Though these are tough times, some small
Honolulu businesses - both old and new - are forging ahead. Tough
times do not mean giving up, they say, but buckling down, cutting
costs, devising new strategies and still focusing on how to improve
the quality of services and products they provide.
They have goals, visions and persistence.
And they are not afraid of the challenges that
lie ahead next year, as the cost of doing business continues to rise
and consumer confidence continues to erode in the face of an
economic recession.
Local economists have predicted the horizon
won't get any better until at least 2010, at best. Unemployment
continues to climb as the year comes to a close, as well as job cuts
and layoffs.
Visitor numbers plunged in November, resulting
in the state's worst 11-month drop since 2001, and may even surpass
the year of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
But at least three small businesses, profiled
here in the Star-Bulletin, are planning to ride out the storm, with
a spirit of toughness and perseverance.
Fu, 28 and a Harvard economics
graduate, has been hooked on surfing since she
herself took her first lesson in Hawaii six years
ago. Now she's focused on sharing that passion.
She officially started the business in April
2005 and says today that it is still a growing company.
"It all depends on how you see it," she said of
the economy. "We're always grateful for anybody that calls, whether
it's 10 or 20 people."
In this down economy, Girls Who Surf is
narrowing in on target markets, including kamaaina, sports groups,
the military, families, and surfers seeking more than a one-time
lesson.
Girls Who Surf is also expanding its offerings
to include bundled lessons - whether it be a five-lesson or
10-lesson program, Also, there will be a weekly yearlong program for
surfers, much as you would take piano or violin lessons to achieve
certain goals.
Also, the company will begin marketing lessons
for boys, who always have been welcome, by launching a "surfer boys"
brand. Girls Who Surf currently has a staff of five instructors,
both male and female.
The Honolulu-based company recently had to make
some adjustments due to slower times, but Fu says her focus is still
on providing a good service.
"There are changes going on in the nation
and world, and they do affect us," she said. "But we're still
committed to providing the best in terms of quality and service
- in good times and bad - and hopefully it comes through."
She said the worst part is the
unpredictability.
"I don't know if (the number of) customers
(is) going to go from 5 to 21/2 or to 1 or 3," she said. "We
just take it one step at a time."
The company tries to offer competitive
prices, and will not be increasing them next year, even with
tough times. Visitors pay $90 for a two-hour lesson, Kamaaina
pay $75. Every month, there also are special kamaaina clinics
for just $60.
The lessons are at locations around Oahu,
including Ala Moana Beach Park and Kalaeloa. Girls Who Surf also
sponsors contests.
For those gearing up for a competition,
weekly lessons can be taken for $240 a month for a minimum of
two-and-a-half months.
"We want to help them achieve a level where
they would be comfortable competing in a surf contest," she
said. "Competing in a surf contest is a big anxiety for a lot of
people, like going on stage with your violin to perform for the
first time."
Marketing is important, according to Fu,
but in a down economy, the company has to be careful to only
spend dollars that yield returns. The Web site, www.
girlswhosurf.com, has brought in some business, and the logo is
catchy.
Fu has also found it helpful to have
partnerships with Expedia, and JTB,
which she plans to activate next year. But the company doesn't
have as big of a budget for marketing as larger businesses, so
it also relies extensively on community marketing.
That means networking at professional
events, working with the community, and generating word-of-mouth
referrals.
Relationships are key, she said. Slower
times mean there's more time to cultivate those relationships.
Fu's goal is to provide a good enough
service that people start recommending Girls Who Surf, much as
they would Leonard's malassadas or
Matsumoto's shave ice.
Fu says she's not tracking monthly visitor
statistics to the tee because she has no control over them.
Instead, she's focused on making improvements.
The bright spot?
"I have a great staff and community that
supports us," she said.
Cookie
entrepreneur Wally Amos at his Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center
location. “First of all, I don’t think about tough times. What I
focus on is ways I can grow my business. The reality is it
doesn’t matter what the times are — you still have to focus on
ways to run your business efficiently.”
http://www.chipandcookie.com./
Wally Amos * Chip & Cookie
Ask cookie entrepreneur Wally Amos, 72, about the economy and
he'll tell you he's not dwelling on it.
"First of all, I don't think
about tough times," said Amos. "What I focus on is
ways I can grow my business. The reality is it
doesn't matter what the times are - you still have
to focus on ways to run your business efficiently,
look for new areas of income and new ways to promote
it."
Amos, who owns the Chip & Cookie
shop in Kailua and in September just opened a second one at the
Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki, says he still plans to
persevere during tough times.
The Waikiki shop is in a tough spot, since
it is on the second floor behind the Apple store stockroom, and
hidden from view for those just walking by the center on
Kalakaua Avenue.
Even though some people know he's at the
center, they may get lost trying to find the store.
But he's not sitting back.
"I'm not just sitting on the second floor
waiting for customers to come up," said Amos. "I'm personally
going to give samples to everyone in Waikiki. I'm on the street,
greeting visitors, thinking of ways to remind people I'm famous
Amos."
Even though visitor numbers are down, Amos
says he's not giving up his Waikiki location, which he's
invested significant dollars into building out.
"I'm still excited because on a bad day in
Waikiki, we still have access to more traffic than a good day in
Kailua," he said. "I am still very happy to be in Waikiki, and
under no circumstances will I give up. I am meant to succeed in
Waikiki."
There's a significant population of
residents who live in Waikiki, he said, which he will target,
including those that work there. Also, Waikiki is closer for
some folks to drive to than Kailua - and he still gets some
visitors who make a special trip because they remember his
handmade cookies from 25 years ago.
"During tough times, you have to be more
aggressive," he said.
Amos is doing more advertising and
marketing to let people know he's in Waikiki - he's targeting
the local, Japanese and mainland markets. He's buying time on
hotel TV channels.
Among some new ventures he's been able to
secure - selling his bite-sized cookies at the Navy Exchange, on
the Hawaii Superferry and on all mainland
flights of Hawaiian Airlines.
He's added T-shirts, Chip & Cookie dolls
and books, and aloha shirts designed by Maui-based Jams
to his product line.
He is also watching payroll, rent and
cookie dough, but he really has no control over electricity
costs to run the oven because those are fixed costs. He will not
alter his cookie dough, which he considers the key to his
products' success.
Amos, after all, is a business veteran.
He's been through several down cycles in the economy, he's
been through bankruptcy and lost two businesses, including
his Famous Amos brand.
But it hasn't stopped him.
"If you have to close, you have to
close," he said. "I've closed stores before, and you have to
do what you have to do but your life isn't over. Then I'll
wait, and open another one or do something else."
Business owners have no control over
the global crisis or world events, he said. The only aspect
they have control over is their attitudes.
Amos says he has some hope that
president-elect Barack Obama and his team will bring a
renewed spirit to the nation. He said he also has faith in
Americans, who have proven themselves resilient and
resourceful.
He is also proud of his Read It Loud!
Foundation, which he says has signed a partnership with the
U.S. Library of Congress and U.S. Postal Foundation.
Amos continues to read aloud to kids at
the Kailua store every Saturday afternoon, and plans to do
so as well in Waikiki.
"The single most important thing is to
be positive regardless," he said. "It's your attitude and
belief system that will help get you through everything,
including these tough times."
Phyllis Moore-Shelby is a former flight attendant and now
owns Shelby’s Sweets which opened in October. “It’s
something I always loved to do. I was always the designated
dessert provider. But I never set out to be a bake shop
owner.”
www.shelbyssweetshawaii.com
Phyllis Moore-Shelby * Shelby's sweets
Phyllis Moore-Shelby, owner of
Shelby's Sweets
bake shop, left her longtime career as a flight
attendant because of 9/11.
Though she loved her first
career, she realizes now it was a blessing.
If was only after she stopped flying
that she realized her hobby for baking could become a
business. She went on to culinary school and found a new
career without knowing how the airline industry would later
be battered by high fuel prices.
Since its founding in 2003, Shelby's
Sweets has grown from being just a Web-based business to an
established bake shop, which just opened in October at 1130
N. Nimitz Highway, Suite A-150.
"It's something I always loved to do,"
she said. "I was always the designated dessert provider. But
I never set out to be a bake shop owner."
In the beginning, Shelby's Sweets were
ordered mostly online. She sold her baked goods at various
fairs, Chinatown's First Friday and by mail order from www.
shelbyssweetshawaii.com.
Her specialties include family recipes
for sweet potato, chocolate pumpkin and pecan pies
(Moore-Shelby is originally from Houston), as well as
lemon-blueberry scones, red-velvet cupcakes, lemon lilikoi
cake, several kinds of cookies, and quick breads.
She describes her sweets as "made
with southern charm and Hawaiian flair."
But customers kept asking where
they could find her bake shop, and that's what prompted
Moore-Shelby to finally open one on Nimitz.
Since it does not have a built-in
kitchen, Moore-Shelby uses the Pacific Gateway Center's
"kitchen incubator" in Kalihi and transports the baked
goods to her shop.
The idea is to offer fresh-baked
goods in small tasting sizes for customers, who can also
get a cup of tea and coffee with the sweets.
In January, she plans to start
serving high tea - finger sandwiches, along with sweets,
coffee and tea for parties of up to 15.
During tough times, Moore-Shelby's
fully aware that people may forgo sweets because they
are considered a luxury - not a necessity.
"Everyone's suffering," she said.
"Everyone's watching their budget and these are gourmet
items."
Her goods are baked fresh and made
to order, which has on the other hand also resulted in
cost savings because she doesn't waste ingredients on
some 20 pies that are still sitting on the shelf.
But she will continue to offer
high-quality baked goods, and try to reach out to people
who will understand that paying for one from her bakery
will be worth it.
Moore-Shelby is marketing, but
carefully.
She is targeting only major
holidays as occasions to run her ads. She is also
targeting bridal fairs for her wedding cakes.
Moore-Shelby, 45, was able to
launch the business with an extended line of credit,
which she obtained just in time before the economy
headed south, along with a loan from the U.S. Small
Business Administration.
She's aware of the statistics of
how few businesses actually make it. But personally,
she's also thrilled.
"Economic times are really hard,
but I am fulfilling a dream," she said. "As hard as it
may get, I'm still getting to do something that I love
to do."
And she's not afraid to put in the
hours.
The shop is open Monday through
Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
Moore-Shelby only has one part-time employee as help.
She's up at 6 a.m. every day, and after
closing up the shop, spends several more hours baking in the
incubator kitchen. Her philosophy is that: "Food is not just
to satisfy the stomach. It satisfies the soul."
The greatest reward, she said, is to
see a customer's face light up after tasting one of her
creations.
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