Paula Gushiken

I work from home overseeing multiple businesses that I've built to support my family here in Hawaii. The crane business started in 2011 when my husband's construction company shut down and he was offered to purchase one of their cranes. I told him we should start a business since there were only one or two other crane companies on Maui, and I had to put everything in my name. We were living paycheck to paycheck and I just wanted more. Then I started Maui Vehicle Storage after a friend's realtor friend needed help with a client who had bought a car storage business but was facing major fines. I bought the business from him through monthly payments instead of the full $200,000 upfront. When COVID hit, I had sent letters to rental car companies offering space, and Budget called needing cars stored. Within a week and a half to two weeks, I had 1,500 cars from Budget Rent-A-Car. Now we offer curbside pickups and drop-offs, washing, detailing, and servicing for snowbirds who come to their condos for two months out of the year. I also started Mano Ohana Treats, a dog jerky business, to give my son-in-law work after he had to quit his job. He hunts deer on Maui and we make one-ingredient venison and lamb jerky that's very popular with dog show people. Most recently, I created an app called Vault EXP because my assistant was overwhelmed managing all the finances, reports, and documents for all my businesses and six properties. It's a super secure vault that stores all your private documents and has AI that works specifically for everything you own, so you can ask it which business is profiting more or what to do if you need cash right away. I'm preparing to launch it soon and I believe it will be really good for wealthy people and entrepreneurs.