David Paik has never seen a business opportunity that he did not like. He currently runs three different companies. The first is an independent manufacturer’s representative business which focuses on commercial plumbing supplies and equipment. The second venture is a wholesale distribution business that sells packing materials, painting and roofing supplies. His most recent venture is Aloha Island Lei. Together with son Daniel and daughter Heather, the business primarily serves customers through online convenience and has become one of the leading Hawaiian lei wholesalers in the Islands.
However, David is also in the business of “giving back.”
When Aloha United Way (AUW) announced its 2017 Spirit of Community Award winners, “recognizing nearly 50 business, labor, government and nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated exceptional community support, accomplishments and dedication to Hawai‘i’s local communities,” Aloha Island Lei was named the winner of the Kuleana Award.
Always humble, David says that his son and daughter do “all the heavy lifting” for that business. In a video for the Award, Daniel says: “I was taught that if you’re able to help someone you should. That’s something I grew up with.
“When we first started the business, we were struggling. I remember the hardest thing was not having the phone ring for a while. We had a lot of friends and family who came to help us out. They weren’t getting paid; they just did it out of the kindness of their heart. When we were finally able to be profitable, we decided that we should see how we can give back some of our time and effort.”
Aloha Island Lei partnered with the American Cancer Society and had cancer survivors sew fresh flower lei to give to people who were still fighting their cancer. Daniel says, “Hopefully it helped them push through tough times.”
He adds, “Aloha Island Lei did a canned food drive and chose to donate the food to the Partners In Development Foundation. We got more out of that than we expected, especially after they explained how the programs worked. They actually came back with a thank you card. It was touching that they were moved by what we did and they were very appreciative of it. That gives us more motivation to keep going and doing more. It’s not the recognition part of it. That’s not who we are. We’re just trying to do our small part.”
It’s abundantly clear that David has passed on his value of humility and his entrepreneurial skills to his children, and our communities are the benefactors.
