hi, there, everyone, i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business," where we champion entrepreneurship by giving you information and advice to help your small business grow and survive. the partial shutdown of the government came to an end, at least for now, when a senate bill was passed by congress and signed by the president, but not before causing serious economic hardship for many small businesses. the agreement keeps the government running until january 15th, leaving more uncertainty for main street. this week the senate small business committee heard testimony from small business owners who told them the shutdown, including the shuttering of the sba, will have a long-term impact. >> as a small business owner, i am deeply impacted by the events that have unfolded over the last two weeks that have forced our employees and their families to cope with the realities of this government shutdown. they now know what it means to have their jobs and financial security placed in jeopardy by events that are wholly outside of their control as a result of a shutdown, enlighten has made difficult choices in the way we manage our permanent capital. government layoffs have become commonplace, forcing us to say good-bye to some of our best and brightest employees. >> many small businesses were particularly hard hit. harry alford, thanks so much for joining us today. >> thank you, jj, i'm glad to be here. >> you know, federal employees will get paid now, but i don't think people truly understand the impact this shutdown had on small businesses across the country. i mean, the person who sells bagels at federal buildings who had no revenue coming in for three weeks. talk about some of the businesses you've talked to who that decreased revenue, that lost revenue for three weeks has a real impact on their companies. >> well, we can go back to the last shutdown where many businesses went under or went into bankruptcy. i was talking to one of my members this week. he staffs about 2,000 prison guards at several federal prisons. they have to be paid every two weeks. he can't say, well, we're shutdown so we're going to have to wait awhile, fellas. no, they are essential, they have to work, they have to be paid. now, what does a business owner do? he needs cash. he needs cash in lieu of no cash flow coming in. so if he has reserves, he'll get through. if he doesn't, he's going to tank. going to the bank in this type of situation, too risky for a bank. so you're out in the woods all by yourself, and if you can't find a way to get cash, if you don't have cash already, or if you do have cash, you have to spend your reserves, which makes you more vulnerable going on. >> can you list for me a couple other small businesses? i want to get out the impact. it's all different kinds of businesses out there that were effected that weren't talked about in the news, that weren't talked about in congress. >> yeah, contractors, accounting firms and such, they have to continue on. in fact, they were told, you will continue on, and we will pay you when we can. they all received these letters. now you would think essential people like the prison guards, they were told to keep going on, but we're not going to pay you. there's a perception that if you were in an essential capacity, that you would be paid. that wasn't the case. >> i mean, we talked a lot about the national parks, but what about the cities, the entrances to the national parks, where tourists weren't coming anymore, so there were all of those gift shops, restaurants, hotels, suddenly empty for three weeks. when you run a small business, three weeks of revenue is incredibly important. >> yellowstone park, millions of dollars, grand canyon, millions of dollars are gone and they are not coming back from those small businesses. vrchts let's talk about the future. you talked about the past. now the government is open again, all of these small businesses suddenly have their customers again, hopefully, but how can they be certain about what's going to then happen a few months down the road? >> they are not certain. there's a lot of uncertainty. 90 days from now, it could happen again. we keep kicking this can down the road. we need our debt to be lowered. we need to stop spending, and we neend need a budget. the largest corporation in the world, united states of america, is not operating on a budget. it's crazy. it's tough and strong, but getting beat up. >> i just wanted to ask one quick question about the thing that started all of this, which is obama care. how do your constituents feel about obama care now that it is starting to roll out? >> don't like it at all. no one knows where it's going to go or where it's going to end, but i believe, let's not get hung up on obama care. i think it's going to implode on its own. >> all right. well, it was so nice to see you. thank you very much for helping talk and let people know really how many small businesses were truly affected by this. and for them, it doesn't end with the government reopening. thanks a lot. >> may god bless them. thank you. we've been traveling the country this year to find out how small businesses are doing on main street usa, and this week we hit the road once again, going to nachez, mississippi. this 300-year-old town now has a population of about 16,000, and like many main streets we visited, there are empty storefronts, but unlike in other towns, business owners here have found a formula for survival, a formula they proudly shared with us. ♪ >> in the dais of hoop skirts and cotton plantations, it used to be one of the wealthiest cities in all of the south, and today if you drive around, you still see all these old beautiful mansions. downtown used to be a bustling, vibrant place. today, there's still a lot going on downtown, but not as much as there used to be, but people here really care about the downtown, and they are not going to let it disappear. so we spent the day here to find out what these small businesses are doing, how they've had to diversify in order to keep their businesses alive, which in turn has kept their downtown alive. >> my name is billy gillen, i formed the guillen group in 1974. we formed this location in 1980. we've been here on main street for 33 years. >> you're doing people's taxes. do you find in order for someone to really survive, to have a store on main street really survive, they need to be involved in more than one business? >> generally speaking, that's correct, right. >> one of them, their storefront isn't enough, they need to do something snels. >> the store front, there's not enough real activity and not enough traffic downtown. to really hold a business. >> i'm sue studman from studman realtors in mississippi, and we've been on main street since march 2005. >> you're small business owners, how have you survived all these years? >> i think we survived because we've embraced a number of varieties of discipline in the real estate business. we initially started out as strong residential. we've moved into commercial. my husband handles a tremendous amount of timberland. >> hey, y'all, i own one of a kind gifts here and i've been at this location in this historic building for 23 years. come on in. >> so a lot of these stores downtown have an apartment upstairs. you rent out one upstairs and in the back, as well. how does it help you? >> oh, my, well it pays my bank note for one thing and those people shop with us. >> in essence, your real estate is free. you have a mortgage but it's paid by the renters. >> exactly. >> i'm coowner of rolling river roasters on main street. one season it's busy, especially in a tourism town. in another time, your catering has to take over the retail side. it's about your partnerships and relationships that make that happen. >> i find that with so many people i talk with here, they have more than one business. >> tough have it. as a single entrepreneur, it's very hard, it's all about cash flow. >> one of the reasons i'm happy to be down south is this tea, sweet tea. >> that's our very own special tea with a little bit of lemonade and a few other things make it nice and sweet. >> i'm scott kimbrel, my family owned kimbrel office supplies since 1955 in downtown naches, main street, naches, mississippi. >> can you be a company on main street and have your one main street shop anymore? >> i don't think so. we've added companies and services for our customers. >> how many companies do you own? >> three companies. >> does a vibrant downtown matter to you? >> yes, oh, absolutely. just recently two young ladies opened up a store down the street from us, and, you know, they have faith in it that it's going to do. >> my name is amber. >> and i'm ashley smith. >> we own a-gallery and we've been open for nine days. >> what does having your own business, own store downtown mean to you? >> i've always wanted to open up a store. >> when you were deciding to open up a store, did it make you nervous at all seeing storefronts boarded up, vacancies? >> definitely, definitely. we were nervous anyway to open up a store, because i've never been in this kind of industry, soives definitely nervous, but optimistic it would do well. i felt like nachez needed this. >> do you think you can survive by just having this storefront on main street, can you make enough money? >> we hope we can. we're very optimistic about it. we're just hoping and praying. >> the name of my business is m-shorks schoen. i've been on main street in naches for about eight years, ever since katrina. i have an online business and online magazine, and i've written a couple books on american studio jewelry, so my business encompasses this gallery, the magazine, writing, biography, teaching, and then also selling online. >> i'm toby williams, i have toby salon. i've been on main street about 11 years now. >> sounds like a lot of people who work here and own small businesses here have multiple jobs. >> they do. you kind of have to. >> why? >> just to make ends meet. if you think we should visit main street in your town, please write us and tell us why. the e-mail address is [email protected]. the online photo sharing service instagram is now one of the world's most popular social media networks. is your company using it yet? here are five instagram marketing tips. one, include hash tags. they are the best ways to find and connect with other instagram users who are talking about a specific topic. two, use the images to create a story. take customers behind the scenes of product launches. share event pictures, and post images of existing products and services. giving customers a visual glimpse inside the world of your brand creates higher intrigue and interest. three, involve the entire company. encourage your employees to follow your brand, like and comment on the images, and post their own images. four, timing is important. according to online marketing company wishpon, monday at 5:00 p.m. pacific standard time is the best time to post a photo. and five, create and share videos. take advantage of this new feature that lets you share 15-second-long videos. for example, share a how-to video or a customer q&a. in many cases, what really makes up a consumer's mind is not only simple, but it's also free. word of mouth recommendations from a trusted source. our guest here has tips on how to get people talking about your brand and how to harness the power of this message to consumers on a daily basis. founder, president, and ceo of a digital social media and word of mouth marketing agency and author of the new book, "highly recommended: harnessing the power of word of mouth and social media." thanks for being here. >> good to be here. >> word of mouth is so powerful. when i built my business, it's how we grew. we tried to do more traditional internet marketing, word of mouth is what built us. >> what's wonderful today is it's become the great leveller for small businesses, and i think the ability to connect and engage with your audience and prospects in a way that really was available only to the big spenders has completely changed the dynamic. >> let's talk about how you get people to start talking about you. one of the things you talk about is the story. >> it is. before i even get to that, i think one of the things to point on that is over 90% of all people will tell you the reason, just like what you said, they bought a product or service is because someone they know recommended it to them. this idea it being accidental is not the case at all. it's actually very deliberate, and to the idea of the story, if you have a good idea how you want people to recommend your brand and you help them do it, they'll likely participate in that. it also has a difference on how you search behavior, as well. >> talk about that, how you recommend your brand. i'm basically putting words into your mouth? >> you are. i don't know about you, but the last time i heard anybody say i'm going to mcdonald's because i'm loving it is about zero. if i'm going to base my business on really catering a great service and the freshest food in town, i want to make sure i'm doing that to reenforce that message and get people to say that on a regular basis. what's important, through all your communications, if you came back and said simply this is how i want people to talk about me and recommend me, then all of your functions have to be working towards supporting that. >> okay, this is how you're talking live your brand. >> it is. >> let's take a skincare company. i just tried this -- there are a thousand options i have, i use it on my face, i love it. i tell my friend, i put this on and now i look 20 years younger. what can they do to me to get me to tell my friend? >> part of that, as i've been watching your show, you hear the concept of developing a relationship, how in the world am i supposed to develop a relationship. through our social media channels, what you want is find people talking about your product and encourage them to share and give additional information. people thrive when they are given inside information, new experiences, ideas that wouldn't come through normal channels. if somebody is talking about your company, give them things to share and make it easier for them to do so. what's also fascinating today is so much of our business is people find us, then they talk about us. leading things are social conversations, how consumers are talking about the brands. in the book i've just put out, "highly recommended," the idea of saying if you know how you want to be talked about, you build that into the way you're sharing information and you'll pop up higher in the search rankings, as well. >> people will start talking about you and you'll come up higher. >> the only thing that really matters today is how are people talking about and recommending your brand? and whether you're doing well or not well is going to determine how that conversation goes. >> so if i can distill this down to one thing in the last seconds we have, you have your brand, a good product, create your story around this product, market yourself around this story. >> and engage with people in a way that is of interest to them. 90% of the time is about the topic of interest to you both. that 10% of the time is about your commercial messages. >> great. so nice to talk to you. word of mouth marketing, it's golden. nothing better than that. >> totally agree. >> well, thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. when we come back, the answers to your small business questions, including how to introduce innovation into an older company set in its ways. and scott gerber, ceo of the gerber bar and restaurant empire, tells us why it's important for you to trust your employees and for them to trust you in this week's "learning from the pros." building animatronics is all about getting things to work together. the timing, the actions, the reactions. everything has to synch up. my expenses are no different. receiptmatch on the business gold rewards card synchronizes your business expenses. just shoot your business card receipts and they're automatically matched up with the charges on your online statement. i'm john kaplan, and i'm a member of a synchronized world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. since its start in 1991, hospitality and nightlife company the gerber group has opened up some of the most popular night spots in cities across the country. you've likely heard of or been to some of them, like whisky blues, stone roast lounge, and living room. with about 20 venues already open, there are plans to keep on expanding. scott gerber, who started the business with his brother randy, is now the principal and ceo of the gerber group. he talks about the need to be around, knowing your competition, and always saying thank you in this "learning from the pros." >> i think being around is important in so many different aspects of our business. the first part is being around for our guests, you know, so they know there is a real person behind this company, but the heart of our business is really our employees. and i think being around is really about being around for your employees. you a lot about what's going on in your properties. that builds so much loyalty. hiring trustworthy people, especially in the business like the bar restaurant business, is integral to being successful. a lot of it has to do with the responsibility that i place in people, and the trust that you give them to run a business. i guess the question is how do you know somebody's trustworthy when you're just hiring them. a lot of that has to do with a gut feeling, how they come across. what we learned in our business, i mean, one of my partners today is a managing partner, started off with me as a doorman. got promoted to be an assistant manager and now is a partner. that, to me, is trust. am i going to tell you we haven't made mistakes. we have made tons of mistakes. we hired a lot of the wrong people and things haven't worked out. by and large, we do not have a large amount of turnover. i think it is important to know your competition. just to understand what innovations are out there. my wife hates going out to a bar, again, with me because i'm so hypercritical of what's going on because i compare it to what we're doing. i like to see what people are doing, whether it is interesting cocktails. the gastro pub was a big thing. what i realized is people want to eat food in a different way than dining in a restaurant. we decided to incorporate menus into our bars which we never had to do before and now it has become a big part of the business. people come up with interesting ideas that if we think it is what our customers want, we may copy it a little bit. saying thank you to me is such an important part of our business. i think people don't do it enough. i had an experience about ten years ago, out at a club with some friends and two days later in the mail, i get a handwritten thank you note from the server saying, dear scott, hope you had a great time the other night, i wanted to thank you for the gratuity you left and anytime you need anything, feel free to call me. nobody does that anymore. we instituted a plan where i said, i want to see thank you notes going out to people to tell them that you really recognize and appreciate their business, and that's the way you're going to get them to come back. i want people to say thank you. not just to our customers. i want to thank our staff for working as hard as they do. i want to thank them for showing up when they don't feel like showing up, putting a smile on their face when they don't feel like it, and i think that showing that appreciation to your guests as well as your staff is something that makes me happy and i hope it makes them happy. it is time now to answer some of your business questions. let's get to this week's board of directors. scott bellski was the founder of behance, a platform to show your creative work which he sold to adobe. now vice president of community there. chris relic, a partner at first round capital. we were just together earlier this week when i hosted a panel for him at the new york venture capital association's annual ingenuity conference. good to see you twice in one week. so good to see you, scott. it's been much too long. >> it has. good to be here. >> congratulations on all the changes in your company. >> thanks. >> okay. let's get right to the first question. this is from a entrepreneur who needs a little advice about scaling his business. >> how do you get your business from a fixed pace to a scaled larger business model? >> all right, i'm going to start with you, scott, because you certainly scaled a business. i don't think you're at a fixed pace. >> we weren't. we were always growing, but i do think it is all about validating before you scale. you have to make sure you're scaling the right things. when you feel like you have something and have the pricing down and know what the product or service is you're offering, it is all about operationalizing. what you don't want to do is at that point start scaling to more services and more offerings. what you want to do is scale the things that actually work. so if there is one person who is doing the marketing and the finance and also helping with product, that should at this point probably be three people focused on each of those three things specifically. i think the mistake we often make is we try to operationalize really quickly and try to, you know, you try to scale by having multiple people that do multiple things and that won't get you very far. >> how do you know when that point is when you start expanding your internal team to reach their external demand? >> i would think of it from a perspective of if you're a people business and services business, and unconventional way you might want to scale is to fire some of your customers. if you look at some of your worst customers, the ones that are taking up your time, they're not making your money, not worth your, you know, the time of your good people, how do you focus on your best customers, give them the best service, create longer term engagements, higher price products that provide more value for both of you. >> it is hard to do, right? emotionally it is hard when you're a small business to say i don't want to work with you. >> very hard. when i've seen it practiced, i've never seen anyone regret it. it has taken them to a whole new level. >> we have this question about trying to keep your business fresh. >> as a 37-year-old organization, how do you continuously innovate the organization not only as product, but as people? >> that's a great question. because in essence, if you do not have a culture of innovation and of change, and excitement, the company's 37 years old, how do you suddenly create that? >> i think you to -- a favorite quote of mine along these lines is from general eric shinseki. if you dislike change, you'll dislike irrelevance even more. and the point is that unless you're looking to sunset your business, or shut it down, you have to innovate. you have to bring in new blood, new ideas, new people, and look at doing things in new ways. it is just the essence of what you have to do. >> so we know we have to, but how do you do that in a big old company? >> you have new people who come in every now and then and it is fresh dna and usually those people are told to be quiet and practice the norms that everyone else practices. if you're the leader and you have the opportunity to empower those people to ask questions and question the things like, well, why do we have a meeting every tuesday morning where nothing gets done? you can empower people to do that as a leader of the business. and it goes -- it works wonders. the other thing you have to remind everyone and yourself is you should put yourself out of business before somebody else does. and what i mean by that is whatever product or service you offer, think about what the best competitive offering would be to that and do it yourself. >> yeah. and all of that comes from the top, right? if you bring in somebody new with fresh blood, you defer to them so everybody else sees you should defer to them. >> otherwise, just step in line. >> great. so good to see both of you guys. appreciate you coming on the program. >> great, thanks. >> thanks. >> if any of you out there have a question for our experts, all you have to do is go to our website. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. once you get there, hit the ask the show link to submit a question for our panel. once again, that website is openforum.com/yourbusiness or if it is easier for you, e-mail us your questions and your comments too. the address is [email protected]. one way to communicate a large sum of data and information is to create an infoographic. you can use them to compare products, map sales or to entertain your customers. if you're looking for a simple and freeway to get started, check out our website of the week. infogrames is a free tool that gives free design layouts you can customize. there are more than as done templates and you can add additional text boxes, photos and maps. then it can be instantly shared through social media or by using the provided inbed code. thanks so much for joining us today. i hope you learned something that will help you run your small business better. if you want to catch anything that you may have missed, just visit our website. it is openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find all of today's segments, plus web exclusive content with a lot more information to help your business grow. you can also follow us on twitter. it's @msnbcyourbiz. and become a fan of the show on facebook. next week, it is time to get ready for small business saturday. this year it falls on november 30th, it is the saturday between black friday and cybermonday. we'll tell you what you can do to get customers in your community to bypass the big box stores and shop local. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. and remember, we make your business our business. has it's ups and downs. seasonal... doesn't begin to describe it. my cashflow can literally change with the weather. anything that gives me some breathing room makes a big difference. the plum card from american express gives your business flexibility. get 1.5% discount for paying early, or up to 60 days to pay without interest,