Page 8 - MidWeek - Feb 9, 2022

8 MIDWEEK FEBRUARY 9, 2022
For Bryan Andaya, the password for the gate- way to success is just three little words: find your “why.” It’s how the Hilo native has danced his way through an impressive range of career paths over the last couple of de- cades, and why he’s taking the leap once again into the great — and exciting — unknown.
BY GINGER KELLER
Find Your ‘Why’ And The Rest Will Come
Before entering the business realm, Andaya received a law degree in Chicago, Illinois.
“Eddie has a real estate school ... and he was like, ‘Hey, do you want to teach a couple classes?’ And I thought, ‘I enjoy public speaking,’ and I gave it a try, and I guess it came naturally,” shares Andaya.
“So, when L&L ap- proached me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to become the COO?’ I said, ‘What is that? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to cook.’ A nd they said, ‘You’re not going to be doing that.’ A nd I said, ‘Oh,
“My role at L&L was really to make businesses successful, to make people successful,” he says. “It only recently dawned on me that I should take my own advice and try my own hand at starting my own busi- ness, which leads us to today.”
“I have a record to just jump, but I really don’t want to. I didn’t want to be this way,” Andaya says, laughing. “I want a nice, smooth life and to retire, but it just didn’t work out that way.
“Growing up, at least in my background, it was always about being a doctor, lawyer or engineer. I was not good at math and I hated the sight of blood, so I became a lawyer,” he says with a laugh.
His relationship with
Knees bent, ready for yet another leap of faith, Andaya
“What I tell people is that a lot of times, plans don’t go the way you think they’re go- ing to go, but you just have to embrace it, believe in yourself
Despite the potential to earn a higher salary in the Windy City, Andaya felt it was time to come home.
Flores blos- somed and soon enough he was asked to join the L&L team.
so, I get to go around and talk to people about Hawaiʻi and go to the mainland and talk about why they should open a Hawaiian restaurant? Yeah, I can do that. You don’t even have to pay me!’” Andaya says with a smile.
bid adieu to his L&L ʻohana as he embarked on a new chap- ter as owner of Andaya Real Estate Continuing Education School, an institution formerly owned by Flores (visit reales- tatecehawaii.com); director of law firm ES&A; and leader of a consulting business, too.
and look at the opportunities out there, really listen to that ‘why’ inside of you.”
“It’s really my love for Ha- waiʻi, this ʻāina and the people here, that made me make that choice.”
“L&L is all
about bring-
ing Hawaiʻi
to the world, and it’s a story that ... was our ‘why’ — it’s what we stood for,” says An- daya.
As Andaya navigates his abundant ventures, each day brings new opportunities to explore. Lately, he’s been fo- cusing on digitizing the real estate school to become more social distance-friendly and accessible for neighbor island residents. And while Andaya’s life has certainly changed by leaps and bounds in the last decade — let alone in the past year — one thing will always remain the same: He does it all for his “why:” Hawai‘i and the people who live here.
gkeller@midweek.com
From there, he joined a local law firm, but it wasn’t until he met Eddie Flores Jr. of L&L Hawai‘i in the early 2000s when his journey took a twist.
Bryan Andaya
He spent 14 years with the local company, with his last position being president.
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