they're a new generation. so how does a small business owner manage today's teenager? and turning your online business mobile. we'll show you how to do that, 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 an advice to help your business grow. teen workers are often the lowest paid and most inexperienced people on your staff. their attitude towards work and how they treat customers can make or break your business. that's why we went to an amusement park concession owner to find out how to get the most from today's teen workers. ♪ ♪ summer means fun >> back in my day i would have been ott at work on time, been in uniform. >> in 56-year-old ken whiting sounds old school to you, that is because he is. >> if i didn't i would have been fired. >> i remember as a young kid having that automatic respect for a supervisor. >> jeff whiting is old school, too. he's ken's 30-year-old nephew.

>> i would drive and not only meet but exsaid their expectations. today you don't see that. >> ken and jeff are third and fourth generations at whitings food who has been running food concessions at this famous seaside amusement park since 1953. >> today's teens are as able as ever but they're far less prepared. employers also are far less prepared to deal with the age group. >> the whitings say this management problem isn't limited to santa cruz. based on their team work force business, they see a national trend stretching from the california beaches to the jersey shore. >> why wouldn't you mack a sale. >> i will leave you alone. >> no. >> denny's on my case. i'm like i don't usually keep in a job in the summer.

>> that attitude seems to be more common than not. >> employers like jeff and ken say this difference in attitude is a big problem for small businesses like theirs which depend on part-time teenage workers. >> they are the ones who determine whether one of our customers, one of our guests is going to make a purchase, buy more or come back again. >> a lot of taffy. >> how have the apple sales been? >> good. we might have to make a few more tomorrow. >> owner of marini's by the sea says pretty much the same thing. >> they're teenagers. they come with a whole set of teenage issues. >> manage through the eyes of today's teens rather than through the eyes of when they were a teenager. ♪ living a teenage dream >> it's a challenge that both

ken and jeff have met by making changes in "style." >> what we did in the past wasn't work be. what can i do to make it work? it can be done. >> they have to realize teenagers are not the only ones with the attitude. >> i see it a lot of times where old guys like us are totally frustrated with today's teens. they think if i scream a little more, threaten a little more, by golly that worked for me. that will motivate this young person. >> if you want to have high turnover and stressed out crew, you don't have to do anything. >> if you want to gain more from the people who affect your ma--

>> they put their training material online. >> you need to make sure, one, that you're using all the digital things, that you're texting information, that your schedules are on the internet and online. that you've got a facebook page and you've got an employee website that's open 24/7. >> we just have to change the way that we package information. and how we deliver it. >> they may not be reading the materials you give them to read at work. guess what, 2:00 in the morning they might very well access your youtube videos. >> that's when they moved scheduling online as well. the teens loved it. >> it took one of our managers two full days to do next week's schedule. now they're down to less than a day. >> it puts the responsibility in the teenager's hands. >> he quickly adopted this

method for his candy shop. >> there's no more questioning of i didn't get the message. you've got the e-mail, the text. it's on your phone. i get a feedback of when they looked ait. >> so our surprise we've put zero management hours into training our staff how to use it. we're speaking their lang. >> another sign of the times came when their employees didn't care about the expensive end of the year thank you party. >> we took that budget and moved it into an instant gratification program. >> what we learned is that teenage employees don't look much further past friday night. telling them to stick around for two, three months down the road, then they'll get rewarded? it doesn't work. >> it's all about catching people doing something right. >> the key they use it a scratch off card when a manager sees an employee going the extra mile. >> it's a smasher, a star card.

if i cash somebody doing something right, there's no need to make them wait. >> boom, we give them a star card. >> you can scratch it off and get $20. >> they work for the star cards. this kid jasper got like $300 from star cards last summer. >> if you listen closely, perhaps the difference between the generations is more about style than substance. >> it's critical that we get to know them and understand them as individuals and what motivates them. >> they're fun to be around. there's an excitement, an energy there that you don't get with other employees. >> it's a challenge. what's life without a challenge? there was plenty of great advice in that story on how to manage and communicate with today's teenagers, the most important tip, of course, is use technology. let's get more ideas from two social media mavens.

our first guest specializes in covering small business and entrepreneurship. barry malt is also with us. great to see you. >> good to be here. >> when we first started talking about this story, my first reaction was, every generation thinks that teenagers aren't working as hard as they were. and is this real? >> well, i think part of the problem is, people do go into it thinking oh, they're teens, they're not going to work hard. as many good things they have was the instant gratification payoff. i think if you go in respectfully expecting better and not expecting the bad, you're going to get a better performance out of them from the get-go. >> that's a great point. not only for teens but everyone.

i always say expect the best from someone and they will work up to it. >> regardless of generations, the golden rule has always been the same. when their goals match the company's goals, people stay. they are trying to build a commune so the john can be fun and make money at the same time. >> the whole idea of putting it online, the scheduling system, forget about it being for teen eighthers, that's just smart, right? >> yes. there was a mcdonal's in sweden or something, i heard did that and it changed that mcdonald's. people could go and take responsibility for showing up. >> i know that you read your e-mail at 2:00 last night. i know you know you were supposed to come in here. >> that's the good news and bad news. we can track everything. >> they have their star card.

i imagine there are fun things you could do through social media as well. >> i think one of the things that's underused no matter how old the employee is, is praise and reward. you could say, hey, that was really great. they hand out the certificates to frequent flyer passengers. i'm assuming that person turns it in and get something for it. >> this is really important. in consumer oriented jobs, there's so much criticism and customer complaints. if you can catch someone doing something right and stop and reward them, it will go a long way. >> training, though, is really key. a lot of managers complain that the teenagers aren't doing their job. it turns out they weren't properly trained. look at your own system, take

responsibility for how you're setting it up. >> nice piece. i hope you are at least thinking about mobile fin 50 you're not there yesterday. jason spiro is leading the company's efforts to help businesses increase their mobile online presence. great to see you. >> thanks for having me, j.j. ramberg. for people who don't understand what it enmaos to go hobl, explain that to them. what's the difference between making a mobile website and an app? >> the user is trying to have an experience on their phone which could be about finding a store, a last-minute need. users will reach for their phone. we have these devices in our pockets which has changed the consumer experience. from that they reach for that. if you expect them to find you through an app you have to train

them to find you through an app. >> how expensive is it for you if i have a website that clearly looks terrible on somebody's phone, if i want to adapt that so it looks okay on a phone or mobile device, how expensive is that? >> it's inexpensive and quite easy. you have to think about what the consumer wants on their phone. what you can't do, someone who takes a desktop site and nip tuck it into a smaller version. it's building for the mobile consumer who's trying to find outor solve a specific point. let's take examples. we have an automotive luxury limousine service and we have their website and they're mobile site. what did they do correctly?

>> we're helping small businesses, again, think about the experience they want to offer their users on a mobile phone. in the example of tlimousine, when you're on a phone you're most likely looking for a car. engage the user, find a quick way for them to engage, which may be quick to call or hook up with their driver. it's an experience tuned for a user probably standing on a corner looking for a car or waiting for the car. >> the new york dog nanny has call us, visit us. it's a shrunken down version of your website. >> i think it's shrunken down and it's made for a user who isn't sitting in their office or on the couch at home. someone trying to navigate the physical world around them and

trying to find something to take care of their dog for the week because something cake up. >> what's the first thing we need to do to get started. >> google is trying to help. the first step is understand in what your customer wants from you. it's a matter of then finding someone to build the site. gomo helps people get that first experience in mobile by helping them build the site and taking care of the hostess. this is something nobody should ignore. this is incredibly important. less people are going stuff on a typical computer sitting at your de desk. >> that's right. when you think about what's happening in our owe site, we're in the middle of fundamental change and consumer behavior. the adoption of smartphones has

given rise to ubiquitous. if you're a dry cleaner, plumber or limousine company, your customer is looking for you on a mobile phone. it's important to be there. >> the last thing you want to do is somebody look you up on the phone, they get to you first and they get to your site and they can't figure it out. >> thank you. we appreciate your advice. coming up, is it harder for women who own small businesses? and how to write an attention-grabbing press release. it's all about the bling for this week's elevator picture. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen....

for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect. want to add a little spark toll your beauty regimen? this week's elevator pitcher says it doesn't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling. >> hi, this is the bling collection from the house of seimone. we marry jewelry and cosmetics. each of our items are encrusted

with fine crystals placed by hand and our patent pending wall of bling design. there's a lighting feature in the lipstick mirror. we hit the market about three weeks ago, have $100,000 in sales and preorders. our cosmetics are made in america, we hold five trademarks. we can be found at the blingcollection.com. women do have money to buy their make-up. our retail markup is between 200% and 700%. we're currently seeking a $250,000 investment for a 15% stake. we will further our product line, purchase inventory and attend trade shows. you could buy a regular lipstick but remember, it don't mean a thing if it don't got that bling. >> i love a little bling myself.

>> all right. >> what did you think? reba, did she put everything in the pitch that you needed. >> the one question i have is the retail price point. >> comparable to mack and dior. >> did you get everything in there? >> what is your sustainable competitive advantage? it's a $20 billion industry. someone big could come along and try to squash you like a big. >> we want to do a multilevel marketing program. >> moment of truth, would you take another meeting? >> i absolutely would. the girls in the make-up room went crazy when they sue this, make-up, qvc, hsi. the companies don't try to fush it. they buy her. >> the key thing is accessorize, accessorize, accessorize.

>> is that what you do? >> absolutely. >> thank you for coming on and pitching us. thank you for everything. if you have a problem or service and you want feedback from our elevator pitch panel all you have to do is send an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. include a short summary of what your company does, how much you're trying to raise and what you intend to do with that money. somebody out there may be interested in helping you. the ipad is quickly growing in popularity with small business owners looking to do work on the go. if you're looking to make your ipad more functional, check out these five accessories, courtesy of ink.com one, the sena keyboard folio. it has a blue teeth keyboard and folding kick stand. two, the apple ipad camera connection kit. don't be limited to just the photos already on your ipad. this kit can import photos and

videos using your digital three digital av adaptor. it connects with hdtvs and mi-compatible displays, makes video presentations a breeze. four, i-home idms executive workstation, it provides a physical keypard, stereo speakers and two ubs ports for device charging. and number five, the kensington powerback battery case, it adds up to five extra hours of juice to your ipad. time to answer some of your business questions, riva and barry are with us once again. the first is about access to capital. >> i've heard from several women business owners that it's much more difficult for them to have access to capital than it is for

their male counterparts. is there any truth to that? >> what do you think, riva, as a female business owner? >> yes. what's really sad is that a friend of mine started a company with k. koppel in 1987 called springboard enterprises. >> 1997. because they looked around and said, you know what, women aren't getting funding to start these tech businesses, at the height of the bubble and everybody is getting funded and women had they degrees ideas and they weren't getting funded. and here we are in 2012, it's essentially the same issue. part of the problem is who's doing the funding, i think it's like 11% of vcs are women, 13% of angels are women. there's not enough of women in the game to help the women get funding. >> that said, i know there are a lot of women entrepreneur who is have gotten funding from prestigious venture capital

firms. >> it takes women four times as long to get a business loan and 22 times as long to get capital. and guardian life came out with a study that said by 20018 women-owned businesses are going to contribute 35% to all the new jobs in the country. so that's a huge issue if we don't get this resolved. >> it keeps them down. everybody talks about how male-owned businesses are more businesses over making revenues over a million than women. and there are, but you know it's the chicken and the egg thing. if no one's going to give you any money to expand, how are you going to do it? it's much harder to keep investing your sales to scale up and grow. >> this is a reason for women to network and participate in organizations like ones that help you network with funders, angels or vcs. >> novel, the national association of women owners, they do a wonderful event. >> seek out the women vcs and angels, because they are out there.

>> next question. >> what can a small business do to attract and retain talented employees and then once they're parts of our time, what what can we do to inspire and develop them? >> this is a great question. because people often go to small businesses because they want to work for small businesses. because of the things they can offer. so what are some ideas? >> the principle is really easy, but in practice it's really hard, you got to love your employees. surveys show that what people decide, do they want to stay with a business, they ask one question, does my boss really care about me. do you really love your employerees? do you stop as we're saying before, catch them doing something right? or are they just there to put in the grind and do the work. people don't stay under those conditions. >> it is a little bit about the teenaged story. i think it spans all generations. it's the three piece, praise, perks and the personal touch. they work for a small business. so they can get that personal touch. so and they're expecting some

kind of flexibility. so that's part of that personal touch. allowing people to watch their kid play little league, go to a school play, that kind of thing and it's about the praise we talked about. and it's about the perks, you can never match a big business on salary. don't try. so what can you offer your employees that's going to make them want to stay with you? and a lot of that today for both men and women is time flexibility. >> it's a good point. rieva, you got to let your employees disengage. too many times we're carrying a cubicle in our pocket. it's 24/7. give them time to go to little league games. 24/7, people burn out, you got to give them time to recharge. >> opportunities dmrks a big business you may be pigeon-holed into your job and your functions. in a small business you have flexibility. >> invite input. let's move onto the next one. this is a question from richard who writes, i created an iphone ipod touch app for keeping track

of purchases and receipts for managing spending. i've been writing and sending out press releases, but finding an outlet willing to publish them has been a challenge. >> if you write a press release and you put it out there, chances are, nobody is going to pick it up. >> i can't even tell you, he write for a lot of outlets and how many press releases i get that are -- one generic, or two, think they're adding the personal touch. but you know they sort of mail-merged some files, i just delete them. if you're going to send me something, don't say anything in the mail. hit me right off why this is new or exciting. it's for an app, you have to go, go to where people are. go to, go to a show, a business summit, go where you're going to find people who are writing about it. social media. i think that you know, i'm sort of looking at twitter a lot for people who are doing interesting things. and i've actually found people to write through twitter and

link link linkedin. >> you talk about the app and people can click through, install the app and use it and talk about it that's perfect. i think press releases, generic ones especially are a waste of time. >> okay. finally, we have this question from ron. how do we reach socially conscious investors? >> so this is a great question. and i think you know, you're really into this field. so i ask, i didn't know the answer, so i asked amy melman of springboard enterprises, she said there's a lot more places than people think. rise project.org. dblinvestors.com. investorscircle.net and the ginnn.org, they're all looking to invest in socially conscious companies. they're an event at the end of the month in san francisco about impacting socially responsible businesses. >> the president signed last month a jump start your business

start-up act. which allows entrepreneurs to go directly to the public to raise money. to i think that crowd funding sites like kick starter and indy go-go will be a boost for them. they've always focused on various niches and sloishl conscious businesses and sustainability has been one of them. >> i think crowd funding will be a bill part of this. crowd funding because it's something that everyone can grab on to, we'll see once it starts happening. >> and consumers have long said that they would buy the socially responsibible product over the e that wasn't. let's see if they'll precommit to buying. >> find out who invested in them. >> great, thank you, guys. fantastic advice. thanks for everything today. and if any of you out there have a question for our experts, you know what to do, go to our website. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. once you get there, hit the ask the show link to submit a question for the panel.

looking for a simple way to schedule face time with your customers? timetrade.com is an online system. they can self-schedule meetings using the link you provide. the site then automatically adds the appointment to your employees' outlook or google calendar. so they're free to spend more time on closing sales and less on scheduling. to learn more about today's show, click on our website, it's openform.com/your business. you'll find web-exclusive content with more information to help your business grow. and you can follow us on twitter, @msnbcyourbiz. next week, one of new york's top restaurants shares its secrets on treating customers right. >> i really don't believe that

most of what we do is so unique to restaurants so whether you're a consultant or retail store or a plumber, you should be able to treat your customers in a certain way. >> the staff says it pays off big-time for them and the same strategy can work for you, too, even if you're not in the restaurant business. until then, i'm jj ramberg, and remember, we make your business our business.