the unit was put on lockdown. that's our report. thanks for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. running through fire, sliding through mud, jumping into vats of icy cold water. one man's crazy idea for an obstacle course turned into an incredibly successful business. that's 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. i'm j.j. ramburg and welcome to "your business" where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. the culture of a company may be one of the most important yet most overlooked areas for business small business owners. having a strong culture helps you hire the right people, put out the right marketing messages, and steer your company with a working compass. today we meet someone who has mastered these ideals. the next story is by far one of the most fun that i've done in the past six years. you'll see why. ♪

>> the challenge. got to challenge yourself. that's why we're all with no clothes. >> three, two, one! >> new jersey. mid-november. 42-degree weather. and 10,000 people who are about to jump into nearly freezing water, scale walls covered in oil, run through fire. and that's just the start. ♪ welcome to the jungle >> welcome to tough mudder. >> it's a group of a thousand people doing crazy things together. the one time in your life you don't get called out for being insane by yourself. >> tough mudder is the brain child of will dean who wrote the business plan for the company while getting his mba at harvard. >> i said, let's see if we can take elements of special forces training, mix that into a run, make it about teamwork and camaraderie, and challenge people.

>> tough mudder is a 10 to 12-mile obstacle which lasts two to three hours. take from it me, this course is tough. and it has to be about camaraderie because freakily, you can't get through it alone. it's those two things -- challenging people and teamwork -- that form the backbone of these events and of will's company. will's goals all center around creating a culture, an authentic experience that resonates with people and inspires them to do more than they knew they could. why do you think so many people are attracted to this insane event? >> i think it is human beings are challenged to challenge themselves and push their limits. something we see afterwards is this tremendous sense of accomplishment people have. >> it's awesome. you get dirty, you get crazy. you feel like a superhero. >> did you expect tough mudder to stand for something. i thought those something i could see myself getting into. not to focus into business. 90% of that is marketing and all

of marketing is empath. >> there's no doubt will's on to something. for many people, tough mudder does stand for something. determination. friendship. grit. will's created a brand that has absolutely transcended the event itself. more than 1,000 people have gotten the tough mudder logo tattooed on them. >> you see the other tattoos are an expression of myself. and i feel that this you don't get unless you complete it. >> it's the toughest race i've done so far. so something to commemorate that accomplishment. it's something to carry with me to say, hey, i did this, you know. i was here. >> and everything will brings to the courses, he starts in his office. within 18 months, tough mudder grew from a company made up of will and his partner to having 50 employees. and while everyone's not compelled to run through fire to get to their desks their constantly challenged to push

themselves. >> we of that tough mudder university. we do an mbs case once a month, actually. >> you heard him correctly. once a month he tells his employees to put down their work and come together to have an intellectual discussion about a business issue based on a case study from harvard business school. >> what sit about starbucks that made them so successful in the 1990s? >> it's not just going to the local dough shop. it's going to a place, they have couches and chairs and they're encouraging you to really spend some time there. >> once a month they have a book club as well. they've read everything from good to great to the one-minute manager. what did you don't finish the book? >> you always finish the book. not finishing the book is not an option. we have tough mudder university consisting of elevator book. >> some people might say, that's a lot of work, you're asking me to do my job, you're asking me to read a book and have a discussion about it, you're asking me to read a case from harvard business school.

why can't i just do my job? >> it is a -- it is a lot of extra work. but at the same time it's nice to know the company is investing in our own development and our future. >> in the same way you can't get over the oil-slicked wall without help from your peers you can't be a good employee ought tough mudder without help from your colleagues. >> the company is very focused on teamwork and everything we do is essentially as a team. we have weekly team meetings. the idea of teamwork and camaraderie is infused in the company. >> everyone in the company is welcome to get on the course whenever they want. while he enjoys most of it he, like many other tough mudders, has some moments. >> the thing i absolutely cannot stand is the tunnels. so i'm really kind of bunched in tight in those. i have to crawl on my belly. for me that's a real mental challenge. >> in 2011 there were 15 tough mudder events. in 2012 there will be more than

30. with expected revenue of more than $70 million. talking to the participants, it seemed like that's still just a fraction of what this company will become. we asked everyone if they'd come back again, and every single person told us -- >> as soon as possible. >> tough mudder! >> you heard me. what are you about? >> now we're probably all not going to be bringing harvard business school wails cases to work or running through fire but there are definitely things we should all be doing to make sure we have a strong company culture. let's turn to this week's boards of directors. yannic is the founder of maverick business ventures. michael port is the creator of book yourself solid. great to see both of you guys. so this was one of my most favorite pieces i've done. a, because it's so fun. b, because will has created this incredibly strong culture. he has a group of 20 something

year olds and has this business school case. when i sat there, i went to business school, suddenly my heart was pounding. oh, no, he's going to cold call me. it's incredible, it makes everyone love him. the time out he takes to develop them makes them love the company. we all can't do that. what can we do? >> you notice they're all about culture. whether it's the customers or the people who are working there. and they have this desire to be more than they currently are. and i have a feeling his hiring practices, he's looking for those people. so he's not just, hey, anybody who wants to work here can work here, then we'll put together these various hard-core learning opportunities, et cetera. these are probably people who want to be superstars. just like in the package. you heard the woman say, i do this because i want to be a superhero. right? >> yeah, and i -- i said this in

the intro to the piece but i do think that culture is one of the most important but often most neglected piece for business owners. do you agree? >> you know it's funny, so i had a company that was a one high man band for a long time and i thought culture was all sort of bs and didn't really matter. now as i got to know how much more powerful it can be, i think it is everything if you want to have a big impact in the world with your business. they have a great culture there. the great thing about it is it's polarizing. the people who love it love it and they become zealots and it start with their internal customers, their employees. >> how do you create a culture? >> you've got to be opinionated. you stand for something specific. you do not deviate from that. and you're willing to shout that from the rooftops. so you're creating this environment that people want to be in because they're cooler. they're part of the club. and so when you look at the people who are participating in this, they're putting tattoos on their body.

>> yeah. >> because they feel -- >> the customers, absolutely. >> not the employees. that's not a requirement. but for the customers, that level of commitment means you're part of the club. you're on the inside circle. and it all starts with storytelling. they're telling a very speck story. right? this is not running some marathon. this is not going to work out in the gym where it's air conditioned. only really special people can do this. and only really special people can work here as well. >> and you know, what i found so compelling about this is will believes it so deeply. he believes in what he does for his customers and for his employees so deeply that it makes it easy for him, i think, to build this culture. >> it does. and i think when we work together at high-level cut gives and entrepreneurs it's all about the experience. the tattoos. you see that as an indicator. people will put tattoos of apple, harley-davidson, jack dan yeses, brands that matter to them, they're doing something really right here.

because this brand matters to them. >> yeah. and by the way, i don't think we put this in the piece, but they started this company with $20,000 of their own money. $70 million in revenue next year. >> i'm so jealous. >> it is a real success story. thanks so much. thank you for all of your help with this and you, too michael. more and more of your customers are using their smartphones to get information about things. so here are five ways to make sure your website is ready for mobile visitors courtesy of mashable.com. number five, keep it simple. users visiting your mobile site are looking for information and service fast. keep navigation to a minimum and focus on providing just the top things customers need. four, don't use a lot of images. large images slow down your page. get rid of most of the imams on your home page except the ones that are absolutely necessary. three, design for multiple handsets. don't assume everyone has an iphone for android. instead, design your site to

look good on any mobile phone on the market. two, use an m-dot ur element. help google recognize and use your site separately from your standard one. test and listen to feedback. use google's site and talk to your customers about their complaints and suggestions. sometimes entrepreneurs get so caught up in wanting the sale sa they tend to lose sight of the fact that getting business at all costs is not always worth it. you're better off ditching customers that bring you down and take you away from really good clients. marley major is the ceo of the party goddess, a nationally acclaimed full event service planning and catering company. "but are you making any money? stop being busy and start creating cash." thank you so much for seeing you. >> we have a lot of people coming on and saying, fire your clients. fire the bottom 20%.

>> i'm going to tell you how to do it. that sounds great. then when it gets to the conversation it's sort of like, uh. you know. >> secondly you don't want them to start bad-mouthing you. >> i liken it to when you know you need to fire an employee, you have to lay the ground work. i talk about coming up with laying the foundation, sort of setting the stage are. having a conversation with them. i notice we've got this contract and we continuously are outside the parameters. maybe i wasn't clear about what the parameters were. kind of getting them engaged and teeing them up that there's an issue. the next part about it is really creating a script. you have to have this script in your mind so you know what you're going to say. because if it's all of a sudden client is here, you're like, uh -- it's not easy. you have to really be prepared. >> that's good. if you know what you're going to say -- >> if you know what you're going

to say, and you have to practice it a little. you have to have solutions for the customer. you can't say, i'm firing you. that's when they'll bad-mouth you. you really have to come up with some options, like there are a couple of other companies that i think will be a great match for you, here they are, they've got room on their cold, they're your biggest competition -- >> talk to the other companies first because that's a way for you to engage with them. >> love that. a lot of times it's great because they can are your advocate. if they've got a client who's just not a match. sometimes it's a personality thing. it might be timing, it might be personalities, something is not gelling. it's your job as a professional to get the best for your customer. if it's not a move give them options to move on. >> open objections like writing the script. >> anticipating objections is really crucial. what you have to do is come come up -- what are the top things they're going to say to you? they don't want to be fired or

they would have fired themselves as clients are they're going to say, but wait, i thought i could do that wind the parameters. anticipate their objections and come up with a couple of believable answers, but then you have to practice them. the first time you go to fire a client it can't be in front of the client. i can't stress that enough. >> don't waiver. firing a client, breaking up with your boyfriend -- >> it really is all the same thing. remember, if you're firing a client, maybe it's because they're a bully, maybe it's because they were going outside the parameters of your contract, they're used to this. they're going to think, if i apply a little extra pressure the person will cave. you can't cave. i've made up my mind, be really calm, nonemotional, keep coming back to the fact that this isn't a great match and you want them to have a great experience and they're not going to have it with you. >> if you've gotten to this point, you're actually firing,

getting rid of money that's coming in, it number pretty bad. >> absolutely. how many times you're right in the middle of the situation, the boyfriend or someone else, give it one more chance. you can't give it one more chance. you're closing yourself off to those really amazing customers that are out there that are going to be a great get for you and it's not going to feel like pushing water uphill. the wrong clients are like pushing water uphill and it's constantly annoying. >> they take time away from your current clients. then all of a sudden everything starts to suffer. a bad apple messes up the whole bunch, that's exactly what we're talking about. >> thank you so much, this is great advice. >> thank you for having me. still to come an exterminating company that uses dogs to sniff out bedbugs is itching to get new customers. you're never too old or in young to start up a small business as these under 30 success stories found out. 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. generation-y has the entrepreneurial spirit. the job title of owner was the fifth most popular one listed by people under 30 on facebook. a bit ago we caught up with two

young entrepreneurs whose businesses are booming. ♪ i'm just a girl take a good look at me ♪ >> sophia amaruso drifted from job to job before she became her own boss. when she started her san francisco vintage clothing company nasty gal at age 22 she had no money, no college degree, and no small business experience. >> i was almost forced into this, to survive and to find something that i enjoyed doing. >> laney lazari has never had the chance to work for anyone else because she started her business when she was 11. >> all i have ever done is work for myself. it would be really hard for me to get used to working for somebody else.

>> both women are young entrepreneurs with successful internet businesses. and after enjoying the freedom of being the boss, neither can imagine ever working any other way. amaruso always had a good idea eye for fashion and a unique sense of style. she parlayed that into nasty gal vintage in 2006. >> sometimes i would buy things for $26 and at auction they'd sell for $100, $200, $300. >> the power of the nasty gal brand comes from the community of fun-loving 20-something fashionistas who follow the trend-setting website. utilizing social media she'd built up customers spread across myspace, facebook, and twitter. with a thriving business on ebay she started to get that restless feeling that led her to jump from job to job. ebay was crimping her style. in 2008 she made the risky decision to leave the online auction world and start her own e-commerce website, shopnastygal.com. now nasty gal sells trendy new

clothing alongside the vintage duds and she's racing to keep up with demand. >> the business is growing, you know, at a pretty alarming rate. it's actually growing faster than we can control. it's pretty insane. >> laney lazari's pittsburgh, pennsylvania company simple sugars is grappling with the challenges of a fast-growing business. five years into starting her all-natural sugar scrub company she juggles homework, business, summers off and after school. >> it's hard to balance everything. i get up at 6:00 in the morning, go to school, i don't get home until 7:30 at night, have homework and simple sugars work to do. >> with products in her local whole foods and a thriving business online the time has come to relocate simple sugars out of her parents' basement. her next move is renting office space and hiring employees. big steps for a teenager running

a business in her spare time. >> it's starting to be too much volume for me to handle by myself. >> ron morris, professor of entrepreneurial studies at duquesne university and host of the radio show "an mean entrepreneur," says the novelty of her youth is what makes her business exciting. without it, simple sugars would just be another cosmetics company. in order to have her best shot at making simple sugars into a million-dollar company, morris gave lazari surprising advice. >> i said, if i were you i would drop out of school immediately and spend the next year or two trying to push this company over the top. as i said to her, right now you've got one shot in ten of hitting a home run. >> and although it make seem to break all of the conventional rules, to become a full-time entrepreneur like sophia is, and put high school on hold, that's what entrepreneurs do best.

break the rules. >> i really want to take advantage of all my opportunities with simple sugars but i also don't really want to completely give away my high school experience. but i really think that i have a lot that i can learn from taking a year off and just working on my business. that would be equally as valuable as what i could learn in a year at school. it's time to answer some of your business questions. michael and yannic are with us again. the first question is about new employees. >> what are some effective training strategies for new employees to sort of get them in the mix of the company as well, obviously make them as productive as possible in the beginning? >> this is interesting in the context of this show because once you get somebody in you want to train them in their tasks and in the culture of the company. so what are some on high boarding strategies? >> i think that's what happens is we get so wrapped up in finding that great employees then forget about them once they

come in. it's just as important maybe to think about having a first 100 days or first 60 days to really reemphasize what they came in for. share the vision, the big picture of what you're building, that something is bigger than them. not micromanaging but how are they going to be independent and giving them mastery of their tests so they can be part of something bigger. >> i think it starts with good hiring. so you hire slowly. what's the best indicator of future performance? it's past performance. so you try to -- you work out a way together people to do the work they need to do before you hire them officially. so there's that probationary period. it's the ongoing long-term training. it's not, let's get them up to speed and then they're off on their own. i think every single person should have a mentor in their

organization. >> great idea. one of the things we do in my company, any time somebody new comes, the first couple of days they meet and sit down with every single person in company. weeks, months go by and two people have convenient even spoken to each other. >> you can bring them into the decision-making process. every single month i send an end are e-mail to my team, what am i doing that's working, what do i need to do to improve? they feel comfortable saying, you're totally messing this thing up. you've got to -- you're hard to work with here, whatever it is. if you don't feel like you can do that with the people you work for, it's not a good place to work. >> good for you. that's something about your personality too. going to the next question. we're service providers of a k-9 scent detection to eliminate pests. although we have demand for our unique service we need to increase branding and awareness. what suggestions would you have to help successfully achieve this business goal?

to explain that in english i believe this company uses dogs to sniff out bedbugs. for people who don't know about this service, or that you can even do this, how can they get the message across? >> the biggest thing is the branding and awareness, he doesn't need the branding, it's a service that people need when they need it. no one's going to be thinking about bedbugs unless they actually have that issue. so that means he needs to so help you up in places where they're searching which is obviously online. going for long tail key words that are like, bedbug elimination, or bedbug whatever, infestation. then taking off by the regions too. so he needs that. then he'll double up by having the branding. as soon as they show up at his site there's a good-looking site and there's a reason for what they're doing and what their unique proposition is. >> that's a really great point. >> i don't think anybody cares that it's dogs doing the sniffing. it doesn't matter. i have bedbugs, get rid of them, i don't care how you do it. to focus on that is about them, not about the customer. when you have bedbugs you need

them. i would focus on google places, be very local in hi search. >> maybe on the dog front they need testimonials. once you can get someone on the site, we get rid of your bedbugs, then get customer testimonial. >> it's still results the customers are interested in, not how you get there. >> once they hit the site that's when it matters about the dogs. that's the benefit they're showing them, it's nonfumigating or who knows what the reason is. >> let's move on to the next one. this is a question about starting your business. >> is there a wrong place to launch your business in the united states? in other words, is there one place that's better for you like silicon valley? or can you launch a business in florida? >> i love this question. >> if you want to go into real estate, florida's probably not a great place right now. >> yes. >> it's conditional. so, you know, there are marketing conditions that are

important, there are tax conditions, there are lifestyle conditions that you need to consider. where do you want to live? hiring considerations, what kind of workforce do you have in that particular area. so there's a lot of the different conditions that need to be considered. i don't think there's just one answer. >> would you suggest if you're starting a tech company that silicon valley is better because you have the resources there, or no? >> yeah, exactly. just like michael said, it's so conditional. it depends on what you want to do, who your marketplace is, and why you're starting the business. but as far as i know, there's been successful businesses in every single state of the union here. and i think we'll continue to have it that way. >> i guess what you could do then is list down what do you need and can you get that. >> i like michael's idea about lifestyle, what's important to you. make that list, exactly. >> great, thank you guys so much for all your advice. this was incredibly helpful. if if any of you out there have a question for our experts all you have to do is go to our website. openforum.com/yourbusiness.

hit the ask the show link to submit a question to our panel. openforum.com/yourbusiness. e-mail your questions and comments. the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. when law firming a new product or entering a new market, gauging potential demand is key. if you need help getting feedback from your target audience check out our website of the week. usamp.com has tools to help you build, promote and analyze online surveys. creating and sending out surveyors is key to customer building. free using the survey builder. for a vee allows you to solicit feedback from the site's more than 6 million panel members. the cost of using these customer lists depends on the department of your study. to learn more about today's show, just click on our website. openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find all of today's segments plus web exclusive content with more information to help your business grow.

and don't forget to become a fan of the show on facebook. we love getting your feedback. you can follow us on twitter. it's @msnbcyourbiz. next week, one small business owner scales down her family jewelry store in order to cultivate a more customized experience. >> i think you have to find your own niche. the big boys are so big and they have such deep pockets how can you but heads with them? who wants to even? >> we'll tell you why she's focussed on making sure her clients get the most personalize the service she can offer. 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.