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business" on msnbc. hi there, everyone. welcome to "your business" where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. standing out from the rest of the pack isn't easy but for nicholas brand, the founder of the window washing company men in kilts, the uniform does most of that work for him. we wasn't to seattle where his tartan army is out in full force to see how this company is using a little humor and a lot of professionalism to get customers. a window washer at work on a sunny afternoon. it's not an unusual sight but in a kilt. >> we have a lot of fun with it. corporate policy, you got to wear something underneath.

>> for nicholas brand, it all started with a simple idea in 2002. >> i decided to start a window cleaning company. we wanted to think of an idea. one of my buddies pointed out we should wear a kilt because you're scottish. at first we all had a laugh and i thought that's not a bad idea. people won't forget us. >> that was how the window washing company men in kilts was born. nicholas went door to door offering his window washing services. right away his outfit was an attention grabber. >> even if it was just me in an home made kilt driving around in an old accord, i had people saying you've got a great idea. you're on to something here. >> now can you see kilt-clad window washers that work in all the major cities in canada and seattle. tressa wood is one of nicholas's business partners. she was vice president of operations with 1-800-got-junk.

she saw the company go from 40 franchises to 350. she sees the same growth potential for men in kilts. >> in canada there's no national brand at all. in the states there are some national brands but they're not offering the mix of services we're offer persian gulf. >> wherever they go, heads turn. >> they were in the neighborhood and i saw their truck and they actually came over to our business. we had just open for about a week and were letting us know about their services. i gave them a try and they were amazingly professional and really flexible with my schedule so it been great. >> you see a tartan truck drive down the street and you do a double take. you see a guy walking down the street in a kilt, you start

talking. >> that's one of the secrets of success, focusing on the money wearing the kilts. their employees are the biggest representatives. >> there's a skill to it and i can teach it. we look for people that are going to represent our brand in a very positive way that love what we do and we teach them the skills to execute the services. >> it takes a certain to be good at this. >> they love being the center of attention. so the kind of guys who work for us love chatting up people anyways. >> even though the company is quick to play up the humor of their brand, underneath the kilt, it all about providing their customers with the best service. so after the initial hook, it's all business. >> even our web site and marketing materials, we want to convey we're a serious operation and a serious business to the

way that we book calls and schedule jobs for people and follow up and send e maim reminders and then go and actually deliver the job and do -- provide a professional service from the beginning until even follow up. >> eleanor trainer is one of their customers. sheep uses their service for both their business, which gets properties ready to sell, and her own home. >> i heard about men in kilts, i saw their truck on the streets. i started using the kilts in sort of an emergency situation. we had another vendor who was supposed to do the same work and they didn't show up. we called men in kilts and they came in and pinch hit, did great job and blew us away. we started using them exclusively. >> but it confused others zip see those guys all over the place. when we ask people what do those

guys in kilts do? they say that's a good question. our challenge is making sure we remind people the services we offer week have to basically get ahead the kilts. >> they have seven franchises up and running and five in the pipeline. their goal, many, many, many more men in kilts washing windows. >> i think the future holds hopefully a tartan army across north america. my goal is when people think of window cleaning, they'll think of men in kilts. >> as they say in the musical gypsy, sometimes you got have a gimmick. in the case of men in kilts it's certainly working but it k it work for every small business? fifth is an investment adviser and best selling author. you can find him at ruleoneinvesting.com. and lee is the author of "the

sinner gist." what do you think? it's a fantastic gimmick, right? >> sure. what's not to like about it. i think they've done it incredibly well. i love the fact that when you go to the web site, look at their materials it's there but they've done everything else so professionally that it doesn't quite cut across the message. so it's a gimmick that works at the moment. the difficulty i think they'll have is as they continue to franchise to what extent can they control the use of the gimmick so it doesn't become just gimmicky. tom and david gardner when they first started they played up the hats and so forth and then there comes a point where they have to be very serious players in the

field. they have to find a way that the gimmick doesn't overshadow their ability to scale. >> that's interesting. when you have a company and everyone is thinking what's the next marketing thing can i do? you got to have a certain penalties also to employ a gimmick, right? >> yeah but i think these guys are deeper than the gimmick. they're focused on what's really important and that's delivering really good service. at the end of the day that's what's selling their product. the gimmick gets somebody to pay attention. they've got the problem they have to overcome and nobody know what is they're doing. men in kilt, what is that? are you guys moving tufurniture? by the way, that's a strength. they could expand the service brand with a name like men in kilts. they're keeping focus on the number one thing, get good people in there, train them well and have them do a good job. >> so much what they talked about was getting good people in

there. as you franchise this, how can you make sure your franchisees get good people in there? >> they've done a great job bringing in somebody from 1-800-got-junk. go get somebody who has expertise. they had the same individual, that was really kutsy at the start and then it had to back very successful brand and they did a great job with that. >> can you do whatever you want in marketing, right, you go bu if at the end you don't deliver a great product, then you've just wasted your money. >> in this particular case you have to have good leg. >> i love on their tag line "no peeking," which i think is so brilliant. >> i want to see les in a skirt. >> you can't call it a skirt. you'll be banned from the u.k. forever. i was going to wear my kilt today but i thought that was enough for everybody. >> thanks so much, guys.

>> if you live in a big city, you've likely come across the food truck phenomenon and now it spreading to fashion. people are getting mobile so they can easily reach their customers. we go to los angeles. >> reporter: forget the food. it's all about the fashion. ♪ >> it's a little store, that's all it is. >> the latest trends going from runway to roadway. in the past few years the u.s. has seen more and more mobile boutiques roll on to city streets. from the newly opened top shelf in san francisco to the accessory heavy east coast styleliner. fashion trucks are leaving their mark. >> this is a great way for

retailers and even designers to not only get their brand out but also go to the customer. and do it in a cost efficient way. >> we really do truly believe fashion is everywhere. it's not just in the big cities, it's not just in the hip city of los angeles. >> they move to a new area almost daily, using social media to help shoppers find them. >> if we were going to rent out a space that was a lease, we wouldn't be able to do as many things as we could and this was affordable for us. >> stocked with clothes from local designers and accessory that romo has made herself, there's a also a proper dressing room. >> when you have a store on the

corner of street, you're waiting for a customer to come into your store. when you have a mobile truck, you're actually going to that customer. that's what really works. >> a new definition for fashion forward. >> i'm not a very traditional person so i love it. >> it's actually a really cool idea. i like it. >> coming soon to a street near you. >> i'm so glad you guys came in. >> with more than 900 million people on facebook, it is a great marketing tool for most businesses but there a few things you shouldn't do. here are five of the most common facebook marketing mistakes. one, not filling out your brand page. your page should be a good source of information for users. so include things like office hours, april dress and photos. >> two, using an illegal cover photo. facebook says you cannot use it to include price information, a call to action or contact

information. it's prime real estate on your page so make sure to follow facebook guidelines. >> number three, overposting. be smart about what you post and how many times you do it. 4, too much text. keep it short and sweet. pose between 100 and get 50% more likes than longer ones. >> and, number 5, not making the most of fab's options. -- facebook's options. if you put your company on facebook, you have taken the first step. now how do you make it work for you? well, one of the things you need to think about is getting people to like you so you can continue to communicate with them. here with tips on how to get more likes is gail goodman, the ceo of constant contact and she is also author of the book "engagement marketing, how small

business wins in a socially connected world." great to see you, gail. >> great to be with you. >> we're focusing on facebook likes, which is kind of the holy grail these days, right? >> absolutely. >> we aus to clamor as e-mail dresses but now we need likes as well. >> absolutely. >> the first thing to do -- if you don't ask, no one is going to walk into this and say i'd like to like you. if you have a physical presence, put up a sign, like us on facebook to get something. what's in it for nem? well, ask your e maim list. ask your blog readers. >> when you say to go something, what kind of thing can you give them? >> well, if you're a retail business, it could be a discount, like to us get a $5 off coupon.

if you're b to b, it could a white house document. pictures are great. if you have a business where customers are involved with your product, once you put someone's picture up, they'll like it, that i am share it with their friends. it works. but even putting up customer pictures and asking people to vote which one ne like best or one of my favorite is supply the caption. >> what does this mean like-gate a piece of content? >> so let's use an example you're a consultant or professional service provider and you've got a piece of advice maybe that's in a while paper, maybe in an info graphic. those are really big these days pup can put in front of that something that says "like us to get this." there are lots of tools available to do that. congress has one called social campaigns but lots of ways to do that. it make sure you get a chance to

make a connection while you're giving away whatever content you're giving away. >> got it. it's a great idea. okay. ask people to share. again, just asking. but the share is so powerful because it gets that you visibility. if you're a nonprofit or a cause, it's really easy to ask to share. but really any business that has made a really personal connection with their customers can put up a piece of content and say if you like it, please share. >> it's so fine that we just forget to ask. and people, especially if they like it, they're going to of course do it for pup. >> and finally, use cross-channel promotion. >> yeah. people think of things in isolation, i've got twitter or linkedin or i've got e-mail. they all work together. let your e-mail list know, let your blog address know.

facebook is probably the most engaging outfit out there. >> just one thing that i heard the other day is post after hours pip read this from somewhere, that you get a lot more response if you foes after hours. i thought that was interesting. >> particularly if you're a consumer business. >> i thought that was a good tip, though. again congratulations on the book. this is such an important topic, especially going forward as more and more people when we come back, phil agetting your client pay on time and delivery room scrubs for the expecting pa pa.

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. ♪ >> we have a father's day present for you today. our elevator pitcher has products that will make any guy glad he's a dad. >> hi. >> you can call me daddy nickel today. i'm expecting my third baby.

you look the scrubs? >> i do. >> it let's the hospitals know i'm the daddy. i put "daddy" on the front, "i'm the daddy" on the back and it took off. this year we're hoping to do about $750,000 in sales but with over 4 million babies born a year, 10% market share would make it a 30d million company. i'm looking for high-level investors to take it to that next step. got to go. >> best luck! you didn't seem nervous at all. you felt like you were just talking. >> thank you. great job.

>> good. >> we know the personality was fantastic. did he get all the personality matter? >> hearing we've got a five to 1 marching already and perhaps is going to build to a reason number of sales. 30 sounds like a good number. you're hitting on good points. you're coming in with this and i think it should say who's your daddy? i would like you, general idea. it sounds look it's starting to hid. >> why don't i love it, anyone with a real kid, you have to know what the potential flaws are. you never what the market is, it's 4 million but i'd like to hear what happens at 2% of the market, 3% of the market. i think maybe you're seeing her than she currently is. so i'd want to hear about what

happens to 2% to 3% of the market. if i can work there, i love the idea. >> which is key to saying where's the break-even point? >> yeah. >> i think frankly it's your ease of getting investors. in your e-mail please include a short summary of what your company does, how much money you're trying to raise and what you intend to right much money. you never know. >> it time to answer some of your business questions. the first one is a question about get org small business owners to pay you on time. >> what incentives can i employ

as a business owner to encourage people to pay faster? >> during the recession we got this service all the time. i don't know what's going on for them. there's no magic bullet. you have to reeducate your customers, you've got to try to get as much as can you up front. if you're selling on service, you need to get a credit card on record so you could get paid quicker. ring 'em up and say i need a statement or a washington nine and whoever manages the process of paying saw to them is i can get something into you consideration talk to somebody? how can you get that a little quicker. ask. >> and what about if this is a constant problem, is there something maybe give discounts? >> if alts constant problem. then you got to wonder about

your business instruct jer i think a little bit. are p are you so unperson they don't care if they ever pay you again? first off, check your business model. and be an important business. second, you can do discounts. but that's lmd a limited -- i'd prefer to get vinny. >> so there are repercussions is what you're saying? >> there's a way to set up a relationship early on in the relationship where you write everything down. there's even companies who are out there to say we will be the third party and bill these guys on some kind of check procedure.

>> they can say i'll patriot you now and they don't do anything five days later, we take the money out of their account. so check that good. this is one i guess people will deal pretend that you're vicky. the next is is about branding temperature. >> if your name and your company name is the same, do you brand yourself or do you brand the business. >> ask donned trump if what do you think they should do? honestly if they're the same name, i think up should be browning. look at virgin ail ways, branding himself like crazy. if you've got the same name, do it twice as much pi think god el is a great reason for that. i grief with everything that vinny said so i feel sad.

the only distinction i would make is if it's a personal service you deliver, don't use your own name. trump's got hotels. it's not him but if you're a physiotherapist and want to build a physiotherapy. >> we did a story on this a few years ago about a guy who gave parties for little kiss. dan the know formula. he needed everybody wanted people and they wanted dale to deign. you have to i mean, if you're been do and in and now they're here it will move on to the next one.

beside facebook what are inthat will turn into facebook. >> well, be p besides twicer, it's twitter. >> oh, i hate twitter. >> i know you do. that's because you're an old guy. >> the folks these people are selling to, that's where they are. for example, a company making jeans in wales and they have done well word of mouth. for the market they're in, would i look strongly at twitter. facebook already has that covered, that's fine. it's not a magic bullet but i'd like very hard at it. >> i'm going to past twitter here. i think it's a lot of baloney. some companies use it well. i think youb is the way to go. i think you go out and start creating your own video channel, i think this is going to be

video edge. if you're young and c th ict and toe? >> it's br. start to create and do kol things and start to make it interesting. i'll tell up, that generation -- >> and then can you tweet about it. >> you could. but here's the thing, it's the general p geny group we're talking about. even younger. but that in group about five, six hours a day they're on ooh tube. >> i just heard of splendora, their idea is people their age all want to see their video. thank you so much.

if you have any afgs. again, the web site is openforum.com dlnt "your business." >> looking to make your facebook page, check out our web site of the week. north central helps kreeft a variety of promotions. the service helps you manage all your social media from one single dash board. you can also track what works and what doesn't using the analytics provided. to learn about today ace show, click on our web site. it forup.com and all of dad's. with more business grow. you can also tell us on twice.

don't zeks week the small business makeover team goes to boston some business. >> there's been a few times where i just said my spifrt is tapped out and i don't give them any credit. >> our team of experts cuts out the dead wood and helps them reconstruct their business. and remember, we make your business our business. they have names like idle time books and smash records and on small business saturday they remind a nation of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement... and main street found its might again. and main street found its fight again. and we, the locals, found delight again.