The Wall Street Journal blog WSJ.COMran an article recently titled So You Want To Be A Millionaire in Three Years. That post was based on comments posted on a message board inviting answers to the question on “how to become a Millionaire in three years” posted by a user. Many of the answers were sarcastic and not too helpful, but one quite detailed answer, posted by an entrepreneur stirred a lot of attention. The WSJ.com article listed a few of the tips from that entrepreneur. I thought the tips were well thought-out and inspiring. Below is the initial list (apparently from a contributor called “jasonlbaptiste”). Some additional tips were added as the discussion ensued. The entire message board discussion is found here: message board at Y Combinator. .

Continue reading ‘On Becoming A Millionaire’

This is not a rant. I try to stay away from the negative. But what is going on outside in my office parking lot is difficult to ignore. See these cars? They are owned by the State of Hawaii, and they have been sitting in our lot for over two years now. They run (or they did when they were left to rot). Finally, the landlord is requiring removal. But, the State’s rep tells me that they will not sell these cars, auction them, sell them for scrap, or even donate them to people in need of transportation. Why? Because the red tape to have the State authorize any of these responsible dispositions of its autos is too great. It is easier to have them towed to the dump and smashed and shredded. And that is where they are going. No benefit to anyone. Perfectly good transportation. No money to the State. Money will be paid out by the State to tow these vehicles and have them destroyed.

Continue reading ‘You’re Doing It Wrong!’

Occasionally a client comes to me for assistance in transitioning their business from a sole proprietorship to a corporation or limited liability company. Once the entity is formed and assets are transferred, etc., the conversation with the client will go something like this:

Continue reading ‘Don’t Blow Your Corporation or LLC Protection!’

I googled “Incorporate in Nevada” and one of the representative sites that came up invited me to incorporate in Nevada for three reasons: 1) Protection from personal liability for business debts; 2) Perpetual existence of the corporation; and 3) No limit on the number and citizenship of C-Corporation shareholders. This is so bogus, as any corporation formed in any state provides those three benefits. It is obvious this particular company was playing on the ignorance of the typical do-it-yourselfer by suggesting that there is something magical about Nevada (or Delaware, or Wyoming) as the state of formation of your entity. The truth is that in almost every situation, a company will do just fine by incorporating or organizing as an LLC in the state where its business will be located.

Continue reading ‘Keep It Aloha Hawaii When Incorporating’

I wrote about Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc.‘s application to farm Ahi back in June of this year. The EIS was approved and it appears Hawaii (specifically, the Kona-Kohala coast of the Big Island) will be the first commercial tuna (Ahi (bigeye)) in the U.S.A. Here’s the story in the Honolulu Advertiser.

An Orange Tree frozen yogurt franchise opened recently in Kailua-Kona. I read about the Red Mango yogurt shops opening in various locations on Oahu. While the novelty effect of our new Orange Tree will keep it doing well for awhile, I wonder how long it will last. This is not a new fad. Several years ago I handled the sale of a couple of TCBY yogurt franchises, both of which did well for a few years, and now are no longer in business. I wonder what TCBY is doing to compete with these new trendy franchises. Maybe some major re-branding is in order. Time will tell if this resurgence in frozen yogurt is merely another cyclical fad. Actually, my mouth is now watering and I may head over to the Orange Tree for some strawberry cheesecake and white chocolate yogart swirl, with gummys on top.

I am reading a story from socalTech.com News about a new startup called Kijubi. One of the things that interests me is the idea that it will be an internet alternative, if not a replacement for, all those tourist activities brochures we see here in Hawaii. Hard name to remember, though. Kijubi.com doesn’t lend itself to easy recall typical of travel related sites, such as kayak.com, or orbitz.com. For now, travel information is available for California, Nevada, and Florida. From the buzz it seems Hawaii is in the works. I like that one can search according to general categories. For instance, I can search in Florida “By Water” and then “Boat Charters” and several options are presented. Or, in California I can search under “By Type” and then “Competition” where I can find a real life clue/scavenger hunt to participate in (er…that is if I was into that kind of thing).

Over at the Hawaii Blog Ryan Kawailani Ozawa blogs about a new online small business called Hawaii School Guide that provides a super-listing of all Hawaii schools, public and private. The website is in beta, and appears to be a nice, crisp, clean resource for people to search information on schools in Hawaii. There is even a separate tab for military families. What I find interesting about this venture is that it was started with seed funds from a private grant from the Harold Castle Foundation, and a governmental grant from the Joint Venture Education Forum — yet Hawaii School Guide’s business model is for-profit. Now when clients contact me and ask me if there are grant funds available to startup a business, I can say that in some circumstances, and for some ventures that meet an important public need such as that met by the Hawaii School Guide, the answer is Yes.