 Aloha and welcome to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We're a show that broadcasts every Thursday from 2 to 2.30 in the think tech studios and beautiful downtown Halalulu in the Pioneer Plaza. And if you're looking for us, we're on the 8th floor, suite 888. We've got a very high tech group of equipment here as well as individuals. We've got some of the state of the art technology and we're putting it to good use. Business in Hawaii is a show that focuses on successful stories in Hawaii of the owners and the businesses as well as the groups that support the small business community in Hawaii. Today we've got a guest that's been here on the show before, very popular. It's the Maui Chamber of Commerce, Pam. And she's going to come and tell us all about what's going on on Maui and there's a lot going on over these days. Thank you, Reg. It's great to be here. It's great to have you back. We should probably evolve this into like a quarterly event of some sort. You've got so much to talk about and there's so much going on. But before we jump into that, can you give us a little history about yourself and the Maui Chamber and tell us, you know, they've been around for a while. The Maui Chamber of Commerce has been around since 1910. We are the second oldest Chamber of Commerce after the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii. And we actually, though, preceded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Very good. So we've been around for a very long time, business leaders supporting other business leaders in the Maui community. Well, and I think everybody knows that Maui is pretty much the second economic center for Hawaii. There's a lot going on there. There's a lot going on in Maui and, you know, we, of course, we always say Maui no Kauai. We're very proud of what we've got going on and lots of innovation at all times. As I'm here today, there's an energy conference going on in Maui right now today. Well, and that's very appropriate for it to be going on. We need the energy and we need to drop the cost of that energy down a little bit. Exactly. So what I understand, we just got a little bump in our rates here and we need to start addressing that. Yes. And you've been involved with the Maui Chamber yourself personally for quite a while too, haven't you? You know, I have a long history with the Maui Chamber of Commerce even before I became president. So I started my career in my 20s with the Maui Economic Development Board, was a vice president there after working there for 11 years and then went on to be director of marketing for Oceanic Time Warner Cable where I still served and participated in activities for the Chamber and then went on to run Maui United Way and then went back to, you know, again, Maui United Way was more of a social, obviously social service as non-profit and helping the community, but went back into sort of a hybrid, the Chamber is a non-profit, so I'm still in the non-profit world, but also very business oriented. So I kind of have my feet in both passions and this April I will have been there now for 11 years. 11 years with the Maui Chamber and how many years is the CEO? 11 years, all of that time. That's a record I think. I think it's going to be the record for Maui and right now I am, the president currently have the longest standing position as president in the Chamber system for the main chambers across the islands right now. In the islands. So you're truly a Maui girl then. You've been there for a long time. I have. I was brought there as a teenager in 1981 and I've stayed ever since. Very good. Thank you. And you've also got a little bit of an entrepreneurial streak in you too, right? In addition to running the Chamber, I have a couple of side businesses. Well, first I should mention that my fiance has a company called Island Landscape that he and I built together. But he owns that company and it's a landscape construction company. So we do that in our household and I often do, I do his accounting and books and some of his reporting and things like that. And then I have a betting line that I created to help some of the women's sewers. I was trying to partner two companies together and their partnership fell apart and the women's sewers needed some projects. So we created a betting line company and that keeps some of our Maui ladies sewing and recently we're working on a gift basket and gift box company. And in addition, we're developing a botanical garden nursery and farm. Well, it sounds like you've got the perfect set of credentials to be running the Maui Chamber. I mean, you really know how to provide the services to the membership. Thank you. I would like to say that it takes a team effort. And I'm very proud of our team. We have a wonderful board of directors. We also have a great staff with Kailea Moikeja, who's been with me for several years, and Amber, who's been with me for over a year, Amber Kuzosin. And really, when I'm out with you today and doing the business development side of things and working on programs and partnerships, they're back in the office holding down the fort, doing all the grunt work and detail work that it takes to make all these things happen. So it's when you have a big group of volunteers and you have a committed board and you've got a committed staff that you can really take things to a new heights. And you mentioned volunteers. I mean, there's always going to be a need for volunteers, i.e., more membership. And so you're looking to grow membership on the Maui Chamber? Thank you. We're always looking to grow membership in the Maui Chamber of Commerce. And what most people don't realize, and some people still don't even know we exist on Maui, which is tragic. We keep trying to rectify that. But what most people don't realize is how affordable chamber membership is. So chamber membership starts at just $344 a year. So that's really about the cost of one business card size ad in the local newspaper. And that gives you so many advantages. And like many chambers, we do a fair share investment. So that means that when the company's a member, so are all their employees. So we encourage companies. Make sure you're sending your sales team, your marketing team, your financial people. Make sure you're networking with other business members because that is some of the best leverage. But of course, we also have great discounts that are afforded to all chamber members, and great education and training programs, and business to business and business to consumer opportunities. You know, I'm a firm believer that you get out of something what you put into it. And once you join an organization like the Maui Chamber, you really need to start getting engaged. And you can really start to multiply the impact by getting your people involved and getting them engaged as well and going out and doing that networking and going to different events. I mean, that's one of the better ways, from my experience, that you can actually build a business. You're absolutely right. And you're one of the people, Reg, that I always say walks the talk. You believe it, and you do it, and you're passionate about it, and you're engaged in every organization you're a part of. And you make amazing things happen. And it's true. The more a business and the business owners and their employees get engaged, their knowledge goes up, their training goes up, their network goes up, sales become easier, we have affordable advertising methods, but they build relationships and partnerships, and they're seen differently in the community as well. People honor and respect them, and they're top of mind. So when somebody's looking to do business to somebody else, who do they think of first? It's their chamber membership. The one they see the most often, the one that they're familiar and comfortable with. You know, that's for sure. I'll tell you a funny story real quickly, is we had a chamber member who I hadn't seen for many years. Their membership fell by the wayside. And I was helping three families get painting done for their houses. This was just on the side, not really to the chamber, but of course I'm referring them to chamber member painters, and in walked this former member, and I had completed, it didn't even occur to me to have them get a quote from him because I just hadn't seen him in such a long time. So you are, of course, referring to the people who are top of mind and that you see. Well, and that's just normal. I mean, that's just the way it works. You know, I mean, and sometimes, you know, you may be having a conversation in the afternoon and then you go to an event and all of a sudden you start connecting the dots and it starts all coming together. Yes, absolutely. It's a great, I love doing business. And a real quick story. I had a company that I started with one person. And within 12 years I had over 200 employees and we were doing 7,000 tax returns. We were the second, third largest payroll company in town, blah, blah, all this stuff. And it was done predominantly through chamber membership. Yes, what a great story. Going out and engaging and getting involved and not only me but my managers and as a company grew I got more and more people involved. And it just, it was, for me, a very low cost way of building a business. And I didn't have to spend the tens of thousands of dollars with the ads that some people don't even look at. That's true. And I met you through the chamber. That's how we met, through your great involvement. So it's a great place to go and for $344 or even if you have a little bit larger company with a little bit higher fee, I mean it's well worth that cost as long as you put the effort into it. Absolutely. And nowadays too more and more chamber organizations, including ours, offer other discounts. So discounts on your buying power like through other major corporations, Office Max, Office Depot, we can get you computer discounts, we can get your marketing discounts. So the other thing is we have a whole package. Like a member to member type of. Member to member discounts and also affiliate program discounts. So major programs that we've been working on over the past year that really can offset the complete cost of membership to the degree that you use. Let me ask the question. How much does it cost to pay in a house? Well I'll tell you it depends on the size of the house. Let's start there and the complexity of the house since I just helped three people do it. So one house was very simple. And one person, we got the person a lower rate. But the first quote they had was $10,000. We were able to help them get that done for seven. The other person's quote was $25,000. Bigger, much more complex house, five different roof lines, things like that. So there's a lot of, it depends on your windows and yeah. But you just scale a little bit. Let's just say a $10,000 job if you were doing a member to member and affiliate program and you can get 10% off. You just saved $1,000. That's right. And that's double your membership. That's right. And again, this might be for your home, not necessarily your business. Could be for your business, could be for your home. But it's the relationships you build that really impact every area of your life. Right. Now it's a great organization. And if somebody wanted to find out more information about how to join or what the events are or what's going on with the chamber, how can they do that? I'm going to give you two quick ways. First, you can go to www.maui chamber.com. And that was just on the screen in case you did. Oh, I did. I didn't notice how awesome. And second, you can call my amazing team at 808-244-0081. 0081. All right, very good. And they go to the chamber website or they call that number and then they can be told how to get the application form. It's really easy. There's a join now button. You can join us right away. You can learn more about our programs, our benefits. You can, from the front page on the website, you can find out about our events and our caliber of events and sign up for different things. We have an electronic registration system. You can also learn about the topical programs and upcoming activities. Which is very valuable. And a lot of them are very low cost to go and participate in. Absolutely. And I guess if there was chamber committees that they want to get involved in, there might be a way to do that. Absolutely. There's a list of our committees under the membership tab. And you can find out about those. And we are always looking for new volunteers. And that's another way to really get engaged and involved and really meet the movers and shakers in the business community on Maui is to get involved with some of these committees and participate. And establish yourself. You get a network. People start recognizing who you are. It really builds up to credibility. It does. It does. And there's even been a Shapiro study that talks about, again, most chambers offer you some sort of window decal or something to put on your business that says you're a chamber member, you have increased favorability and credibility automatically by having that logo. People understand the chamber system. And that's something that's invaluable, worth a lot more than $200 a year. That's right. Now, you just finished the first half of the show. We're going to go into the second half here shortly after a short break. And I hope we have enough time to cover all the different events that you've got coming up here in the next few months. So I hope so. This is business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We're here with the Maui Chamber of Commerce, Pam, and who is explaining to us all of the events that are going on on Maui. And we'll be right back after a 60-second break. I'm Carol Mon-Lee. And I want to welcome you to our newest series called Education Matters, where we will explore education-related topics that touch everyone, not just formal programs in K-12 and higher education, but also broader issues and information that affect our community. Aloha. My name is Richard Emory, and I host Kondo Insider. We talk about issues facing the Kondo Association throughout Hawaii and talk about solutions. When you think about it, about one-third of our population lives in some form of common interest real estate. We broadcast every Thursday at 3 p.m. Please tune in. Tune in. And thank you. Aloha. Hi. I'm Cheryl Crozier Garcia, the host of Working Together on Think Tecawaii. Join us every other Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 4 30 when we discuss the impact of change on employees, employers, and the economy. Aloha. And welcome back to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. This week, we're talking with the Maui Chamber of Commerce. And we've got the CEO out here, Pam, who is explaining all of the different benefits of being a Maui Chamber member and all the different events that they've got going on for the next few months. So, Pam, what do you got on your calendar these days? Oh, my gosh. We have such exciting things going on on our calendar. And I do want to mention just one event that we just had. But it's part of what I call Small Business Recognition Season. So we just held the Maui Small Business Awards in March. And we do that with Mayor Alan Arikawa. And it's a partnership with the County Office of Economic Development and the Maui Chamber of Commerce. And it's like the Academy Awards for Small Businesses. We even have a step-and-repeat banner that they take their picture in front of in a red carpet and music as they come up to get the awards. Sounds like a lot of fun. It's a hoot-and-a-half. And it's a great way to recognize the small businesses. And in that awards, it's not about the winners. It's about all the nominees. And then, of course, the winners. But it's about recognizing everyone for their amazing contributions that led them to be nominated. You know, Pam, I've been in a judging position. Yes. And sometimes it's really hard to decide who wins and another one doesn't. You know, it's so difficult. And sometimes that line is so close. Yeah, exactly. And so we really wanted to honor everybody's accomplishments. And so in that awards ceremony, we get to do that. And then we're very proud on April 26, again, gearing up to Small Business Week, which is in May. We're leading off with the Maui SBA Awards. It's an annual event we do with the Jane Sawyer of the Hawaii District Office of the SBA. And we are going to get to honor, I just want to share some of the companies. Garrett Marrero of Maui Brewing Company, one state-of-wise small business person of the year. Excellent. We're so thrilled with that. Mark Harmer of Harmer Radio and Electronics, Inc., County of Maui Small Business Person of the Year. And then we have County of Maui Family owned Small Business of the Year, Ina Excavation and Grading. Then County of Maui Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Brian Bowers of Artistic Builders. And then David Dally of Maui Economic Opportunity, one Maui County Small Business Advocate. And you've won a state award. Oh. Okay, it's hot trash. Ruma has it that you too are being recognized. But... I'll be recognized. But in full disclosure, what's kind of interesting is that I sit on the National Board of Directors for the SBA for regulatory fairness. And so I've always had a very keen interest in what's going on with the SBA in Hawaii. And I chaired the ninth region, which is the western United States. So, you know, I'm very involved in a lot of the different programs and the awards and whatnot. And it's always very exciting to come out and watch these events. And if you don't mind, I'd like to come out and maybe participate, but just kind of watch and observe and see what's going on. You are going to come as my guest. We would love to have you come and participate in this great awards ceremony. That would be great. And it's a lot of fun. And we also use it as an opportunity to do an economic update. So Dr. Carl Bottom from UHERO, University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, will be there presenting the economic update. And that's important for small businesses to hear. Where is the economy going? What are things that we should be watching and being aware of? So that's going to be awesome. And that day, April 26, also happens to be Administrative Professionals Day. Wow. So don't forget your administrative professionals and on Maui, make sure you come to the bunch. Maybe they should just bring them with them. That's what we want. Let them learn, have a fun lunch and event and be educated on what outstanding small business people are doing. So that's a really exciting thing that we're working on. I've heard Carl speak a number of times and he's always got a bunch of neat information. But this year, probably more than any others because there's a lot of interesting things that are kind of playing out right now in Washington. It's going to be hard to predict exactly how that's going to all end up in the next year or two. It really is. And recently, we just saw a chart that's been circulated around about where they're expecting the Trump administration to make cuts programmatically in departments. And some of the departments that are key to Hawaii, including small business, agriculture, east-west, a lot of programs are looking, those big programmatic areas that were once larger are starting to shrink. And it's some in very big ways. So you're right, it's a very important time. And even with. Hopefully, when it's all said and done and the dust settles, we are getting a lot of cuts in a lot of the areas. But we've also got some huge increases in the Department of Defense and military area. So I'm not sure how that's all going to balance out at some point. That's correct, too. There is a lot of turmoil, to say the least, going out. And people are going to be trying to figure out how this is going to impact them. One little sidebar comment. Everybody knows that the audit rates at the IRS has been dropping significantly. Well, they just cut another $20 or $30 million from their budget. That's what's being proposed. So those low audit rates are going to go even lower. No. Now, use that as you see fit. I was going to say. That's good. There are some good things that are coming out. You're right. So the SBA Awards is going to be really exciting. And it's always good to be out there with Jane and see everything that's going on on Maui and all the award winners. But you've got some other things going on, too. We do. We have stuff going on every month. But I'm just highlighting for time some of the bigger programs in June. And it's actually on June 13th and 14th. Maui will be joining all of our neighbor island chambers in the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii has partnered with Macy Hirono's office, Senator Hirono's office, to present Hawaii on the Hill. This is where we take local manufacturers and food products up and showcase them up in the Capitol. And so we have a Senate conference room that we use, food vendors from all across Hawaii there, and the legislators and their staffers and guests get to come by the Capitol conference room and sample all these phenomenal products from Hawaii. So we're excited about that. It's a big event. And I have heard, because with the SBA, I go and do some things in DC occasionally, I have heard that it is probably one of the most popular events in DC, because it's very local flavored. It's very Hawaiian style. Yes. And they just fill the room, and there's lines waiting to get in. Huge lines. And apparently, so what happened is Senator Hirono saw that other states were doing this and said, why not Hawaii? And so of the other states who have been doing it, maybe for many, many years before we ever jumped into this arena, we have now taken over. Everybody who comes through gets a lei. And so it's just the spirit of aloha is present, and we have Hawaiian musicians who play. And so they get treated to fabulous Hawaiian food, beautiful music, the spirit of aloha, all the wonderful people there, and then these lays that they get to take back. They love it. And one of the reasons why this is so important is, for example, you've got members of the Maui Chamber that actually sell a product, have a product to sell. And they go there, and they promote the product, and they're able to actually get some new sales leaps. Absolutely. It's a way to really introduce these coasts. And again, people from every state to Hawaii and to the beautiful things that we have to offer. And so it's very exciting for our manufacturing industry to participate in this. And for us, it leverages another thing that we do every year. So we've long had the Made in Maui brand and been promoting Made in Maui products. But we also now, every year in November, hold. And this year, it's going to be the fourth annual Made in Maui County Festival. So again, we've got companies from Maui, Molokai, and Lanai with products locally manufactured on Maui. And in November. And in November. First week in November. So you're inviting everybody from the East Coast? Please, everybody. We actually have buyers, wholesalers, and distributors who even come from Japan for that festival. So this again, Doug tells that. It's always keeping that presence of buy local first, find out what Maui and Hawaii has to offer, and remember the phenomenal products that we're known for and continue to innovate on and create. And then we have the Maui Chamber of Commerce years back, several years back. This is the third year now. We helped out the construction industry when during the recession, their association kind of fell by the wayside. They came back as a trade council of the Maui Chamber of Commerce. And so we have, it's called the Construction Industry of Maui, CIM, Trade Council. And we're excited to say that this year is going to be their second annual, bringing back, for over a decade, they had done a home show. And then when that organization went by the wayside, there were many years where there was no home show. So now it's the second annual CIM home show in June. Very cool. And where are they going to be doing it? They're going to be doing it War Memorial Stadium. So they're going to do that, which has traditionally been the home for the home show. And it's going to be June 16th and 17th. And again, statewide, we welcome everybody to come to this phenomenal home show, see our Maui contractors and the types of work that they're doing, the products they're bringing in. We have many suppliers who participate in the home show. So if you need a fence or you need a pool or you need a house painting or whatever you need, they're going to be able to find it all and then some. Because what's really exciting is we're seeing more and more Maui companies bring in eco lines of products. So new fencing products, for example, made out of aluminum. So unlike the wood that's getting run in over time, now there's aluminum fencing that looks like wood. So there's smart irrigation systems that my other half and his company promote that allow you to do water management remotely. And save on water bills because the system will alert you if there's a leak or if a sprinkler had popped up. So in other words, you can divert water into different channels remotely now? You can remotely, yes. Yeah, and if you really just want to play, you can do a quick little sprinkler irrigation show if you just want to have a good time popping them on at different times. I only do that when the dog comes into the yard. Exactly. But yeah, there's new amazing technologies in the construction industry. And so you're going to see a lot of that featured at the home show as well. So we encourage people to come by the home show and check that out. And then right after that, this is a new partnership for the Maui Chamber of Commerce. All businesses in our community deeply care about affordable housing. And all across Hawaii, we know that we're short of the units that we need to take care of our population. In Maui County, it's just under 14,000 units that they say should have been needed between 2015 and 2025. That's a lot of homes. It's a lot of homes. And some of it might not be home. Some of it might be we need to look at rentals. So what we're saying is that we're partnering with the County Department of Housing and Human Concerns to put on an affordable housing summit. And that will be held on Friday, June 30th. And we are going to be looking at, what are the opportunities in affordable housing? We're going to discuss the state of where things are at. But what can we do? And while certain things may have hampered in the past, we're going to showcase that things can be done. But it's how do we clear the runway so we can just take off? Well, and that's the trick. I think we can define what the need is. And we know how to get there. But we just got to make it efficient and productive and get there quicker than later. Now, I'm afraid we have run out of time. That's all right. We could probably do a whole show on affordable housing. And there's that, for sure. Pam, it's always good to have you in town and have you on the show. And I'm looking forward to our next quarterly update. Sounds like June is going to be very busy for you. So if you get through June, then we'll have another get-together, maybe in July or August. That would be wonderful. I love coming here, and I love sharing with your audience. Thank you so much, Reg. Thank you, Pam. This is Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We broadcast live every Thursday from 2 to 2.30. We highlight businesses, successful businesses, and successful individuals, and those organizations that support that. So please join us next week on Thursday at 2 o'clock. Until then, aloha.