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From conceptualization to execution, Pacific Edge Magazine is deemed to be a success. The brainchild of Naomi Hazelton, owner of Aloha Lei Company, Pacific Edge opens a new niche featuring a group that deserves recognition for maintaining a robust business and cultural environment in the state. But it is not just the unique market that defines the magazine. The passion and dedication that Naomi puts into her labor of love also contribute to its character. And her enduring partnership with fiancé and co-publisher/director of operations, Jamie Giambrone, adds to the promise of this high-quality magazine focusing on today's young professionals and their underlying task of contributing to Hawaii's culture and economy.
To the couple, relationships play an important role in their endeavor to accomplish the mission they have envisioned. Building and sustaining this interpersonal connectivity are the foremost steps in their enterprise.
Pacific Edge in Summary
Prior to Pacific Edge's materialization, Naomi looked into several Hawaii-based publications and realized that there was no single a magazine which focused primarily on young professionals. "I felt that there was a niche to specifically feature those up-and-coming careerists who were living in Hawaii and making ends meet," she said, "looking at the fact that in 2006, being Hawaiian professionals, we don't have to go to the mainland anymore, that there are opportunities; the economy is supporting us."
"There are so many young professionals in the state of Hawaii now, and many are doing well, and they're so enthusiastic, and energetic," Naomi added, making this the primary focus of her graduate school thesis. The acknowledgement it received became the impetus to create a publication for this market. After meeting Jamie, they sketched out a business plan and Naomi worked with a couple of graphic designers to produce her dissertation, which would complete her Masters' program at HPU. Seeing potential in her idea, faculty members and fellow students lauded Naomi's proposal and encouraged her to pursue the magazine project, which would realize her vision.
Pacific Edge on a Mission
Jamie, a native of Brocton, New York and a former U.S. Army Officer, said, "Pacific Edge Magazine's primary focus is to spotlight young professionals, and executives who are making it in Hawaii, and tell their story to the local community - a little bit about themselves, their business, and how they got to where they are."
The magazine - with hopes of creating a public sphere as a platform where like-minds can interact - centers its readership market on professionals aged 22 to 60, and features content on budding entrepreneurs and corporate employees 25 to 39 years of age. According to Jamie, this demographic represents the younger generation who is "getting ready to step up and take its place in the business community."
As a publication which features businesses and professional people, Pacific Edge, inadvertently, has come to stand as a networking tool. Naomi cited as an example one of the young professionals featured in a past issue who now regularly deals with a publicly-traded Hawaii company after having read her article on the magazine. This, she felt, tied in with the company's involvement with the community.
"From a integrity standpoint with the magazine, we feel that it's important to feature the young professionals based on their business achievements, ethics and standards, complimentary, and not based on paid advertising," Naomi, a former freelance writer, said.
Pacific Edge on Public Service
Adding to the mission of their publication, Naomi and Jamie also have a couple of community initiatives they propose to put into practice. Their publication plans to work with Seariders Production, a multimedia education program of Waianae High School, offering Hawaii businesses, government agencies, and non-profits professional video production and graphic design services. "It's a fantastic program," according to Jamie, who is also the publisher of Ko Olina Life & Style. "We're looking to give back by letting the students, work with the students in laying out some pages, possibly having them do some editorial writing, so that they can get their ideas published and actually be in the Hawaii mainstream media."
Involvement with the education sector does not end here. Another of their school-based community projects is called PEERS, or Pacific Edge Executive Relationships Society, which is currently on the drawing board. Members composed mainly of young executives will mentor selected public school students once a month. "They'll work with a class, give students assignments in their related field to help stimulate them to think about career choices. Maybe that will give them a focus on what they want to do," Jamie said. "I believe the impact of this program will help students find where they want to go in life sooner than if they didn't have this opportunity."
Naomi believes that involvement in the school community can help catapult an individual to the next level, stemming from the fact that Pacific Edge came into fruition because of the knowledge that she gained in graduate school. Their community involvement veers toward reinforcing academic learning.
"We go and speak with many students in marketing, advertising and public relations classes. We give them the information on how we started, what we do, the process of paginating, laying out, working with graphic designers, the whole nine yards, which is really wonderful," Naomi said.
In the process, Pacific Edge is able to produce quality content from their student internship program. Ultimately, the publication's aim is to show students that their work makes a difference and that their potential lies beyond the four walls of the classroom, according to Naomi.
"Under Promise and Over Deliver"
One of the key instruments of Naomi and Jamie's success is their ability to establish and maintain relationships. Through grounding and developing rapport they are able to realize their dreams. Naomi believes that relationship augmentation is important because the parties involved "have to have a sense of integrity." A way to do this is to deliver on every promise that an individual is given, even going so far as under promising and over delivering.
When meeting with clients, Naomi tries to set aside all preconceptions and takes curiosity to the fore, allowing her to get to know the person in his/her own right. "The way that I work with my relationships is, I never, when I walk into a room and meet someone, expect anything from that person," she said. "I want to get to know them, and I really want to get to know why they are successful." I feel at that point that we start to establish a friendship. It may not be like your best-friend kind of a friendship, but it's a relationship in which you have already established trust," Naomi added.
Meanwhile, Jamie partially attributes their career progression to Naomi's past working relationships, which have become a resource base that they can tap into. Having grown up in Kauai, through the years Naomi has established and sustained a network of friends and business associates. This eventually helped them achieve their present success.
A piece of advice that Naomi received from her father was, "Make sure that whatever you do, that you do it honestly," and this is what she and Jamie try to live by.
"I thought that was really important, especially in business, where sometimes people can tend to step on others to get to where they need to be," Naomi said. "I think from the standpoint of the magazine and our integrity, and the atmosphere in which we do business, that's one of the main things that has always guided me; it will continue to do so as we move forward."
And rightfully so, Pacific Edge is moving forward.
For the full audio interview and transcript please visit greatergoodradio.com. Greater Good Radio airs every Saturday morning and Wednesday night on 1420 AM and online at www.greatergoodradio.com.
