>> announcer: msnbc, your business is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. hi there everyone. i'm jj ramberg. welcome. we wanted to visit bliek rifle coffee started by two veterans. they've created a culture that helps their employees adjust to their new life out of military. >> what did flying f-15s, how does that translate into the civilian world? i didn't know at the time. >> amanda higgins had no idea where she'd land after transitioning out of the air force? >> it was very challenging. looking back, there was a level of anxiety. >> former weapons system officer who saw combat over iraq and afghanistan never thought her second act would be at a coffee company. >> neither about john croft. >> reality strikes and you start to transition. i had -- i was missing my comrades is what it was. there's no safety net when you transition out. >> the owners of the black rifle coffee company understand the challenges people like john and amanda face because they've been in their shoes. >> there's a stigma around guys that carry a gurn and women as well. society painted a picture that we are broken once we get out of service. >> that's why the company commit today hiring veterans soon after it launched in 2014. >> the mission of black rifle coffee is to give veterans a place to culturally assimilate, feel comfortable working and the opportunity to have the same level of love for freedom that i do. >> how are you? >> matt, a former ranger, knows the struggles all too well. he went through some dark times trying to find his place in the world. >> there was such a lack of purpose in my life. i was undeniably lost. i went through a decent amount of depression and i just didn't know how to assimilate back into society. i ended up quitting my job, moving in with my dad. >> a former green beret faced this too. this helped bring the brand to life. >> i was roasting coffee on the back of my tailgate on my truck in colorado. i had my service rifle sitting next to each other. i combined the too and said black rifle coffee company. >> the pair believes the skills learned on the ground, air and sea are an asset to any company. >> anybody wants to support veterans until it's time to support veterans. we're not here to blow hot air. we're an actual support system. >> the average american can't comprehend what life can be like on the frontlines. >> people underestimate the psychological effects of long-term warfare. it's really difficult to culturally assimilate yourself back from a military environment where you're doing the most politically incorrect act in mankind into kofrpt culture. >> which all plays into the black rifle coffee of today. the san antonio-based business has a workforce of about 70% veterans and first responders. >> it's a true mixing pot of people that have served america that really love america. they've put their butts on the line to prove it. >> men and women from all branches of the military work at roasting facilities in salt lake city utah and manchester, tennessee where they grind beans and ship bacgs. >> will veterans hire veterans? >> nobody is shy about their opinions. >> we're irreverent, we're a group of politically incorrect, some would say we're a bit of knuckle dragger culture. we're very much a blue collar company that prides itself on hard work. >> it's a special environment that accepts everyone for who they are and what contributions they can make to the brand without judgment. these men and women have figuratively been together in the trenches all along. >> we speak in a specific cadence, in a specific way. when you're pulled into a company where the majority of the people speak the same language, it makes it really easy to have a productive conversation. >> serious conversations are encouraged. employees are comfortable talking about almost anything. >> we have conversations about ptsd and war probably every week that would make other companies call their hr departments. >> it's not something that's this dark story that you have to bottle down and you can never talk about it. let's be open and transparent with each other. >> evan and mat love telling people about their culture. they're not only irreverent. but the key is, they're authentic with consumers. >> we exist on so many different social media platforms, we're hyper transparent with the customer for better or worse. they know what the company stands for, pro american, pro constituti constitution. >> over the top social videos and their podcast. >> look into the science of splicing animals together. like i think our method of dealing with afghanistan would be -- >> no, no. >> the home they created for their team at work is similar to the fans online. >> you see people post, having a rough day and within a minute there will be 50 comments of people that are local or not local. here's my cell phone number, call me. we'll have a beer over the phone and just laugh. >> black rifle is paying it forward with a second podcast. veteran entrepreneurs who want to launch their own companies. >> you're trying to create an ecosystem of like-minded people that are mission oriented. >> what i care about is they're making the transition out of military service and into something they'll love. if we can't hire them, let's try to give another veteran the skills, motivation, whatever we can in order to get them out to start their own business so they can hire more vets. >> as evan and mat expand the company, they remain laser focused on their coffee and culture. for them, the mission goes on. >> i would say there's a reason that the rearview mirror is so small but it's nice to glance back and see what people were inspired to create. we are work-aholics, we'll keep grinding it out and not slow down. small business saturday is almost here. the top local movement this year is stronger than ever. it's impacting the way we eat. we recently visited richmond, virginia, a city hanging the way people think about their food. urban farms are popping up around the city and it's having a major impact on community restaurants, breweries, farmers markets and consumers. >> when sally shah witters decided to start tricycle farms, she didn't look to virginia's countryside. she looked right here in the heart of capital. >> there's so many things making it popular. they're returning to cities as well. it's a more vibrant place to be. as consumers, consumers are demanding to know where their food is coming from, how it is grown, who is growing it. >> for eight years, she's grown fresh produce she supplies to farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants. >> spinach might be one of the favorite items in the corner stores. >> tricycle farms is part of businesses helping each other and the consumer. all centered around a growing shop local movement. susan davenport, co-owner of a restaurant turns to local farmers, joe jenkins and josh to supply her with produce. >> these restaurants are really great because they're open to trying new things and saying hey, bring us what you got. we'll use it, see if it works and give you feedback. we've had this excellent kind of cyclical way of doing things with our customers. so far, everybody seems to be happy. >> we started off with how the kitchen is -- one of our biggest clients for sure. they've been wonderful to us and go through quite a bit of product too. being able to talk to them, it's been wonderful to say hey, they'll come out and ask us how we're growing it and they want to support such a local business with us. >> we really hit it off. these guys are really nice. they have a long history in the restaurant business. they seem to really understand what we need. and the flexibility we need and we understand the flexibility that they need. it's been really positive. we've enjoyed working with them and i think we have a great relationship. >> a relationship these farmers want to replicate all across the city. they're doing just that, with the help of an organization dedicated to building a sustainable and local food system throughout richmond. real local rva. on a fall saturday, they planned an urban farm tour to show off what richmond has to offer. >> implementing the farm tour is sort of a smaller piece of our larger mission. the biggest piece of what we're trying to convey to people is how important it is to connect with your food. to learn where your food comes from, to learn where it's grown, how it's grown. the difficulties in growing local food. the challenges that the farmers face. >> she was a big fan of the tour. >> this is actually my third one. so i just said somewhere along heard about local rva and i love urban agriculture. it's a great opportunity to go tour some farms. >> richmond's mayor as well. >> people, again and again are coming back and experiencing places like this, green space right here in the middle of the city. in addition to that, they see the names at our local restaurants as well. they can see something that's growing one minute and it can be on their plate maybe a few days, a few months later. that's the beauty, i think, about urban agriculture. it can be done here locally and used and consumed in the city it's grown. >> they hope to get more people thinking about food in a any waugh and inspire them to think local when they think produce. sally of tricycle farms is dogged about getting consumers to reimagine food in richmond. so she set up a fellowship to help others. kyle was part of that program. he now has his own farm on the tour. >> it's going to be great to have people out to the farm and show people what i'm doing and how it's close to the market here. get people to just see what i'm doing. >> real local rva provides ongoing support by making introductions to the lakewide farmers market. >> it's an incubator for small businesses. occasionally, one of these little vendors will end up with a shop of their own. >> seeing how it has impacted the community as well as the retail community. we've seen new growth in the local businesses and they're successful. that makes us feel really good. it's all interconnected. that's what our goal was. we're seeing that fulfilled. >> the lakeside farmers market is where you'll find a variety of people supporting the city's local goods. from students to families and city council members. >> i think everybody appreciates and understands that having good nutrition is important all the way around. >> making sure that we're purchasing locally, also reduces our carbon footprint. so it's really important to support each other within the region. >> it's really been amazing the outpouring of community support that we've gotten. i think people resonate with our message. i think as sort of the larger sort of chain stores come in and amazon continues to take over, i think the local grassroots movement is really growing. i think people are really inspired by it. they seem to really connect with it. >> cheers. for today's elevator pitch, we've partnered with shopify, one of the leading commerce platforms. they work with more than 600,000 merchants. the winners of today's elevator pitch get something really amazing. number one, they get a mentorship with someone from shopify to help them grow their business. number 2, they get placement in one of the shopify stores across the united states. now, as you can see, we're out of our own studio. here at the row detail a in los angeles where shopify set up a permanent store to help merchants glrow their business. >> it is so nice to meet you. >> nice meeting as you well. >> you came from far away? >> wisconsin. >> wisconsin to los angeles. >> clay masks. this is a big moment because you have a job. this is your -- you've been doing this for how long? >> for about three months now. >> this has to work. >> this is it. >> i'm all in. >> so you need to do a good job today. >> yeah, i will. >> i think you will. he seem great. >> thank you. >> two people. the coo of shopify it here. >> excited. michelle dore darrow grant, the founder of a company. she was where you are right now. had an idea, started a product and grew that company. >> wow. >> that's amazing. >> okay. sound good. >> hi my name is watson. i'm the founder of and ceo of asili naturals. many have acne, large pores and blemishes. the average u.s. woman uses 12 personal products a day. contained in 168 harmful chemicals. why are we using products that contain that many chemicals? there is a solution. our clay maxes. it's a two in one formula to detoxify the face. it's good for exfoliating it. a little bit goes a long way. i'll show you. you put it on your skin like this. what it does, it draws all the toxins you have in your face and then it's also going to exfoliate it and cause it to have a natural, healthy glow. our clay mask is available on walmart.com and four local retailers in milwaukee, wisconsin and in the online website. i think that this will be a great match for shopify. >> all right. >> i'm coming in. nice job. you did a great job. this is the one i love. the body scrub. >> couple questions i have. a lot of scrubs on the market. beauty products on the market. is the differentiator for the. >> there are none on the market today. ours is a 2 in 1 mix. bent night clay and created a formulation for it. >> where do you make this stuff? >> we work with a packer to make it in milwaukee, wisconsin. >> skin care while you're asking questions. >> then i'll wipe it off and you can see the difference. >> who do you find to be your customer? >> obviously women ages 24 to 45. vegan, vegetarians, people into healthy living as well. >> wonderful. thank you. >> you two go deliberate. >> how many products do you have? >> we have ten products in total. facial masks, body butters, soaps, bath balms and body scrubs. >> did you do this because you cared about putting natural things on your skin or did you have a background in this? >> i struggled with skin care issues myself. so i couldn't find anything on the market that really worked for me. after doing extensive research, i realized that a lot of the products i was using contained harmful chemicals. >> are you ready to bring them in. >> will you be men toward by shopify and in the stores? the answer is -- >> yea! >> i'm so excited. >> congratulations. great business. one thing i was thinking about, my experience with this, shockingly is as a hangover remedy. i think one of the things you have to think about is how can you be a producer of this. someone needs to know that it has health effects and you're the only scrub that has that. i think you should lean forward on that trend. come a thought leader for all things spirlina. >> you're shockingly -- >> i would really lean into that idea of content and really become a part of the health and willness community. i think there's so many bloggers and conversations in that world and having women show themselves before and after with these products and how you're impacting their lives, i think you'll go far. >> the beauty of this, is doesn't end here. that advice you get. >> working together. >> exactly. >> thank you guys. i truly appreciate it. >> congratulations. >> thank you. our next guest has an incredible story. he dropped out of school in ninth grade, went to prison the first time at 23. he spent 13 of the next 15 years in prison. then at 39, got out, he was homeless and got a job for an air conditioning and heating company. he eventually bought his own -- became part of the inc 5,000. he's here to tell us how to do sales. nobody knows better than this guy. well done long, an entrepreneur, a new york times best selling author. his new book, consistency selling. powerful sales results, every lead, every time. it's so nice to see you. it feels crazy to go into the sales after you've had this whole crazy lifetime of everything else. i have to imagine that your years from ninth grade until 39 absolutely influenced how you sell things and how you eventually built this very successful company. >> yeah. one of the things i think we all learn in business is that our emotional quotient is as important as our intelligence. i have a 103 iq. not the brightest bulb. is like our intelligence. it makes us successful in life and business and sales in particular. >> give me some of your tips. when you got out there, you hadn't worked in a long time, you had been in prison. you get into this air conditioning and heating company, well enough to start your own company. >> i made about 13,000 in sales commission, this is it for me. sales saved my life. it gave me the opportunity to build a productive life that i was not going to be given anywhere else, given my lack of experience. when i started selling, i was amazed how many well-intentioned, decent, good people would look you dead in the eye, say i'm going to call you back next week and never do it. at the time i was in a homeless shelter and had a son, i didn't have a luxury of waiting for a call on tuesday. i learned quickly there's no santa claus, no tooth fairy and tuesday is not going to come. we have to remove every obstacle possible and do everything in our power to make the customer to make a yes or no position. it's not about high pressure. it's about high service, removing the obstacles. i've got a better chance you saying yes because people say no not returning phone calls and email. >> you think it's about getting face to face. >> or on the telephone. with telesales it's a big part of business. we need them to make a decision while interacting with us. not on a proposal we send via email. >> how do you do that? >> basically what i call the sales hallway, picture the sales professional and the customer walking down the hallway, trying to get to a door and behind the door is the business, the deal, it's the trust. but along that hallway along the side are escape routes and what happens is prospects want to get information about your company, warranties and guarantee and information about your price and they want to escape out of one of those doors and do the natural thing, postpone the purchasing decision. spending money hurts us emotionally. they set little trap doors. i want to think about it. call me next week, anything they can to postpone the decision making. the key is to deal with them proactively. when you get to the end, you dealt with price and i will think about it. >> thank you for the cup. i bought it. we are right in the middle of the third season of "been there built that" where i talk to owners about the highs and lows of running a business. this business we talk to the ceo of zillow, a smart and really interesting guy to talk to. we spoke about the importance of transparency and culture and how if you purr things that are interesting have more to follow. check it out, called "been there, built there" and find it wherever you get your podcasts. when we come back, is the subscription-based business model played out? plus more great tips on how to attract customers on small business saturday. the community doesn't just have small businesses, it is small businesses. and that's why american express founded small business saturday. so, this year let's all get up, get out and shop small on november 24th. i got croissant. small business saturday. a small way to make a big difference. because they're tied to the schools, to the local charities, to other social and civic organizations, to the local chambers of commerce, a whole range of ways in which i think they share interests and they share expectations about outcomes, and working together by creating an event, by creating a special night, by creating special teams around certain times of the year, especially during the holiday season, those are all advantages and that collective power, that collective engagement is something that can't be replicated by anyone else and something that they share with one another and i think that will engage consumer answer bring them out. >> do you think it's worth it for small businesses to have messaging around you shop here and it's your community or people think i don't care, i need to get a gift for grandma? >> certainly the latter part is true. all the survey work we've seen resonates they are conscious and sensitive to it, and they want to be engaged and support local businesses and i think making that a point when you engage with their customers encouraging them to support the small local business because we employ people in this community, we're a family owned business. 98% of small businesses in the retail industry in the u.s. have 50 or fewer employees. 95% have one location. emphasizing that uniqueness and the commitment. >> also, we support the local baseball team. >> little league, the fire department, the school board, all of those things. those are great ways to engage the community and tell a story and that's what this is all about, story telling and engagement. >> what we are here to encourage people to shop small on small business saturday. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> this week's your wiz selfie from adeline dorsainvil from florida, she uses crystals in the bot tles of her fragrances. she's a big fan of the show and we wish her a lot of luck with her business. thank you for joining us. we love hearing from you. if you have any questions or comments or just want to say hey, send us an email to your been j businessaa and connect with us our digital and media platforms. check out the podcast called "been there built that." we're in the middle of our third season. download is for free. we look forward to seeing you next time. i'm j.j. ramburg. remember, we make your business our business. the community doesn't just have small businesses, it is small businesses. and that's why american express founded small business saturday. so, this year let's all get up, get out and shop small on november 24th. i got croissant. small business saturday. a small way to make a big difference. hey everybody, i'm david gura and "this is up." a recount is on and the clock is ticking. more than 8 million ballots counted by thursday and the candidates are ready for a fight. >> we don't just get the opportunity to stop counting votes because we don't like the direction in which the vote tally is headed. >> there are protests, question legitimacy of the process and the president is getting in on it. >> he's not mincing words. he

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