Though we’re primarily a digital marketing company, we love doing direct mail campaigns. As a company with a local focus and one with mostly a business-to-business model, we have found that reaching out directly to businesses in the mail has very high returns on investment. There are three ways to do direct mail: 1) use...Read More

The Thirty Meter Telescope is probably the most contentious project in Hawaii. Both sides have made their points, and there is probably not a lot that is going to persuade someone to change sides. As a parent, long-term resident, and business owner, I see the TMT as broadly positive for our community. I will not...Read More

One of the most gratifying parts of running Kona Impact is to help locally-owned small and medium-sized businesses. These are the engine of our economy, and they are the companies that do and sell the things that make living in Kona, Hawaii more comfortable. Tamarock Construction is one such business. They are specialists in all...Read More

There has been a lot of talk recently about an impending recession. For certain, the stock market has had some huge losses lately; inflation is very high; supply chains are a mess, and nearly every business is short of competent staff. Taken together, as well as adding an inflated housing market, rising credit card debt,...Read More

One of the must punch-to-the-gut moments during the COVID pandemic was when a local police officer threatened to arrest the owner of the neighboring business if she opened her business. When I saw the cop circling the parking lot a few times the next day I knew he was serious….and something had gone drastically wrong...Read More

First, let me say that I’ve always believed in following policy and procedures that are supported by the current best understanding of the scientific community. Follow the science. Simple. To that end, I have been double-vaccinated and boosted. I used the highest-grade masks I could: N95. I kept my distance and installed several HEPA filters...Read More

My city is small and living on an island guarantees a small market, but I will do my best to make sure that every potential customer in my location knows that I exist. I may not be the smartest person (that’s for certain), but I will work harder and longer than those who rely purely...Read More

I received an interesting message on a social media platform this week. The message was from a person I know through our children’s mutual activities and, in a more general sense as a fellow business person in Kona. It went, “ If you are going to order bulk cards this holiday season would you use...Read More

Trust is perhaps the most fundamental pillar of any business. Without it, your customers and clients will find others with which to do business. We all know what happens when we lose trust in someone in a personal relationship, and we can expect the same adverse outcomes in business. Yesterday, I saw a story of...Read More

Many think of Kona, Hawaii as a sleepy tourism-dependent area on the Big Island. There’s much truth to that, but we also have some world-class companies here that have the potential to change the world. Blue Ocean Farms and Symbrosia are two companies that are focused on using seaweed as a food supplement for bovines...Read More