Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 5, 1 May 2011 — Census shows growth in businesses owned by Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders [ARTICLE]

Census shows growth in businesses owned by Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders

By Mary Aliee Milham \ative Hawaiian- and other Pacific Islander-owned businesses (NHOPI) made impressive leaps since they were last surveyed in 2002, but they still have a long way to go to achieve an equal footing with nonminority-owned firms in the U.S. Those were some of the conclusions drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Survey of Business Owners. Results of the eeonomie survey, conducted every five years, were released April 5. NHOPI finns, defined as at least 51 percent Native Hawaiian- or Pacific Islander-owned, grew at nearly twice the national rate - 3 1 percent versus 18 percent - and outpaced nonminorityowned businesses in the U.S. in significant ways: in job creation, whieh grew at a rate of 32 percent, as opposed to 1 percent for nonminority-owned businesses, as well as gross receipts, whieh grew by 52 percent versus 21 percent for nonminorityowned businesses. "The entrepreneurial spirit within our Native Hawaiian community, and our Pacific Island cousins is growing," said Dirk Soma, President of the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce. "Hawaiians mean business. Pacific Islanders mean business." Notwithstanding the global recession that followed the 2007 survey, Hawai'i's business outlook, according to Soma, remains bright, particularly among self-employed NHOPIs, whose ranks increased by 34 percent to total 33,785. "We do see, in our membership, growth from businesses that have emerged in the last three or four years," said Soma. The survey tallied 37,957 Native Hawaiianand Pacific Islander-owned firms in 2007 with revenues of $6.5 billion, a 52 percent increase in the number of firms since 2002 versus a 33 percent increase for all U.S. firms. NHOPI firms earning more than $1 million, or 2 percent of all NHOPI finns, generated 70 percent of gross receipts, earning $4.6 billion, and employed nearly 27,000, or 69 percent, of NHOPI finn workers. Among other survey highlights were a 17 percent increase in the average payroll per employee, up to $33,000 from $28,000, and a 52 percent increase in sales and receipts to $6.5 million from $4.3 million. Hawai'i led the nation in the number of NHOPI firms, with 11,383 - or a 36 percent increase -

since 2002. NHOPI firms accounted for 9 percent of all firms in Hawai'i. California, with 9,255 NHOPI finns, a 31 percent increase since 2002, was second. Despite their many gains, NHOPI businesses are still playing catch-up in significant ways, according to the Minority Business Development Agency, especially in terms of "entrepreneurial parity." That tenn refers to a level of representation among the total number of U.S. firms equal to the level of the adult population of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in the total U.S. adult population. Had this been achieved, there would have been more than twice as many NHOPI firms in 2007, about 83,000, generating $34.6 billion (instead of $6.5 billion) and an additional 179,000 jobs (instead of 38,750). Although average gross receipts for NHOPI firms increased by 16 percent in 2007, for a total of $171,000, the number pales beside that of nonminority-owned businesses, whose average gross receipts totaled $490,000. NHOPI firms' average payroll of $33,000, despite its 17 percent growth, also lagged behind the average payroll per employee in nonminorityowned businesses of $35,000. "The Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander business community continues to grow in number at a fast rate, yet their true eeonomie

potential is still unrealized," said Alejandra Castillo, Minority Business Development Agency Deputy Director. Challenges facing Native Hawaiian businesses include Hawai'i's reliance on offshore goods and supplies, estimated at 90 percent, and the state's limited land base. "We have to seek ways to become sustainable with our own lands and our own resources," said Soma. Alternative and green energy production, heahh care, long-term care, heahh and wellbeing, and diversified agriculture are areas of emerging growth for Native Hawaiians, Soma said, not just in Hawai'i but on the continent, as well as in the South Pacific and Asia. He said perpetuating Native Hawaiians cultural values in everyday business practices, upholding long-term relationships versus short-term gains, is a model that lends itself to sustainability. "We realize that we must mālama, or care for, the land, the resources, the people that make up our community, and we really invest heavily in that," said Soma. "It's not all about traditional corporate gains." ■ Mary Aliee Kaiulani Milham, a PortIand, Oregon-based freelance journalist, is a former newspaper reporter and columnist from California's Central Coast.

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