Transcripts For MSNBCW Your Business 20181208

Hi, there, everyone. Im j. J. Ramberg and welcome to your business. This years business star is more than a triple threat. She doesnt just write, act, and produce, shes also a partner in the blinking owl distillery. Defined by the motto, artistry, family, and fun, she built the business with her two friends and their mutual affection of craft spirits. Keir stin makes a mean moscow mule, and if you happen to be there on the day of her house, a tasting virtually guaranteed you wont be walking out emptyhanded. On tv shes the bespeckled fbi Technical Analyst penelope on the cbs series. Shes the artistic owner of the blinking artillery distillery. What youve got to do with this, youve got to spank the mint. She was intrigued when her longtime friends tell her they were going to chase a dream and open the first distillery in orange county. Its beautiful and participates in the economy in fair way where people are getting paid to do something theyre good at and theyre not cutting corners. Thats why people love contract criminal minds. Theyre people mo work it in the make. Were conscious about how were treating the environment and how we treat our employees, how this stuff looks, how it tastes. I feel like in the end if youre looking for a good metric of what keeps you happy, sane, and calm, yeah, this is perfect. Reporter the blinking owl and its owners made a decision early on to do things the long way, making their booze from scratch using santa anas water along with botanical. Were as local as possible. So were committed to using organic grown grain as much california based as possible, and thats important to us because the impact it has on local farming is massive. For example, one of our busiest months last year, we used 15,000 pounds of grain. That could season. The products we make, aqua sri has got caraway, hibiscus, and fennel. Its the bartenders favorite and our bestseller. Its amazing what happens when you make spirits with really good product in equals good product out. While they run the daytoday operation, they built it with three objectives. Artistry, friendly, and fun. I can do a tasting like youve never seen. They wont even know who i am. They dont watch tv. I met a whole group of ladies who have like 25yearlong subscriptions to pbs. I have made them buy booze theyre never going to drink because i did a good tasting. Reporter while she has her day job, her title is creative muse wizard owl. Shes the number one cheerleader for the blinking owl. Kerstin is like the best friend and partner. Extremely generous, constantly looking out for blinking owl like a little guardian of the business. One day youre going to leave your company, it is a fact, and so succession planning long before you need it is a must. The owners of a model Airplane Company in florida gave some thought to the future, but they didnt have a formal plan in place. For your a while, they looked like they were gog to have to sell. But much to their delight after years of saying no, their son decided to join them. So now the family is working together to form the brand to make sure sales take off. This company today is a lot better than it was. My idea coming in is, yeah, i was going to be challenging, i was going to be tough. But what it really is more of that. Early morning, late nights, and lots of weekends have become part of his new normal. You jump in and you go, and you take your lumps along the way, right . After being fired from his familys business as a teenager two decades ago, the man who goes by his middle name, lee, has landed back at the company. They make high quality models. Its a lot of balls to juggle at the same time. Making models wasnt a passion of mine. It was hard to get excited until i started seeing the bigger picture. His perrins roger and carol have run the miami, florida, Company Since they bought it in 1985. Our most important goal is making sure everyone has a model they love. For a pilot, if theyre in a bad weather situation and they have a hairy trip and they safely land, theyre bonded to that airplane. Roger always wondered about lees potential in the business. Theyve had some other famous customers along the way as well. Ive always had an interest in the succession planning both not only for us managementwise but within the shop. Lees take was clear on it in from start. In the very beginning i asked if he had any interest. No. Through the years, no. He wanted to create his own. He didnt want to be rogers son. Carol said she believed he would know if and when the time was right. I encouraged him not to come into the business. I wanted to make sure it was his. The passion has to be there. Eventual will i that moment came. Roger talked about retiring or coming up with a plan b, and lee was listening. I nudged him a little bit. Either youre going to do it or im going to find somebody. Its no a big deal, but i was anxious to get that done. The minute he told me that, it solidified ive got to come over here. Its a special place. It cant change hands. He joined betsy who worked as a general manager. She welcomed it. Its surprising after all these years how much he was paying attention, but the more i think he came through here and saw us working and saw what an interesting business this was, i think we kapd of hooked him. Lee was never a stranger to the operation, but his arrival set the wheels of change in motion. I dont feel like an outsider. It is a transition because most of these employees have known me since i was 10, 12 years old. Now that im their bosque its a dirnl interaction . Roger used to run the company more like i was a hobby. Lee focuses on finetuning production and the moneymaking potential. We have some orders taking way too long to fill. There were a lot of, oh, look, its new and shiny. The fun of it was the motivating factor rare than the business side of it. Kmien indication is crucial to everything. While his parnls are open to new ideas, there are certainly times not everyone agrees. We butt heads, but we can explain our points openly and honestly and put things aside. We move the ego, move the facts, we can get a lot done. Lee has had to remind his father that the leadership has changed. There is a new hierarchy to follow. I was talking to one of the fellows about a project. He said, look, i dont mind you talking to the employees, but you need to let me know. I thought, geez, hes been here a week and i thought, hes been observing. Roger and carol know a lot about the business and hes still just learning. I knowing you know, the dinner boeings and airbuses and all that kind of stuff. I dodge know how many times i put a model in and roger would say, in 1972 they had this transition. I was like, what are you talking about . Though theres been a change in control, a lot of the customers dont know theres a difference between father and son. When people call over the phone and they ask for roger. Its like what roger. Make no mistake about it. This shift carries a schiff for everyone. When you have a business of your own, you never lose sigh of the fak that we in our particular case, we have 25 families who are depeblding upon us for our livelihood, and thats important. Despite their ups and downs along the way, theyre ecstatic to see the business pass through the hands of their children. Its the world to me. Its the idea that what you started is of enough interest to carry it on, is really gratifying. For todays elevator pitch, weve done something pretty special. Weve partnered with shop i phi. They work with more than 600,000 merchants. They know what theyre talking about. And were here in los angeles where theyve opened up a pertinent space. Now, our elevator pitcher, if she wins, is going to get two prizes. The fir, shell get her product placed in a shopify store. The second is he shes going to get mentorship from shopify who are exerted in growing businesses. Lets go meet our pitcher. Todays elevator pitch is a family affair. So good to see you guys. High. Hi. You are well branded. How are you related . This is my niece. How great is it to Work Together . Its fun. Have you pitched together . We have not. Whos going to be doing the pitching . Both of us. What will it mean if you win this elevator pitch . Well, shopify is such a great Global Company and with their resources, it would be a great gamechanger for us. Were looking forward to winning that lets start walking. There are two people youre going to be talking to. The first is harley finkelstein. He was their first customer and then became the coo. And the second person is Michelle Cordero grant. Shes like you guys. A founder and ceo who started from nothing. Her company is lively and shes been incredibly successful. Lets see how you do. Hi. Hi. Let me tell you about ayllu. It means family, kmunl, and acceptance and now ayullu is an iconic word. It comes from my multicull real background. The design is two hearts that represents the hearts we share. The infinity sign represents unity, forming a clover for luck. Together this creates the iconic symbol ayllu. My generation was defined by the peace sign . And mine will be defined by ayllu. Celebrating diversity and celebrating. We have items at bloomingdales. You see me walking in. Thats okay. You did a great job. By the way, youve done this a thousand times. This is your first time . Fantastic. I was very, very impressed. Great pitch. Really appreciate you guys telling us about your company. You two can go talk to each other for one second. You can decide what you think. How much did you practice this . . A little bit. This is good stuff. This is not your first. We want them to share it. You dont have to buy it but go out and inspire the community. Come back in, you guys. Thank you so much for that pitch. Its really great. We want to understand a little more about the business. I know theres a charitable possibility to the business. Id like to hear about that. 25 cents to every piece we sell goes to a global charity. Right now were donating to global citizens thats happening in new york. Were excited about h. I think you have to lean into i. The jewelry is beautiful and the story is incredible. It differentiates you guys. I think you have to push that a little bit stronger that im going to get to the moment of truth here. Are you ready in. Were ready. And. Yay. Thank you. We really appreciate it. Shopify is going to put us on the map. Youre such an incredible company. Thank you for the opportunity. Dont forget the mentorship. Yes, everything, all their resources . A thank you you. Well done. In 2015 jen rubio and steph met at warner parker. Most interest, they are profitable. Were here at shop. Org in las vegas and i had a chance to meet jen rubio. Congratulations. You must be proud of yourself. Yes, and its not very t traditional for a company to reach that at this stage and were very proud of it. Im interested in how you bill a brand. All maltby you sell luggage. Your Company Created a company that feel leak much mo like mn that. How did you go through the push pull of do we talk about fee furs or the world of travel . From the beginning we knew we wanted to know more about the luggage brand. We used the insights for designer suitcase and thats how were thinking about the travel company at large. That changes everything. Were not a luggage brand. It charchls the way we think about it and other people talk about it. No one wants to talk about it. It should be something you talk about to one of your friends. That is the best. This is another point i want to talk about. Just repeat that again. Erring everything you do as a company should be something people want to talk about with their friends over drinks. So you do not want to talk about the grit materieat materi no. They want to talk how it fits into their life, how it made their experience better. So we looked at all of our marketing and branding communications through that lens. Was there any discussion about the features or the bigger brand idea . I think thats a time and place for both. No. When were talking to press, we want to talk about everything. But when someones on our product page to buy the suitcase, thats talk about the features, what youre really getting and why its ultimately better than any product out there. And there are a lot of luggage computes that have gone by the wayside. Why do you think you have the staying power . Obviously were very proud of the product. It has a lifetime warranty. Theres good luggage out there, but at the end of day were living in a time when people want to be proud to identify with the companies that they buy from, and they recognize that away stands for something much bigger than luggage. That means we have created this inherent demand for anything our brand creates. So when you have a popup hotel, suddenly people want to stay there. Exactly. Weve joked about doing away airlines, but maybe thats not too far off in the future. Its all about thinking about the biggest pain points in travel and how we can uniquely solve them. Thinking about your whole portfolio fields off each other. We dont believe you can build a legacy by buying customers. We think theres an art and science to it. So all the storytelling, the branding, the customer love is what makes our Growth Marketing more efficient. So its position marketing, but it wouldnt work that well if you didnt have the storytelling brand marketing. And they Work Together hand in hand to make sure we have things people want to talk about and by the time our paid marketing gets to customers and they convert. You think of your stores as profitable bimboarllboards. They actually are. What we do with our stores is offer customers an experience we cant offer them online. It helps bring the brand to life, but also drives web sales when we open a store in that region. Six stores . Five stores so far, including one in london. So good luck with everything going forward, and thank you for stopping by. Thanks. Were so excited. Still to come, how entrepreneurs in other cunning can find interested investors here in the u. S. , and why you should by focused on more than just sales. The meeting of the executive finance committee is now in session. And. Adjourned. Business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. The powerful backing of american express. Dont do business without it. Being a business project, interested in starting out in the u. S. Market, what are the Biggest Challenges we must overcome in getting in touch and getting the interest of u. S. Investors . If youre a foreign bills looking to launch big in the u. S. , there are a few challenges. First, you need to be incorporated here in the u. S. And maybe already establish a presence here. I know many investors who wont invest in foreign entities. Additionally you need a network here. A lot of investors wont speak to you unless you have a warm introduction, so tap into your alumnae base, or consider building a local advisory board. And finally americans are known for being pretty confident in the startup world. You want to make sure youre not too conservative in your projection and not being shy about your vision. We have the top two tips. Mona is the found of the inkwell, a executive search firm, and online floral retailer, that delivers flowers from ecofriendly sustainable farms. Because of you these Small Farmers are sending their kids to college. And 70 of farmhands are women. Because of the way they play living wages, theyll work at that same farm, 20, 25 years and send their kids to college for the first time because of that job. And you are doing great work for women who have the great jobs and still have some flexibility. You have both grown your companies from just ideas. What have you learned along the way . I think people should find other ways to compensation their workers, and flexibility is one of them. If you can offer your best people flexibility, you can save money and get the best people. So true. Its not all about salary. Theres flexibility, there is vacation, theres opportunities to learn more. You just have to be creative. I think a lot of time owners and managers just think its all about whats in the paycheck. My cfo was the former cfo of gify, its a huge tech unicorn. For inkwell to attract that talent, we had to giver what she wanted, which was flexibility. For ecommerce, trying to sell a product is difficult. Its hard to win on price. You have to win in some other way. What we try though sell is digital experiences that make your life easier and better. Of course were selling flowers, thats what we do, but we try to do it in a way that brings values in another way. It might be around sustainability because you care about that. But we also offer tools to make the orton process simpler. One is a scheduling tool. You say here are my five relyships my send so january i can schedule things for the entire year . And you get 20 off, so roses delivered on valentines for 36 out the door. That does not exist forget about 36 out the door. I dont even have to think about it on the week. In in my calendar, set up the flowers every year. And it create loyalty. Were not just selling you a product. We have a traditional subscription, once a month is the most popular. In the holiday time frame we see it takes off, because its an amazing gift. Now youre gives mom or your wife or whoever for the whole year. The point is well taken. You have to be more. You have to do what you do the very best and give more than anyone else. Congratulations to both of you. You both have done amazing jobs with your companies. Its great to see you. This weekss yourbizselfie. Andrew is a company that creates successful and meaningful job opportunities. They operate three Small Businesses in mt. Kisco. Thank you so much for watching, thank you so much for all you do. We wish you a lot of success. Thank you so much for joining us today. Today ive got some other news. After 12 years on the air your business is coming close to the final episode. We had two weeks left. This has been a fabulous job for me. I thank you so much for watching and supporting us. I just wanted to let you know. In the meanwhile, we would love to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments, email us. You can also click on our website. We put up all of the segments from todays show plus a whole lot more for you. Dont forget to connect with us on all our digital and social media platforms. And check out the podcast. You can download it for free from apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, remember, we make your business our business. Youre in the business of helping people. Were in the business of helping you. Business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. The powerful backing of american express. Dont do business without it. This is up everybody. Im david gurra. Huge developments today in the russia investigation. Three bombshell filings in recent hours, including two from the special counsel. The house will have little choice, the way this is going, than to start impeachment proceedings. Robert mueller the first time mentioning what took place during Donald Trumps presidency. Russia is a