Small Business and Entrepreneurship

President Obama described today’s entrepreneurs as our present day pioneers—those willing to take calculated risks to overcome challenges and create a better future. But as one local businessperson recently told me, “growing a business in Hawaii today is like growing a seed in scorched earth.” We must improve Hawaii’s business climate.

We hear this every campaign season and the small business owners I’m talking to are rightfully skeptical. They don’t believe anyone is listening when they talk about the skyrocketing costs of doing business in Hawaii—rent, shipping, taxes, fees, healthcare, equipment, utilities, insurance. And as this continues, we are crippling our economy because there is no significant “multiplier effect” in our economy without strong, locally owned small businesses.

Hawaii has always had tremendous entrepreneurial energy, but we have never fully unlocked our full potential. The small business people I’ve met want to do what is right for Hawaii. They understand their positive role in the community and the need for appropriate regulation and costs. But government is too often a barrier because the systems don’t act with the speed, urgency, and understanding that businesses require.

Government has also not been a good partner. Locally owned small businesses are too often on their own to find capital for start-up and expansion, to break into new markets, and to compete with large outside-owned corporations.

Small business is absolutely critical to job creation and our economic recovery. In an Abercrombie Administration, government will listen to small businesses, remove cumbersome barriers, open up opportunities, help solve problems, forge partnerships between businesses and communities, and advocate for local products and services. Hawaii is counting on our entrepreneurs to confront our top challenges: creating good jobs for our graduates, reducing our over-reliance on fossil fuel and imported food, and partnering with schools to create a 21st century education system.

Guiding Principles

Government’s role is to help
Government must not be a barrier for business to overcome. Public employees want to do a good job, but they often lack the tools and support to move with the speed and efficiency that businesses require—a problem that has been compounded by recent cuts and furloughs. Government’s proper role is to collect and analyze economic data, find market opportunities, provide high quality services and infrastructure, maintain a level playing field, and form partnerships that support and promote local businesses.

Fair access to capital
Financial institutions and government must work together to create a vibrant small business environment, ensuring that our entrepreneurs—no matter where they are located or what their circumstance—can have fair access to the money they need to get started and to expand. This is especially important in rural communities that need strong small business sectors. Working with local banks, we will get more money churning in the local economy.

Community-based efforts
Some of the best economic development in Hawaii is happening at the community level where community leaders, schools, social service institutions, small businesses, local media, and others collaborate to make the best use of limited resources. Local communities are in the best position to make these decisions. Government should be a supportive partner in these efforts.

Buy local
Opportunities for government contracts should favor local businesses to the greatest extent possible so we can keep the maximum amount of money and jobs here in Hawaii and help build market share for local businesses. Leading by example, government can coordinate a broad public commitment to buying local and paying ourselves before sending our money outside of Hawaii.

Sell local
Rather than solely focusing on trade missions to bring companies and visitors to Hawaii, the state must put more resources into marketing local small businesses to the outside world. This effort should include fierce protection of local brands to make sure Hawaii and our people and products retain our unique stature in the world.

The Abercrombie Plan

1. Full review and refinement of regulation and permitting processes. One of the biggest complaints among small businesses is that permitting and regulation processes are too costly, cumbersome and slow. A review and revision of all processes, beginning with business startup requirements, must be conducted with small business participation and the goal of supporting entrepreneurs. Government agencies that lack capacity or sufficient IT infrastructure will be upgraded. Businesses also need a stable regulatory environment and a higher degree of certainty that rules, regulations, programs, and laws affecting business won’t change substantially from year to year.


2. Governor’s clearinghouse for federal opportunities. Growing small businesses is a high priority of the Obama Administration and there are opportunities to access federal funds to start and expand businesses. Building on strong relationships with the federal government and collaborating with local banks and businesses, the Governor’s office will have a one-stop clearinghouse for local businesses to get help in securing grants, loans and other federal funds, and will also actively seek out new opportunities.


3. Coordinated “Buy Local” effort. There are many good independent efforts to encourage people to support local businesses. Government needs to take the lead in coalescing these efforts and measuring results. More importantly, state and local government will lead by example by making every effort to buy local and keep dollars here in Hawaii.


4. Protecting and marketing Hawaii’s brand. The Attorney General’s office will clamp down on protecting Hawaii’s unique brands so that local businesses can benefit from all their efforts to ensure the high quality and stellar reputation of local products and services. At the same time, government will partner with businesses to coordinate “Hawaii Channels” that aggressively market products and services via the Internet, television and other media for global export. And we will build a trade highway for Hawaii small businesses, helping to coordinate trade show presence, consolidating logistics to help businesses break into bigger markets, supporting private trade organizations, and selling more local products through commissaries.


5. Teach business skills. Financial education must be a standard facet of everyone’s education with more opportunities to learn business skills including management, finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship in our high schools, community colleges and universities. Partnerships with local businesses that provide hands on learning experiences and internships will be expanded. We also need to ensure our system of higher education is preparing highly-skilled individuals who can hold good paying jobs here at home.


6. Procurement reform. Politics has overwhelmed the process of bidding for and performing work for the government. We must have a government procurement system that is fair, based on merit, and free from political pressuring. A well-run and managed procurement system should follow the highest standards of conduct of the various trades, professions and industries to ensure quality and ethical behavior where the contractor and the general public mutually benefit. An Abercrombie Administration will create a level playing field for all.