Age: 61

Title: President and general manager

Organization: Alluvion Inc., a Hale'iwa wholesale plant nursery that also serves as a florist, gift basket and plant rental business.

High School: Roosevelt High School

College: University of Hawai'i-Manoa

Breakthrough job: "It was when I started to work for Amfac Garden Hawaii after I returned to O'ahu eight years ago. I often think about what I would be doing today if I stayed in Washington state. When

I moved back, there were no teaching opportunities. When I started at Amfac I didn't know anything about plants. But I thought it's similar to education. In education, you're selling ideas and since I did that, I thought I would be able to sell a commodity. That was a big career change for me. I never thought I would be doing what I'm doing today."

Little-known fact: "I was a singer and dancer in the USO (United Service Organizations) during my senior year in college. We did 60 shows in 60 days. That was a learning experience because I had never traveled anywhere except within the state. We went to Taiwan, Korea, Okinawa and Philippines. We were slated to go to Vietnam but there was an outbreak (of violence)."

Q. How did you learn about the nursery business?

A. I don't really know so much about the technical part of the business. I rely on the horticulturist and people whom I hire. But I do know when a plant looks good or it doesn't look good. I like plants and have always had plants, but I never grew plants as a profession. When I joined Amfac (which she later left), we grew only seven varieties of plants and we grew them in large quantities. Now we have over 500 varieties and I have over 100 growers working with us.

Q. Alluvion started in the wholesale nursery business, but now you've added other services to the business. Is diversifying a way to stay ahead of the competition?

A. I think what we have is a unique product and so there is no competition. We try to be a one-stop shop. We do gift baskets and floral arrangements. We offer different combinations with the plants.

I think these are the kinds of things that differentiate us from our competition. I see other companies are trying to copy us but they're far behind. I'm always looking for ways on how to add more value to our products. But, 60 percent of the business still comes from the nursery.

Q. You lease 20 acres from Kamehameha Schools and then sublease your property to local farmers, but you don't charge them a higher lease than what you're paying. Why?

A. I don't want to be making money off my tenants. I feel it's just as important that we work together. If we can work synergistically, that's the broader goal.

We've also established a program here called the coordinating entrepreneur, where we buy plants and other products from over a hundred local growers. There is no formal contract. Our business relationships are based on just a handshake. We work with the growers on a one-on-one basis. We do the marketing and sell their products. As a result, Alluvion has really grown.

Some of the farmers we work with are small. Some of them are backyard growers. But the program gives them an outlet to sell their plants so they don't have to go to the swap meet, sit in the hot sun and sell their plants. I feel that if we work together we'll have a consistent supply all the time.

We also have a partnership with Waipahu High School. The students grow the plants, and we sell the plants for them. The school earned $10,000 for their Future Farmers of America program. Before the program began, the school had a major plant theft problem but once the program was in place the school didn't have a theft problem.

Q. Why do you want to help local farmers?

A. When you're an entrepreneur you have to do everything. You have to do all the different steps of running a business. A lot of the small growers here don't have the wherewithal to do that. So if we buy the products from them, they don't have to worry about selling what they grow. They'll be able to concentrate on what they do best, growing the plants.

Q. Since you don't have contracts with these growers, does it concern you they may not be able to deliver?

A. Even if there's no contract, the growers are confident they'll be able to continue to grow the plants and do things consistently. We sit down with many of the growers and come up with a production plan outlining our expectations. The plan also lets them know we're making a commitment to work with them.

Q. How profitable is the company?

A. I usually don't reveal that.

Q. What do you think is the future for Hawai'i's agriculture industry?

A. Agriculture is so encompassing. It's not only fruits, vegetables and plants. It's also aquaculture. I think we can develop that industry, because if we have another 9/11, aquaculture is where we can get the fast-growing foods. If we can grow tilapia in a speedy way, we'll be able to feed ourselves. Hawai'i really needs to start thinking about being self-sustaining. I think people don't think that another 9/11 will come. I think it's just (a matter of) when.

Q. How can Hawai'i become self-sustaining?

A. We need more lands dedicated to agriculture. We cannot continue to build and build. We need to give farmers more opportunities. Until farmers have lands that are bankable, have leases 25 years or more, they'll be able to plan ahead.

Q. How would you describe your leadership style?

A. Benevolent dictator. I do collaborative things, but I'm very quick to make decisions. One of the advantages of being an entrepreneur is you can make instantaneous decisions. For example, Matson had a container of goods that suffered heat damage. Matson called me to see if I wanted to buy the plants. I went down there, looked at the plants and made the decision on the spot to buy the plants. You have to be able to seize opportunities.

Q. What is your biggest challenge?

A. Getting good employees. The people I hire need to have a positive attitude. If they have a lousy attitude, it doesn't work. Our main priority is offering good customer service. I want my employees to answer the phone with a smile on their face. I've let employees go because they don't have the right attitude.

Q. You have 34 employees. How do you motivate them?