RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
Emily Lopez juggles several careers, including ownership of Monarch Limousine Co.
Life in the fast lane
An energetic isle entrepreneur
adds publishing to her resume
S PART-OWNER of a limousine company, executive producer of her own television show and, most recently, publisher of Hawaii's newest glossy magazine, Emily Lopez is constantly trying to squeeze every last ounce of productivity out of her day.
So it wasn't a surprise when she had to cancel this reporter's first attempt at an interview, explaining that deadlines for the upcoming issue of Singles in Town (a k a In Magazine) loomed large on the horizon, and could she please, please, please reschedule for later in the week?
Singles In Town magazine New issue available in stores March 23
Knowing all too well what it's like to have three things due and only enough time to finish one, I quickly agreed to give Lopez a call a few days later when things had settled down a bit.
But when I did, guess what the 34-year-old was up to? That's right -- still working on her magazine.
BORN AND RAISED in the Philippines, Lopez immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 15 years old. After spending a short time in Glendale, Calif., the family moved to Seattle and has remained there ever since.
The third of four sisters, Lopez is a graduate of Seattle's City University, where she received her degree in business management, with a minor in computer information systems. It was her education that allowed her to travel to Hawaii, where she was hired as a loan manager for the Hawaii Assisted Technology Project. But after a year on the job, she decided that "it was time to start my own business and not work for anybody."
So she packed up and headed back to the Pacific Northwest to be a model, which she had done in addition to a working full time in her school's financial aid office and attending classes on nights and weekends. With her family's blessing, Lopez started EL Models in 1994 and spent the next four years running her own agency.
"My family was very supportive," she said. They told her to "just come back if you want ... and then you can start your business and we'll help you out."
Her 12 months in Hawaii, however, were enough to plant the seed that would lead to her return to Honolulu. In 1998 she decided it was time to move her company across the Pacific.
"It was just one of those things," she said. "I thought it was time, while I was still single, to do something before I got married and all that stuff."
Along with gaining more experience in the modeling industry, the move also allowed Lopez to gain more experience in broadcasting. Mabuhay TV, a Philippines-based production company, approached her with an opportunity to be a TV host. She had performed the same duties for a similar program produced by the company in Seattle.
But just as before, Lopez's entrepreneurial spirit got the better of her. She enlisted the help of Tess Baraquio and Harmony Productions, shut down EL Models, and on Aug. 12, 1999, "Hawaii Beauty and Diversity Television" premiered on KIKU-TV.
It was "something new, something fresh, something we didn't have yet," she said. "It was an E! Entertainment for Hawaii."
Since its debut, "BDTV" has also aired on stations KBFD, OC-16 and KGMB, with each episode repeating weekly for two months at a time.
And in 2000, Lopez partnered with Robert Rico to establish yet another business, Monarch Limousine. Starting with a single Cadillac DeVille, the two have purchased an additional pair of stretch limousines and a "party bus," a vehicle the size of a handi-van that's been gaining in popularity.
UNTIL THE SUMMER of 2003, producing new episodes of "BDTV" was Lopez's primary objective. But once the show reached its fourth anniversary, she decided that magazine publishing was the next mountain to conquer.
"I've always thought about putting together a publication," she said. "In Magazine is all about the beauty and diversity of Hawaii, the exciting things that we're doing here. It's very up to date as far as the lifestyle and fashion side."
As she does with her television show, Lopez handles most of the sales and marketing duties for the magazine, with editor in chief Lance Rae managing content. Hoping to attract readers who are "mature, career-oriented people that are in the spending mood," Singles in Town takes a different approach from other local publications that cater only toward Hawaii residents.
"It's a magazine that can be marketed on the national level and still have a lot of Hawaii flavor in it," said Lopez. "And right now we're actually looking into having a Japanese version."
In the magazine's spring issue, due in stores March 23, actor Owen Wilson sits down for an interview, local business owners Bill Wyland and Alice Yang are profiled, and 101 restaurants statewide are listed as the best in Hawaii. There will also be a feature on exotic cars and sophisticated women, and a new column called "The Gentlemen's Club" will make its debut.
Hoping to "semiretire" sometime in the next four years, Lopez enjoys living the single lifestyle and all the perks that come with it. Although she's in a long-distance relationship, the space gives her the freedom to be able to travel and "do what I do and not feel like I have to stay home and be that married kind of person.
"It's a great life," she said. "No complaints on my part."
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