not be shocking: retailers have “preferred customer” programs; the TSA has a PreCheck program that allows some to skip the long lines; our local big box hardware stores have preferred parking for some customers. Our favorite...Read More

Marketing is the activity of promoting and, hopefully, selling products. It is rare that a business can become sustainable without significant marketing efforts. One website has identified 52 types of marketing, giving a great overview of the possibilities for businesses. In our experience, a small business might focus on a handful of these, and a...Read More

A cognitive bias is a deficiency, an error in the way we process information. We’re all guilty, at times, of letting our cognitive (thinking) biases cloud rational decision making. Good business decision making will sometimes come from “the gut” unexplained–at least to some–ways of reaching decisions. That said, rational decision making based on good data...Read More

We’ve heard it for years: retail is brutal. Competition with big box stores and online channels make it very hard for a locally-owned retail store to survive. This is certainly true to some extent; the traditional models of retails are quickly failing everywhere, but that’s the ‘glass is half empty” perspective. Some retail shops in...Read More

The first day of the work year is a good time to think about some ways to make 2019 better than 2018. Not that last year was bad at all: it was quite good in all respects, but being an entrepreneur I have to believe that 2019 will be even better! Here are five things...Read More

This year was like most others in Kona: we lost some businesses and we gained some new businesses. We typically see a churn of 10-15% of the businesses in our 2,000+ businesses database a year, and this year was no different. Why are so many businesses lost each year? Well, we define a business as...Read More

Few clients ever regret signage. It’s one of those no-brainer ways to draw attention to your business. Being visible is always a good thing for businesses. The Kona Sports Center is a new business in Kona. It has bicycle rentals, camping and hiking gear, beach gear, running shoes and a bunch of other great things...Read More

If you are like most small business owners in Hawaii, you follow what’s happening in Washington, D.C., but feel somewhat removed from it. It is, after all, “over there”, and we are as far away from over there as possible. That said, the recent craziness in our nation’s capital does affect us. The ebb and...Read More

Small business owners, like everyone else, often find themselves pondering what role they play in their community. They, after all, are tied to a physical location (unless they are e-commerce only business) and must rely on others for labor, supplies and a sense of community. One of my favorite poems is by John Donne. In...Read More

Hand-painted signs can be the most expensive signs to have made. Each color is a separate cost, and the time it takes to cut and prepare the surface can be substantial. You also need to plan for at least two coats of paint to survive in the harsh Kona sun, UV rays and wind. One of...Read More