employees working for free? that is exactly what one group of workers did to help their company, which makes mobile surgical units stay in business. and our elevator pitcher has the solution to those embarrassing hospital gowns. see what the small business doctors have ordered up. that's all coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy, and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc.

hi there, everyone, i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. the world lost a visionary this week whose work impacted millions of people, including small business owners. steve jobs, whose tireless drive for innovation inspired the world, died at the age of 56. from the earliest apple computers to ipods and iphones, to pixar animation, jobs' constant look to the future was a template for those with big and small ideas. colleen debase is special projects director at "entrepreneur" magazine and phil talent is an investment adviser and best-selling author. we are just talking that it was so sad, and it's amazing, these times when you've never met

somebody and yet they've impacted your life so much that you feel so saddened when something like this happens. >> worked with steve pretty closely investing in a company that was building software for the next computer back in about 1990, and i can tell you that he is -- we've lost something so huge because there are so few people that combine vision with this intense will, and this complete inability to compromise, that vision. >> you were telling us a story earlier about something you showed him, and it wasn't exactly right. >> i got thrown all the way out of this office. he went screaming through the hall, saying i never want to see this guy again, because he thought it wasn't going to be ready to ship. and then todd rulon miller, the head of sales, said steve wants to see you tomorrow, i thought he was going to apologize. todd goes no, he's going to shoot you a couple more times. steve and i walked around the campus at next and he said, look, we have to ship this on time. i said steve it's going to ship. he said, okay, fine, it's going to ship. now you need to change the interface. wait a second, you just said it

needs to ship. now if we change the interface, it's going to be way behind shipping time. he goes i don't care, you're going to chain the interface. i want you to fly the development team here tomorrow. i am going to sit with them. he did that. spent five hours. they changed the interface. the team went in a little bunker and i had to go get one of the team members out of the psych ward it got so crazy. >> that rings true to everything we ever heard, read about him, stories that have been told all this week. but for small business owners, too, he's just a real inspiration. because, he's so passionate. he cared so much. he saw what nobody else saw and then made it happen. which is what entrepreneurs do. >> you know, you use the phrase tireless innovation. and i think that is such a great phrase. and i think that's something small business owners can take from steep jobs. he was tireless. he always wanted to improve his product. products. he wanted to enhance them, it wasn't just creative product and then you're done with it. >> if small business people

would do what he did fearlessly, which is to become so committed to their vision that they won't let the world change it, and that was key to steve. that's what made him so great. >> cash is the life blood of any business. but what do you do when you don't have enough of it? some may call it quits. one entrepreneur made a critical decision that could have easily sent him and his company over the edge. when he was strapped for cash he turned to his employees and asked them to do their part to help save the company by working for free. >> the idea of going from what paying anyone to today was remarkable. for me it was heart wrenching to do that. >> rick cochran knows all too well what it's like to be a business owner who's on the verge of shutting his doors. >> i watched our company struggle at different times and we could have gone out of business so many times.

>> based on mobile medical international corporation's recent success, you would never know that this award winning business had such problems. >> that time we maybe had four or five employees. i know for sure we lost one. >> but those challenges have made this $14 million company what it is today. at one point, things were so rough, that cochran asked the employees at his st. john'sbury, vermont, company, to work for free. >> what i tended to do was i would pay everyone else and not myself. and i did that as long as i could. but then it reached a point that we just needed, i just needed more support. >> the builder of mobile surgical units and military shelters used around the world hit hard times in the first few years of business. >> the sale cycle on these units are very long. finding the right use, being a small company, especially in those early days, we had limited

ability to get the message out. >> while spending money on attracting customers and getting necessary certifications, cochran found his company at a crossrods. >> there were some hard times. there were some lean times where we ended up saying, okay, we're going to have a little hiatus. can we go a few weeks without pay? >> cochran says he's refused to sugar coat the reality of the situation. >> i'm straight with my people. i think that's something they come to know. if they ask something, they're going to know the truth. >> janet and colleen are two of the employees who worked without pay. despite the rough road, she says employees trusted cochran and his vision. >> rick was very, very honest about hat was going on. not something you could easily hide in such a small company anyway. he didn't just spring it on us and say you're not going to be paid. we knew it was a real possibility. and we knew that certain things had to occur in order for him to

be able to meet those obligations to us. >> she says her future with the company wasn't exactly set in stone after hearing what cochran had to say. >> i actually considered taking another job. i interviewed for it. was told that they would have hired me on the spot. i think if rick had been a less passionate individual for what he was doing, and what he was trying to accomplish, and a less honest individual about what the actual true circumstances were going to be, i'm not sure i could have stayed. >> reporter: privo says her boss kept her motivated. >> when it came to rough spots in the business, or anybody thinking that maybe the doors would reclose, we didn't want to do that. i didn't ever think of not coming in to work or looking for another job. >> reporter: but that wasn't the case for everyone. knowing the seriousness of the situation, not every employee stayed with mobile medical. >> one employee, her husband

came in. and he sat down and he was like, i can't believe you're doing this. and he was absolutely insistent that she not stay with the company if we could not be on her payroll. >> and even the employees who did stay had to have some serious conversations with their loved ones. >> it was hard, yeah. you hear a little slack from family members or people in the community. what are you doing? but, no, it was worth it. >> we made a leap of faith, my husband and i. i talked to him and he said, you're obviously not ready to leave. he said, we'll do whatever it takes, and we'll get through this. >> even though paychecks were halted, cochran did leave employee insurance in place. >> the one thing that we did consistently was support the health benefits side. and i just felt like that was the bare minimum that we could provide some support. >> he said he would do whatever he could to make us feel the least amount of pain possible during this period. and he go. >> cochran admits that the

sacrifices his employees were making went on a bit longer than he had initially thought. >> then a few weeks turned out to be maybe a few months. >> working close to 24 hours a day, and aggressively marketing his surgical units, cochran finally landed a key order that allowed him to put money toward the employee payroll. >> it may not have been full pay at first. but gradually he started paying what he could. >> in time, as business continued to grow, cochran was able to deliver on a promise. he kept his word, and paid his employees all lost wages. >> it probably was a couple years into the cycle before that finally, where i felt like i had treated them properly and fairly, and compensated them, you know, for everything they'd gone through. >> the employees believe mobile medical is a lesson for other entrepreneurs. they say cochran's dedication and open management style helped save the company. >> if you believe in something,

and you have faith in what you're doing, and you love what you're doing. that's what counts. you need to stick with that. >> he was very honest. he said when i can, i will take care of this, and i will make you whole, and he did. >> it's not unusual for a struggling small business to ask employees to share in the sacrifices. but how do you keep them motivated and engaged when there's no pay coming in at all? let's turn to this week's board of directors and ask them. colleen and phil are back with us. amazing story, right? >> that's an amazing story. >> what really got me was how that one woman said, i had another job offer basically, and i said no. she took the risk with him. >> you know, a lot of times you hear about business owners certainly not taking pay, you know. i think that's almost kind of a given sometimes. but you rarely hear that about employees. i don't think i've heard of this. and you know, i kind of wonder -- i have a feeling that

this was a few years back. because i don't know if employees would be so willing to do -- to take that leap of faith in this economy. you know. if you're the owner of the company and you say, yeah, it's going to turn around, it's going to turn around. i don't know, do you -- >> first of all, i think the guy is a good leader. and he's got these people committed to him. i think where he fails, actually, is that he fails at his moral obligation to his employees here. he said that he did everything he could do, and he eventually followed up after a couple years and paid everybody up. but he didn't do everything he could do. and this kind of thing just fries me. i really don't like it. and here's what it boils down to. he asked them to become angel capitalists for him. and they're in a very weak position. because, hey, if i go out in the world, maybe i don't get another job, right? so he's in a position of power. he said to them, i want you to work for nothing. all he's doing is replacing angel capital that he didn't go

get or couldn't go get. >> let me say one thing, though, going out and looking for money is very time consuming and it's hard. and if you don't know a bunch of angels to go, it's a lot of time taken out of the company -- >> however you want, he's taking money from these guys, at investors. >> he didn't put a gun to their head, he gave them this choice. and what i really respect about what he did, he was very open, very honest, he said look, here'ses situation, you can do this or you don't have to. >> one employee left. >> one employee left. and they all went home and talked it over with their loved ones. it sounded to me like they really loved this job. they liked working for him. >> no argument from me. >> what if he then gave them a piece of the company? >> that's what he should have done. you're going to kick in $100,000 here over the next few months. this is what my company's worth. you are now going to be given a piece of this company as if it were -- but he's just saying -- >> i understand. no, no, but then if he's going to do that he should just go out and find an angel. >> j.j.'s probably got the point. he either didn't have the time

or he couldn't do it. >> but you're talking angel investors. but what if he's just getting a loan from them. >> that's not a loan. go to the bank and see if that guy could get a loan. a loan is where you have a reasonable expectation for each payment. here this was rolling the dice. and those people rolled the dice -- >> sounded like he -- >> story in venture capital that goes come over the top of the hill, you see that beautiful farm down there, i want you to work for me, and if you work your tail off some day, all of that will be mine. that's what he just did to them. and it's not right. >> we're a little bit -- >> you disagree. >> i do. we can disagree. the take away from this, other business owners can do, i really will go back to saying about how open and honest he was with employees, because if you're a business owner, if you're struggling, you know, cash flow is tight, talk to your employees. playbook some of them will be willing to take an unpaid leave, or reduce their hours, or something of that nature. >> and in the end --

>> running a small business can be stressful for entrepreneurs, and employees alike. and simply blowing off steam isn't always so easy. well, one small business owner who we met a few years back decided to take matters into his own hands. he's taking a pro-active to approach to health and wellness in the workplace. >> we work hard. we play hard. but we're very conscious about health and well-being. >> that's the way john wheeler describes the environment at wheeler interests. it's the company he owns and operates in virginia beach, virginia. >> we are a acquisition development leasing management company and our primary focus is shopping centers, and more specifically grocery anchored shopping centers. >> wheeler employs between 32 and 34 associates at any given time and generates as much as $15 million a year. buying and selling property is definitely priority number one. but the company is also taking a fairly ambitious approach to employee health and wellness.

>> this is about creating an environment that is a safe, comfortable, healthy environment. a place that people enjoy coming to work every day, and enjoy their time here. >> its program has gotten plenty of attention. "men's fitness" magazine named wheeler one of the nation's fittest companies. among the biggest concerns, smoking. wheeler's nonspoking policy is serious business. he makes the company stamp on smoking clear from the moment a candidate walks in the door. legally, smokers aren't a protected class of people. and that gives wheeler the power to enforce its nonsmoking policy through hiring. it doesn't mean the company doesn't already have smokers on staff, though. wheeler's helping people like company vice president victoria burress pay for their smoking cessation program. aside from the financial benefits, burress says wheeler's no smoking policy is making it easier for her to quit. >> i know i'm not going to feel the pressure of knowing that anybody else is going out on a smoke break. they don't have to smell it. i don't have to be around it.

it's just truly frowned upon and i know i'm going to get positive reinforcement when i'm here at the office. >> free cholesterol checks and blood pressure skreengs are a regular part of the working environment. as are healthy lunches, which are catered by a local restaurant. at wheeler, there are no set vacation or sick days. and employees can work a flexible schedule if they like. it's up to them to decide whether or not they need to come to the office. >> we trust them. they trust us. and they're professionals. they're adults. the message is, you go on vacation. the message is, we don't track you on a daily basis. the message is, if you're not well, you're not feeling well, and you're sick, stay home. they respect the process. and i think they know if they took advantage of it, they wouldn't be here. >> one of the most popular perks of the wellness plan involves the building's 24-hour gym. atlantic performance training is just steps from wheeler interests' front door. wheeler pays the independent facility a fee so that associates can work out for free. part of the deal includes personal training from a former navy s.e.a.l.

it's a benefit some employees say they haven't found anywhere else. >> i'm here the vast majority of the time 6:30 a.m. this is how i start my day. i walk upstairs, still sweating. and it doesn't stop. >> i knew it was a different kind of company. i took the steps after that to explore that. met john. met everybody, practically, before i started. and i was utterly impressed and totally surprised. had to be here. >> while some companies offer financial incentives to get fit, wheeler says that's not in the cards for his company. he believes it sends the wrong message. >> this is more of an environment that we want to create as a culture. it's something that we want them to feel comfortable here. i think once you start pushing those type and buttons and saying we're going to give you $250 to lose 20 pounds you undermine the whole process. >> with health insurance costs on the rise, benefits like free workouts and healthy lunches don't do much for the company's bottom line but wheeler says the

wellness plan is an investment his company will keep on making. >> at the end of the day, yes it costs you money. at the end of the day it's not overly expensive. at the end of the day it's a great benefit for them, which in turn is a great benefit for us. so the way i look at it is it's money that's extremely well spent. >> are you trying to reach out to potential customers a little bit closer to home? here now are five tips to market your business locally, courtesy of allbusiness.com. get to know your three-mile radius. learn all about potential customers in the immediate trading area and make sure they know you and your brand. join your local chamber of commerce. you'll be able to meet other business owners who may be potential clients or be able to refer you to potential clients. get media attention. send relevant news and information about your business to local newspapers and tv stations. be nosy. listen to your customers and find out where they shop and

play. read who's blogging in your area and stay in the loop about local events, no matter how small. and finally, give back. find a local organization, cause or school to give back time and money. today's customers look to support brands that do good. still to come, phil and colleen answer your small business questions, including one about the right time to scale your business. and today's elevator pitcher has a solution to those awkward hospital gowns. shazi: seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points

to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. keeping with today's medical theme, our elevator pitch has something to protect patient's health and their backsides. >> my name is eric treno. the model is wearing a u.s. pattened reusable hospital patient gown that we developed called the etc gown. it has clinical value and

benefits like any other gown. in a number of clinical evaluations the gown has proven to increase patient satisfaction as well as improve nursing efficiency and address many patient safety issues. we have sold in the first three quarters of 2011 over 50,000 of the units. we found there are 34.7 million patients that will be admitted in the year in the u.s. if we can capture 10% of this particular market the etc gown will bring us $22 million. >> eric. thank you so much, your model is your beautiful daughter. thank you so much for modeling. let's go to the panel and see how you did. >> you got me nodding right away because i am hearing good numbers right away.

i would want to find out, so you have me hooked, all right. the relationship between the capital and the ownership, that would remain to be seen. i am glad you put it out there. it's not the most important thing we have to fix right there. i think we are way off probably because i want a lot more for what you are asking, but i have been in one of these and they are very breezy -- >> yeah, yeah, why do they need to be so open in the back. >> yeah, i want a surgical gown now. >> with your belt, yeah. how did you think the pitch is? >> this is like the human interests part of it, i would love to hear if nurses were involved and if they would like this. they are your secret target audience, they have to sign on and like this and i have known a lot of nurses and they -- >> actually, it was designed by a nurse of 30 years, with a lot of experience. >> yeah, that's a good hook.

>> yeah you got me by how many you sold, and i'm not on the panel, but that got me. thank you guys for your advice for eric. if any of you out there have a product or service and you want feedback from our elevation pitch panel, all you have to do is send us an e-mail. yourbusiness@msnbc.com. in that e-mail include a short some reof what your company does and how much your company is trying to raise, and somebody out there may be interesting in helping you. time to answer some of your business questions. phil and colleen are here to answer them. the first comes from an e-mail, i have an in-home health agency, and i am having a hard time attracting clients.

radio ads were not effective, and certain elderly and disabled clients are not on the internet, and how can i get my name out there and attract clients in a cost-effective way. >> her clients are on the internet, because her clients are like me, sons of the elderly. we were looking for a place for my mom and we were all over the internet, all of the kids, and then the market is just like that i am quite sure. she should look at what her competitors are doing on the internet and start doing it. >> appears great idea. this is a great area. so many baby boomers retiring and it's a great industry she is in. i interviewed two sisters that started a similar company several years ago in north carolina, and they have been very successful, and they went out to churches and met with

nonprofits and did free clinics -- >> doctor offices. >> yeah, word of mouth. you need to have referrals. you build people's trust and somebody will refer you to somebody else. i think doing the old fashion approach. she mentioned the special needs population, and a lot of businesses shy away from people with special needs, and so i think that's a great niche to be in if you want to serve the community, it's a tight-knit community, and if you are good to them they will tell everybody they know. >> and this is the right time to grow your business. how do you scale your business appropriately without going outside of what your company is possible to do? >> you know what i think is so interesting about this? we deal with this all the time in my company. we have so many ideas, right? so we can take this company this way, or this way, this way, and we want to do it all at once,

and how do you focus yourself and keep it within your means. >> you have to watch a couple critical things. just from the pure business side of the thing, watch your cash like a hock. if it starts to go down, you are spreading it too thin and you will get burned. watch your investment returns. when you start to put money into something, a new store or idea, make sure the return on that is coming back quickly, it's called a return on equity, and it's the same thing warren buffett looks for in a business. >> give yourself a time limit, too. if you say we are going to launch this, we want to see money coming back in and if not we need to re-evaluate. >> some people want to have lifestyle businesses. >> it was like we're getting so

much money coming in, and i don't know what to do. >> well, maybe he wants to expand. >> if he does want to expand but doesn't know how to do it, i recommend that he get a board of advisers, volunteers, retired executives, other professionals and in other industries that want to do it for networking and help another business out. >> we forget that people out there really do like to help. >> yeah, and the score organization, they have tons of retired executives that do this. >> yeah, i definitely recommend that you talk to s.c.o.r.e. if any of you out there have a question for the experts, go to the website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. just hit ask the show link if you want to submit a question. or you can e-mail us your

questions and comments. yourbusiness@msnbc.com. are you looking for a small business loan but don't know where to start? if so check out our website of the week. it connects intrapreneurs with a capital of targeted lenders. small business owners choose the best lender for their needs based on a series of loan proposals. the site is free for those borrowing, but lenders are charged a fee for services. you will find all of today's segments plus web exclusive content with more information to help your business grow. we love getting your feedback so become a fan on facebook, and next week, the business is doing great, but you aren't.

is it time to find somebody else to run it for you? >> it was just overwhelming. there was a lot going on in my personal life and a lot going on with the company and i decided the best thing i could do was to back away. >> we will tell you why you may need to find a ceo and what to look for in choosing one. until then, i am j.j. ramberg, and remember, we make your business our business. sam: i'm sam chernin. owner of sammy's fish box. i opened the first sammy's back in 1966. my employees are like family. and, i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy.