 Aloha and welcome to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We broadcast live every Thursday from 2 to 2.30 from the downtown studios of Think Tech Hawaii and beautiful Hololulu Hawaii in the Pioneer Plaza. We focus our stories on success in Hawaii, successful businesses and individuals that seem to somehow make it work here in Hawaii despite all the challenges the regulatory issues the cost issues you know all the things that businesses are faced with every day but we do have successes and we talk about those here on the show and occasionally we invite organizations that come on that help businesses be successful and today we have one of those organizations the Pantsy Mink Center for Business and Leadership they've been on the show before we've got Terry Funakoshi here who is the director and we have Colleen McInerney who is the program manager for the Pantsy Mink Center and they're gonna talk to us a little bit about what's going on and it's apparently been a very exciting year this year so Terry what's what's going on well we had a really successful year tremendous success we've hit all our benchmarks you know I was joking with Colleen we did about over 8,000 hours of events last year well we've been joking about that because the normal work year is what two thousand eighty hours that's a lot of work Colleen but that includes volunteers and other people that help out you know but but that's that's great that's 8,000 hours of help to the small business community predominantly women-owned businesses is that right correct yeah I think last year we helped 99 businesses 83% were women so we just missed a hundred mark but this year we're guaranteed gonna pass that all right so you're gonna hit the triple digits this time but you you've also done a lot there's there's been a very busy year for you you know seeing more clients doing more hours of training and I've seen you out in town a little bit the visibility has been increasing a little bit yeah our goal this year was really to brand the center and get awareness so we've participated in many events you know gone to work we've created workshops partnered with the community Colleen has been instrumental and Kelly our coordinator we've just scalded everything and partnered with our SBDC partners our VBock we've hit the veterans we've increased our veteran reach from when we started from 12 to 192 wow that's a big increase yeah so we're very proud of those numbers and SBA has been very helpful you know getting us out there in the community that's very good and where do these just out of curiosity being a veteran myself where do these veterans come from are they just all over the islands or are they predominantly from different places well we partner with the veteran veterans business outreach center to attend the boots to business sessions that they hold a majority of them are at school field barracks but we also do some at the Marine Corps at the at the Connoi Marine Corps base yes and then there's one other but majority at school field and so what happens is they do present a two-day entrepreneurship course and we have interest in our Launch My Business program through that so they want to come to us for more of a detailed program I just had a curiosity would this boots to business and what you're doing with the military is it half women half men or what's the breakdown I'm just curious as to you know how much interest some of the military has in having their own business right so a majority of them are men coming from the boots to business but it's also available it's also open to spouses too so a lot of the wives will attend with them or we do of course have female veterans come as well that's that's the part that I'd like to you know focus on a little bit is because you know that there's a lot of females in military now and a lot of them are coming out and then they're needing to do something and there seems to be an interesting opportunity for them here to learn about having their own business and and you providing the guide for them to do that bring it is that an area that you can be focusing on going forward it definitely is we noticed that with the military wives especially they're great we had some of them in our innovate in our innovation her yes the SBA event for to pitch their ideas so what we noticed is they come we help them and then actually you know they they move on to out of state so we don't actually get to track those but we've had several you know that we've helped while they were here stationed here so and they're great contributors to our community we had one of our clients open a yoga shop in Kailua and she's also helping the community and she also gives back to veterans you know have PSD and all those types of things so it means in so many ways it's so great to help to help them tell me a Patsy Mc Center I mean obviously Patsy Mink was one of the leaders here in Hawaii for many years tell me a little bit about the history of the center how did it come about and and why is Patsy's name linked to this well the center is named after Patsy T. Mink because she was the first Asian woman from Hawaii to be in the US Congress and we we went to her daughter Wendy and we asked permission to use her mom's name because she was such a transformative leader you know she stood for peace equality education and so Wendy you know graciously agreed and she said you know as long as we have a leadership piece in there so today we have the leadership alliance and we call them Mink leaders so after Patsy so actually we have 22 in our cohort today so and they're graduating in June so we want to come back and talk to you about that right so that's 22 graduates and what's interesting and to put this in a little bit of perspective Patsy Mink that did this how long ago 20 30 years ago yeah let's see title 9 so because of title 9 a lot of that recognition she gets it was a while ago I mean right in the 80s today it's a little bit more common to see people like Patsy in leadership roles on the mainland in Congress but back then it was a novelty there wasn't a lot of people doing that and she really I think in a lot of ways broke that glass ceiling for some people she did she was an advocate for women and for children you know for the title night for athletes so it was very important good so that was a real accomplishment and it's a great honor for her to have this center and okay so the funding for this comes from where I mean Patsy's involved she's got her fingerprints and her name on this thing your daughter's involved how does it all work where does the funding come well we are a women's business center and we're funded in part by the SBA the Small Business Administration so we do have a grant but we need to seek matching funds for that grant so we look to the community and businesses out there for sponsorships you know we have four main programs two in their leadership the leadership alliance the girls summit and then we have entrepreneur programs launch my business and then we have personal pathways so for unique programs but we need sponsors to help us you know deliver the programs well you know this this is a perfect type of program that I would think a lot of banks would be just all over trying to you know here again here's some money you know let's do this because that's exactly what they need that's where they get their business from that's where they make their loans and so I would imagine that you've got some bank sponsors and people interested in helping out well we do want to we do want to put a shout out there to home street bank for for a sponsoring our girls summit at least the last three years in a row and that's been a tremendous help for us definitely so they've they've been a constant supporter there and Central Pacific Bank is also a wonderful supporter of ours they are they're always out there they're doing things all over the place you know they're very engaged you know and it's it's great and and what I like about that is it you know it's really a least for the most part a woman manage a woman leadership type of bank now you know and that's to me that would be the perfect profile that you're looking for to get engaged to to really become one of the sponsors for the center right you know to set that example that's good you're looking for more sponsors or do you have enough we're always we are we were fortunate enough to have Kaiser Permanente sponsor to be our lead sponsor for our leadership alliance last year and of course we're hoping for that again but we're always looking for more sponsors and we actually need we need the most this year for our launch my business our course and when is that and so we are starting our our cohort our first cohort this year starts in about two weeks February and then we run it three times a year so the next cohort would be in June and then in September so if somebody wanted to come in and be a sponsor for that June cohort what's the process how does that work they just need to give us a call or they can check out our website to see what to see our whole program where what's the address for the website that's mcbl-hawaii.org and I'll probably ask that again a little later but they can go to the website or they can give you a call yes and then they would say something like I want to be a sponsor for the next cohort June and then you talk to them and then what are some of the benefits I mean someone will write a check give you some money pay for recover some of the cost and all that and then they get an opportunity to get a little engaged with the process right right so what we would do is we would naturally we'd put them on our website and acknowledge their gift we would also have their information on any of our program the flyers and information to go out right include them in our centers media marketing and then we'd we would also announce who they are at any of our a lot of our events that we have we have a lot of networking events a lot of women's events throughout the year and so we usually acknowledge our sponsors and and they really enjoy you know being a part of the program so one of the benefits is also we invite them to the orientation the launch the graduations and they can really engage with the participants the cohorts and I think that's the the real reward when they do a sponsorship it is and there's 22 people generally in each cohort our leadership is 22 right now but our business cohorts we like to keep it at about 15 to eat because the cohort itself is really important they those entrepreneurs help each other out you know from the start of their business to the growth yeah they get pretty close door in the process they would they feed off each other and they're also great support to each other as well and but having a sponsor involved in that process is good for the sponsor because they this is exactly the type of businesses that they want to have a connection with but it's also a good way for them to have some of their staff come out and get to know these people start building relations yeah I can give you a good example we just honored our first entrepreneur of the year through a launch my business course Jessica come on out and she has high cravings and she really worked well with the cohort with CPB with SBA so I mean that just goes to show you know how the relationships build and and she's you know has very successful today so good and that's that's a good story to share because that's that benefits both the members of the cohort but it also benefits the sponsors and that's it's a win-win for everybody yes we should be very good and so if they've reached out let you know that they were interested in and they were comfortable and then all of a sudden when does the promotion start for this June one so the promotion for June well let's see probably in April I would say because our this our current cohort 11 is going to graduate the the end of March so we'll definitely start promoting for the first so that and they'll get a good two or three months of promotion out of this invisibility and relationship building that's good excellent you know they can get a lifetime because we have an alumni series too so this could go on for quite a while and I guess the longer you guys do this and more cohorts you have the bigger that alumni association becomes exactly I mean you know for a girl's summit you know we have sponsors like Clint said home Street Bank has been instrumental and so it's a private school in a public school it comes together we do a day summit and you know workshops and keynote speakers so now the interest that the high schools more high schools want to come you know we and we don't charge the high schools the public schools but we can't we can't you know our capacity is that you know to the limit because we need more funding so that's a goal is to get more funding and so we can invite more high schools and that's a good time to be able to start building those relationships is it as they come out of high school and they go on to either careers or college or having businesses you know I mean it's a good right but we're gonna have to take a short break we're gonna be I guess taking about a 60 minute break but when we come back we'll talk some more maybe about the specifics of the different programs and how that all works and for people who are interested in participating how do they sign up and what that process is so this is business in Hawaii with Reg Baker we're here today talking with the Patsy mixed Center for leadership and we are gonna take a 60 second break and we'll be right back that's you I want to know watch my show I hope you do it's on Tuesdays at 1 o'clock and it's out of the comfort zone and I'll be your host R. E. Kelly be there welcome back this is business in Hawaii with Reg Baker we're here today talking with the Patsy mink Center for business and leadership we've got Terry who's the director we got Coleen who's a program manager we just got a really good overview of what the Center does and and all the different areas that they're involved in and helping the business community the woman owned business community and we're gonna get into the details we're gonna draw down into some of those specific programs right now so what are the most popular programs you offer right now let's see our most popular program is our Launch My Business program and it's it has grown so much now that we've had to break it off into two courses definitely definitely so this year we're offering our Launch My Business grow course which is a seven week 45 hour course they meet twice a week and they go it's it's mainly for businesses who have been have been opened and in business for a year to two years so it's to help them grow what they've already opened and started so what's what's the to grow and get bigger hopefully profitable at the same time right and just briefly describe what's in that program how do people learn how to do this right one of the biggest or one of the the most questions we get are about financials so they want more information about their taxes more information about just overall their overall financials and then a lot of them are actually looking at financing for the first time so they want to and a lot of them to haven't got a business plan yet either entrepreneurs are known for rushing into opening and then dealing I can't tell you how many times I've heard I said you have a business plan and go of course it's all up here right now which is a great place to be but it's hard to edit and stay on top of it when it's not there right so we don't specifically we they they don't specifically write their business plan in the course but we definitely give them more tools and are there to help them with it if they want it and then the start class we have the launch my business grow then the launch my business start is a newer class that we've we've begun and that's a four week eight hour course and that's specifically for women and men who have an idea they're mulling it around in their minds and they don't really know where to go from there they haven't registered their business they they just aren't quite sure what it looks like so that's more of a product development course if you need help on on just figuring out what direction you want to go now is is the start one a relatively new it is this is our first this will be our first time having it and it starts on February 13th so I would imagine at some point after you've had a few of these start programs some of the graduates after they've been around for a year or two would end up going into the grow correct program and so there'd be that linkage between it definitely so no for example if I was a brand-new person if I was a new person coming to the the big center and I said I wanted to get into the grow and so I signed up and is there a fee is there an application process how do you make the selections of the people who want to be involved there's definitely definitely an application process for the grow course because we want to make sure there isn't too much disparity among among the members of the cohort otherwise it's it kind of hinders the process so there is definitely an application process it is a $400 tuition for the class which comes out to less than $20 a class that's a very reasonable definitely definitely and another thing about our launch my business or our center is we offer free business and legal counseling out of our center so most of our clients that attend launch my business are already our business clients right so you've done some mentoring or coaching or advising to them already now we had a brief conversation before the show and there was another type of professional you're looking for two isn't there yeah well we always get requests for you know with the finance so we're looking for a CPA CPA I didn't want to bring that out yeah it was we all know how important CPA right so you know we offer free services for our legal and so we thought you know to marry that CPA would be great you know and so just to expand our services if anyone is out there that would like to maybe volunteer sometime that would be wonderful and we're not talking about a big commitment we're talking about what what kind of a couple of hours a month we do one-hour counseling sessions it wouldn't it wouldn't be doing somewhat clients taxes or anything like that it would be answering their questions and because a lot of times will we will recommend that they get an accountant and they just have a lot of questions first that they want to and so it can be very elementary and and as the business grows and matures they can get a little more sophisticated but again this could be another opportunity for once those relationships are built there might be some business there for some of the CPAs that want to get engaged definitely it could also be a good opportunity for some mature practices to bring some of their staff in to help out and give back to the community a little bit you know so if there are any CPAs out there and I know this is a bad time of the year to be asking but there there is an opportunity to volunteer with the Patsey Mink Center if they are interested and how would they how would they let you know this they go to the website and that website is the website is mcbl-hawaii.org and our phone number should be on there they can directly call us or they can email us also okay and then they'll just let you know the interest and then you'll follow up yes very good all right so they they apply they pay the fee the first day of class they come in there's going to be 15 people there or whatever and what happens how does it begin and where does it go before she kind of explains the program I just want to let people know that we do offer scholarships and that's a and that's an important piece where you know we have sponsorships you can even sponsor some of the classes where they will do scholarships because we do you know try to help the economically disadvantaged so on the application process you know if you are struggling we also take that into account so we do like to give you know a few scholarships every cohort so yeah very nice and so if they needed that or wanted to explore that there's a box or something right yeah so you know we try to make it even playing ground for everyone yes a lot of people need that too yeah it's important and so once we get past that and the scholarship or the money or whatever the financial piece of that has been addressed now you begin this program and it is it a group-based program I guess that's where the relationships start to build and they become almost you know they work together right it is collaborative for sure I mean some people if they have a patented patented idea or product they are a little worried about that but it's they don't have to be too specific when discussing it with the class there's always that sometimes people are shy about sharing their financial information of course yes definitely but it is it is very as the course goes on the cohort becomes very close they stick together after their graduation they they definitely support each other when they talk about marketing ideas they talk about maybe some management challenges that they've had you know some experiences maybe going out applying for capital and there's there's a whole body of knowledge that they're gonna be taught and then there's gonna be the collaboration and sharing that kind of reinforces that yes you know and so by the end of this program they're gonna be fairly knowledgeable about all the different components within the business that they have to at least have an awareness and some comfort with in order to be successful yes and what's unique about our center is that after they graduate you know we keep in touch with them we have an alumni program so they they can come back to the center use our services and we keep in touch with them you know we always want an update as to how they're doing and that's what we always create you know new workshops what's needed so you know I'm sure you're gonna come to your tax workshop for us you know so it's so that's different we care about the people we want to make sure that you know whatever stage they're at we're there to help them however we can and how often does the alumni group get together I guess this is a growing group because as you do this more often that group is gonna be growing but how often do they get together well we try to offer an alumni one alumni event a year where we bring everybody together they all share their stories update everybody and it's since we have this is our 11th cohort starting now they have they have a chance for each cohort to then get together and try and meet up so we do that once a year and then we also offer them a number of ways to to market or showcase their business so we do a client showcase at our downtown uncorked fundraiser in November and then we this year we implemented a client kind of a holiday craft fair that was in conjunction with the YWCA dress for success sale that they have at the end of every month so that was really nice for them to be able to show their products they can do some market research if they're not really fully up and running or they can sell their products that's a great networking opportunity to build up advisory type of communication you know because you know I'm sure that collectively there's a lot of experience in that room at the last client showcase it was funny because we had some of our alumni there and they enjoyed it so much they they're creating another group of alumni is a committee so that we can do more events because you know one thing being located at YWCA Oahu it's the perfect venue downtown and we can use the facility to hold these client showcases so you know it's it's a wonderful place to showcase I mean there's there's a lot of facility space there you can do a lot of different things and if you don't like the speaker you can just throw them in the pool exactly yeah which means I'm not going by the pool but that's good well and in some of the other programs that you've got you've got a lot of training going on you got the alumni association going on anything else going on that you guys are trying to help out with the community oh we've got a lot of we've got a lot of programs going you know like we said our leadership program you know so our girl summit and that's right the girl summit and then the leadership and how do they differ from the the training that we were just talking about the the growth and the start well leadership is so in our center we do 50 percent leadership and 50 percent entrepreneurship basically and and it kind of blends together because we really feel that you need to personally and professionally needs to meld together well exactly because once you have a successful business you're going to have to have some leadership talent exactly continually right so our leadership programs really take that into account we have a personal pathways you know that really helps you because you know to be a leader you need everything so that again we do have entrepreneurs and leaders come in and give facilitated talks and workshops so again that's a another program that we that we focus on very good and when is that next let's see our next our leadership a lot our current leadership alliance it's a 10 month program wow and it's for basically for mid-level women in leadership positions at the moment it's our second cohort and at the moment we have a majority of corporate corporate women leaders and they're looking to expand their expand their network they want some more want to learn more leadership skills and the goal our ultimate goal of course is for them to hit the c-suite of course that's what that's what we're hoping and so we'll start the marketing for our cohort three in april and then that would start in september of this year 2018 what is is there a cost for that as well 10 months that's a long time yeah it's it's three thousand dollars yeah and that's that's still for a 10 month course that's not bad yeah yeah and i would imagine you get a real fancy certificate and and it's great and if people wanted to find out more about that they go somewhere on the internet yes so they're going to go to our website which is mcbl-hawaii.org good i think everybody'll have that memorized yeah good job all right we we got about 30 seconds left any final words i mean any special needs that you have we already know that you need a cpa to come in and you need some help and sponsors and you're always looking for people to go to the different classes and programs that you have what else anything well i think our main message is that you know we are a women's business center but we do help men 20 percent is men god knows men need to know right and you know we're our niche is just really helping we we're there to help you and to make sure you succeed from start to finish you know whatever you need so please use our services we're very good anything no i was just going to highlight that one of our most wanted services are free business and our free legal counseling so if you have an idea out there and you want some help with that come in definitely come and see us well we really appreciate you being on the show today thank you very much for the update congratulations on a record year and don't work so much yeah yeah it's all her this is business in hawaii with reg baker we broadcast live every thursday from two to two thirty hope to see you next week until then aloha