Videoconference Workshops Linked

County of Maui News Release

The Kuha`o Business Center (KBC) on Molokai and the Maui County Business Resource Center (MCBRC) at the Maui Mall have successfully been linked via video conferencing. For the first time, Molokai residents and business owners can take advantage of the great workshops produced on Maui without traveling. Conversely, Maui residents will be able to sign up for the Molokai workshops.

“This is a great day for our small businesses and entrepreneurs on Molokai,” Mayor Alan Arakawa said. “This kind of government collaboration is just what we need, and it makes it so much easier for residents to gain the knowledge and skills they need to build their businesses.”

Teena Rasmussen, Office of Economic Development Director, called the new videoconferencing setup “government at its best.”

“Not only have we utilized equipment that was already purchased and sitting idle, but we have now linked two of our greatest resources for the convenience of our residents and business owners,” she noted. “Just during the last month, four workshops have [used videoconferencing] and 14 Molokai residents have taken advantage of them.”

Jennifer Hawkins, Molokai business advocate and manager of KBC, said that from the day the new opportunity was announced they have been receiving nothing but compliments.

“Residents and clientele are so grateful that they can take advantage of great training opportunities without having to leave the island,” she said.

Hawkins’ MCBRC counterpart, Karen Arakawa, said that it has been “heartwarming for us to see residents on Molokai joining in on the workshops in real-time and being able to ask questions of the workshop presenters.”

Each center schedules workshops every month on a variety of subjects designed to help small business owners and entrepreneurs. Examples of recent workshops include “Sales Skills 101,” “Business Branding with Online Marketing,” “Developing a Marketing Plan,” and “Quickbooks for Small Business.”

In addition to workshops, the centers are collaborating on using the equipment for meetings.

Workshop schedules for the two centers are announced monthly and are available online at the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development website www.mauicounty.gov/OED. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/MauiOED.