Small business briefs
Advertiser Staff
Ba-Le founder to speak at library
Thanh Lam, the 2002 National Small Business Person of the Year and owner of Ba-Le Sandwich & Bakery, will participate in a free "talk story" program Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Hawai'i State Library.
Lam turned a single Vietnamese sandwich shop in Chinatown in 1984 into a $5 million business that includes 22 restaurants around Honolulu and a booming operation supplying breads and desserts to Hawai'i's major hotels and airlines.
Lam owns just one of the 22 Ba-Le sandwich shops — the name means "Paris" in Vietnamese — and it accounts for just 5 percent of his $400,000 monthly sales.
Lam licenses each franchise to friends and former employees for $20,000, or sometimes sells an operation outright for $40,000.
Island companies invited to Taiwan
Hawai'i product and service companies are being invited to participate in the 2002 NAFTA Products Catalogue Show, December 4-5, 2002 in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Taipei Import and Export Association will be organizing Hawai'i's participation in the 2002 NAFTA Products Catalogue Show. A Hawai'i booth has already been booked and Hawai'i companies are able to offer product and service information free of charge.
Trade groups attending this event will include members of Taipei Import and Export Association, trade organizations, general retail and department store buyers, trade wholesalers and distributors as well as members of the Asian media.
Hawai'i companies wishing to participate should call the state's Product Trade Branch, a part of the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism, at 587-2584.
Small business seminar on tap
The Hawai'i Small Business Development Center Network will present a seminar covering entrepreneurship, keys for success and sources of capital. "Starting a Business in Hawaii" is scheduled 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Hawai'i Small Business Development Center Network, 1041 Nu'uanu Ave., Suite A. Fee. Information and registration: 522-8131, Ext. 221.
Networking group meets
The Honolulu Business Network, a networking opportunity for small-business owners and professionals, meets 12:01 to 1:15 p.m. Thursdays at Sansei Seafood Restaurant, Restaurant Row. Call: Tracy Nakashima, 525-6028.
