When a high school career matching device told Daniel Kao that he was destined to be a bus driver and own a business, never in a million years would he have believed it.

Nearly two decades later, he has come to the realization of where fate has brought him.

The 34-year-old entrepreneur runs Seahorse Tours - the exclusive transportation company for Sea Life Park's interactive dolphin program - with his wife, Tammy, and parents, Sunshine and Hsiu-Li, who emigrated to the islands from Taiwan in 1982 when Daniel was 7 years old.

“;With a little bit of luck and a little bit of hard work I believe you can succeed,”; he said.

In 1989, his parents purchased the business - originally a Hanauma Bay snorkeling tour with a shop in Hawaii Kai - while operating five kiosks in Waikiki seven days a week.

The family entrusted operations to a close friend who stole money from the company, which led to its demise. Several years later, Daniel's father and uncle tried to revive the business, catering to the Japanese wedding market to no avail.

“;The end result of that were two new vans sitting on our driveway with monthly payments for them and no income from the business,”; he said.

Seven years later, the couple - both 23 years old - came up with a plan to restore the company. Daniel worked at a small tour business and later landed a stint at a larger busing company to learn the different aspects of both operations.

But it was no easy feat to resurrect the twice-failed business his parents started 20 years ago.

The couple went door to door asking for business at travel desks for their fledgling company that had just a 25-passenger mini bus and 14-passenger van.

They eventually won small contracts, and kept service at top of mind - a strategy that resulted in word-of-mouth advertising.

Before long the business grew into a seven-day-a-week family operation with hiking tours at Diamond Head, Waikele shopping tours and evening Tantalus city light tours. The entire family pitched in to set up reservations, clean and load the vans and fuel up for the following day. The family worked hard to provide personalized service, even printing out Diamond Head hiking completion certificates for clients.

Little did they know at the time that the business would come to a key milestone when the couple made a proposal on a large Sea Life Park contract.

At first they were immediately outbid by a bigger, more experienced local operator that had a fleet of buses and previous experience working with the park.

“;They came in and cut our price in half,”; said Tammy, also a contracting officer for the U.S. Coast Guard.

It was a huge disappointment particularly for Daniel, who told his then-girlfriend he would pay her $2,000 to get him the contract.

With even more determination, Tammy took another shot at winning the bid, detailing the reasons why the park should give the two “;fresh-out-of-college kids”; a chance, even though they had been in business for less than a year.

Unlike larger transportation companies, the small business vowed to go above and beyond to make sure hotel customers were not left behind by calling rooms, running around the entire hotel or coming back to pick up a client for a later tour.

“;I literally left a really long message at midnight and told them all the reasons they don't have to worry about us,”; Tammy said.

The park took a chance on the couple who worked to boost business for the “;swimming with the dolphins”; program.

Daniel wore a straw hat and tattered T-shirt while carrying an inflatable dolphin when picking up customers at the hotels. The unique marketing strategy drew the attention of tour agents.

“;It was a personal touch; it was something different,”; Daniel said. “;We went the extra step - we wanted to stand out.”;

The park's dolphin programs has significantly grown since then from just one interactive to six programs today.

Seahorse Tours also expanded with a fleet of five mini buses and three vans.

The company now has eight employees and also provides busing services for the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine and East-West Center.

“;None of us would've thought we'd be here 10 years later with the amount of growth we've had over the years,”; Tammy said.

The company's goal has been to remain small enough to maintain high quality service and ensure jobs for all of its employees, even during slow periods.

“;I've always stood by my rule that I never want to hire too much to the point where I can't guarantee you jobs,”; Daniel said.

When the industry took a nose dive following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the family decided to fire themselves rather than laying off their drivers, who have families to feed.

“;It was kind of fun actually,”; he said. “;I fired my parents, Tammy fired me and finally Tammy quit.”;

Business has plunged 20 percent to 30 percent in the current economic downturn. “;We are all fired again for the second time,”; said Daniel, who also is a full-time paramedic and part-time flight instructor and pilot.

Despite juggling multiple careers, the Kaos intend to take on a new business venture, hoping to start up a mechanic shop to service their fleet and generate other business.

Daniel also is in the process of writing a book about human relationships. The couple who met at University of Hawaii, were married in 2003 and now have two young children.

“;I tell all my employees you've got to follow your dreams,”; Daniel said. “;You don't have to make a lot of money as long as you enjoy what you do.”;