Step of the journey American Express open proudly presents your business on msnbc. Hi everyone. Im jj ramberg and welcome to your business, the show dedicated to helping your Small Business grow. Im always interested by Business Owners who launch companies in an already crowded industry. Even if you have the best pasta sauce or boutique how are you going to get customers to notice you when there are two down the road or 16 pasta sauces on the shelf. There is a lot that goes into getting customers attention. If your product is better or serves a particular niche it can work like it did for a couple who broke in the egg market and carved out a place in a crowded retail space. There could be 10 or 12 different brands. Its a lot. The egg case at your local Grocery Store is a crowded place. Each brand might have a medium egg, a large egg. There could be 30 or 40 slots. And nationwide the numbers are more staggering. Probably hundreds of egg brands. Its an intimidating proposition with so many choices. Competition is fierce, sales for Handsome Brook eggs in new york are soaring. Its 400 . Betsy and brian who founded the company in 2007 created a demand for their pasture raised eggs that never existed for retailers before. Now able to meet a need they didnt know they had. In the past four years stores like whole foods, kroger and fresh direct have signed on. We started locally, then we grew to regionally and nationally. Almost 4,000 stores. Unlike other chickens the hens laying the pasture raised eggs at the Partner Farms are free to roam outside before going in to roost. You go to any Grocery Store and you would never see anything called pasture raised. We had never heard of anything called pasture raised. We made up the term it seemed to make sense. Betsy and brian hatched their Business Plan after guests at their bed and breakfast raved about the eggs from the chicken coop. People said that our eggs were great. And we really thought eggs were eggs. They took a shot by starting small. They tested sales at a local Farmers Market before turning to a nearby Grocery Store. We leveraged what we knew where they had sold some of our blueberries and some of our jam. We were tickled that they said sure, well give it a shot. We dont know if it will sell but lets try. It was a first for the location. But customers ended up bypassing bigger names buying Handsome Brook farm eggs. Its a tough market to break into but they in and around that niche. Sales wise they are doing good. We kept expanding them if we didnt think there was a market. The tuck says resulted in a Sales Strategy to introduce the eggs to bigger retailers and penetrate the market. Normally a large egg Company Sends a sales rep. We send my wife and i. And who else can show the passion than the owners. As founders betsy and brian believe you have to tell your own story. Before i get into all of the details about the difference between pasture raised eggs and every other egg i show pictures of our farm, tell the story, and at that point they are engaged and interested. They are always ready to educate buyers too. Especially since this is a niche they created. We would go in with a pasture raised egg and they would say but we have a free range egg. Were like yeah, its really not the same. Their knowledge of the industry had to extend beyond their brand. The babcocks had to be familiar with the competition. The buyer wants to know if you understand what eggs are selling well and what arent. And they are wanting to understanding who you think you would replace. As the companys grown they used a contract farm model so they can fullful orders. If demand is more than we expect it to be we can add more flocks and bring more supply to you. So, that gives us the grocery chains a sense of security. And keeping cost in check has helped boost exposure at large chains. It doesnt benefit them to be the highest priced egg in the city so they want to make sure prices are affordable. The staff is very lean. All operations are handled internally. We have a full time veterinarian on staff, a team of people that go out to the farms and come along side the farmers to give them advice, and to make sure that they are compliant. And they vertically integrated parts of the business, including buying a feed mill. About 70 of the cost of an egg is attributed to the cost of the feed that chicken is eating. When we can control our feed costs that keeps the price down. Thats helped us gain market share. Of course, once youre on the shelves, you have to get customers to notice you. The front enof the car on the is a lot all of them see. So it has to communicate your message and even the color is a color that isnt on most car tons in the case. Betsy monitors the competition to make sure the labels pop. Even in my office i have all of our competitors cartons and ours placed in there so i can see how ours looks against the others. The brand may be in thousands of stores but the Company Still wants to connect with customers. Hour home farm phone number is on the inside, the inlet of every carton. That was really important to us, that if somebody had a comment, positive, negative, how ever it was, it didnt go to a corporate office. To our house. Betsy and brian arent done growing in the Grocery Store either. They know their clients are watching. I think what we have behind us right now is the fact we have sales experience. So i can tell them how our eggs are doing at other chains saying these guys tried us, this has been our success. Res stragss they once had about expanding are a thing of the past. We have found that the customers have been receptive. The grocery buyers have been receptive. And it seems to be working. What makes their job easier is that they succeeded in carving out a place for themselves in a crowded market with a quality product. At first the bigger brands thought we were sort of a fad. And that we would go away. Like go away. You know. Now, they are taking us more seriously and that were here to stay. Business owners across the country are sending a simple message. That everyones welcome at their place of business. Regardless of religion, country of origin, Sexual Orientation or immigration status. By simply hanging a sign that says all are welcome here more than 10,000 Small Businesses are sending the larger message that everyone is a valued part of the community. Amanda is the Network Director at main alines a network of Small Business coalitions that spear heading this campaign. Also joining us are the Business Owners who started it all by putting their own sign up that sparked the idea. Along ra and danny are coowners of common roots cafe in minneapolis, minnesota. Great to see all of you. Thanks for having us. Alona, what made you do this . Were seeing rhetoric and targeting of certain communities that we feel were part and parcel of the common Roots Community specifically muslims and immigrants, were the target of a lot of hateful rhetoric in the president ial campaigns and in the news and we feel like we had to make a statement and not be silent and just take a civil gesture to make sure everyone knew they are welcome in our place of business. I imagine last year when a lot of news came out as well about companies that were not serving gay people, you probably had a little bit of the same reaction, no . Sure. We feel strongly that everyone should be welcome in our business, its good for our business but more importantly good for our community and as a business that since opening in 2007 you want to be a Friendly Community meeting place, regardless of what people look like or what Community People come from or where people came and when they immigrated to the country. We want people to actively feel welcome and weve been hearing that and more and more communities have been targeted over time. Minneapolis is a pretty welcoming place and were happy to be part of that and not be silent and actually voice a tolerant like were is welcome here message that says no to hate. What was the reaction of people in your town and your customers . Weve been really pleased how overwhelmingly positive the reaction has been. Weve had many people come up and thank us personally when were serving them at the counter, and online and over social media because this sort of with all of the negative feedback that weve been seeing in the news is a positive message, and it helps both for our Muslim Community members to feel like they can really come and not feel threatened but also makes everyone feel more welcome and glad that a business is living its values and making it clear. Amanda, what point did you see the sign and hear what was happening with their cafe and say wait, there is a campaign here. Lets make this more than in minnesota. The main streen lines works closely on a number of issues and they called our staff and said hey, were putting up this poster, you want to help us spread it around. When i heard about the story i knew it was a tool that we needed to put in the hands of all of our Business Owners across our network. And its been very successful, people are really grateful to have this tool, to express their leadership in their communities and they are getting a lot of positive feedback from their Community Members and employees and customers. Its interesting because a lot of work with that alliance do is talk about how do you build your business. Where this i imagine youre not going out saying hey, do this youre going to get more customers because of it. There is a bigger goal. Right. This isnt really a Customer Acquisition strategy so much as an opportunity for Small Business owners who are already leaders in their communities, to stand up and say no matter whats happening in our political dialogue and discourse we are leaders in this community and we are saying no, that hate has no business here and that everyone is welcome. And 10,000 Small Businesses you say have participated and put signs up like this. You know that we know of. Its actually pretty amazing, we launched the campaign with danny and elana and put the tools out there and contacted friends and allies who also work with businesses, and it spread, it went viral, it has picked up so weve seen it popping up in places where we dont have members, where you know, in states where we didnt even you know, know that there would be folks interested. So its been great. Are there clusters, you see it in cities more people putting them up . Sure. I think you know, theres a heavy density on the east coast, on the west coast and in the midwest, we have light coverage in the sort of rural western states but thats because there are smaller towns out there. This poster is really everywhere and were getting i mean, a lot of feedback from Business Owners but also from regular Community People writing us to tell us that they are so happy to see this up in their communities. Elana and danny, you feel its making a difference . Did you expect it to grow this qui quickly . We wouldnt have anticipated this. Its a simple gesture and we werent thinking about a national campaign, thinking about making people in our neighborhood feel more welcome and not be silent in the face of whats happening nationally, not feel like we are powerless. We wouldnt have expected this but were very happy to see it spread in this kind of way. Well, to amandas point, Small Business people are often the leaders in their community. Its up to us to speak out against things or for things that we believe in so congratulations to both of you taking a stand on something you care about. And amanda, helping them to spread this campaign. Thanks for having us. Thank you. Best known as the loveable star of sabrina the teenage witch. But ma lils is a joan hart is an entrepreneur. She launched a Boys Clothing line. How this star is learning to maneuver through the fashion industry and her acting career has helped her along the way. I was being asked once i had children to come out and represent other brands, and my husband and i both love dressing our kids but finding there was a lack of options for little boys so we were like you know, why dont we start our own clothing line and making decisions at the beginning we found other businesses that we wanted to model ourselves after, so it was all of these different little pieces of the puzzle coming together and figuring out what is our Business Model and how are we going to do this. I think that my career thus far has fed into this company in so many ways, first of all the pr angle. We were going to get press. I could put it only my celebrity friending kids and get it seen in magazines and stuff. I was so over joyd when i look at the red carpet taking pictures myself and i had my king of hearts, i wore a little boys tee 30 is. There was jamie presleys kids in my clothes. Tori spellings. My gosh, all of these boys are wearing my clothes. I made sure that if i didnt understand something i asked what does that mean. My thing is like going to visit factories, and seeing like when i saw we have a montauk jackets with a lining. When others looked wow this must be expensive. But i didnt get why until i went to the factory and saw all of the pieces that were being that were made and sitting on each different sewing machine table. Well, that makes sense now why its so expensive. There is so much involved, so detailed. I have a hard time being confrontational. Ive gotten better shutting down the personal side and saying you know, you can be nice about things but you have to be tough about them too. You have to know what you want, know what youre saying and get through it. Every day we have all of these new views, some days 5,000 people come to the website but not really that many sales. We wanted to survey and figure out whats not hitting. Why are people loving coming to the site but not following through. So we put out a survey. There are our shipping fee was too high. Our warehouse never weighed in the clothing. So we were able to adjust that. We have this great email list. It was nice to say hey, whats the reason youre not buying. Youre coming and i welcome people to email me and give me suggestions what theyd like to see, my sisterinlaw said you know, jeans tear at the knee. We did a double reinforced knee. I want this to be something i can do every day. And then go off and do a movie or direct something or do a tv show for a few seasons. And not have to run off and do a movie but you know, be able to be home with my kids and run this business and grow it so maybe they can take it over some day. Make it a Family Business. I really want to bring the Garment Industry back to the u. S. And be at the forefront of all that stuff. Many entrepreneurs think of Silicon Valley as the best place to start up. But is it. Before you settle on california, you should consider one of these five cities for your headquarters. One, austin, texas. The citys open and collaborative Business Climate helped it become a hub for innovation. Two, new york city. With its access to strong talent pipe line, wealthy investors and a diverse micro economy the city that never sleeps is booming with entrepreneurial activity. Three, nashville, tennessee. The grass roots feeling of the city helped foster the diversity of this growing technology scene. Four, boulder, colorado has the highest startup density in the country, at six times the national average. And five, seattle, washington. The Mega Companies in the region plus accelerators like tech stars and nine mile lab helped the city develop as a great place to start a new business. When we come back, youll get some great advice from our expert on leadership skills, cash flow and setting goals. Are you nervous about giving a toast at a wedding . Theres a Small Business for that. Our cosmetics line was a hit. The orders were rushing in. I could feel our deadlines racing towards us. We didnt need a loan. We needed shortterm funding fast. Building 18 homes in 4 ½ months . That was a leap. But i knew i could rely on American Express to help me buy those building materials. Amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. Our amex helped us fill the orders. Just like that. Another step on the journey. Will you be ready when growth presents itself . Realize your buying power at open. Com how do i learn, identify, develop the right leadership traits . Leadership is a very personal thing. I dont think there is a one size fits all when it comes to leadership. If i had to frame it in any way, it would be saying that a leader is one that has a vision, has confidence and inspires action. But how that actually plays out whether youre a leader that is more like a dictator versus someone who really fosters a democracy depends upon your environment, are you dealing with chaos, are you dealing with a more stable environment where you are really just trying to plow the field and make the most, cash the cow, make the most of what you have. And so, in order to foster leadership skills i think the best thing is learn about yourself. There is a great Personality Test you can take on line, the big five Personality Test what psychologists found studying traits is that your personality does not change over time. You are the same person. So once you know who you are, then i think the way you plead in an environment is bying your authentic self, and then offering what that environment needs, so if its chaos you may need to be more structured. Its a stable environment you need to be more compassionate and foster people to take action. Its up to you but learn yourself first. Focus on a problem, offer a solution and chances are you have a good idea for a business. A group of resourceful entrepreneurs keyed in on one issue, the stress that comes with having to give a wedding toast. It seems simple to some people but for others it can cause weeks of sleepless nights. Sheinelle jones discovered a couple of companies that do it all for you. I never thought that my sister would find someone who cared about what other people thought as much as she did untilty met craig. The thought of giving a speech makes you trem pell in your tux. Best man everybody. Better man. Help may be a phone call away in the form of a growing number of businesses that promise not to leave you speechless. Ghost writers angie and alish have a specialty. Half of our clients have been wedding vows. Their Company Based in california is called vow muse and business is big. Every other aspect of your event is like planned out. Like why not plan this out too. They make sure your Wedding Party is not at a loss for words for a fee. Prices start at 300 for vows, 350 for best man and maid of honor and the father of the bride top dollar, 450 for his speech. We try to steer people to the really good if possible. In new york, victoria wellman does the same. Wedding toasts start at 500. All i want to do is challenge people to what a great speech is. Her client kevin hit it big at the founder of as seen on tv. Kevin says even entrepreneurs can use help choosing words. He hired victoria to put the finishing touch on speeches. As a professional and as the father of my son i want to look good in front of the other side of the family, many of who i have not met yet. First impressions thing. Very important. Critics would say you know what, come on. This is your son. This is not a business deal. Not strategy. This is just dad to his son. Ultimately, they are helping me craft my talk and my speech but its going to end up in my words and my delivery and my pacing. Were you surprised because wow, you know, like were 10 years apart and sessions begin with an initial interview. Followed by a detailed questionnaire, then victoria goes over each draft, fine tuning delivery. Do they have to trust you . Yes. Absolutely. That is really at the core of this process. Kind of like a marriage. You have to trust that i know what im doing. The key to winning over any audience, she says a little bit of heart and a whole lot of humor. Your job is also to entertain and make people laugh and merry. What if im not funny . You call and tell me all the Amazing Stories you have about your friend and all of the things that you want to say, and ill make them funny. Thats how these ghost writers take your stories from chatter to cheers. I love you both. Lets give them both a toast. God bless you. We now have the top two tips you need to know to help your Small Business grow. Lets introduce our panel and get their advice. Gene marks is the president and founder of the marks group, also a columnist with the Washington Post and serial entrepreneur jen grubber the founder of the lifestyle brand empowered. Im going to put on my accounting hat. Im a cpa to make sure im clear we talk about improving our cash flow. In the new year and the entire year there are things Business Owners should be doing to improve and i have the most boring advice in the world for you but something ive seen many clients do. And its to read and read something really boring. What you want to read is your general ledger. Who reads their general ledger, the guys i know that are following their cash. Your general ledger is basically the diary of whats going on in your business. Every transaction in it, cash coming in, cash going out. Every month at the end of the month you print out your general ledger, you are not ibm or ge, its not that large after printout. You sit there with a pen, take an hour out and go through it and i promise you every month when you read your general ledger you will find something new that will raise your antenna. Like why are we paying this guy twice, who is this person, i dont recognize this person. Youll have questions. Hopefully they get answered. Sometimes they may not. If you want to keep track of cash keep track of all of the transactions going through the business and the devil is in the deta details. How many people do not look to see whats going on with their fngs. Correct. And we had someone on the other day who said and i thought this was important, look, if this is you, dont hide from it. Youre not alone. A lot of people dont want to admit it. They feel stupid they dont understand their financials, where cash is going in and out. So if you know that youre not there are other people in the boat you can get over the shame of it. So many say thats an accounting thing, i dont understand that. Thats such baloney. Its your business, man. Its your transactions going through there and its really not that hard. You print out your general ledger and read the transactions going through it. Its not difficult to do. And i promise you, it will have an impact on your cash flow. Jen. Everyone setting inyou years goals its important to remember to hit your goals that your network is your net worth. As you are setting goals Pay Attention to the amount of networking you are doing to grow your business. So setting goals like two new high quality Networking Events a week. Making sure when you attend them you are going with a mindset of making friends and making relationships, not thinking what can i get out of this person, but what can i give this person, what can i offer. And also set a goal of how many high quality conversations youre going to have. So really forces you out of your comfort zone so you make depth in the relationship so you can leave feeling you expanded your network. As you grow your business and they are growing their businesses you can communicate and help each other along in the journey. Interesting, right, i think Business Owners go through ups and downs where im going out and meeting a lot of people, suddenly thats a waste of time, i need to be working on my business and so then suddenly you hole up and you dont meet anyone new. Then you go out and meet people. To your point its much easier to talk to someone or pitch them when youre not pitching them when you are friends with them. Correct. It makes the relationship so much more valuable and makes the other people feel comfortable. Im sure weve been at events where we feel like people are coming at us like whoa. Where this allows more of a natural hey, what do you do, is what i do, and you file it away for later. How you could help that person or how that person might help you. You go to events frequently . A lot. I do. Four events a week at minimum. My life apparently you do not. No. Not near that. I admire that. This counts as high value network. Networking here. Right. Thanks both of you for your advice. Thank you. This weeks your biz selfie comes from dimetri, the owner of the sweet pea pet spa. You can never go wrong with a picture with cute dogs and a baby in it. Now, why dont you pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you and your business and send it to us or tweet it to us msnbc your biz and use the hash tag your biz selfie. Thank you so much for joining us today. We would love to hear from you. If you have questions or comments about todays show, send us email to yourbusiness msnbc. Com, you can also go to our website. Its openforum. Com your business. We posted all of the segments from today plus a lot more. Connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms as well. Next week, the story of a survivor who has beaten the odds and kept his Family Business going in an industry thats been ravaged by the internet. If i can get every customer within ten miles to buy their camera here, have their pictures printed here, take a photo class with us, thats enough for me. Im not greedy. His secret is simple and it works. Till then, im jj ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. Our cosmetics line was a hit. The orders were rushing in. I could feel our deadlines racing towards us. We didnt need a loan. We needed shortterm funding fast. Building 18 homes in 4 ½ months . That was a leap. But i knew i could rely on American Express to help me buy those building materials. Amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. Our amex helped us fill the orders. Just like that. Another step on the journey. Will you be ready when growth presents itself . Realize your buying power at open. Com this goes in an unexpected place. But trust me, youre going to enjoy the ride. In may 2008 john mccain had all but wrapped up the republican president ial nomination. At that point it was basically just a march to the convention for him. But sometimes candidates hit obstacles in their campaigns that werent put there by their opponents. Its not because one of their rivals for the nomination or a candidate from another party has hit them with something particularly hard. Sometimes candidates make their own unforced errors. And john mccain did that in the spring of 2008 when he momentarily hopped into bed with a sort of highprofile guy who it turned out had very, very strong and strongly stated beliefs about among other things th