Greater Good Radio - Connect, Learn, Heal, and Grow

Podcast Episode w/ Todd Cochrane (geeknewscentral.com), Ryan Ozawa (hawaiiup.com), and Kimo Akane (Cox Radio; kimosvegas.com)

Great Harvest Bread Company (GHBC) recently gave over $18,000 in free cookies to a non profit fund raiser. Adam’s bakery gives free bread to any non profit organization fund raiser. That’s right, free. 29 year old Adam Wong is a perfect example of a social entrepreneur. It’s funny because until a few months ago he didn’t even know he was one. This is the true example of a company w/ a dual bottom line, a social mission and profit mission. So how does this help his profit mission? The word of mouth advertising this brings to the bakery is phenomenal. With no money spent on traditional advertising, GHBC’s second location achieved the highest grossing sales for their opening day along and opening month. Now only a few months old, it’s still breaking records and all without a penny spent on traditional advertising. Adam has more where that came from. His Baker for a Day Contest allows a non profit to keep all proceeds for one whole day of GHBC operation. Adam got his start in technology startups when he left investment banking and returned to Hawaii from UCLA. He started three companies prior to GHBC. Adam is also into real estate investment and development. Some questions asked: Welcome to Greater Good Radio Adam. Can you tell us a bit about The Great Harvest Bread Company and what they do? How many franchises are there in the national charter? How did you find the franchise and get started? What does your role entail? You work with your wife, what does her role entail? How did you get started? What made you decide to come back to Hawaii? What did you learn from your previous businesses? Can you share with us your community related projects and promotions? How has that helped your business? Any advice for today’s young business person? How did you choose the GHBC franchise? How much was the investment? How did you gain financing? What mistakes do you see others make when starting a new business? BIO: Adam Wong graduated from Iolani H.S. In 1998 he co-founded E808.com, a pioneering Hawaii web retailer. Then he co-founded a web design and software startup called Parallel 21 which has designed sites for Victoria Ward, Ltd, Kahala Sportswear and software for Maui County. His most recent venture is called the Great Harvest Bread Company Hawaii with opened their first location in Kahala in November of 2003. Great Harvest opened their second location in downtown Honolulu in May 2005 and is in the process of opening 3 more locations in the next year. Adam has numerous business ventures including real estate investments and development. Adam is recently married and his wife Chelsie also works in the GHBC business. In his free time Adam likes to surf, coach basketball and work within the community. Links: Great Harvest Bread Company Parallel 21 e808.com Listen on Youtube:

Adam Wong - Owner of Great Harvest Bread Company, Parallel 21, e808.com

Learn how Kent turned a $5,000 football signing bonus into a $14 million annual revenue business. His business name is Pictures Plus and has 14 locations, a 42,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and 138 employees. In 1985, Kent Untermann signed a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys, but a leg injury killed his NFL dream. He started selling artwork at the local swap meet to make some extra money. One of Kent’s first purchases was 1200 teddy bears that he sold at the swap meet. He then got into pictures and then framing. So how does an ex-football player become a successful entrepreneur? Kent answers this in a way that only he can, direct. He’s a strong supporter of University of Hawaii athletics and supports numerous ”employee related” charities. Kent is building a business and making a difference. One interesting program he is involved with is called the Sustainable Forestry Project where Pictures Plus is the first certified company involved. This is an initiative to preserve certain portions of the forest and responsible business practices. Kent’s grandmother taught him that, “Well bought is half sold.” Find out what this means in this show. Some questions asked: Let’s start w/ your entry into the NFL. How long did that last? Do you ever miss the NFL? Why did you start selling artwork at the Aloha Stadium? Did you know that this was a good market or was it a hobby? What kind of art did you sell at the Swap Meet? How did you get your supplies? What did you buy at the auctions? How long was it from the swap meet to buying your first container of goods? How did you find your initial supplier? What was the next step once you found the supplier? When did you know that you hit a niche market and you could make a successful business out of it to open a location outside of the Swap Meet? You started off selling artwork, how did you get into framing? So you started at the Swap Meet in 1985 and decided to open one shop in 1986, how many locations do you have currently? And you have two more locations opening in the Big Island? Where does your framing get done? Where do your frames come from? How did you make contact with your frame manufactures initially? Pictures Plus is known for it’s koa veneer frames, why? Pictures Plus tries to stay competitive on the market with it’s prices 40% less than mainland prices, do you have many mainland customers that come to Hawaii and bring their pictures and art to be framed by Pictures Plus and have it shipped back? Why not offshore production? Do you plan on expanding to the mainland? How did you get your entrepreneurial start? What non profits or community based organizations are you involved with? How has that affected your business success? Did you eventually get financing? How? What was your most challenging business experience and how did you overcome it? What are the biggest and most common mistakes you see entrepreneurs or business owners make when starting a new venture? Is your wife involved w/ Pictures Plus? How do you work together to gain the best results? Did you always agree on business ideas? BIO: Kent Untermann was recruited out of the San Francisco Bay Area (Fairfax and San Rafael) to play quarterback for the University of Hawaii under former head coach Dick Tomey back in 1980. After a position change, he lettered at tight end for UH from 1981-84 and was named to the Warrior Club in his junior and senior seasons. Kent went on to sign a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 1985, but a leg injury cut short his NFL career. Today he is the successful business owner and founder of Pictures Plus, (www.picturesplus.com) in Honolulu.

Kent Untermann - Owner of Pictures Plus