♪ ♪ hi everyone, and welcome to "your business," today, is a very exciting day for us and a real milestone for all of us here at your business. today we kick off the tenth season of being on the air can and providing advice and inspiration to small business owners. one of the most interesting things we have been doing is going around the country and visiting main street businesses, and seeing how they are facing challenges. we got to see what it's like to run a business in a border town. many are multi-cultural and bilingual, and they have had to contend with international regulations and border issues that affect the way they do business. this is a classic american small town. early mornings here are sleepy and quiet. >> and the backbo -- the backbo of the town is we are very friendly. >> we bought a company called the army store. >> we were in the construction business for years interest then i had a candy store for 11 years. >> but that is where the similarity ends. here, running through the middle of everything is a 30 foot high steal fence. marking the border between the usa and mexico. >> it's a lot of hone in mexico. a lot of money. and people come here to spend. >> billions. just billions. just the amount of the money that flows through this particular port is huge. >> this fence, and the traffic passing both ways through its carefully guarded gates, has a pro found affect on every small business. >> it's right in the middle of huge international trade. >> as we discovered. not every business is affected the same way. >> our business was doing great, and we have a bright future. >> the retail, it's not doing very good. >> how much product do you move through here a week? >> we move, an average of 50 to 20 truckloads of product back and forth. from mexico and the united states. >> he and his wife together run a small meat trading company called premier distribution center. so where did had come from, then? >> it comes from the united states. >> all going down to mexico. >> yes, from the east coast. >> they say there's a rapidly growing demand for meat products on both sides of the border and the business is growing with it. >> we are growing, we have 15 trucks right now and we have been generating employment for 15 drivers and more people in the office. >> he is a cattle rancher and business lawyer. with clients on both sides of the border. he credits long-term personal and family relationships as one of the key reasons that these nogalis businesses are thriving. >> families have lived here for generations where they have traversed the border and they have very much been involved with a trade. >> in the case of his own family, the business relations go back a very long time. the family, the name has been in this since the mid 1700s. >> we have been in business for 90 years. we think we learned what our customers tastes are. >> bruce is a third generation owner of the store. >> physically we are in the thieds and economically we are in mexico. >> however it's doing, we are doing. >> what do you mean by that? >> over 90% of our customers are hex chan nationals. >> with his retail store located steps away from the border crossing. he has traditionally thrived by offering products that you cannot find on the other side to mexican nationals. >> you have found a clientele of people in mexico. >> we are a destination store. >> but over the the past several years, federal regulations and enforcement have all drastically reduced much of the traffic from mexico. >> in 2007, we had 7.5 million people crossing the border. and 99% of it was downtown. last year, the fiscal numbers was under 3 million. >> while his most loyal customers continued to support the business. overall, sales slumped. and wrus worries about the future of the large staff of loyal employees. >> it makes it challenging to maintain those people and those salaries when your business is decreasing. >> everyone used to come in if from mexico and load up the cars and trucks and take it cross the border and now that's no more. it's gone. >> why, what changed? >> the free trade agreement. there's no need to come across. >> this is the second generation own of villa's market. >> i started with my dad in 1968. that's when we started. >> his market faced a huge drop in customers. unlike bruce, he responded by flipping the business model. >> we have a different customer base now. i think that is what is keeping us going. >> he now offers hard to get mexican products to the hispanic american product customers that here. >> we have stuff for them that they can throw in a pan and it's done. >> and the result. he and his sons have opened three new locations to meet the demand. she operates a four-room bed and breakfast and said, being close to the border has created a niche business for her. >> i am taking care of all the people coming from mexico having their babies here. they want their kids to be united states citizens. and she said, demand for her service is booming. sometimes i do not have enough space accommodate my clients. >> chris's grandfather, found the about business 70 years ago. they import and export produce, a distribute it all over the united states and canada. >> it's a business that has continued to grow. and we don't see a in it. >> he said this small town is home to well over 100 import, export businesses. including his. >> there's more fresh product coming in here than philadelphia, than long beach. it's a hub. >> almost everything that we have is spanish colonial style. made over the centuries. >> sam saunders is the co-owner of hollar and saunders. he has been selling spanish coloni colonial antiques for 35 years. >> it started out as a hobby of just collecting beautiful things from mexico and it became a business and we started traveling to south america and then, following the colonial trade routes around the world. >> sam said in some ways his business mirrors the fruit distributors. >> we sell a lot on the internet, especially if people have been here before and know the quality of the pieces and we have a virtual store on first dibs. that has become half the business. >> how much would that sell for? >> $1200 to $1500. >> right, they are gorgeous. >> alex is also part of a third generation business. her grandfather, paul bond founded this custom made boot company, he was a well known rodeo star, his boots were highly sought after. >> where are most of your customers? >> all over the world. all over the u.s., we work with people in japan and europe. >> do you deal with mexico at all in. >> yeah, not really at all. so the fact that you are on border town is incidental? >> yes, i would say that. >> paul bond boots pays no attention to the border. never the less, alex said she does share something with many of them. something special. >> there's a lot of people like you here? >> i would not be surprised if there were. i noticed with family companies, it's hard, and it's sad to let them go, and you don't want it to slip in the young hands. so a lot of the younger generations will step up and say, look, i will continue to grow what my family started. one of the most rewarding segments we do is the my business make over. it is true amazing to be part of this. as we start the tent season, we thought we would check back with the folks we helped to see how their businesses are doing. we are happy to tell you that many are back on their feet and attracting customers. when hurricane sandy hit rockaway beach new york, tim keenan and scott can edwards saw their store all but washed away. the two new york firefighters turned unit practi eed entrepre think they could afford to rebuild their store. our your business make over team wanted to help the two heros. we partnered with facilities firm front street to rebuild the business from the ground up. hoping to capitalize on that area's beach season. we are happy to report that surf side bagels has sprung back to life. they put a few of the programs in to practice. including a honor code couffee box. and a tv that shows when a city bus is approaching the store. and they are finalizing a line of frozen bagels and added a new menu item bagel chips. they have partnered with grubhub so customers can order on the go. increasing the store's exposure and delivery orders. in 2011, evelyn anderson wrote us about just for fun playground. a north carolina based company she and her husband were running. the company was known for their high end custom designed playground. by 2009, the recession had eroded 2/3 of their business. forcing them to let all of their employees go. jerry and evelyn cut back so far that they were living behind the showroom in a motor home to make ends meet. our team advised had them to rebrand the company and they did. renaming it asheville, playground. a website show cased their unique work. and evelyn credits most of their new business to that improved sight. business has been very good for asheville playground. they have taken on some of their biggest projects to date. designing and building large lay grounds for a parks and museums and resident aal developments. the business has downsized, moving in to a smaller location and reducing overhead and increasing their profit. they also made the decision to raise prices to be more in line with the amount of time that the design and build effort process requires. evelyn said that money is still sometimes tight the practical changes we recommended for their business has had a lasting and and positive impact. they are now building a little nest egg and have purchased a half acre of property on a creek where jerry and evelyn are designing a custom house and garden for themselves. when we first met jane carol back in 2011, she was trying rebuild her high end floral business. hit hard by the recession. to prop up the flower business and increase the cash flow in a down economy, she owned jane on main. it served special fresh food in the same space that she sold the flowers. we helped her to rebrand her business. although jane still does flowers, that part of her business didn't rebound the way she had hoped. is so, she pivoted and started to focus more on the cafe business and the food and sweets she served there. she moved in to a new bigger space in town and rebranded herself and the cafe, jane. she also created jane bakes. a line of all natural cookies, low in sodium, sugar and calories and carbs that she makes in small batches and sells online and in grocery stores. jane's cookies caught the eye of meredith. last year, we traveled to montrae california's famous fisherman wafr. where where there were four the separate jewelry are stores, his son wrote saying he he was concerned that they were so busy running the store that they had not made a solid retirement plan. we helped joe and mary create a plan to double their company can's valuation. the team recommended that they consolidate their four stores in to wup and name it montrae bay jewelry company. they took our advice and had a grand opening of the new store this march. they cleaned out the other three store fronts and will lease them to other businesses. our make over company set them up with new furniture and they are tracking sales and foxing on increasing turnover. they expressed gratitude for the guidance and feel they are better in shape for the day coming that they will want to retire. i want to take a moment to reiterate something we say all the time. running a business can be fulfilling and interesting and exciting and it is also hard. if you feel overwhelmed. you are not alone. we have done a segment called learning from the pros where we talk to some of the greatest entrepreneurs to hear what they have learned along the way. and they said, though it may look easy from the outside, it is simply not most of the the time. we got a chance to learn from their journeys. so we put together a montage of the best pieces of advice from them ♪ ♪ i'm a winner >> it's just, screw it, let's do it. the best way of learning to run a business is to try it. by getting out and trying things you will struggle and try and you can be an entrepreneur. i think it applies to most people, if they fall flat on their face, they will try again and the next time around i suspect they will be successful. ♪ >> money doesn't wake you up. the passion for your business is what wakes you up. the consumer is looking to see if you are passionate about speaking about what you are trying to sell them, what you are trying get them to buy. and so, if you are not passionate about it, how can your workers be passionate about it, how can the customer and consumer be passionate about coming engine to spend their hard earned money, to support your business. ♪ >> when you develop your business plan, don't be afraid to write everything down. everything that comes in to your mind, because ultimately, if you have a good business plan, well thought out, well designed, carried out for a year or two or three, doesn't always work. doesn't always turn out the way you think it will turn out. you may stumble or trip and fall in a gulley. but if you have the plan, you can get up and continue on your path. ♪ >> i think you have to realize that a brand is very much alive. and it's almost like a child. you have to nurture it and you have to protect it, you have to continually ask yourself what the next step is. what is next material or color is. so, for us to stay a step ahead of our customers, it is the very best idea. p you are a step behind. you fall off the cliff. if you are way too far ahead, they don't get it and you are in trouble. ♪ >> the marketing of ben & jerry's was simply communicating in an honest and authentic way, what the company was. we are trying to bring about a certain is kind of world. if you happen to believe in that kind of world, and you happen to the like the ice cream, partner with us. we are not selling you a product, we want to partner with people to work on the issues together. . >> quality really starts in your own commitment to the product that you are making and the experience that you are giving your consumers. and if you are really passionate about that and focused on it. you ought to be able to continually improve the quality of what you are doing for your consumers. ♪ i learned from one project i did that i should do only whatever i know how to do. about 15 or 20 years ago, we opened a restaurant which was a brewery with a restaurant. so, i went in to business with partners who could not do their job right. they had maybe a vig, but they could not execute. a lot of people have great visions and think, we can do this or that, but they are amateurs. and i said, let's stay with the core business we know really well. and i think since that day, i do that exactly. before i thought, if i open a shoe store or jewelry store, it would work out for sure. now i know. i stay in the restaurant and and food business. ♪ one of the things that i learned in both as an avocado grower and a songwriter and touring artist,ity as important to ask for or take the advice are of those who have been in the business longer than you. i could not be who i am if i did not look up to others. if they didn't give me a te template and a map to follow. what i want to create in my businesses is the opportunity for others on watch and follow and be part of minor crea mine their own. >> don't be the first ground breaker, it won't happen. let someone create a marketplace for you and then just walk in and do it. in business, it doesn't matter if it's expected or unexpected. either it works or it doesn't. whether it's expected or unexpected, there's just success and failure. and everything else is just smoke and mirrors. ♪ >> in the old days it was difficult, we had a long list and i had thousands of elves trying to keep track of the children. now, social media we can find out what people are doing. i have the twitter account and they write in what they want. and same thing on facebook. the adults do it through linkedin. social media is a way to keep in touch with the people that i serve. ♪ smoets. stick around as we mark the kickoff of our tenth season with what we love to do most, answer your small business questions. we will be talking about investor involvement, and planning and exit strategy. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. this week's your business selfie is from a man who owns the company, fan hands. looks like they make gloves. they are special gloves that help fans clapping get louder. i don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing. if you are sorts fan, it's a good thing. thank you for sending that in and we would love you to send that a selfie of you and your business. send it to your business at msnbc.com. it's time to answer your questions. let's get our experts in to help us out. you have been around since the beginning. >> i can't believe it, congratulations, such is a huge milestone. >> hopefully you are around for us for the next ten years. the first question is about taking on investors. we are doing extremely well, we have wonderful cash flow, the business is growing 100% every year. at what point do we ininvolve other investors to take us to the next level? >> a good place to be in. and a good question. what kind of thing should he think about is this. >> my gut reaction when i first hear that, is if your cash flow is that strong, you don't want investors yet. right. there will come a point if his growth continues that he will out strip it. he needs to think about, one, you want to approach investors when you don't, quote unquote need them. right, while you still have a choice. so, on that case, i think he wants to be a little bit early, coupled with the more progress you make without them, the better bargaining position you are going to be in. >> yeah, and i would add, you should think about investors when you want to top having full control of decisions. that's a big part of it too, which is, you are used to doing the business, making decisions the way you make decisions and the minute you bring in an outside party, it's not your baby anymore. the answer may be never. there's not justin investors, there's growth capital you can get, you can get different options with debt that help you get to where you want to go. pay for your accounts receivables and ato grow your business. and so maybe never. >> he is in a good position, unlike other companies he is in a good position where he had has the cash. and finally we have one more question about getting out of your business. >> how do i go about planning an exit strategy that will really be a win/win for us, and taunt for someone else. >> where does she begin, monica? >> well, with an exit strategy that works for everyone, one of the big things to consider is just time, are you allowing enough time for an orderly transition? i think you know, if the folks, and the employees, that is a consideration, the employees that work for you, are they going have enough up side when there's new management. when there's going to be a new buyer in the business? so, a lot of business owners. >> what do you mean by up side? are they going to participate in some of the sale or do they keep their jobs? >> so, i think all of the above. are they going to be around and feel motivated to continue to do their jobs. people stick around for reasons other than money. they have a relationship, they feel a level of stability. they like the culture. how do you make the transition more orderly? and i think the big emphasis is time. >> well, there are probably, if she thinks about it, a couple of likely buyers already. right. there are probably a couple of companies in hr industry that are known acquirers and i'm assuming that is the kind of exit that she wants. she probably has an idea of who those are. and so she should be getting to know them at trade shows. you should know who the companies are, how they operate, so as the time comes, she will have a better chance of finding a great partner. i think, it sounds like she is thinking of it well in advance and as monica saidi, time is so important. she needs to do think, how can the business run bwithout her ad how does she take risk out of the business so the buyer is comfortable with it. >> would you hire a business broker? >> it can help you manage bids and buyers much better. i don't know that she is really ready for that. >> a broker can also help you be far more realist with what you can get with your business. your books need to be clean for starters. you may be seeing x amount of profit, but that is not how you manage your accounting or pay your taxes. if you want to sell is, you may need to really get in that process a couple of years in advance. you may need to get a accountant that can then verify that your books are as you say they are. so a broker can help you think through those type of issues. >> right, great, good to see both of you, thank you for your advice. >> my pleasure. if you have any questions for the experts we answer them every week here on the show. just send us an e-mail. your business@msnbc.com, thank you for being with us here today, i cannot express what an honor it is to be kick off our tenth season, as an aunt practi -- as entrepreneur myself, i have been in the trenches with you. now, if you you missed anything from today's show, just head on over to the website, it's open forum.com/your business. you will not only find today's segments but lots of other material that can help you out. and you can follow us on twitter. don't forget that we are on facebook and i know is that gram as well. next week, we meet a store owner in illinois that once helped getting visitors to stay and shop. see how two retail experts help her transform her store so that the foot traffic turns in to buying traffic. until then, remember, we make your business our business. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. >> so we've been wondering all this time, wondering for weeks and months now if anybody was going to be able to catch bernie. bernie sanders, expected to be an aster risk in the 2016 presidential race when he started. right. until he started campaigning and he actually started regularly turning out not just enormous crowds but crowds that were way, way bigger than anything any other democrat and any other republican could muster on the campaign trail. the first big one was 10,000 people that turned out in madison, wisconsin. people wrote that off. it's madison, wisconsin, this must be a madison specific phenomenon. they love bernie sanders in some strange way there. but then it wasn'