Small Business News ONLINE A PUBLICATION OF SMALL BUSINESS HAWAII VOLUME 20, No. 2 * FEBRUARY 1995 ----------------------------------------------------------------- No New Taxes! (But Maybe, "Fees") 18th Legislature Opens 60 Day Run The 18th State Legislature opened on an austerity note Wednesday, January 18, to begin a scheduled 60-day run that is to conclude Monday, May 1. "No New Taxes!" and workers' compensation reform pledges, were mixed with calls for higher "user fees," county GET, gambling and curtailed public services. Governor Cayetano's "State of the State" speech was notable for lack of substance and non-accountability for the Waihee-Cayetano-caused $250 million shortfall. There are 18 freshman lawmakers--many with small business backgrounds or experience - a new Cabinet, and an urgency to control a state government gone amok during the past decade. Prior to the Session, veteran GOP Senator Mary George retired and former Representative, Whitney Anderson, was appointed to fill her seat.The shadow of the "Newt Deal" in Washington and its promised end to pork as a Hawaii political diet, has long-term Democrats, used to power and personal luxury, scared for the first time in 40 years. Gone is the billion dollar tax surplus, the "visions" of new tax-backed socialized experimental programs, expensive people-movers and fixed rail trains. Now is the stark reality of a continuing government-caused depression here, further shocks to the visitor industry from the massive Japanese earthquake, Mexican Peso, California floods and State and County debt. These are heady times. They can also bring us real opportunities. SBH expressed a rare optimism at its recent Legislative breakfast (see separate story) and annual conference. The state will be forced to listen more to the taxpayers. The Governor, who managed to garner only 34% of the vote here, must turn his exclusive attention away from his union buddies. There WILL be workers' comp reform this Session; there will be reductions in the number of government employees, and opportunities for economic and political change here by '96. But first we have to get by a tough '95 and that's going to require everyone's attention and ACTION. If you want to survive and minimize the negative impact of government, you must get involved with SBH, HAKU Alliance and groups who still are your only true business friends. The next SBH Legislative Action Committee (LAC) meets on Wednesday, February 8, 12:30-1:30 pm at the SBH office. LAC Chair, Bob Sigall, wants you to attend. Please show up! Signup for the SBH Biz FAX NET too. The 1995 SBH Legislative Platform is printed in full on page 7. Read it. Contact your lawmakers and help us bring it about. (A reminder that SBH receives a copy of EVERY bill and resolution introduced during the Session; if you need help or information, give SBH a call at 396-1724.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Unique "Share N' Tell" Format SBH Breakfast Biz Forum, March 7 A unique modification of SBH's popular Share N' Tell Business Forum, a luncheon fixture since 1982, will debut as a Breakfast Business Forum. The SBH Forum will be held on Tuesday, March 7, from 7:30 - 9:00 am at the Ala Moana Hotel's Hibiscus Ballroom. This Forum will feature a full breakfast, five separate Table Topic tables with Facilitators- and you will be able to "table hop" to any 3 of the 5--plenty of networking and a good time. The tables and their Facilitators include: (1) "Boost Your Bottom Line: Empower Employees for Measurable Results," Betsy Allen, Results, Inc.; (2) "Automate, Acclamate or Evacuate: How, When or Why to Computerize YOUR Business," Ruby Bussen, Microdyne Computer Systems; (3) "Get Up, Get Out and Get Noticed: How to Get Your Business in the Newspaper, " Joyce Torrey, Joyce Torrey Public Relations; (4) "Sales Power: Relationship Selling and Other Valuable Techniques," Jenny Friskel, Island Directory, and (5) "How to Create an Effective and Cost Effective Marketing Plan," Bob Baer, Robert J. Baer Marketing/Franchising Consultants. Registration and breakfast will take place between 7:30 and 8 am. The Table Topics will begin promptly at 8, with each individual session lasting about 20 minutes. Members than move to their 2nd and 3rd choice subject tables. You'll be out by 9 am. The cost of the Forum, including breakfast, program and validated hotel parking, is only $15 if paid in advance. The Forum will cost $20 at the door if space is available. Reserve today and bring your associates or employees at the same low price. Call SBH at 396-1724 and ask for them to FAX you an application. ----------------------------------------------------------------- No Word Yet On UI Tax As reported last month, the State Department of Labor had threatened a doubling of the Unemployment Compensation (UI) tax in early 1995. At press time, their final recommendation had not been published. A sharp increase in the Hawaii UI tax will have a major impact on Hawaii small businesses. As it is, the wage ceiling in Hawaii ($26,000) is the highest in the US, and the tax rates are among the top several states. Small businesses pay heavily into the UI tax reserve fund which is being drained by failed large, unionized and dependent businesses and industries. SBH has also given numerous examples of abuses to the UI system, including benefits to strikers, voluntary quits, temporary military employees rotated out with their spouses, legislative staffers, workplace felons and and of course, non-employee contractors, such as the wife of US Rep. Neil Abercrombie. ----------------------------------------------------------------- SBH Hosts Legislative Welcome Breakfast Prior to the start of the '95 Legislative Session, SBH hosted a welcome breakfast and informal meeting with new members of the State Legislature. All 18 new members were invited to attend. Those that took part were: State Representatives Eve Anderson, Ed Case, Chris Halford, Nestor Garcia, Colleen Meyer, Billy Swain, Mark Takai and Terry Yoshinaga. They met with SBH Directors and guest speakers, Bill Edwards, Jean Fukuda, George Mason, Dick Rowland, Cliff Slater and Sam Slom. SBH expressed optimism about the Session and the fact that so many of the new members had business experience. SBH pledged its continuing assistance to their efforts. SBH seeks solutions, not confrontations. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Referral Directory Coming This Month The 10th annual SBH Member Referral Directory will be published and distributed this month. All current members will receive a complimentary copy. (Additional copies are available to members at no charge at the SBH office). The Directory, published since 1985, is NOT a listing of all SBH members; only of those member firms who want to be listed and referred, and who were current, paid members as of December 31, 1994. Members who indicated they did not wish to be listed or referred to other members and the public are not included. In addition to listing each member firm by name and primary business category at no charge, the Directory contains member benefit information, important phone numbers and other business features. Please let SBH know about any change in business name, principal, new address or telephone, so that we may properly refer your business. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Call Now For SBH Coed Softball Last call for SBH Coed Softball, spring season. If you want to play, or can field a team, contact SBH coach, Levi Lake of TAGS (phone 841-2248). If there are enough teams for a full League, games will begin in early March. If not, there will be scrimmage games among members interested in getting some exercise! No experience required! No age restrictions! Minimal financial outlay. Come and have fun. Games will be played on Saturday mornings at Keehi Lagoon Park between 9-11 am). ----------------------------------------------------------------- SMALL BUSINESS VIEWS By Sam Slom, President, Small Business Hawaii REVOLUTION! They're saying it in DC -the worst nightmare of power mongers. Everywhere but here. (But it's coming). Meanwhile, the Congress must obey laws it passes. The New Republican Congress accomplished more in its first 141/2 hours than the Demo Machine did in the last 2 years. More to come but watch if the GOP Contract gets sidetracked or watered down. If not, we're all going to benefit and Hawaii will learn how to be more business like. And spend our own $. I feel sorry for Hawaii's left-of-left Congressional Delegation; they have nothing to do now. Do you ever remember the Gang of 4 so quiet? No mo' pork for us (at other states' expense); no talk of Dan Inouye becoming Senate President; of new "zone whip" Neil Abercrombie becoming Speaker. Neil and Patsy Mink have joined with 15 other far left Reps of the 435-member House to pursue their big government dreams. But I wager they are going to be Newtered. The Hawaii Democrat Party is officially on record requesting Mr. Clinton to apologize to the Japanese Government for the use of the atomic bombs. Hawaii used to be the laughing stock of the political spectrum; now people are getting angry at our stilted left-wing politics. So, we have a State revenue shortfall? And a City deficit. Wow, how could that have happened? SBH has been telling readers and the public for more than 5 years that the squandering of the tax surplus by the Waihee-Cayetano Administration, and the excesses of Fasi-Harris would bring this result. Now its here. It is not a "crisis," because it was expected--and preventable. But both the State and County want YOU to pay more. Not in taxes this year; in "user fees." The new Governor's "State of the State" speech, 35 minutes short, was also short on specifics and solutions. He would have us believe it's no one's fault for the newly projected $250,000,000 state deficit. Forget about frisking the Marcos Estate; go after the Waihee-Cayetano Administration that plundered our money and resources. Class action anyone? Good news; the State Attorney General says ticket scalping in Hawaii is not a crime. With the way the UH football and basketball teams have been faring--especially in the Western Athletic Conference--there should be no danger of scalping in the near future. Our friends in the Island nation of Kiribati endured a country split apart by the International date line (IDL) for decades. President Teburoro Tito said his government would no longer recognize the IDL and all dates would be on the same day in all of his nation. Done! Interesting that the Republican US House wants to expand the size of Hawaii by "giving" Midway Island, Johnston, Palmyra and various atolls to add 7 square land miles and an economic ocean zone larger than Texas and California combined. Member Mark Seidenberg asked Hawaii Sovereignty advocates at last May's SBH Land Use Symposium why they were willing to accept the limited boundaries of the current State. Gotta laugh about the flap of the Newt Gingrich book deal. Some people--and the liberal media--have a selective sense of sensibility. From JFK's ghost-written "Profiles of Courage," to VP Al Gore's environmental tome, no one cared. Until now. It's really simple: Republican and conservativbe books SELL while the others do not. The local media have already declared Governo Cayetano "a statesman," even though he is in his 2nd month as chief of state. And the Chamber of Commerce is agog with Mayor Jeremy Harris' words that sound business like. But Harris still has a lot of explaining about his TransitGate, the debt attributed to the City (didn't he campaign by saying HE ran the City for 8 years?) and his more than questionable campaign fund raising. How will the Hawaii economy REALLY be in '95? Ask Hawaii's garbage collectors. They know. In terms of the number of cases of beer donated to them at holiday time. Their verdict: '95 will be a very difficult year. The Hooters Restaurant chain could not have afforded all the free PR they got by their sponsoring the Hula Bowl. While some local feminist activists were shocked that a business with an owl-like perspective would fund the event--which few of them ever attend--the only issue is why the State uses tax funds to sponsor this and other events when there are private risk-takers? SBH repeats its opposition to state tax subsidies for special businesses. DBED is planning to try and woo Motorola here with tax breaks, free land, exemptions, etc. What about our existing, struggling, taken-for-granted 29,000 small businesses already here? Reminder: in January, 1983, Kilauea Volcano began to erupt on the Big Island. Federal and State experts predicted in print that the eruption would end in "about 2 weeks." This now marks the 12th year of the eruption. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1995 SBH ANNUAL CONFERENCE WRAP-UP "Working Together To Improve Hawaii's Business Climate" About 175 business owners attended SBH's 19th Annual Business Conference, Wednesday, January 11, the first major business conference of the New Year. The event was held in the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel. The theme for the conference was "Working Together To Improve Hawaii's Business Climate." It brought together a wealth of information and top-notch speakers for Hawaii's small business owners. Most importantly, attendees took away valuable business tips for this year. Deron Akiona, president of the newly formed HAKU Alliance (of which SBH is a member and supporter) outlined the efforts to gain REAL workers' compensation reform during the '95 State Legislature. The emphasis is on consumer education: how much it costs each consumer every time there is an increase in WC. Akiona educated many owners as to the full costs. Joyce Edwards andÊAudrey Hidano, small business owners and community leaders, discussed the issues involved in the upcoming White House Conference on Small Business to be held in June in Washington. Both women are among the 10 elected Delegates to the Conference. They both pledged to keep Hawaii's business owners up to date on deliberations. George Mason, Pacific Business News founder, spoke on, "The High Cost of Hidden Truth," stressing the point that NO business pays taxes; business only COLLECTS taxes from its customers. He had several novel ideas to bring this point home to the general public. Bob Rees, social commentator, marketing specialist, columnist and television host ("Island Issues") gave his analysis of the recent elections and their impact on Hawaii and his fears of the new Republican Congressional majority. Many of his views were challenged. Bert Dohmen, president of Dohmen Capital Research, Editor of The Wellington Letter, internationally-respected investment analyst, cautioned about the economic and investment forecast for 1995. He suggested defensive strategies to be taken. The "Small Business Success Stories" were inspiring and humorous. Marie Blackburn owner of Kitchen Source, Glenn Yee of Gas 'N Glo, and Martha Harding & Greg Blotsky of Cisco's Cantina and Gregory Michael the Caterer, shared interesting and helpful business tips. They were dubbed successful by SBH, for their creativity and commitment to customers. Local musicians, composers, entertainers--and small business persons-- Leon & Malia, enthralled the audience during the luncheon program. This was a first in 19 years. Small Business Hawaii presented its coveted annual business awards after the lunch (see adjacent story) Luncheon keynote speaker, Marion Higa, the outspoken independent State Auditor, received a warm and rousing welcome from the crowd. Shouts of "Marion For Governor!" were heard. Higa explained recent and planned audits in State Government and how they will affect, and can improve, the business climate in Hawaii. Business exhibit tables were available for member firms and associations at no charge, on a first-come, first-serve basis. There was an interactive internet computer demonstration of H-4, Hawaii's new entry on the information superhighway, by Robert Abbett. Evaluations by Conference attendees showed this was one of the most popular events ever. The only discouraging point: more business owners should have come to take advantage of the advice and information given; however, it was noted that more than 200 SBH member firms shut their doors during 1994 because of the high cost of doing business in Hawaii.For them, the information and reform efforts did not arrive in time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Baer Named "SBH Small Business Person of the Year" Small Business Hawaii (SBH) announced the 1994 winners of its annual small business awards and presentations were made to recipients at the 19th Annual Business Conference at the Ala Moana Hotel, January 11. It was an emotional time for the awardees. Robert Baer was selected for the top SBH award for his many years of business leadership and creativity. In Hawaii he founded TeleCheck Services, Inc., which became the world's largest check acceptancy system. Baer is a nationally known speaker on marketing and motivation and longtime member of the International Platform Association. Most recently, Baer was the subject of a book, "American Businessman: Lessons from Life," by Carl Becker, used as a business text in Japan. His many unselfish community acts were also cited. George Mason, was selected for his continuing, hard-hitting editorials on the importance of small business and the problems of governmental taxation and regulation. Margit Schafnitzel, Roscha Woodwork, was awarded "Small Business Booster," for her "strong community involvement and personal commitment to small business issues." Stephanie Short, owner of Sweet Thoughts bakery, awarded "Civic Leadership" for "her participation in the legislative process and leadership efforts in bringing the problems of government regulation to the general public in an understandable manner." Honored for legislative leadership & business assistance were State Representatives David D. Stegmaier and Gene Ward. Both are credited with spearheading bi-partisan House support for critical small business issues and creating the Legislative Small Business Caucus. A special "Appreciation Award " was presented to former Tax Director, Rick Kahle, for his honest public service and assistance to small business owners during the past eight years. The following received awards : SBH SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR (1994) Robert Baer, Robert J. Baer Marketing/Franchising Consultants OUTSTANDING BUSINESS PUBLICATION Pacific Business News, Tom Jensen, Editor OUTSTANDING BUSINESS EDITORIAL George Mason, Pacific Business News OUTSTANDING BUSINESS REPORTING Paul Udell, KITV - Channel 4 SMALL BUSINESS BOOSTER Margit Schafnitzel, Roscha Woodwork, Inc. SBH CIVIC LEADERSHIP AWARD Stephanie Short, Sweet Thoughts SBH LAWMAKERS OF THE YEAR-1994 State Rep. David D. Stegmaier, (D) 15th Dist. (Hawaii Kai); State Rep. Gene Ward, (R), 16th Dist. (Aina Haina), co-Chairs, Small Business Caucus ----------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Invocation a Hit Many people attending the 19th Annual SBH Conference commented favorably on the special small business invocation delivered by member Richard Rowland prior to the luncheon portion of the program. By popular request, SB NEWS is pleased to print the Rowland prayer, which had its inspiration from words by the Rev. Paul Osumi. You may wish to clip and save this: "May each of us, with the help of a just and loving God, arrange our life and thoughts so that we each have the following: Enough happiness to keep us sweet; Enough trials to keep us strong; Enough sorrow to keep us human; Enough failure to keep us humble; Enough success to keep us eager; Enough friends and family to give us comfort; Enough faith to give us courage; Enough wealth to help each of us achieve our lifetime callings; Enough determination, toughness and strength for each of us to make each of our days a Good Day as we govern ourselves, and Enough tolerance and understanding to avoid the temptation to 'govern' others, as we lead by example with a resolve that comes from within each of us." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995 Small Business Hawaii Reformatted from Telefinder files, 7/98