Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 10, 1 October 1993 — Ka nūhou mai Alu Like [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ka nūhou mai Alu Like

News from Alu Like

(presented by Ka Wai Ola O OHA and Alu Like as a public service)

ALUJ§ LIKE

Opportunities from Alu Like

Buildina a future with Alu Like

Alu Like's eeonomie program area teaches Hawaiians about starting a business, helps them get financing, and provides technieal assistance when the business is up and running. It also has projects to help young Hawaiian entrepreneurs and assists farming cooperatives on Moloka'i. The Entrepreneurship Training Project is the flagship program for their division and has seen some significant changes since its inception.

Explains Vonn Logan, Alu Like's Business Assistance Project Administrator, "When we first began we had a very typical business-like classroom. We would teach that a personality profile of a entrepreneur most associated with success was aggressive and individualistic. But this profile didn't apply so well to Hawaiians because these characteristics were discouraged in Hawaiian society. We turned off a lot of Hawaiians."

The project has changed its focus to suit the cultural sensibilities of Hawaiians. Interdependence is taught to be just as important as independence. Culture has become an important part of the training process. The result has been a significant increase in enrollment." There are no requirements to sign up for the classes except documentation showing that you are Hawaiian. There are classes every eight weeks on O'ahu and a total of six year-round on neighbor islands. (Classes are announced regularly in Ka Wai Ola O OHA.) About 25 percent of participants have existing businesses and eome to improve their skills. Of the remaining 75 percent, about half usually attempt to start a business and many others begin planning. After Alu Like began its entrepreneurship program it quickly realized there was a need to find financing for their students' business ideas. With financing from OHA, Alu Like has hired business specialists to help participants prepare a business plan. īf their plan is not accepted by the

banks they ean ask for funding from OHA's Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund. However, getting the loan only solved part of the problem. Most of the money entrepreneurs would borrow would be swallowed up by the enormous cost of renting office space and|buying office equipment. To solve this problem Alu Like established a business services area whieh provides access to affordable office space and a number of business machines including computers, faxes and copiers. They also provide desktop publishing, ad layout, media monitoring, data entry, bulk mailing, and letterhead, all below market rates. An outgrowth of the entrepreneurship program has been the youth entrepreneurship program whieh focuses on the schools, training teachers and eommunities in areas with large Hawaiian populations. Alu Like's farms development program provides an administrator and a plant manager for a cooling plant cooperative in Moloka'i. The plant provides refridgeration for agricultural continued on page 19

Alu Like's business service area: Keeping costs down.

Alu Like eeonomie development

eonūnueā from page 16

produce before shipping. Alu Like hopes this program will provide farm empIoyment for Hawaiians on Moloka'i. In the future Alu Like hopes to assist the cooperative in getting

more machinery and improving their overall efficiency. For more information on Alu Like's Eeonomie Development projects eall: 826-8940. Business services: 532-3660.