Great Ideas

blk_dots_white1_400x372We’ve just completed a round of holidays and most of us have spent a good amount of time with friends, family, and co-workers in the process of celebrating.  Though holiday get-togethers can sometimes be stressful, it’s important to recognize how very important they are.  “Psychology Today” recently reported that “In surveys to determine the factors that contribute most to human happiness, respondents consistently rate connection to friends and family-love, intimacy, social affiliation-above wealth or fame, even above physical health...Loneliness isn’t about being alone; it’s about not feeling connected.”
29 December, 2009 /
This post is brought to you by guest columnist Ryan Esaki.  Esaki is a Kaua`i entrepreneur, one of the co-founders of the mega-popular ukulele website, ukuleleunderground.com as well as a small independent record label, Town Hero Records LLC. He is also a web strategies consultant.  For more information about Ryan Esaki, go to ryanesaki.com.
01 December, 2009 /
Self-Storage-for-Business1We’ve found that while many are calling this a “challenging economy,” many businesses are making the best of the times.  So, if we all can put ourselves in the mindset that challenges are opportunities waiting to be unearthed, then here are three free PR tips for maximizing the times. 1)    Clean up and clear out.  Clutter is useless and takes up space that could be better used.  Having stacks of old things around is also unattractive.  Give your customers, your employees, and yourself more room to move around and a nice, organized space in which to work.  Be merciless about the clearing.  Donate items that you can no longer use to a nonprofit that might be able to use them.  Recycle what you can.  If there are things you absolutely cannot part with, organize them, label them, and put them in storage.  A cleaner, clearer workspace will make everyone feel better – your customers, your employees, and you, and it will symbolically provide the needed open space for useful, and perhaps moneymaking things and ideas.
30 October, 2009 /
We love Stuart Elliott's advertising articles in the New York Times.  This one we thought was particularly good, given the need to have smart marketing campaigns these days that effectively attract consumers and inspire them to buy your products or services.
21 September, 2009 /
hot-chocolateOk, so we've blogged about Twitter and its benefits a few times before.  But as we Tweet more and more, it's amazing to see how Twitter has opened up a whole new meaning to communication, connectivity, and customer service. First of all, Twitter gives you a one-degree separation between you and the people and businesses on Twitter. Move out of the way, Kevin Bacon, Twitter's got you beat!  It's so easy to Tweet your favorite celebrity, reporter, business, and so on. Of course you'll need to do a little investigating (quick Google search) to make sure the user you're tweeting is the "real" person or business you're looking for (versus imposters). And, many times, they will reply back to you. We've tweeted to and received replies from Al Roker, KGMB9 News, Starbucks, Zippy's, and Andy Bumatai, to name a few. So cool! We know it's cheesy to be star struck, but we don't care...we LOVE it!  As a frequent Starbucks drinker, I was thrilled and very impressed with the prompt response I got when I tweeted @Starbucks a question one day. In terms of brand loyalty, can you imagine how my original warm-and-fuzzy feelings for my favorite coffee stop got even warmer and fuzzier (and led to more visits and purchases)?
02 July, 2009 /
This year we had the distinct honor to award scholarships to two deserving and extraordinary recipients, Benjie Baclig and Shelcie Takenouchi.  Shelcie is in Southern California, where she will attend USC to pursue a master of arts degree in strategic public relations.  Benjie just graduated as the valedictorian from Waimea High School on Kaua'i's Westside so we were able to take him and his family to breakfast to meet him and learn what fired his ambition to be great.
23 June, 2009 /
twitter-blackTwitter, the social networking micro-blogging service, is gaining popularity like wildfire. Everyone from celebrities, news entities, politicians, businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals like you and me, are using Twitter to connect with their publics.  According to mashable.com, Twitter has an expected 1,192 percent annual growth rate.  That's astounding!  On Kauai, businesses such as No Ka Oi Landscape Service (@NKOLandscape), The Grand Hyatt Kauai (@GHKPoipu), Deja Vu Surf Hawaii (@dejavusurf), and more are tweeting about the latest news and activities in their companies and industries, and even offering exclusive tips and deals for their tweeting customers (check out Bubba Burger @Bubba_Burger). 
16 June, 2009 /