Aloha Friends:
Happy New Year! We are committed and in the wave! Do we wipe out, or shred our way to a smooth finish? Time will tell, but in the mean time we have to call on all our skills and creativity while staying tuned in to fast moving forces all around us.
Did we adequately wax the board? Where are the rocks? Moving out of the metaphor, one thing we need to think about is computer security, and tomorrow there is a free workshop on Computer Security at MEO from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. sponsored by the SBA and the FBI featuring Richard Kissel from NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Go to http://www.sba.gov/hi to register, and to http://csrc.nist.gov/securebiz/ for more information on the presentation.
Of course the risky places are also where there can be the most opportunity. There is workshop on Web 2.0 applications and how you can use them in your business on February 24th see http://bizwiz20.ning.com.
On the next day, February 25th, by the Maui Economic Development Board is a broader workshop on marketing and e-commerce co-sponsored by the High Tech Development Corporation, Boeing, the Air Force Research Labs, and Maui's own Beth Holiday of Inner Dynamics. As of writing this letter, the specifics are not finalized but go to http://www.medb.org for more information.
Maui's Bob Sommers, who has a 24/7 on demand series of marketing, e-commerce, and Web 2.0 online videos (see http://recognizedexpert.com) is launching the Internet Marketing Association of Hawaii.
The Maui Chamber of Commerce has rescheduled "Managing in Tough Times" workshop for February 25th. This is the morning workshop at MEO that was cancelled due to the storm on January 16th. Call the Chamber at (808) 871-7711 for more information and to register. Their website is http://mauichamber.com.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has a great series of free short online on-demand workshops covering basics that you can take advantage of at your convenience go to http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html
I am hosting a brown bag lunch this Friday, February 6th on Obama's Economic Recovery Plan and Small Business from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. We will have a ten minute video that is scheduled to be made available on that day, along with an opportunity to provide feedback. Please RSVP here.
I hope many of you were at or have seen the videos of the Maui Enterprise Forum in November featuring Pacific Biodiesel, Bamboo Technologies, and International Underwater Explorations. All three companies are making great progress. Go to http://coolprojectsmaui.com to see their presentations and panel discussions and visit the company websites for updates.
We are planning the next forum for Wednesday, March 4th at 10 a.m. Location pending. The theme is going to be Innovation in Community Learning Technologies and feature three Hawaii innovator companies: the Home School Learning Network (Patty Inman), UBoost.com (John Bowers), and The Big Idea (Lynn Rasmussen). All three companies are Hawaii QHTB's using Web2.0 technologies. Patty was one of our first Maui Enterprise Forum presenters back in 2001.
Speaking of QHTB's, again Hawaii's 100% tax credit for investing in innovation companies is under assault. And this time, with the projected State budget deficit there are serious reasons for eliminating innovation tax credits. HOWEVER, there are many more reasons for keeping and even extending them. There is no more critical time for innovation than now. For the details and how you can help go to http://www.extend.221.org.
As always, looking forward to seeing you and working with you over the next year.
Happy New Year, Mahalo, and Aloha!
David Fisher
Maui Center Direct
Hawaii SBDC Network
PS. Call Pat Diaz at 875-2402 if you would like an appointment.
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