 Jane, and thanks for joining us again for Adventures in Small Business here on ThinkTech. Great to see you again. My name's Jane Sawyer. I'm the district director for the Small Business Administration here in Hawaii. This program, Adventures in Small Business, is a co-sponsorship with ThinkTech with the Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network, the MINK Center for Business and Leadership, and the Veterans Business Outreach Center with UH. So thanks for joining us for the program today. We talk about small businesses, their contributions to the state of Hawaii, and all different things about entrepreneurs and how it is to be a successful small business in Hawaii, how our business owners got there. Today, we're joined by Katherine Walker, who is the president and CFO of Papalak, Oahu, Papalak Big Island. Right? Right. Glad you're joining us. Thanks for being here, Kathy. Talk a little bit about your experience with doing business in Hawaii and how you got started. So Papalak has been in business here in the Aloha State for about 10 years now. 10 years now. We're celebrating our 10-year anniversary. Congratulations. And what did that go fast? Uh-huh. How we started was a very interesting story. My husband, he is the co-owner. He lost his home, unfortunately, in Hurricane Katrina. Oh dear. He decided to take insurance money and moved to Hawaii. And so he was kind of hanging out for a bit, not sure what direction to go into. So I show up, actually, on vacation. Okay. And I'm not really sure what's going on other than I'm just going to enjoy a vacation. But it's actually a great story because we met and we really connected it. And both of us, I've been single for a long time and we did not have children. So we connected on a wonderful level and so we decided to make a commitment. But with that being said, we're like, well, what are we going to do here in Hawaii? Now you were visiting. You had just, you were in a transition period in your life as well. Is that right? Yes. Yes. An absolute, yes. I was actually forced to exit the corporate world at that time. In the heart of the recession, you know, most people were losing their jobs and everything. So I also, my father passed away. So it was just kind of a traumatic time. But I'm strong, tough, but I, so I decided to just look at the ocean and reflect. And I had my laptop with me and I typed in entrepreneurial.com. And that changed everything, my whole life, turn my whole life around. So I, with that, I got linked into a franchise coach on the mainland. And she kind of asked me, because it was near Christmas time, you know, what are you doing? You know, emailing me, or shouldn't you be selling me at Christmas? I told her the story and she said, I actually emphasize that I have a very extensive accounting background finance. And she said, you didn't probably realize that you are the perfect candidate to become a business owner. Wow. Had you ever considered owning a business before or you're always looking for a job in accounting? I was always looking for a, yeah, just a steady job in accounting, you know, with paycheck. Never even dawned on me across my mind that I would become a business owner. So what this franchise coach did is she presented three businesses that we're looking to make a presence here in Hawaii. And one of them happened to be Papalock. So she showed us how to research the company, make sure, and it was a top rated franchise. And so I felt good about that because it had a proven track record. And I kind of like a checklist, like to take off the boxes. So Papalock apparently was getting 100 calls a month in Anahu, I guess probably statewide with nobody here. Wow. In queries about getting territory, gaining the franchise in Hawaii. No, they're getting locked out, wanting service. Oh, oh my goodness, okay, so you didn't want any service here, but yeah, yeah, there was nobody here. So there was obviously a lot of name recognition for, exactly, there was a lot, there was already a brand, brand recognition. So that made it easy. So the due diligence I did was I actually picked up the phone and called people and asked who their locksmith was. And everybody was like, hmm, wow, hmm, headscratcher here. Maybe it was Bob's locksmith, Ted's, and so I realized, so with that, we really felt there was a need for services and for Papalock to enter into the Hawaii market. So people were very responsive. The name, it's just, it's really easy to remember. Wow. So you had a couple of things that all of this was very new. You were moving to Hawaii, you weren't here at that time. Was your vacation your first visit to Hawaii? No, several. Okay. So at least you were a little more familiar with it. Yes. Coming to Hawaii, going out on your own, not looking for a job, but deciding to start a business, starting a new relationship. So you had quite a leap of faith with this. I sure did. But you did a lot of research up front, so you were confident with the risk you were taking. Correct. Businesses that were presented were not as recession proof. Okay. And feeling the recession right during that time, what really wanted us to be very careful about what we're choosing because we need a business that will survive that. So people need to call us whether they want to or not. And that's what I always emphasize, people that ask me about small businesses that really should be very, very consider something that's recession proof. If something, if there's another business, say a hair, say a hair styling, during that recession, that's the first thing that's going to stop. Right. Probably. You're just going to say, okay, I'll do my own hair. But in pop-a-lock, if you're locked out and use your keys, you have to call us. You have to call somebody. Right. You have to get in the house. Yeah. You know. I get into the car. Get in the car. Wow. So a lot of research, getting out of your safe zone there quite a bit. Yes, exactly. But it was like unlocking the possibilities right there. It sure was, yeah. And this is business then. You went through the franchise process then. Correct. And kind of generally speaking, what are the steps that you reviewed the possibilities, looked at the contract, talked to the company? What else did you do to decide that franchising, why was franchising a good option, I guess? Yeah. Franchising can be quite expensive. So a lot of people would choose to kind of want to do this on their own. But I, this franchise was top rated and I also, part of the due diligence process, I called other franchisees too and I asked them a lot of questions and I talked to someone who was probably one year in business, somebody had been 10 years. And so I got a lot of feedback on how it's working and what's going on. And then we went to Louisiana, Populok was born actually in Louisiana. It was formed by two police officers that were getting asked constantly to unlock their car. But after a while, you know, liability issues come into play and they, at that point, they decided to form Populok in just the same year. There was a new opportunity there. Right. To actually do that. So for the process, we went to the franchise or headquarters and we went through franchisee training with them too. We went through everything. And a lot of this is all new, you know, we've got a setup, ride a car processing, there's all these things. But, you know, we had a manual with a checklist. Okay. So that appealing checklist, all those phases. Right. Yeah. Where there's any surprises and things that you needed to do to start up a business. I mean, I would think as an accountant, you'd be, you know, dealing with accounts and supply and demand and seeing how all of those cycles go, but where there's things that you didn't expect and starting up. Yeah. That's a great question too, by the way. We actually, when we started, okay, marketing's got to be number one, we were very conservative. We didn't have a lot of money actually anyway, to go buy, you know, massive equipment for auto locksmith thing or equipment for housing for big locks and stuff. We weren't really sure. So when we started advertising, we sort of built our business based on the need and the calls. And what we found was the need, the auto locksmith hands down, everybody, I mean, needed that, not just the car we're locking, but actually keys, because we originate dealer chip keys. Oh, okay. So if somebody is stranded at the beach and their key falls in the ocean, we can come to them and originate a key on the spot for them. Wow. Now, that's a good service to know about. I didn't know that, you know, I'm usually just happy to get the door of the car open, you know, and I've done something, bonehead, like locking my keys. And most people are very happy with that. We're super superheroes, but the keys, people really needed the keys too. So that's where we kind of focused our energies on as far as marketing. So you've been very, very responsive to identifying customer needs. So we first set up on Oahu, but you're island-wide, you're mobile. You respond to people needing a response quickly. So you commit to getting out to, when a call comes in, to responding within an hour, identify when you'll be there. Are all your mobile vehicles clearly marked or, you know, the technician come out? Yes. That's what really sets us apart is we require all our technicians to have professional uniforms, marked cars. I mean, people tell me, I see your cars everywhere, like I love that. And because we, cheese or cleave, place everyone in districts all over the island, we can actually make that an hour ETA. If somebody has a district to the west side, so that person, that technician or two will cover that area. And we have somebody, of course, in town, and then somebody in on windward side, too, as well. So we have all our bases really covered. It sounds like one of the very effective marketing strategies you have is delivering the best customer service so that people will see you, use you, word of mouth gets around, right? Exactly. And so you just were telling me a little bit earlier that you've had some great response because you're now a favorite. Yes. We're, it was a big surprise, we're Hawaii's, we were Hawaii's best 2018 reader's choice from the Star Advertiser. Okay. So we were very excited because that, for us, yeah, that's the actual readers. These are the customers that are getting our service that are voting for, to obtain that award. So they're, you're getting great reviews and it's public. Right. Yeah. That's great. Congratulations. And the online reviews are really great, too. And we respond very carefully. Even if there's not such a great review, we will respond immediately and we'll try and talk to the customer and, you know, work something out, explain, you know, what's going on. And identifying how important that is. You do focus a lot on having somebody respond and make sure that how you're seeing on social media is responsive, you know, available, accessible and share those positive response from your customers. Is that right? That's right. Yes. So we have a firm that watches all our traffic on our website and, you know, watches all the reviews. So he's on it so we can respond right away and try, you know, make things right or just tell people, thank you for, you know, identifying some of the actual drivers there and giving them praise. So that's wonderful. And who doesn't like to have a thank you or a pat on the back? That's a really good thing. So we're going to be talking about some of that in our next segment, a little bit more about the franchise, some of the challenges that you've overcome. Kathy was also in our SBA Emerging Leaders class previously. So that we're recruiting for that right now, Kathy. So we're going to talk a little bit about that experience, how you found that application process getting into that, because you found that accessing the resources available to a small business owner or entrepreneur are very valuable. And so after our short break, we'll be talking a little bit more about that. Emerging Leaders will be starting up in April and application process is now open. That was pretty easy, wasn't it? Just a simple form to fill out and send to SBA. I was fairly simple at first, but there was an interview involved. We will you. The first thing you've got to know is you've got to have it's not for beginners. So we're going to talk a little bit more about that process. It is like a CEO or a mini MBA class that SBA offers to small businesses across the state of Hawaii at no cost. So it's a real good thing. And a wonderful program. I'm so blessed. So anyway, we'll be talking a little bit more about that process and just some of the some of the steps that Kathy took after being in that class as well. So I think we're just about ready for break now. So we'll be talking in just a few more minutes. Hello, I'm Dave Stevens, host of the Cyber Underground. This is where we discuss everything that relates to computers. It's just going to scare you out of your mind. So come join us every week here on thinktecawaii.com 1 p.m. on Friday afternoons, and then you can go see all our episodes on YouTube. Just look up the Cyber Underground on YouTube. All our shows will show up and please follow us. We're always giving you current, relevant information to protect you. Keeping you safe. Aloha. Aloha and welcome to At the Crossroads. I'm your host, Keisha King. I'm live at five every Wednesday, where we have entertaining and educational conversations that are real and relevant. Both here in Hawaii and across the globe. I'll see you at the Crossroads. Aloha. Okay. Thanks for joining us again. We're here talking with Kathy about unlocking the possibilities of entrepreneurship. And one of those steps that Kathy took and growing her business was to join SBA's Emerging Leaders class. It was a couple of years back, but the class with 14 or 15 other students at SBA every other week, it required quite a commitment from you. We were looking at bringing together small business owners who had been in business at least three years, who made at least $250,000 annually up to a couple of million. So it was a broad range and had to have at least one employee. Now, employees, you've grown from you and your husband running the business to have several employees at this time. We have 10 now. 10 employees. So that's pretty good size for small businesses here in Hawaii. What did you find was, you know, was the class helpful in dealing with that business growth? What did you like about the class or some of the? The class was really great because a lot of small business owners really got caught up in the day-to-day operations and you're forgetting about the big picture and a plan in place. So what this Emerging Leaders program did was it got you thinking outside the box and actually developing a growth plan. And while we were doing that, you know, we all came up with ideas. We also were segmented off with NCO groups, too. So yeah, so we have friends and fellow business owners, you know, for life in that and we could exchange information and ideas. So how was the structure for you? We'd meet in class and discuss a topic. There were expert panels that come in and so you're exchanging a lot of ideas. You're expected to be involved and talk about your business because it isn't like you're doing some abstract case study. You're talking about things that are actually going on in your business. Right? Exactly. So sometimes it's like burying your soul in front of some of these other business owners, but they're all feeling often the same thing. Were you surprised by that? Did that make it easier to discuss some of those issues? I think it made it a lot easier, too, because, you know, kind of feel like you're already the only one that's facing these challenges and you really aren't and I love the outside box ideas because somebody else, maybe they don't have exactly the same challenge, but they may have had it before and figured out a solution and they can share it with us. So in the classroom, we go through like 13 different sessions every other week and then you meet with your CEO group either virtually or whenever it's convenient for that group to discuss specific issues or often takes off on its own and your own conversation about issues that the group identifies. Is that correct? That is correct. One of the things that I did during that program was, OK, we need to have a backup box myth. We need to have somebody else. OK. Just in case, you know, anything happens. So during that time, it's like the light bulb went on and I researched all there are resumes in the pool and I pulled out our best roadside technician. I looked at his background and I'm like, wow, this guy, he's got an auto technology background and it's all happening. And so two months later, he's he's sent to the east coast for locksmith training and to this day, he's like our best locksmith ever. And he was very young, too. So he's we're, you know, he's kind of growing up in the business. So he's found a career path. Right. Yeah, which his parents should be very proud of. And we put him in a TV commercial. So not to get off track, but with marketing. That's where we really got our start was on TV. That was a big leap of faith to a big investment. Something new, you know, right? Not knowing how it really works when you're on the other side of the screen. Exactly. But it was the most exciting time in my life when I would see the commercial on in the morning news while I'm working and then the phone rang. I mean, those those were the days before we actually had a all center too. So we were we were actually answering our own phones. So it was very exciting to see, wow, it works. Okay, people are watching this. That's great. That's great. You have mentioned to, I mean, the company growth over the 10 years that you've been in business now has also been kind of a difficult time because we hear all the time finding employees is tough. And HR is one of those things. The human resource management piece is always critically important when you start adding employees. And through the emerging leaders cohorts, we've found that year after year, the small business CEO, that's one of their biggest challenges. What did what have you learned? And what were some of the solutions that you came up with? And maybe tell us a little bit about how that has evolved or come about. So those and employees are happy to stay with you. Right. That's a great question. And it took me a while to really learn this and also take a leap in faith with this. But with this tight labor market, retention is huge, is absolutely huge. And so I was a little bit resistant. Well, I guess a lot of resistance because we just recently did this last year was partnering up with an HR firm company that actually will take will do the payroll and take a lot of the administration work off of the owner. But the best part of that is because they since they have the ability to take advantage of a large company benefits with the high volume rates. And so right now we can offer that we can offer, you know, medical course, medical, dental, and they have choices, not just say Kaiser. They have HMSA. So it allowed you to put forward a benefit package to your employees and have it professionally managed as well. So that made it your workplace is appealing to people to usually because I mean, I've noticed some of them are going on a year mark now and they're not leaving. I am so so thankful for that. But I truly believe it's, you know, the because of these benefits, they're not going to be able to find those benefits anywhere else. So they're going to think twice about that, that they're, you know, before they move on somewhere else. Yeah, because that can that can really add to an augment just what they get in their paycheck right in a significant way. A lot of small business owners are fearful of that. You know, they think that they couldn't go there. But that's would be a good thing for you to recommend or you would recommend to other businesses to check them out. I would absolutely recommend that, yes, because it's it really, I mean, it might be a little little difficult transition at first. But after everybody's on board, it just goes just on autopilot. And everybody just seems to be really happy with that. So terrific. So an HR solution for you that really worked out. And particularly as we unemployment being, you know, so low, not a lot of movement in the job market. You've got something special to offer. That's a great takeaway. Embrace those ideas. Unlock those possibilities. So terrific. So emerging leaders played into that. Again, emerging leaders application process is open now. It's open deadline is coming up around March 20th. Class should start around April 17th. It is a commitment of time. It does mean you meet every other Tuesday. You've got homework. It's about a hundred hours of time invested. But then we graduate and take a lot of things and those growth plans to put in place. You've worked off yours and and seems like it's done pretty well for you. It actually has. It really has, you know, expanding to other islands, you know, that's something, you know, I thought about that. But until you actually put it down on paper, it's amazing what comes about when you have a plan. And so the big island came into play. And now that's where we're a family owned business now. So my brother-in-law and my sister now are managing the big island. So and I, you know, the next island logical would be with Maui. So we've got we've already got some people that have approached me. And so we may be now in a master franchisee position, which I didn't really think that was possible. Yeah, not when you started just thinking with the big question, should I be a small business owner just 10 years ago? I know never, never entered my mind whatsoever. So so we're really, really excited about all the possibilities that have come about. You know, it's just amazing. Terrific. So well, I'm glad that SBA has been able to contribute to that experience in a positive way. Absolutely. So if anybody in, you know, have questions, interested in learning more about the emerging leaders opportunity with the U.S. Small Business Administration, you can send us an email expression of interest to Hawaii General at S or Hawaii General spelled out H-A-W-A-I-I-G-E-N-E-R-A-L Hawaii General at SBA dot gov. You have until about March 20th to apply and there will be interviews and you could join a very interesting elite group of entrepreneurs and study with us and develop your own growth plan to unlock your possibilities. Thanks again for joining us this week, Kathy. It was great to have you give any great comments before we sign off. Well, I one last take away from the SBA emerging leaders program that also I also led me into being accepted at the 10,000 Goldman Sachs program and Boston and being interviewed as a prior SBA emerging leaders graduate that pretty much opened up that door to just get into that slot. So I furthered, you know, my growth plan with that through that program, the following probably following year. OK, so I mean, it was just wonderful. And so you would encourage entrepreneurs everywhere to continue that lifelong learning, invest in yourself and tap into the resources. Absolutely. There's there's a lot of resources. OK. Thank you so much for joining us today. It's a pleasure to talk to you, wishing you continued success. Thank you, Jane. So welcome. All righty. Thanks for having me.