 Aloha, and welcome to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. We are a weekly show that broadcasts live every Thursday at 2 o'clock from 2 to 2.30. And we talk about successful businesses and individuals in Hawaii. It's a positive show highlighting how businesses can be successful. We broadcast from the Pioneer Plaza in the ThinkTech studios in downtown Hololulu. Today my guest is Marlene Reyes. She's the owner of R&M Enterprises. She is a female, of course, and a minority owner of the company. In a Department of Defense type of contracting situation with the Veterans Administration. So there's a lot of challenges that she's had to face over the years in making a successful company. In case you're wondering, I am wearing a lei today. And it's a special day for maybe two reasons. One is it's my wife's birthday. So if you don't mind, happy birthday, Portia. Love you. And coincidentally, it's also my birthday. So we celebrate two birthdays on the same day. And now that that's over, let's get over and we'll talk with Marlene a little bit. Marlene, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me, Reg, and happy birthday. Thank you. And happy birthday to your wife. Yes, can't forget her. You know, we've known each other for a while. We've bumped into, you know, some SBA events as well as some chamber events. Yesterday we had a really nice event that was put on by the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. And it was the Small Business Academy. What did you think of that? It was great. That was my second time attending the Small Business Academy. And I always walk out of the Academy learning more than when, you know, when I came in. And it's a great networking opportunity, definitely. And it's all the workshops, the sessions, the talk. They're very insightful and would definitely help any small business owners. Well, that's good feedback to have. I'm the chair of the Small Business and Entrepreneurial Committee for the Chamber of Commerce, as you know. And this is the third year that we have put it on. And of course the Chamber of Staff is totally involved and they're the ones that really make it work. But we also have some very good speakers. We have breakout sessions. Yesterday we had over 120 people there. That's right. And there was different tracks that you could do. One was on starting a business. And another one was marketing and branding your business. And we had a lot of really good speakers there and a lot of good feedback. And as you pointed out, a lot of networking opportunities. Matter of fact, some of the people that I do business with was there. And they actually picked up some new accounts while they were in the Academy. So it's an annual event. And I think you mentioned you might want to get a little bit more involved and help do the next one. Oh, definitely. I think I'm in this stage now that I can volunteer more of my time. My middle child is now 16. She's driving. So she's able to help pick up, drop off my youngest daughter. That's a great help to have. Yes, yes. So it definitely frees up a lot of my time. And what is her name? Her name is Alyssa. Thank you, Alyssa. Yes, yes. And my youngest daughter is Isabella. And we call her Izzy. We've heard that name before. Yes, yes. We're very good. So it'd be great to have you involved. You can get involved at the committee level to help with the Small Business Entrepreneur Committee. Absolutely. We do focus on series. We do legislative packages. And of course the Academy. So always looking for volunteers. It's going to be great to have you join us. Sign me up. Now you've been in business for a while. Yes. So we've been in business for 10 years. This is our 10th year in business. Congratulations. Thank you. I guess we're going to have to have that decade celebration here. 10 years of business. Yes. That'd be great. Did you start? I mean, you've been in Hawaii for a while, haven't you? 13 years. The Navy brought us here. And it was only going to be a two-year tour. But after two tours, we decided to call Hawaii our home. Very good. Yes. And the only way that I would convince my ex-husband back then to stay in Hawaii was for us to open a business. All right. And so you opened a business and you've been doing it? And you stayed and you've been doing it for 10 years now? Yes. And it's actually done fairly well. You've got some good contracts now. Yes. We were fortunate to get a VA contract this year. Well, congratulations. And what is it? We don't have to go into all the details of the contracting process because I know that can be complicated. But what is the product that you offer now and you work with the VA on? They call it the DME contract. So it's a durable medical equipment. So we serve as the repair, delivery, setup, and patient education of all of the durable medical equipment such as hospital beds, power scooters, wheelchairs, and just standard wheelchairs and other DMEs. So you handled it all the way from bringing it in to setup and education. I mean, that's a lot to do. It is. However, we've hired great team members to assist us in servicing the veterans. And we've actually outsourced our training for all of our service techs from one of our partners in the mainland. So they do train all of our service techs. Very good. And is that just on Oahu or do you do it throughout the state? No, we're in Oahu and all of the neighbor islands except Molokai and Lanai. So that's a pretty big geography to cover, a lot of land there. And some of this equipment is pretty good sized equipment too. So it takes some effort to move this around and get it out and set it up. It does. Luckily, we partnered once again with great freight forwarders. So they take care of shipping from the manufacturer directly to our warehouses on every island. Very good. So it's kind of like a drop shipping type of arrangement that you've got with them. Correct. Very good. Now, there's a myth out there that all small businesses are the rich. They can make their own schedule. They can go to work and go on vacation whenever they want to and all of this. I mean, have you found having your own business very easy? Very easy. Maybe when I'm asleep it's easy. But as they say, entrepreneurs are the only people in the world who are willing to work 80 hours a week just to avoid working 40 hours or working from 9 to 5. But it certainly has a lot of ups and downs. But I don't see myself doing anything else. So you enjoy having your own business? I do tremendously. I've worked. I was in the hospitality industry. I was in the airline and hotel industry. And that really helped me a lot. Because I was in sales and marketing prior to that. And then I grew up in the demo industry. So the collective experience prepared me from this business. Kind of led you to kind of doing what you're doing now. Exactly. That's very good. But also I would imagine along the way, I mean you've been doing it for 10 years, but you've had other people helping along the way like the SBA and the Chamber. You're not doing it necessarily alone. There are support groups out there that can help you. Exactly. And yeah, for any new startup businesses, new business owners, or thinking of starting a business, there's plenty of resources available for them. And as you mentioned, SBA is one of them. And I actually, I was one of the emerging leaders program attendees. And I learned a lot from that program. Matter of fact, I think that's the program that I first met you at, is one of the events that they had. Correct, yes. Tell us, if you don't mind, a little bit about the emerging leaders program. What is that that the SBA does? So this is, I call it a condensed MBA. You know, it's like it's a five or six month course. And it's open to business owners or management level individuals. And they have, it's not necessarily for startup businesses because you have, I believe the requirement is to have to have at least 300,000 in revenue. And a number of years. And a number of years. Correct, yes. So, but the curriculum included everything from human HR management, human resource management, knowing and reading your financials, your business financials, marketing, the ABCs of government contracting. Wow, they even get into government contracting. Yes, yes, yes. And then they invite speakers in the community, bankers, you know, marketing guru, HR professionals. And it, I highly recommend it, highly recommend it. And you said it was about a five month program. Correct, yes. And they meet how many times a week? Once, we've met like once a month, once or twice a month. Once or twice a month? Yeah. Okay, but there's a lot of homework. Lots of homework, yes. But I didn't mind because I learned a lot. Well, and the learning curve was pretty steep, but it did get you into areas that you normally wouldn't have been exposed to. Exactly. Right. And from what I understand, it's a very competitive process to get accepted into the program. It is, it is, yes. But, you know, don't let that stop you. Because, you know, if you don't get in this year that you're going to be applying, then, you know, find out what you need to do and then try again the following year. Right. And how would they go about, if there was somebody in the audience who wanted to, you know, explore and learn more information? I know you're not with the SBA, but is there, where did you go to find out more information about it? Pick up the phone. Ask for Mark Spain or Jane Sawyer. Yeah, yeah. Well, for those that don't know, Jane Sawyer is a district director for the Small Business Administration here in Hawaii. And Mark Spain is the deputy district director. So it's DD and 3D. Yes. You know, that's the acronym that they use sometimes. Yeah. And they're both very knowledgeable. They can help and guide you. And not only with the emerging leaders, but all the different programs that the SBA offers. Yeah. Are you familiar with any of those? I mean, there's different certifications, too, that they could get, right? Yes. They offer guidance and resources for 8A certification, woman-owned certification, veteran-owned certification, hub zone, and... Well, and they have import, exporting, or mostly exporting type of programs and training. And of course, long guarantees. So there's a lot that the SBA offers. And the reason why I'm spending a few minutes on this is because it is part of a support group that can help people get their business up and running and profitable and better managed. You know, there's a lot of resources that they have. Yeah. Wealth of information. Right. So we're, you know, we're going to take a break here shortly. But before we leave, I want you to think, I mean, there's... How can you tap in? There's going to be people out there that's listening. They're going to want to learn how to take advantage of some of the different support and resources and that sort of thing to help them become a little bit more successful in their businesses. So the SBA is one of them. But there's some others out there, too, that they can tap into that maybe we can talk a little bit about when we come back. Certainly. So this is a business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. I'm here with Mylene Reyes, who is the owner of R&M Enterprises and handles a lot of medical equipment distribution for the Veterans Administration here in Hawaii. So we'll be right back in about a minute. Hi. I'm Chris Leitham with Think Tech Hawaii, and I'd like to ask you to come watch my show, The Economy in You, each Wednesday at 3 p.m. Aloha. I'm Richard Emery. I'm with co-host Jane Sugimura of Kondo Insider, Hawaii's weekly show about association living. The purpose of these videos is to educate board members and Kondo residents about issues relating to association living. We hope they're helpful and that they assist in resolving problems that affect the relationship between boards and their residents. Each week, Thursday at 3 p.m., we bring you exciting guests, industry experts, who for free will share their advice about how to make your association a better place to live and answer a lot of very interesting questions. Aloha. We hope you'll tune in. Aloha, and welcome back to Business in Hawaii with Reg Baker. I'm here today with Mylene Reyes. We're talking a little bit about women and minorities in business and getting federal contracts and some of the challenges that are faced. But there's also a lot of resources and a lot of help out there. And so we're touching base with Mylene a little bit about where she can go and has gone to get some of the support that she needed to be successful in business. Mylene, we talked a little bit about the SBA and I guess there's an awful lot there. And the SBA also kind of joint ventures with the Small Business Development Corporation and the University of Hawaii. We've got that program out in Manoa and they actually offer training and classes and consulting advice as well. Are there other sources that you are familiar with that people can go and get some help? Oh yes. I've actually approached the Hawaii Procurement Technical Procurement Center. That's a mouthful. Yes, they're affiliated with the SBA as well. And they can help you with all of the ABCs of government contracting. As a matter of fact, I think I've attended a couple of their events that they actually have a lot of vendors and a lot of booths, a lot of information. And there's usually a couple hundred people to go to learn about all of this. And there's a lot of consultants that go to these things too that are there to help people get through the challenges of the paperwork and the process. That's exactly. Yeah, and it can be a little complicated. And not a little very complicated actually. And that's why Hawaii PTAC, yes, that's the acronym. They're there to help you, to assist you and give you all of the resources that you need. I think maybe a lot of people might have a little bit of familiarity with doing a tax return, or at least seeing a tax return, but doing the paperwork to get a government contract can be just as bad if not worse. Yes, very daunting. And then you've got the Chamber of Commerce offers a lot of support. They got the Military Affairs Council that can even maybe participate and help out a little bit. There's actually a lot of organizations out there that can participate and help with the process and take some of the challenges away. Exactly. The Chamber of Commerce it's a great organization not just for small businesses, for medium and large businesses as well. And just try to be engaged and make your membership work for you. Absolutely. You get out of something what you put into it. And a lot of people wouldn't normally think of this, but sometimes your bank can be helpful. Your bank has access to resources and some of the banks work very closely with the SBA and know a lot about some of the supports that's over there. And so even getting your banker on your team and having them engaged and helping you through the process could be beneficial too, right? Make your banker your best friend. And it's usually best to do that before you really need them. Oh yes, yes. That's good. Now having been in business for 10 years, I'm sure you've had some ups and downs and some challenges. Lots of them. That's what makes life go round. What do you think are some of the bigger challenges of having your own business in today's world? Did you have anything specific to a woman in business or a minority in business? What's your thoughts on that? Not so much gender specific challenges, but definitely having a small business in Hawaii is not as cost effective as having a business in Texas. The cost structure here in Hawaii can be pretty challenging. Exactly. And manpower as well. We've had many, many challenges. Trying to find the right person for the right job. And especially when we expanded to the neighbor islands, that's still an ongoing challenge. However, we have partnered with a pro service, with a P.E.O. company. And they're helping us with everything from payroll to benefits to risk management and employee training. I guess the cost factor in Hawaii is always challenging. And there's not a lot you can do about that other than just constantly looking for the best deals and really monitoring your expenses and making sure that nothing is wasted. But that employee, the human resource area, can be very daunting. The laws change so often. It's hard to stay on top of it. They've got these new overtime laws that are kicking in here soon. December 1st. And working with a company that has the background and experience of being able to help with that can really take a lot of stress off of the process. And I know pro services is one of those companies to do that. And Ultras is out there. And the Vontagio provides some HR support. And then P.E.A.U., which is the Pacific advantage that's a smaller P.E.A.U. or a smaller P.E.O. that provides some of that type of support too. So there are options out there that you can explore. But basically the bottom line is that they handle a lot of that Department of Labor laws and regulations. They do the payroll. And they do all the payroll reports, which can be tremendous. And then also a good P.E.A.U. is going to have legal staff in case you have any issues, right? Yes. And that is if, had I known about P.E.A.U.s from day one, I would have just partnered with them from day one. And for any business owners, you know, your focus should be growing the business, not keeping up with HR laws and increase in medical benefits rates or anything that's associated with employee management. So that partnering with a P.E.A.U. for me, I highly recommend it. It's almost like having your own HR department there to support and help you. Exactly. And it's an important part of the business for a lot of reasons. One is that, you know, the employees, of course, can make or break you. I mean, they're the ones that a lot of time the customers see just as much, if not more than the owner. Exactly. And but it's also one of the biggest cost items that a business will have. Yes. So they really need to be efficient and on top of that. And if you do have any issues, you know, working through that could also get expensive and very time consuming. So having somebody there as your partner in that process keeps you out of trouble. That's definitely, yeah. Very good. So, you know, having employees is always a challenge and having a P.E.A.U. to help with that. You know, access to capital is another challenge a lot of companies have. And, you know, having a good relationship with your banker can help with that. You know, I guess the costs of doing business is another issue. And that's why you need to have somebody in the finance and accounting area helping control and monitor and watch the trends on that. I guess the other piece that tends to be pretty big is the sales and marketing piece. Now, have you seen from your background you have a pretty good comfort with the sales and marketing side. Have you had any challenges in that area? Sales and marketing with the prevalence of online marketing and also the Google analytics and all of the tools that are now available to a business owner. It has actually kicked sales and marketing to another level. Has it made it easier or harder, do you think? From my point of view, I think it has made it a lot easier. And the same thing as with my HR, I've also outsourced my online marketing. We hired a company who is doing our online marketing and specific to our industry. Yes, to the home medical equipment. So that's also one thing to consider when you're looking for a marketing company. Make sure that they're familiar with your industry. That's a good point because there's a lot of webmasters or web designers or e-commerce people that are kind of generalists in a sense. But to really be able to be effective, you really have to have a good feel for that product or service that's trying to be marketed and sold. And that's where the experience comes in in that industry. And you found somebody to do that. That's great. Yes, we did. They're actually redesigning our website and they're also doing our digital marketing. And how does that differ from your website? What is digital marketing? Digital marketing is Google analytics and search engine optimization. The SEO stuff. I was in the sales and marketing field but we didn't have any Google analytics and Facebook back then and Instagram. It's amazing how quickly these things can change and what worked a year or two ago may not work as well today. Again, you have to have that expertise in your consultant or advisors to be able to keep up with all of this and take advantage of it when it happens. Right, right. I wore many hats when we were just starting up but I've learned, I've learned it the hard way. You know, Mylene, that's very important because yes, you've worn all those hats. You can't quite take all the hats off yet because you still have to manage and be aware of what all these different individuals are doing and make sure that they're all working together and that the synchronization is there that they're all moving the company in the same direction and so you can't always disconnect. You have to have some sort of a connection there, don't you think? Yes, yes, that's very true. Although now my focus is, you know, before it was, I was managing. I was doing the, very involved in the daily operation. You were doing hand-managing and supervising and all of that. Yes, yes. And, you know, I was doing deliveries and I was, you know, doing marketing, pounding the pavement, knocking on the doors and just doing a little bit of everything. However now, the focus is, my focus now is to grow the business so, you know, my employees will have a much better working environment and that we're able to, you know, provide the best service there is for the veterans. But, you know, I'm afraid we have run out of time. I wish we had more time to chat, but I think that's one of the biggest transitions and possible challenges that small businesses have is to be able to step away from that, let other people do it and you move into that managerial role and it sounds like you've made that transition very successfully. So, congratulations. Thank you. This is Reg Baker. I'm the host of Business in Hawaii. We broadcast live every Thursday at 2 o'clock from 2 to 2.30 and we highlight individuals and successful businesses in Hawaii. Until next week, aloha.