Transcripts For MSNBC Your Business 20131110

Small businesses are revitalizing the economy, and American Express open is here to help. Thats why were proud to present your business on msnb msnbc. Hi, there, everyone. Im j. J. Ramberg and welcome to your business this show dedicated to giving you tips and advice to help your Small Business grow. Entrepreneurial work spaces have come a long way from the original concept of cheap desk, internet access, and a business address. These membersonly hubs are popping up all over the country now helping startups get their businesses off the ground faster than ever, by offering education, mentorship and a community. Now even big businesses want to get into the act. Having small offices located within these spaces to keep their organizations fresh and tapped into these highenergy, innovative, environments. Were really standing on the brick of really the largest shift in the Workplace Dynamics that were seeing in 100 years. This is the Industrial Revolution of our time. And that revolution is happening all across the country. Most notably behind the walls of a new generation of cuttingedge coworking spaces where entrepreneurs are creating, flaunting, and running their companies. The way we work, is dramatically changing. Across the next ten years, more than half of the American Work force will be independent workers. That shift in the way we work is leading more and more entrepreneurs to ditch the desk and abandon the Traditional Office setup. Instead of locking themselves behind closed doors, theyre setting up shop in places that Foster Collaboration and innovation. The alley in new york city is one of these new types of work spaces. At any given time, the place is buzzing with activity, from mostly 20somethings who are working on their ideas. This is a whole different way of looking at work. Right. Right . Youre not its not your company in your offices. Youre purposefully setting yourself up to a whole bunch of other companies. Right, right, right. Collaboration, we find, leads to innovation, and the people in these spaces really like to be around other people that are likeminded. If you put people in the same space together you can interact and bounce ideas off them. It can actually aid in the growth of your business. Here people are not assigned in office or even a desk. You come in and work wherever you want, for a 450 monthly fee. You say membership, not rent. Right. Its not just an office space. Its much like a community and works like a gym membership where you work wherever you want to work. Instead of using a treadmill you have access to our events or office hours. Christian anderson who cofounded the speak easy in indianapolis. Another cowoulding space says this is how ideas happen. Its important to engineer the process of innovation. Cities around the country are trying to figure out how do they attack more startups. I think at end of the day, the best way to do that is create an environment where there is things that can happen between smart people. Which he why he opened up the speak easy which he now calls home. Its a place for folks who support the Startup Community to spend time and connect. Its nice to get a perspective on scaling, on legal issues. On art direction issues, on coding issues. You got somebody around that who is an expert in everything. The alley and speak easy are two coworking paces. Theres also tony shays container park in las vegas and the grind in new york city. And developer town is taking the Creative Office space to a new level. Clustered inside a giant indianapolis warehouse is a neighborhood of small, unique, houses. Filled with developers and entrepreneurs. I saw pixar has little houses, i thought thats a cool theme and i could put them on wheels. We are using developers around trying to make them productive. They need to collaborate and also need to ek to us for a long period of time. You own that space as long as youre at developer town. Every space attracts a certain type of person. At the grind in new york, the space is clean and simple. The atmosphere is chill and the carefully kerrated community is mature. Our community is made up of seasoned entrepreneurs. Its a group of people where this is not their First Business its their third business. We got to the point we could not afford an office. We were stuck in our room. I walked into a network of people that werent competitors for me. They were all potential collaborators. Bigger companies are trying to tap into this collaborative mind set by relocating some coworking spaces. Even for just a day. Felicia from Danny Meyers Union Square Hospitality Group chose the grind for a meeting to look at marketing ideas. We are talking about trying to keep innovation fresh as a company grows. When youre a startup its about collaboration, brain storming and net work. As it gets bigger, sometimes you end up being tied to a desk. Its time to step out of our daytoday and to think. Big companies have a hard time innovating. I think a lot of businesses, Large Businesses in particular, find that just by being in proximity to smaller companies, hyper entrepreneurial company, some of that rubs off. Bottom line in all of these coworking spaces is that youre not going at it alone. Can you give me an example of something thats happened here that might not have if someoone the Companies Might not have . Every day something happens here. A venture capitalist walked into the cafe and meet a startup they want to invest in. In the event something happens or someone meets their cofounder. Every day something happens that changes the direction of the company thats about to go there. Small business saturday is coming up on november 30th and retailers across the country are preparing for the day where customers are encouraged to shop local. Today, we take you to New Hampshire where we met the owners of an online gift registry working to keep this mentality going all year round. When alice and her husband got engaged, they knew they didnt want a traditional weddi regist. We wanted to support the community. We went to our favorite shop, and we want some out of the box things and we put it all together in a google doc and the guests loved it. So much so that allison started a company that made this whole process simple. Nearby registry. Its a gift registry and wish list service for people like her wanted to list products and services from unique local companies not just the Big Box Stores and national chains. So you can get rock climbing passes, or you can do flight lessons. And those are all local. Currently, nearby works and towns in New Hampshire and seattle, and only list local independently owned bases. We dont look at it as competing against the big box, we look at it as supporting another part of what people want. So they might want adventures and they might want services that literally they cant get anywhere else. We see ourselves as a nice complement to existing gift registries. Heres how it works. Company pay a startup fee to be listed and transaction fees. Customers can add items from these stores to their registries. Its attracting companies who care about shopping small. My fiance is 30. Im 29. We have all of the stuff we want to use, we started to think what we want from the registry its more things around us and things to do, experiences and things to support our community. I think its 0 so much more about who we are than just a set of plates of what a Big Box Store would be. This is about what we do and what we value. So, how did allison get businesses to sign on . She teamed up with organizations that have a similar local mind set. The local Shopping Movement is real. Its been around forever. Theres local business groups everywhere from chambers to local first movements, shop local movements. We work with all of those organizations and they have a following of anywhere from, in small towns, five members, to large towns of 200 members. For some of the businesses, its been a way to modernize their registry systems. Prior to joining my registry, we did use this type of forum, and somebody would come in and physically have to come in and fill out the form. We are getting more people than we would originally. Not a lot of people come in here and do the bridal registry but with nearby registry, it allows it to be a much smoother transition for people wanting to do better. For others, its a way to start having a registry offering in the first place. People are so used to buying online with amazon and big registries which are great but this is this great way of shopping online locally but across lots of different stores. Part of nearby future growth lies in changing the definition of local to mean much more than the mom and pop stores down the street. Our site was built with the idea that it would be nationwide and we see a lot of opportunity for sales, across the country. Local is what people define it as. So i might define local as a 20mile radius outside of New Hampshire. Others might think the entire northeast is local to them. They have family members and friends in other locations and they want to buy something or buy a Gift Certificate to a restaurant in that location for them. They are getting customers to think local no matter where you consider home. Thats why tom holbrook, one of the owners of communityowned river run book store uses nearby as not only a great way to reach residents but to get tourists in the door. We have customers that are here seasonally. Or they stop in. Nearby helps them make local independent choices. Local no longer stands for just the location but guarantee of unique and one of a kind creations. Theres nothing you can buy here that you cant buy yong line. We know people like to browse local. We know they like to walk around town and enjoy what we have here. Its important to make that link that spending your money at those places you like not only keeps them in business, but makes the whole economy strong. Nearby registry plans to set up shop across the United States and with their upgraded definition of local, the skys the limit. I think independent businesses will remain unique because not just because of the services and products they offer, but also because of who they are. They are your next door neighbor who owns the shop. And you go in and meet the owner. The owner is working there and it just has a different feel, different customer service. People always shop local. They look at things differently. I think things have changed and will continue to change. Nearby registry is not the only organization trying to keep the spirit of Small Business saturday alive 365 days a year. Proactive Business Owners in south carolinas low country are doing the same. Theyre educating friends and visitors on the importance of putting Small Business first. Christine osbourne, the owner of the toy store wonderworks, says running a Small Business is more about cooperation than ever before. It is truly about not competition but camaraderie. The Third Generation of the jewel box agrees. She said when the economy is down, she and her peers turned to each other. The result was south carolinas own buy local movement. I often tell people were about preserving a people and place. I think it gave a collective voice to the local businesses here in this community. Executive director, jamie haley says thinking small wasnt something a lot of people talked about in 2007. There was nobody add voe tating for them. Nobody educating the community on why it was important. And while trying to get started wasnt easy nobody was working together to try to get that message out. So, we just did a whole lot of knocking on 0 peoples doors and saying, hey, will you meet with me. Love to talk to you about this. Since then, lowcountry has grown to 500 members each with a vested interest in getting residents and businesses to shop local. Its so grass roots other people were were telling their colleagues about it and it just sort of snowballed. In order to best support local outlets, members have to meet certain criteria. You need to be locally owned and independent. That you have to have 50 of your ownership living here in the low country. You have to be head quartered here. You have to make your own Marketing Advertising decisions, et cetera. Once accepted those members can start telling people about it. Look for the buy local decal in the window. Low country packs a handful of initiatives. It was originally just a week long. The main idea is that we are trying to get people to make very conscious decisions about where they are spending their dollars. Christine said the Ripple Effect from buying local is staggering especially when its locally made products flying off the shelves. For every dollar you spend in a local business three is made for the community. To ensure success of lowcountry events, it promotes all of its members. The net work of local businesses that support each other is very important. This type of cooperation is here to stay. For many members, its a different way of doing business. But now they wouldnt do it any other way. I think weve gone past the point of competition and into collaboration now. And people understand the value of it. When we come back, well have had vice on increasing client el when transitioning from a parttime to fulltime business. And how to get customers to forego technology and instead participate in facetoface meetings. And rallying the panel to help former student athletes enter the workplace through job fairs and counseling. You get your coffee here. You get your hair cut here. You find that certain thing you were looking for here, but actually you get so much more. When you shop at these small local businesses, you support all the things that make your community great. The money you spend here, stays here. In this place you call your neighborhood. Small business saturday is november 30th. Get out and shop small. By now, almost all of us are taking advantage of the web by promoting our businesses online. But, are you doing it well . Here now are five tips to help you out courtesy of inc. Com. One, promotions. Offer limited time offers with big savings to drive customers to the website. Two, tell your own best stories. Let your profile, blog, and post, let your customers know who you are in a compelling way. Three, leverage other influencers, knowing the right people can go a long way in getting the word out about your business. Spend extra effort making sure they know what theyre doing and connect with them on linkedin. Four, constantly test, track, and improve. If youre posting and blogging, traffic matters. So, find out whats working and whats not so you can make the necessary changes. Five. Email. Direct email is still very effective if done right. So, send out well thoughtout messages to engage your customers. It is time now to answer some of your business questions. Lets get to this weeks board of directors to help. Mike is the ceo of a Consulting Group that helps companies that have plateaued, continue to grow. Hes also a bestselling author and Michael Goldburg is a director at Case Western Reserve University and cofounder of bridge university. And youre writing another book, right . Yes. We look forward to hearing about that. Lets get to the question. This is about making a switch it fulltime work. My question is, in transitioning from a parttime to fulltime business, what should i do to gain more cliemore clientele . What do you do to gain more customers . I would go to my existing clients to see if i can work with them. I would say im going full time. What else can we do together. If you try to seek adding more people. You find these people and not serving the ones you have now. Is this the kind of thing you should think about before giving up that parttime job . Not necessarily. I think its building off the strengths. One of the things i talk to my students about and social media tools like linkedin. See who your connections are connected too. Great, lets move on to the next one. Its about the value of face time . How do i get my clients to value everybody is too busy and i think nothing beats doing stuff in person. Shes talking about a service shes providing. What can you say . I think in some ways embrace the webinar, embrace the technology. Im actually developing a new a massive open online course, mook, at case western reserve on entrepreneurship. One interesting thing is you can use the webinar or in our case video to connect with people. Then there is the followup. How do you engage at the webinar. Maybe at her business, shes using that tool to engage with folks and then there is that face to face followup. Maybe theyre taking a webinar and shes coming in with actual real Life Training that goes hand and hand with that. Thats a good idea. You need to do a coba. I made up that term because you used mook, cost benefit analysis. If people see no difference between a webinar and a person, a webinar is less expensive. Show the benefits of a person face to face type meeting. I would suggest pier to pier benefit. Having these meetings where you benefit from networking with other appeapeers and foiace to stuff. The next one, a question from a Financial Services professional. My biggest challenge is convincing potential clients that im really there to help them with their finances, rather than to take money away from them and get them to do something that they dont want to do. So my question is, how can i better overcome that to convince people that i really am there to help and protect their wealth . Interesting, right . Hes doing that sales job. If hes the financial guy and thinks people just think hes charging them for nothing. Yeah. I dont know if you saw, as he was talking, his title below is insurance and Financial Services. Thats a generic label. When a consumer sees that, they say i know what you do, you dont have to sell me anymore. Are you cheaper . One thing lawyers can do, for example, you hear someone is a loirks lawyer, you know what lawyers are. If you call yourself consultant services. I think one of the challenges in that industry in particular is the lack of transparency often. Financial advisers are saying theyre doing x, y and z and people dont understand how do they make their fees. How is there alignment between the advice im getting and the returns i want. An advice i have and i have a number of friends in Financial Services industry, make sure youre transparent about the Fee Structure and that may build the relationship with potential client and give people more comfort. Thank you for your advice. Stick around. Were getting you in the elevator with our elevator pitchers a little later on. We were just talking about asking your customers what they think youre doing thats right. This pretty much applies to everything you do. What you think is right for your website may be completely different than what actually will work. Luckily, there is an easy and cheap way to test this. User testing. Com is a Cost Effective web tool that ensures your website is working the way it is supposed to. Get videos of real people, speaking their thoughts as they use your website or mobile app. Ask followup questions so you can find out what users want. And you can customize the survey to focus on what statistics are most important for your business. We like to check out twitter from time to time to see whats trending about Small Business from entrepreneurs, innovators and disrupters. Usa today Small Business columnist Rhonda Abrams with some good retail advice ahead of the holidays. Mobile payments help collect money faster during holiday rush. Todd satcher, ceo and founder of bright roll tweets, it is important to have mentors to guide you when being a first time ceo. Im very blessed to have had those. And major influencer david carp, founder and ceo of tumblr with th this insight. An entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something and a want to create. It can be a rough transition for College Athletes when trying to enter the workplace. Todays elevator pitchers have created a company to help them out. Hi. Im ralph deschillo, president , athlete connections. My name is dan crouse, found irand ceo of athlete connections. I created athlete connections as a service to help student athletes transition out of sports into the business world. Over 400,000 student athletes attend colleges each year. Less than 1 will be going pro. That means 99 will be looking for jobs. We have three revenue streams. Our career fairs, student athlete career fairs, we bring in companies to hire student athletes, life skills curriculum and internet based job board. Were looking for 300,000 investment to be used for marketing, advertise and pr. We signed an agreement with 285 universities to bring our services to their campuses. Thats a fraction of the 4,000 universities in the United States that have sports programs. That accounts for 20 of our revenue. Other 80 comes from our national job board, our curriculum and tv series. The return on investment for investors is 10 equity, which will give a 266 return annually after year three. All right. You guys, the time is up. Thank you, you did a really nice job. Lets hear what the panelists think. Mike . Very well prepared, things i like and dont like. I like been there, done that, you got the experience, you can speak to it, and clearly professional experience in growing a business is a great combination. The thing i dont like, 8,000 to 9,000 per event and trying to reach 300,000, the money is on stuff you havent done yet. You need this money for investing and marketing, thats like throwing money in the fire sometimes. Im a little trepidatious about that. Michael, did they miss anything in the pitch for you . Couple of things i thought were very powerful. I had former princeton linebacker as an intern for me. His work ethic, that link between discipline around athletics and in the workplace worked for me. Another thing i liked about what youre doing, there is a social aspect to what the mission offers. Dan, you got a foundation side where youre doing things to help athletes on the foundation side of the business. I think linking that to the business side that will appeal to some investors that want to see more than just return on investment and sort of seeing good for the community. Did the pitch get you . Would you take another meeting . Definitely. What about you . Yes. Sounds like youre on to something. Appreciate you coming on the show and pitching us. The two mikes, mike and michael, thank you for all of your advice, really loved having you and hope to see you guys again soon. Did you know that you too can have a chance to pitch our panel right here on the show . All you have to do is send us an email. The address i is yourbusiness msnbc. Com. In that email, include a few things. What your company does, how much money youre trying to raise and how youre going to use those funds. I look forward to reading those pitches and seeing some of you here on the show. Thanks, everyone, for joining me today. I hope you took some notes that will help your Small Business. Now if you missed anything, just go to our website, its openforum. Com yourbusiness. We put up all of todays segments as well as some extra ones just for online. You can also follow us on twitter, its msnbcyourbiz and on facebook too. Next week we travel to main street in great barrington, massachusetts. Well talk to local Business Owners getting ready for Small Business saturday. They tell us how theyre trying to get the berkshires community to shop small. While were there, well also talk to actress karen alan. You know her from indiana jones, animal house. She turned her passion into a Small Business. Im j. J. Ramberg. Remember, we make your business our business. You get your coffee here. You get your hair cut here. You find that certain thing you were looking for here,