Last year Waiau, along with her boyfriend Kirk Hovious, opened Keiki Kuts, a kids-only, kid-friendly hair and styling salon in Kaimuki. The salon has been so successful — weekends can bring about 40 kids a day — the couple opened another location in Kailua in January, with plans to build three more in the next few years.

Not only did starting her own business satisfy a personal career goal, but the flexibility in her schedule now makes taking care of three kids a little easier. And that has been a huge benefit.

"It's easier for me now because I have more control over my life," said Waiau, 38, a licensed cosmetologist. "I can bring the children to work so it's not like I'm losing time with them. In fact, I spend more time with them now."

Waiau is of one many local parents who have started small businesses geared toward kids and found inspiration, in some way, from their own. Whether to spend more time as a family or to have a business to pass onto their children, these parents found motivation to start their own business and are happier now, they say, because they can put family first.

Mary and Brian Melzack came to Hawai'i from Toronto 10 years ago after selling their chain of independent bookstores. They had no intention of putting down roots.

But that soon changed once they arrived and discovered Hawai'i was an ideal place for them to raise a family.

"We had both been powerful, driven executives," Mary Melzack said. "But we got here and decided life's too short. We don't need 150 stores. We need a life!"

Rock-climbing walls, among other slides and carnival rides, are part of Claire and Delbert Kim's Xtreme Fun Rentals Inc. business. Photo courtesy Xtreme Fun Rentals

The Melzacks opened WeePlay & Learn in July at the Koko Marina Center, where they also run a Bestsellers. The playcenter, similar to Gymboree Play & Music centers, has programs geared toward young children that emphasize interactive play. Singing, dancing, playing — these all contribute to the physical, emotional and social development of children.

"There was so little on the island for interactive play and socialization," said Mary Melzack, 47. "Play is essential and interactive play critical."

WeePlay & Learn has given Bestsellers another dimension. It's become a convincing way for the bookstore, now with a playcenter component, to move into residential areas. Response has been so great — the Hawai'i Kai location has about 700 members already — that plans for expansion are in the works. The couple hopes to open five more locations on O'ahu in the next five years.

"We now have become a destination type of store, as opposed to an impulse store," Mary Melzack said. "And it really does work."

Like many small business owners, the Melzacks can put in 100 hours a week, easily. But they can control their schedule, which allows for more flexibility — and more time as a family.

"When I get to the point of burnout, I'll take off for two days," Mary Melzack said. "I take the children and do things and I'm Mommy again. And that's very cool."

When Claire Kim quit her full-time job to be a full-time mom, she told her husband she wanted to start a home-based business so she could work and raise their three kids.

Her husband, Delbert, who worked as a part-time clown, did some research on renting inflatable jumpers and bouncers, which were doing well on the Mainland. That's when he realized the potential of that marketplace in Hawai'i.

They started Xtreme Fun Rentals Inc. in 1997 with five jumpers, doing baby lu'aus and birthday parties. Now the company boasts more than 50 jumpers, with an arsenal of slides, carnival rides, rock-climbing walls and obstacles courses, doing more than 200 events, school fairs and festivals a year.

Since then, Delbert Kim estimates the industry has grown to be worth $3 million to $5 million annually.

"We didn't start a business," he said. "We started an entire industry."

The company is still run from their home in Wahiawa, though they now have two warehouses to store their equipment.

And it's has been truly a family company, with Kim's kids and nephews all putting in some time.

"It's a real business for us, but the smiles (from kids) is the motivating factor that keeps us going," said Delbert Kim, 46. "We do provide a lot of fun for families and kids. ... That really keeps the business fun."