welcome to "on the money." small businesses going big time, from jewelry stores to hair salons. how they're going social and going mobile. is america suffering labor pains? we look at the state of the american worker with labor secretary. a wild week for the stock market. massive swings up and down. should you pay attention to all the noise, and what does it mean for your retirement plan? and we'll take you inside cuba, what's really changed and should you be planning a vacation there any time soon? "on the money" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "on the money," your money, your life, your future.

what do a jewelry manufacturer, hair salon and wine store have in common? they've jumped on the technology band wagon to make their businesses more modern, mobile, and social. their small shops trying to keep up with the bigger players in business. that's our cover story this week. three small businesses, three different strategies to keep up with the times and stay in business in the digital age. >> social media is the best thing that happened to small business because it used to be, you had to get through the gatekeepers to get to people. if somebody is on social media, you can get to them. >> the consumer is educating the retailer. >> more and more, clients are saying, you know, why don't you have a system where i can just request a time? >> i'm answering e-mails more than i'm answering phone calls now. >> fourth generation jeweler still makes jewelry by hand, but is now using social media to reach her company's target

audience. >> women can relate when you see a picture of a ring on a finger, or a necklace or an earring. this is something that we're very -- we like to show how it's wi worn. they want to try it on. >> this 22-year-old hair salon is making life easier for its clients by providing an online booking system, as well as answers to frequently asked questions on their soon to be revamped website. >> we're in the process of changing to a cloud-based software, which will allow more convenience to our clients who are expecting that experience on their phone, to book an appointment or to read quickly about something. >> and a wine store that launched only a year ago transacts business anywhere, through a mobile point of sales system, allowing it to find new customers. >> 30% of the sales are generated outside of the store based on these different events. >> you want to make sure you can take people's currency everywhere they want to do business with you. you have to be mobile ready. you've got to make sure your

customers can find you. you've got to make sure you have a click to call, hours and address on your website. you've also got to make sure that when it comes to social media, content is currency. >> does every small business need to have social media as part of its business plan? how important is it when it comes to connecting with current customers and getting new ones? dave is ceo of likable local. thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> content is currency. how important is social media to a small business? >> it's essential to small businesses because their customers and prospects are all there. pretty much every consumer at this point is using facebook, twitter and linkedin. small businesses have to join that conversation. >> what does likable local do? how do you help businesses do this? >> they have a free tool and a set of paid tools that make social media super easy by automating most of the things that take a lot of time for small businesses. the problem is that most small business owners don't have the time to do social media.

they're struggling with coming up with time to run their own businesses. our company and our software makes it easier and faster. >> how can they adapt to social media, and how can they know it's worth their time? what's the return on investment? >> the first return on investment is that you're relevant and still in business. the best way to optimize social media and make money off of it, to get the roi, is to generate referrals from your existing customer base. you're not necessarily going to get lots of new customers out of air, but if you use social media to build relationships with current customers, current clients, they can help spread the word for you, and you can get new customers that way. >> we're talking about so many different types of social media. should i be on twitter, facebook, instagram? what do i do? >> great question. the first place you start is by listening. pay attention to where your customers are today. what social network are they on the most? if you're an ecommerce company,

you want to be on facebook. if you're a lawyer, you want to be an linkedin. if you're a blog or sports or entertainment-related business, you probably want to be on twitter first. start with one and expand from there. >> is this something that businesses are doing just to capture the purchasing power of millenials or is this for everyone? >> it starts with millenials but, at this point, pretty much everyone is on social media. the fastest growing demo in social media is men 50 plus. >> wow. >> that's because everyone else is already there. >> good point. dave, thank you so much for joining us. small business or large, the state of the american worker has been in the spotlight. labor day is coming up next week, and u.s. labor secretary tom perez just returned and has new perspectives on the american worker. secretary perez, thank you for joining us. >> great to be with you and all your viewers. >> what is the current state of the american workplace? you talked to a lot of folks over the last several days and talked about hot button issues.

what have you found that surprises you? >> well, i'm always inspired by the resilience of the american worker and american business owners. i was in nebraska, kansas, missouri, oregon, new jersey, pennsylvania, other states, and everywhere i go, we have the wind at our back. there's no doubt about it. 65 months in a row of private sector job growth. 13 million jobs. i talked to people who were out of work and have a job now, and they have a hop in their step. at the same time, the unfinished business is undeniable. i met with fast food workers. i'll never forget a meeting i had literally a few days ago with a woman with three children. she's working 30 hours a week at a fast food restaurant. the night before i saw her, she slept in her car with her three children. we can do better as a nation. i was out in oregon talking to business owners who are very strong supporters of the new paid leave bill that was put in

place in oregon. because they recognize that when their workers are respected and taken care of, when you have this basic baseline of benefits, what it does is it helps to really bring about a loyal work force, it reduces attrition. i see workers and businesses alike coming together, understanding that when more people have more, we're a stronger nation. the unfinished business of this recovery is making sure that the wind that's at our back brings about more shared prosperity. there's still too many people who haven't gotten a raise in years. too many people working 50 hours a week and getting their food at the food pantry. that's not who we are as a nation. >> many who are struggling say there are many out there who don't have a job and are looking for a job, have been unemployed for a long period of time. there are millions of people like that. where are the new jobs, and what's next for the economy? >> well, there are 5.2 million

job openings right now. that's a bell weather of a well-functioning economy. in the depths of the reception, there were roughly 7 seekers for every opener. now, there are 1.6 job seekers. again, things are tightening. in terms of where there are openings, there are openings in a number of different areas. the health care sector continues to be a robust area of opportunity. the area where we've seen the most growth in the last year has been business and professional services, which by and large, are very good middle-class jobs. >> let's talk about the rise of companies like uber, the gig economy, people finding jobs like that. what type of workers are independent workers, and how is that impacting the labor force right now? >> well, the economy is always going to have innovation. that's the brilliance of our economy. we obviously have worked with many businesses and workers, and

the discussion i've observed in the so-called gig economy, one of the things that i find a little troubling and inaccurate is we see these false choices. i hear some people who say that, well, you know, we either innovate or we regulate. the best way to help build the ube ubers of the world is to make sure there is no regulation. that's flat wrong. i see forward leaning, successful companies who are innovating day in and day out. whether it's the new economy or the legacy economy. they understand that you can innovate side by side with your workers. you look at instacart, one of the emerging startups. they've treated their workers as employees because they recognize that if you want to build long-term growth, you have to make sure that you take care of your workers. >> thank you so much, secretary

perez. >> always a pleasure to be with you. up next, we're "on the money." bull and unbearable. if you think market mayhem has your retirement at risk, find out how to protect your future. 11 million has been a thorn in america's side for half a century. we're talking to scuba again an there is a hint of change.

here's, now, here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week "on the money." it was a week not for the faint of heart if you have any money in the stock market. the dow plunged 1,000 points early monday, recovered slightly and fell another 200 points on tuesday. all on concerns about china and the global economy. the nasdaq and s&p 500 followed suit during the week.

all had monster rebounds on wednesday and thursday. stocks were mixed on friday. america's economy grew faster than most thought last quarter. the gdp expanded at an annual rate of 3.7%. that's better than expected. the gdp is the broadest reading of the size and scope of the u.s. economy. and if you've been waiting for cheaper air fares, your wait may be over. according to airline weekly, you have to fly during off-peak hours and fly discount, such as southwest, spirit or frontier. the cheaper fares are due to cheaper fuel and increased capacity. this is the week that made you want to ignore your 401(k) statement and may have made you worry about your retirement. stock market volatility returned. if you're thinking about your money long-term, what should you do? joining us now are diahann la

sus and doug boneparth. thank you for being here. investors may be in a panic after seeing this volatility, especially what we saw on monday and tuesday. we saw a recovery, but down on the month. what should people think about when they think about their portfolios? >> if you're hearing that you shouldn't panic, that's the right thing. don't panic. if you're investing according to your goals and this is long-term money, remember, it's long term. you can ride out volatility. if you haven't done any planning around this, now is the time to take action and speak with a financial professional. educate yourself or empower yourself around these things so you don't have to feel panic when these things happen. >> what kind of history lesson do we need to give people? cycles happen. we see this time and again. haven't seen it in many years. maybe that's why people need to be reminded. what are you telling clients? >> we're basically telling them to stay the course. if the asset allocation you have is working, and it's the right

risk profile for you, then there's no reason to make a change. nothing is different. think about history. think about those people who jumped out of the market during the worst possible time. they're the ones that really felt the pain. not the ones that stayed in the market. >> a lot of people did jump out in 2008, and look at the runup they missed over that period of time. >> yes. >> most people have their stocks, their investments in their 401(k), ira, retirement plans. are there things they should be doing with these plans at this particular time, doug? >> yeah. well, you know, regardless of the account, like i said before, invest toward your goals. if we're talking about 401(k)s and iras, we have an association of long-term money, unless you're about to retire. take millenials, for example. they have 20 to 30 years before retirement, if not more. that's about three or four market cycles you'll see over that time. >> you're going to see this again, if you have 20, 30 years

toward retirement, this is just the beginning. >> something like the last two weeks, you're going to see probably many, many times over. like we talked about earlier, this is something that is pretty normal. we had four amazing years back to back. out of seven pretty good years overall. if this didn't happen, we'd both be out of a job, but we'd also be in some kind of utopia, which would be great, but it's not our reality. this is normal. when we think about long-term assets like 401(k)s and retirement money, we can withstand this volatility given a long-term outlook. if it's shorter term, it might not be wise to be in riskier assets. >> if we see our 401(k) decline in the last months, can we do anything about snit. >> if you're thinking about the roth conversion, this is a great time to do it. convert it, watch the assets

grow tax-free, not just tax-deterred. >> you're taking the tax-deterred account and converting it to tax-free for retirement. >> absolutely. don't forget about the tax losses, too. if you have some and took a lot of gains earlier in the year, which many people did, you can offset the gains and reduce your taxes. >> by selling some of the stocks that performed poorly. >> absolutely. >> great advice. thanks. up next, we're "on the money." the embassy is open, the flag has been raised but how much is really different in cuba? how is it changing? we'll take you inside the communist country. as we go to break, a look at how the stock market ended the week.

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the u.s. the u.s. embassy is now reopened in havana, cuba. since the u.s. and cuba have reestablished diplomatic relations after more than 50 years. michelle caruso-cabrera was in cuba for a week and joins us on what's changed, what's not, and if there is capitalism in the country. >> good to see you. the cuban economy is in very bad shape. we don't know how bad because the country doesn't public economic data regularly or in a form that's recognizable. things appear to be changing in

important ways. amidst the crumbling buildings, the streets and the antiquated forms of transportation, there are hints of change in cuba. most notably, new wi-fi hot spots put up by the government on july 1st. there are only 35 in a country of 11 million people. hence why they're so crowded all the time. even though they're expensive, $2.50 an hour. most people only make $20 a month. cuba is one of the least connected countries in the world and, for many, it's the first time they've been able to access the internet. the most obvious use, speaking with family members overseas on a skype-like app. >> i'm here trying to connect via wi-fi with my children. >> reporter: google made overtures to the cuban government, to expand availability across the island as low cost to the government. thus far, the government hasn't accepted the tech-company's offer. instead, is using chinese equipment, like these routers visible on the street.

another sign of change, more and more small businesses. three years ago, the government gave permission for cubans to leave their government jobs and, instead, work for themselves. only in about 200 very low-skilled occupations. ruben left his job with a government agency and started a business making gift bags for parties and events. he used to make $30 a month. now, he pays himself $150 a month and has money leftover for savings. his wife more than quintupled her income. when it comes to meaningful levels of investment, there is almost none. cuba is an unfriendly place to do business. foreign businesses can't choose employees and can't decide how much to pay them. they have to pay the cuban government, which keeps most of the money, according to the brookings institute. >> then the entity pockets about 95% of that payment in hard

currency, and then pays the poor cuban worker in local cuban pesos only the equivalent of about 5% of what was actually paid by the corporation. >> that is essentially the labor tax of 95%. that's the highest in the world. one other change, parts of the police state no longer appear to be working. the neighborhood organizations, committee for the defense of the revolution that used to make sure people were acting communist enough, we're hold they don't function anymore. there's still a high level of vigilance of dissidents by government spies, but at the street level, we got the sense that people felt freer to express themselves. >> does that mean that, in terms of tourism, it's more open now, that maybe we should be planning our next winter get away to havana? >> the changes under president obama, with the executive orders, makes it much easier to travel to cuba. not super easy. there's still hurdles, but easier than before. that being said, cuba is already packed. they don't have a lot of tourism

infrastructure. if you want to go, you are an adventure tourist at this point, because you're not going to find the kind of accommodations you're used to as an american traveler. >> interesting. good to know. thank you, michelle. >> sure. up next, a look at the news for the week ahead, and the car that broke consumer reports scoring equipment because it did so well. need to hire fast?

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for for more on our show and our guests, go to our website, otm.cnbc.com. and follow us on twitter @on the money. here are the stories coming up that mayim pa impact your money. tuesday, we get auto sales. on wednesday, the fed releases its beige book, which tracks economic conditions across the country. also on wednesday, factory orders for the month of july are released. and wednesday marks the 226th anniversary of the treasury department. on friday, the most closely-watched number of the week, the unemployment rate for the month of august comes out. consumer reports has tested cars for 79 years. in all that time, no car has ever earned a perfect score. until now. could this be the best car ever? the tesla model s spn875 d. sco

a perfect 100 out of 100 on the rating system. there were raves about the all-wheel drive, acceleration, braking and handling. the setback, the sticker price of $130,000. wow. that's our show for today. thanks so much for joining us. becky will be back next week, and we'll be talking about improving your credit score. each week, keep it here. we are "on the money." have a great one. see you next weekend. need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job with a single click. then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. and now you can use zip recruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com.

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