Msnbc. Hi there, everyone. Im j. J. Ramberg and welcome to your business. Where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. Starbucks has launched a new initiative called create jobs for usa. The program is focused specifically on Small Business owners. The companys donated 5 million in seed money and its soliciting donations from customers and employees. This will help fund Small Companies through a partnership with the opportunity finance network, a group of Community DevelopmentFinancial Institutions that focus on underserved markets. I sat down with starbucks Ceo Howard Schultz to learn more about the campaign. Thank you so much for joining us today. Im so excited about this opportunity, and i cant wait for you to tell us a little bit more about this. You can see, i got my bracelet. Love it. So tell me how youre going to be helping Small Businesses. And as a result, create jobs. Well, i think before i answer that specifically, can i frame the problem for you . Absolutely. Its been reported that we have 9. 1 unemployment in america. Thats bad enough. But the fact is, its almost double that in the hispanic and the africanamerican community. In addition to that, what weve learned is that the engine for job creation in america has always been and continues to be Small Businesses. The problem that we have right now is that Small Businesses are having a very difficult time getting access to credit, because the banks are just not lending as much as they did in the past. Thats an issue we talk about all of the time on this show. People saying, i want to grow, but i cant get the money that i need to grow. So the question is, how can businesses and Business Leaders step up, not wait for washington, and in our case, how can starbucks use its scale for good . So we came up with an idea, a simple idea. And that is to create a bracelet. Lets call it indivisible from the pledge of allegiance, which is nonpartisan, respectful, and do something in which we put this in our stores, ask for a donation of 5 or more. We will raise millions of dollars, and immediately, after the money is raised, we will get it in the hands of the opportunity finance network, which is an organization that has microfinance Loan Organization and communitybased organizations across the country, that will automatically provide access to credit that the banks are not doing. And in doing so, we will have a significant catalytic effect on job creation in america. So if im a Small Business, and i have been to a bank and i cant get money and i have no friends and family, and im watching this interview right now, and i say, okay, theres my money, what do i do . Go to the Community Finance network. Go to create jobs. Org and you will see immediately an opportunity that doesnt exist. Go into a starbucks store and you will get a sheet that explains everything, as well as the opportunity to put this bracelet on with pride and show that americans can help americans. What i think is interesting about this campaign is that you are, in essence, doing what, or trying to do and hopefully it works well, what bono did for the problem of hiv in africa. Is make the idea of helping Small Businesses cool. Sure. So do you think, and what are you going to do, to make sure that this becomes cool, that every person in america wants to wear one of these things as a badge of, im helping Small Business . Well, theres millions of people every day going to a starbucks store. We will do as much as possible to create awareness, relevancy, and i think in the coming weeks youre going to see americans with this bracelet on all over the country, and i think what we want to try and do, in addition to raising money to create jobs, is we want to celebrate america. Right now we have a crisis of confidence and a crisis of leadership in america. Theres a hopelessness in which the American Dream somehow doesnt seem as accessible as it once did to the people being left behind. We want to try and make a difference. The bracelet, in a way, is emblematic of that. And will i be able to see the Small Businesses that im helping . Yes. There will be complete transparency on the website where the money is going. How many jobs were creating. Believe me when i tell you, this is nothing about starbucks, this is what we and other businesses can do to use our scale for good. Just to go on the other side for a minute. A lot of bankers that i speak to on this show say, we have money that we would love to lend, but the people who are coming and asking for loans arent fundable right now. We cant give them money, were afraid theyre not going to pay us back. You know, i certainly cant speak for the decisionmaking of the banks. But i can tell you that there are thousands of Small Businesses across america who have great entrepreneurial ideas, small and large, and for whatever reason, are not getting access to credit because of regulation, and new restrictions on how banks are making lending decisions. Were going to eradicate that. Can you give me an example of some Small Businesses or types of businesses that are going to benefit from this . Just in the last two days we already found out that we funded a nursing home that already did not have any access to credit, that got a loan, has hired people already. But youll be able to see all of this with great transparency on the website. And you can learn more, because we will be handing this sheet out at starbucks that will explain the entire mechanism of where the moneys going, how its getting in the hands, and how were making a difference. Money is one issue. Getting customers, knowing how to run your business and grow your business, is another big issue for Small Businesses. You have obviously been very successful. Started something tiny and has grown it enormously. What advice, if all of these people that youre funding were able to sit in an audience with you, what advice would you give them . Well, you know, i think weve been very blessed at starbucks. But there was a point in time when we were a Small Business. We had 11 stores and 100 employees in 1987 and a dream. When i speak to young people, i try and give them just a few tidbits of the things that work for us. Surrounding yourself with people who are smarter and have more experience than you do. But most importantly, have likeminded values. Dream big, and then dream bigger. And dont let anyone tell you that your idea, your thoughts, or your dreams cannot come true. Well, i look forward to seeing hopefully a lot of Small Businesses grow, because of this effort. Thank you so much. Thank you. And for what youre doing. Thank you. You may not know what theyre called, but no doubt youve noticed the unusual square shaped bar codes popping up all over the place. Consider this segment a beginners guide to qr codes where we take a closer look at what they are and how they might be useful to your business. They are everywhere. Store fronts. Magazines. Business cards. Billboards, and this guy even has a tattoo with the funny shaped square bar code. Scan like this. Theyre called qr codes, short for quick response, and they are revolutionizing the way we get information on just about anything. Heres how they work. All you do is create the code, more on that later, and put it some place where your customers will see it. They, then put their smartphone over the code and scan it. A special web page featuring your unique content instantly comes up. The most important step for a Small Business is to provide a great payoff to the consumer for interacting with a qr code. So make sure you provide special content that is not accessible otherwise. Whether thats a special offer. Or a special video that you cant access. That really rewards the consumer for going through the exercise of actually scanning the code. For the Small Business owner, the opportunity to crack the code, and tap this new market is relatively easy. Theyre very inexpensive to deploy. With a number of tools available today, you can create your own Qr Code Campaign in just a matter of minutes. Nina recently started a campaign at garnet wines and liquors. The scores qr code offers discounts linked to their facebook and twitter pages, information about special events and sales. It isnt the whole website, its just pieces of information that you can take or not. And you click on. And then you can click on there, check in, and get a discount. But its not just about disseminating information. Nina is gathering valuable information, too. Whats great about qr codes is they allow you to track the effectiveness of your marketing. Because its tied to the internet, you suddenly have metrics on things that you didnt have before. If people were looking at your business card, or your bus poster, or your packaging, you would kn wouldnt know that that was actually occurring. With people scanning your codes youre able to measure which ones were the most effective for you. Delving into the analytic has given nina insight far beyond any marketing at the store. 180 seconds. Most of our visits are by iphone. Reporter Small Businesses looking to get started with Qr Code Campaigns should remember a few key things. First, there are plenty of qr code generators Available Online for free. But most of the Free Services dont offer analytics. For a small fee, it may be worth upgrading your account to track your scans. Qr Code Solutions come in many different shapes and sizes. There are the really large, expensive agencies that will deploy beautiful campaigns for you, and do them as oneoff custom build deployments. And that can cost in the thousands of dollars. There are also other solutions, which charge a small monthly fee and allow you to create your own campaign, get all of the analytics, use a content Management System to manage what you want the codes to point to. Second, your customers will need a qr reader on their phone. Be ready to help them with it. Especially if theyve never scanned a code before. There are plenty of free apps available out there for iphones, androids and blackberries. Once they have the reader installed, theyre ready to start scanning. And put your smartphone over it and you hear that little beep, so then it comes up with our menu. The next step is to create a call to action. Tell people why they should scan your code. And shes going to give you a 10 discount. You dont want to make a rookie mistake of just sending a customer to your website. If youre passing by a neighborhood store, you may see a code on the front window that will give reviews, maybe offer coupons. Its a way of connecting instantly between print and the internet but more importantly, between the retailer to its consumer. The last step for creating a successful qr campaign is putting the codes in interesting places. Nick goldfarb is a filmmaker who uses the qr codes on his business cards. I get a lot of wows, and thats cool, and how does it work. Thats sort of exactly the reason why we went this way, was you always want to have people remember you. Melissa brown is a Real Estate Agent who uses them on her flyers and signs to give potential customers information on the spot. A little code goes directly to my website. And i have it programmed so that photos of the house, and information of the house is readily available. Instantaneous. David, whos in a band, wanted a faster way to market his music. Wlefr we go to shows im always getting asked, have you got this, have you got that . Take out your phone, scan it. Its the app for it. It takes two seconds. Qr codes really represent the shortest distance between curiosity and content. Its simply easier to whoever your phone over a code than it is to thumbtype in a url. Want more information about qr codes . Scan our special your Business Code to learn more. So, how important is it for your business to jump on that qr code bandwagon . Well, we want to show you our qr code once again. Just go ahead, scan that code on the screen, and youll find a special video with more details about qr codes, and youll also be taken to the your business facebook and twitter pages. Go ahead, scan it right now. Now lets turn to this weeks board of directors to talk to them a little bit more about these qr codes, Angela Jia Kim is the founder of savorthesuccess. Com, a Business Network for free mail entrepreneurs and barry moltz is a Small Business consultant. You cant find them at barrymoltz. Com. We took our own advice which is we didnt just sent people to our website, i think thats what you take away from this piece is if youre going to do it, dont be lazy about it. Right. Go all the way. My issue only, and its so cool, and its another layer of almost exclusivity that clients and customers like, but im all for streamlining. So, this only works on a smartphone, correct . So then youre kind of cutting off a certain segment who doesnt have a smartphone. You know what, that is true. Because i did not have fun. Im kind of old school. Over 50 of people in the United States have smartphones and thats it. So if they dont have a smartphone, if they dont know how to download the qr reader and dont have internet access. I was stwr. Can you put the url underneath for those who dont have smart phones. But for those people who do have smartphones who can use this, it is, its a really cool thing to do. And relatively easy. Yeah, i think that whats most important in marketing these days is youve got to be shareable. The qr code allow you to be shareable, but as they said in the outlook, the important thing is not to just send them to your website. Theres got to be some kind of special offer. If you dont give them some kind of special offer youre really missing an opportunity. Right. And then especially if youre going to ruse it to replace any sort of announcement of where your website is. Like you showed that qr code at the very beginning there. I mean, what if you dont have it . You dont know what your website is. And so its important, i think, to make sure that its accessible to all of your customers. I didnt know what a qr code was, and now suddenly i see them everywhere. I have gotten so many business cards with qr codes on them. Really . Yeah, but again i dont have a phone that can look at it. Not that useful for me. Youre in the 50 . Thanks so much, you guys. Are you looking to tap into the potential power of facebook to promote your company . If so, here are five facebook apps that you can use to market your business, courtesy of Small Business computing dotcom. Poll lets you create questions and then post them on your wall. The app will track results for you, which include each voters user i. D. , name, and gender. If you already have a company website, iframe apps will embed your site directly onto your facebook fan page. Extended info creates an additional info tab with more details, customizable information about your business. You can also add videos, images, and music to the page. The work for us app lets you post job openings and receive applications through your Facebook Page. And finally, you can sell products directly on your Facebook Page using social ecart. You can create a new online store, or if you already have one, link to your online shop directly. When we come back, well answer your business questions about key words for Search Engine optimization and finding developers for a startup. And todays elevator pitcher saw the light for those of us who have trouble reading menus in those romantic but dimly lit bistros. Shazi seven years ago, i had this idea. To make baby food the way moms would. Happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. In a business like ours, personal connections are so important. We use our American Express open gold card to further those connections. Last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our Sweet Potatoes and merchants that sell our product. Vo get the card built for business spending. Call 1800nowopen to find out how the gold card can serve your business. Who you ever tried to read a restaurant menu by the light of that small candle on your table . It can be tough. But todays elevator pitcher came up with a solution to save your eyesight and your appetite. Hi, good morning. Good morning. Gillian dinnerstein. Good morning. Barry moltz, nice to meet you. Gillian dinnerstein. As j. J. Said, most of us have experienced in lowlit venues difficulty reading a menu or the check. Dine alight is a simple, rechargeable l. E. D. Product which is the only application able to illuminate multiple pages. Its the universal module which is secure, and actually unlocks with our little key. And fits into our charger. And charges about every two to four months. The market with over 1 million u. S. Fullservice restaurants and bars alone is obviously wide open and then we are endorsed by the largest wine and spirits distributor in the United States. Gillian, how much money are you looking for . Im looking more for an experience to take our patented, International Patents globally and help with licensing and distribution. So youre looking for a partner . Im looking for a partner to share in the very endless potential of this product. Okay. It has no language, and well, lets see what these guys think. You got to hear angela. Youve been sitting in that