Jafet Zuniga ⋅ Honolulu, HI U.S. Marine Corps, Gunnery Sergeant ⋅ 11 years served

Am in Hawaii and I may be able to help you. All the comments make great points and am sure you already aware that business here is done a lot different then the mainland. You can contact me at zuniga.jafet@gmail.com

James Pearson ⋅ Cumming, GA Retired ⋅ 50 years experience

Good resources for starting a business in any location can usually be found by contacting the state or local economic development organizations. And sometimes a state university has helpful resources, sometimes including a business incubator that provides inexpensive office space and good educational resources, often a no cost to incubator clients. In Hawaii, check out the website of the Hawaii Economic Development Corporation - dbedt.hawaii.gov. Search "incubator" on the University of Hawaii website - https://www.hawaii.edu - to locate such resources. The National Business Incubation Association - www.nbia.org - can also provide some useful resources.

Joel Padua ⋅ Aurora, IL HIFE- Heartland Institute of Financial Education ⋅ 5 years experience

Hi Arnold,
I know someone in Honolulu area that can help you , it's a new industry in the financial industry , they will give you an overview & see if you're interested

Pamela Coric ⋅ Oxford, AL AECOM ⋅ 24 years experience

Hi Sergeant Segal, Are you kin to Steven Segal? Just kidding... I want to thank you for your service to our country. You keep me and my son safe and I am truly appreciative of this.
I also just wanted to add that the Chamber Of Commerce in most areas will host an after hours meet and greet type social event one night a month. This is a great function to attend and mingle with other business owners. get your business cards out and meet local enterpreneurs that can share experience and advice. This business social event will also advertise and celebrate the launch your business.
I hope you have found this helpful!
Pam

Barbara Stern ⋅ Boulder, CO Affordable Closets,llc ⋅ 35 years experience

One of the best ways to expand your presence in a marketplace, especially for a new small business is to locate networking groups in the area. BNI is a popular choice for many businesses and there are groups nationwide. Going to networking meetings on a regular basis allows you to meet others in your area who can forward leads to you and you to them. Building relationships is key to establishing your business in your area. The Chamber of Commerce will have leads groups you can join and they usually sponsor after hours events 1x each month. These are meant to create new alliances and reaffirm existing relationships. Also, different communities sponsor events where you can have a table to showcase your business. Have a drawing for an item with an enter to win form so you can collect email addresses and begin direct mail or newsletters to send out.
Sometimes Costco has local events too. Another option is to provide gift certificates to local non-profit auctions. It's free advertising and oftentimes if your offer is attractive others who may not have bid on your item will see who you are and may become a customer.
Best of luck.

Elizabeth Bowers ⋅ Pittsburgh, PA dck worldwide, LLC ⋅ 35 years experience

I highly recommend attending any event sponsored by your local Small Business Administration office (SBA), Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), Small Business Assistance Centers. You should contact each organization to let them know about your business. They offer free, that's FREE, assistance with all aspects of your business. By getting to know them, they will help you get to know your market and your potential customers. Everything Deb mentions is very important to your business but you will have to pay to join Rotary or your local Chamber of Commerce or to go to their events. This can be good business investments, but if you don't have that kind of money at first, use all the free networking and business assistance you can get. Attending events of the organizations I mentioned is usually free or at nominal cost.

Deb Miller ⋅ Bardstown, KY US Postal Service ⋅ 16 years experience

Just a couple quick ideas. First, thanks so much for your service. I would recommend you network through the following great venues: Rotary club, Chamber of Commerce, Social Media (FB Page for your business), Small Business Associations (federal, state, local), and networking events in your local BizJournal. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/ LinkedIn is another awesome way to network with potential customers, businesses, marketing and financial companies to help grow your business.