Michelle Carpenter, owner of a concierge health care business serving clients and families in need of care, wrote the best business plan in Maui Economic Opportunity's third annual Core for Best Business Plan Competition, winning a $20,000 grant.
Carpenter's business plan for Aloha Complex Care LLC was one of eight that won grants ranging from $20,000 to $5,000 in a competition run by MEO's Business Development Center and funded through the Maui County Economic Development Agency.
Carpenter says the Core Four series “helped me pinpoint critical flaws in my business plan that, if left unchecked, could have led to significant financial loss.” The class provided Carpenter with a systematic, thought-provoking approach to developing a comprehensive, robust business plan, and the cash flow worksheet has been a valuable tool he refers to regularly.
As a concierge care coordinator, she and her company coordinate and support clients and their families with challenges including housing, home care services, medical management, legal and financial issues, etc. She acts as a liaison between clients, families and other professionals, and as an advocate for clients in care coordination.
For example, one recent client needed 24/7 private care but was only available 10-12 hours a day, and her knowledge and problem-solving approach enabled family members, private caregivers and technology like Blink cameras to enable her client to spend her final days in the comfort of her own apartment.
Carpenter plans to use the $20,000 grant to make “significant investments” in technology equipment, including more Blink cameras, motorized stair chairs for occupants of apartment buildings without elevators, gurneys that convert into chairs, voice-activated devices, wheelchairs and motorized hospital beds.
Carpenter, a licensed nurse, came to Maui during the COVID-19 pandemic as a travel case manager for Maui Memorial Medical Center, her website states.
Carpenter founded Aloha Complex Care in August 2022 and took the Core Four class series in January 2023. She has worked with five to eight clients.
To contact Aloha Complex Care, please call 808-269-5463 or email info@alohacomplexcare.com.
Twenty-one startup business plans were submitted and reviewed by Hawaii Small Business Development Center Maui Director Wayne Wong, SBDC Maui Senior Business Advisor Fred Rickert and Jerry Smith, a retired business development consultant and senior budget analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense in Maui.
Business owners completed one of six Core 4 Business Plan courses in 2023-24. Judging was based on a business plan description and summary, marketing plan, operations plan, cash flow projections and the impact of economic diversification on Maui's economy.
The other seven winners are:
- 2nd place, $15,000 prize, Maui Walking Tours LLC, owner Keith DeVey.
- 3rd place: $15,000, Café Wa'a, Shawn Leong and Angie Corpuz.
- 4th place: $10,000, Ano Farms, Katarina Araki.
- 5th place, $5,000 award, Luau Creamery LLC, Wailani Artates.
- 6th place, $5,000 award, CHESS (Cardio Health Environmental Safety Systems), Gary Candido.
- 7th place: $5,000 prize, Tracy Robinson, Queens.
- 8th place, $5,000 prize, Joshua Fallin, Maui Microgreens.
MEO Business Development Center's Core 4 Business Planning class and Best Business Plan Competition are funded by the Maui County Economic Development Office. The Core 4 Business Planning course offers a total of 24 hours of instruction in person and via Zoom. It covers how to write a business plan and provides the information you need to start, run, and grow your business. It is designed for those who are thinking about starting a business or who are just starting and looking for direction. It is held multiple times throughout the year on Maui and Molokai.
Tuition for the course is $75. Financial assistance is available upon request. For more information about Core Four, call 808-249-2990.
