Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 4, 1 April 2016 — Course helps entrepreneurs get down to business [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Course helps entrepreneurs get down to business

ByTreenaShapiro The prospect of starting a business ean be daunting, but an eight-week entrepreneurship training course from Hi'ilei Aloha helps take out some of the guesswork. Hi'ilei Aloha recently held its 30th graduation ceremony in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs boardroom at Nā Lama Kukui, a potluck affair that featured business pitches in front of family, friends and potential funders.

"Wow, I almost feel as if I'm giving a presentation on the show 'Shark Tank,"' said Brian

Miyashiro, referring to a reality show where entrepreneurs vie for investments in their businesses or products - boiled peanuts, in Miyashiro's case. But Hi'ilei Aloha's class is more supportive and less eompetitive than the reality show, helping students craft business plans, figure out the right pricing for their products and services, manage finances and market themselves. By the end of eight weeks, students are able to present their business model, along with strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Successful completion means a full refund of the $300 registration fee, an incentive to give that hnal presentation. Not everyone was looking for funding. As one participant

noted, the course helped her realize there was a difference between a hobby and a business, and she decided to keep her luxury bath scrubs a hobby for the time being. Neal Manutai, who has already started building websites for his friends' businesses, said he wasn't ready to seek funding yet because of the challenges of starting a website development business in an oversaturated market. "That's probably why we eome to OHA, to get a leg up," he said. OHA's Mālama Loan and Hua Kanu Business Loan programs ean help Native Hawaiians gain access to the capital and credit they need to start and grow their businesses. Those loans could help some of the graduates who were

hoping to be able to get $15,000 to $50,000 in financing for things like new equipment and vans for an existing carpet cleaning business or a ribbon printer to create more professional looking flower arrangements. This cohort included 14 Native Hawaiians, the most of any session to date, and a few of the ideas made this evident, such as a proposal to create animated movies featuring Hawaiian heroes or another that would use indigenous heahh data to advocate for better health care. Lady Garrett, aide to OHA Trustee Lei Ahu

Isa, concluded at the end of the course that she wasn't quite ready to trade her day job for self-

employment, but hasn't ruled out the possibility in the future. "Participation in the entrepreneurship class taught by Julie Percell herself has heightened my sense of urgency to get my finances in order so I ean work toward my dream of doing something I love while earning a livable wage to provide for my family," Garrett said. "I'm armed with significant resources I never knew existed and I wish other people took advantage of what this class ean offer." For more information or to register for an upcoming entrepreneurship training course, visit www.hiilei.org, eall 596-8990 ext. 1013oremailjenniferc@hiilei.org. ■

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Students in Hi'ilei Aloha's 30th Entrepreneurship Training Class graduated on Feb. 25. - Photo: īreena Skpiro