Cool Projects Maui

 Les Hewitt

Yesterday was the culmination of several months of intense work by Maui marketing consultant Kirk Heiner.   Several hundred gathered at the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa to hear Les Hewitt, author of The Power of Focus and for Heiner to release his first book, Three Great Secrets and give a talk "Show Me The Money".  Big Mahalo to the Grand Wailea which donated much for this event to happen.  Also to the Bank of Hawaii, and Maui County and over thirty-two individuals and organizations who contributed to get the word out and make this happen.

Hewitt gave a 4-hour explanation on his "Power of Focus" fundamentals:  goals, priorities, relationships, and habits–with the key matra being "Focus and Follow through".

Heiner had a much shorter time to give a teaser on his "Three Great Secrets" and did not give them all away, but shared as central King Solomon’s saying, "Wisdom is to know and to do what is right", or to study and practice "pono" as we say here in Hawaii.  Heiner also made a case for balancing "right brain" or the creative side, with "left brain" or the analytical side–but emphasized his agreement with Daniel Pink’s belief that it is the "right brain" that is going to dominate in the future.  Heiner is also very interested in "the power of threes".    I look forward to reading Kirk’s book.

This is all good stuff and is needed on Maui, especially the focus and follow-through disciplines, but also the need to remember the idea of pono in all our actions–it is after all the centerpiece of our state moto:  "Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono" which means "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness".   "Pono" which is most frequently translated as "righteousness" can also be translated as "balance" or "harmony".  The "life of the land", which we are striving to perpetuate, is a subject for further focus.   I think this includes both the environment…and the people who come from, are nurtured by, and eventually return to the land

I did my own little creative exercise with this material, integrating my own concept of the management "trinity": marketing, finance, operations.  This should be seen, like most things, as a work-in-progress:

Jim Langford, principal of Tribe Game Studios, presents at the Maui Venture Forum held on March 4th, 2009.

See Jim’s web site:  http://tribegamestudios.com

I wrote my own viewpoint piece on Act 221 in the Maui News back on February 8th.

Maui entrepreneur, author, and systems designer Lynn Rasmussen presents her ICANOLOGY project at the Maui Venture Forum on March 18, 2008 at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.

ICANOLOGY is a strategy for recognizing, and encouraging the learning that takes place outside of formal educational settings.  It is a strategy that integrated community organizing and Web 2.0 tools with a focus on skills needed for a broad range of activities for both specific and broad needs.  

Besides watching the video here, you can go to Lynn’s website:  http://lynnsbigidea.com.  

Participating in the forum long distance (and in this case off camera) were John Bower (http://uboost.com) in Honolulu and Matt Nathan from CoAchieve in Denver, CO.

Bob King of Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. presents plans for Big Island Biodiesel LLC and presents his company’s history, plans and philosophy for community based energy production.  

Pacific Biodiesl, Inc. is a 13-year old company that is a pioneer in building community-based biodiesel refineries and support systems having built over ten facilities in Hawaii, Oregon, Virginia, Maryland, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Japan.  

The company has received much recognition locally and globally including the United Nation’s Blue Sky Award in 2005 as one of the Top Ten Global Renewable Energy Investment Scenarios.    This year Pacific Biodiesel, Inc received the Hawaii Governor’s first ever Innovation Awards and was selected by the Hawaii Venture Capital Association as the Green Tech Entrepreneur of the Year. 

See their website: http://biodiesel.com.    Also listen to my 2005 podcast interview with Bob and Kelly King.

Here is the video of my introduction and Bob King’s presentation at the Maui Enterprise Forum held on November 18, 2008 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
 

Here is the panel discussion of Big Island Biodiesel LLC:

Mahalos to Keith Ranney (Keith Ranney Solutions) and Till Paris (DreamTeamMedia.com and AllHawaiiVideo.com)for the video recording and hosting respectively.

What if you could grow the materials to build your home on the plot of land to be used for the home, and you could do this in four years?   What if this material sequestered carbon from the atmosphere while it was growing and also cost significantly less than traditional building materials?    What if this material was termite proof, hurricane and earthquake resistant?   What if this building material was also beautiful?  

This is a presentation made at the Maui Enterprise Forum on November 18, 2008 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.   Bamboo Technologies, Inc. is a pioneer in building high end bamboo homes for the U.S. market.   With a ten year track record developing the required certifications and building over 150 homes in Hawaii from bamboo grown in Viet Nam, the company is preparing to grow by using Hawaii grown bamboo and creating more affordable options.

Bamboo Technologies Inc. web site is http://bambootechnologies.com 

David Sands and the Bamboo Technologies Inc. team:

And this is the discussion with panelists and audience:
 

Big Mahalos to Keith Ranney of Keith Ranney Solutions and Till Paris of Dream Team Productions for their quality work creating and hosting the video respectively.

Almost eighty people participated at the return of the Maui Enterprise Forum on November 18th at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center.    We have video of all of the presenters and the panel discussions. (see the Maui Enterprise Forum) category here at CoolProjectsMaui.com.   We also have audio and will post that separately if there is interest (for those of you who use your driving/commute time to listen).   We are planning a next event for February and are looking for potential presenters.  Send me an email at dbfisher AT hawaii.edu.

Here is a link to the blog entry with the listing of presenters and panelists.

Here is a video of yours truly doing an introduction explaining the basic format and history.    Again special Mahalos to Keith Ranney Solutions and Till Paris for the video production and hosting respectively.

This is the presentation made by Joe Breman at the Maui Enterprise Forum held at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center on November 18th. For more information on International Underwater Explorations LLC go to http://oceanglobe.org.

Mahalos to Keith Ranney Solutions for the video and to Till Paris of Dream Team Productions for video serving. 

What follows is the panel discussion of Joe’s presentation, with Bill Spencer of Hawaii Oceanic Technologies leading off (participating via Skype video) followed by Gil Agaran, Howard Mendelsohn, and Kyle Yamashita

Maui Enterprise Forum

Returns Tuesday, November 18th.


In recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Maui Center of the Hawaii SBDC Network presents the return of The Maui Enterprise Forum on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Maui Arts & Cultural Center, Kahului, Maui.

Investors, entrepreneurs, professional service providers, and others interested in Maui’s Future are invited.   The “enterprise forum” format provides an in-depth look at the issues involved in raising private investment for a growth venture.  None of the companies will be making offerings at the event.   Featured companies (all from Maui) include:

Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. –  which recently received Governor Lingle’s Innovation Award and is currently raising investment for a Big Island Biodiesel research facility and plant.
 
Bamboo Technologies, LLC – has built over 100 homes in Hawaii over the last ten years with a factory in Viet Nam using a U.S. certified bamboo and process.  Expansion plans include using bamboo grown in Hawaii and making construction more affordable and sustainable using bamboo which only takes five years to grow.

International Underwater Exploration LLC. – has a patented geographic information system that works with Google Earth to focus on oceans.   Applications include sighting underwater cables, wave energy projects, protecting reefs, oil exploration, and ocean navigation.

Panelists that will lead off the discussion of these companies after they present include:

Gil Keith-Agaran -  Maui attorney, president of the Maui Open Space Trust and former Director of the State Dept. of Land & Natural Resources.

Alec McBarnett - CEO and owner of the Maui Oil Company, Maui’s Chevron distributor and the first in the U.S. to have a biodiesel pump.

Bill Spencer - President of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association, and CEO of Hawaii Oceanic Technologies, Inc.

Howard S. Mendelsohn - Maui based Interim CFO and business strategy consultant  Background as a CFO and vp bus strategy for public and private companies in technology and service sectors.

Rob Robinson - Professor of Entrepreneurship at UH Manoa, founder of the Hawaii Angels, and director of the Kolohala Fund.

Rep. Kyle Yamashita - Representing Upcountry Maui - member State House committees on Finance; Energy & Environmental Protection; Housing: and Land, Water, and Ocean Resources.

Rep. Angus McKelvey - Representing West Maui - chairman of the Economic Development, Busness & Military Affaires Commitee; and member of the Judiciary; Tourism, Culture & International Affairs; Agriculture; and Consumer Protection & Commerce committees.


We are organizing structured networking to introduce non-featured entrepreneurs to potential investors, service providers, etc.   Robinson will talk about his Kolohala Fund to qualified investors at the end of the event.

To register contact the Maui Center of the Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network at 808-875-2402 or go to http://CoolProjectsMaui.com and then to the Event Registration link on the left side of the page.   The cost is $30 including lunch.

For more information contact David Fisher or Pat Diaz at 808-875-2402

REGISTER BY MONDAY 11/17 NOON - so we can get a head count - http://hsbdcn.ecenterdirect.com/conferencelist.asp?center_id=2

 

E-mail Received by David Fisher 10/10/08 from Joseph Coleman’s SBA Lender Report:

Obama Proposes Radical Makeover of SBA

    * Temporarily Eliminates Borrower Fees
    * Temporarily Eliminates Lender Fees
    *  Increase Guaranty Percentages
    * "These steps will give lenders new incentives to lend and help
        unlock credit for small firms"

Read Full Coverage including links to Obama’s Small Business Rescue Plan, speech transcript and video excerpt at
http://colemanpublishing.com/7aLending/Home/sbalenderdaily/101308.htm

Excerpt from Obama Speech:

Expanding Small Business Administration Guarantees to Encourage Private Lending to Small Businesses: Obama is calling for expanding the SBA’s key loan guarantee programs – 7(a) and 504 – by temporarily eliminating fees for borrowers and lenders and increasing the guarantee rate on private loans. These steps will give lenders new incentives to lend and help unlock credit for small firms. It will send a clear signal that the government is standing with small businesses and ensuring sources of loans.

A Nationwide Emergency Lending Facility for Small Businesses: Just as we did in the wake of 9/11, when businesses all around the country were facing economic injury, Barack Obama is calling for the Small Business Administration to directly lend to small businesses that cannot access other sources of capital. The facility will be run through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Disaster Loan Program, which is designed to offer affordable, fixed- rate loans to small firms to meet operating expenses, undertake needed short-term investments, or to refinance debt. Loans should be available on an expedited basis, so that firms can access the credit needed to meet their operating expenses immediately.

Reinvigorate the Small Business Administration: The SBA can and should be an effective tool for the vitality and growth of our small businesses and, more broadly, our economy. The Bush administration has decimated the budget of the SBA, and Republican administrations have been trying to dismantle it since the 1980s. Since 2001, the SBA’s budget has been cut more deeply than any other federal agency. Barack Obama pledges to restore the SBA’s budget, strengthen its institutional capacity, and ensure that the small business community plays a vital role in government policymaking.


DF Notes:  My Hawaii banker contacts are NOT REPORTING PROBLEMS to me regarding being able to lend.    The Community Express Program has also been extended although they are now requiring a business plan.

Hawaii’s Innovation Investment Tax Credits – While the Governor in August ordered a suspension of issuing DOT investor comfort letters, Act 221 does NOT require obtaining a comfort ruling.   The Tax Dept. has released the second of its reports again showing that Act 221 has been successful at generating over $1.2 billion of investment in innovation companies costing only $295.6 million in tax credits.  For more information go to http://extendAct221.org.

You are encouraged to contact the Hawaii SBDC Network to discuss your business plans, understand financing options, stimulating sales, etc.    Call 875-2402, e-mail dbfisher@hawaii.edu, pat.diaz@hawaii-sbdc.org and/or go to http://MauiEnterpriseForum.net.

Aloha – David Fisher, Maui Center Director, Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network