Time to re-evaluate, reinvent

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Brian Zinn, owner of Copy Shop Inc. in Hawai'i Kai wants to make it possible for customers to submit print orders via the Internet.

Joyce Edwards will leave her business-efficiency consultancy to her son, Stephan, next year. The company, The System Center Inc. in Kalihi, designs storage systems and helps organize businesses for clients. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

And Jack Schneider wants to gain more exposure for his payroll-services business by giving more public speeches.

While not exactly resolutions, these moves nonetheless are among the ways local businesses are seeking to improve heading into the new year.

Other moves Hawai'i small businesses should consider when searching for increased sales while lowering costs include cutting workers' compensation costs, using technology to improve efficiency and increasing their involvement in legislative issues, said state Sen. Sam Slom, R-8th (Wai'alae Iki, Hawai'i Kai), who is also president of Small Business Hawai'i.

Or they also could "move to Arizona" Slom joked, referring to Hawai'i's reputation as a nonbusiness friendly state.

On a more serious note, Slom said the New Year is a prime time for businesses to re-evaluate and reinvent themselves to stay competitive.

"There's always a resistance to change among people, especially small-business people," and that is true particularly when it comes to establishing a presence on the Web, he said.

Slom said that's unfortunate because even if people aren't shopping on the Internet, they're increasingly using it as a resource to find out about a business. The reluctance of businesses to set up online sites is especially an issue with older companies, he said.

Zinn, who already has a Web site at www.copyshophawaii.com, plans to expand the site so customers can electronically submit artwork and print orders that can then be processed and picked up in person. The expansion is tied to $100,000 in recent equipment upgrades aimed at using technology to improve customer service, Zinn said.

"I think that's paid off for us," he said. "We're quite ahead of the curve."

Similarly, Joyce Edwards, president of The System Center Inc. in Kalihi, is rolling out new business-management software in January designed to ease customer and project management, human-resource services and overall workflow.

In addition, Joyce and her husband, Bill, will continue the process of passing the 28-year-old business to their son, Stephan.

Succession planning can be key to the long-term survival of family-owned businesses. In addition to the legal requirements, a transition in a family business requires a detachment from personal issues.

"There's questions that have to be asked and there's things that have to be answered and there has to be an understanding that business is business," Stephan said.

At employee-leasing company JS Services, President Jack Schneider also has a plan for 2004 that includes lobbying the Legislature to waive the general excise tax on direct, pass-through costs for employee leasing companies.

Employee leasing firms hire a company's workers and "leases" them back to the employer, assuming all payroll responsibilities and providing other benefits. Schneider says his firm should not have to pay taxes on such costs as health-insurance premiums, which are passed on to his client companies.

The other part of Schneider's plan involves taking the marketing of his business up a notch. "I plan to do more speaking engagements and get out in front of more groups," he said.

Another step businesses may want to consider in 2004 is improving workplace-safety training and implementing employee assistance plans, Slom said.

"Businesses have been looking at what they can do to lower (health-insurance) premiums and keep them in check," he said. At the same time, "there's been a lot of problems with morale among employees where you've got drug- or substance-abuse problems.

"I think (small businesses) are going to take that head-on this year. There's more of a willingness now" because of the Islands' ice epidemic, he said.

Slom said helping employees deal with drug issues "reduces costs, premiums and it increases productivity."

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.