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struggles on how to begin. how to create a new business coming up. small businesses are revitalizing the economy, and american express is here to help, and that is why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc. hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" the show dedicateded to giving you tips and advice to help your small business grow. for most of us starting up a business is risky and relentless and face it, stressful.

getting past the start-up phase can seem like the end of the process and as the founder of mother-in-l mother-in-law's kishgs mchi discovered. from tacos to bagelles many ethnic foods have been adopted into mainstream diet. but not all of them. >> i never thought that i would be in the business of selling korean food let alone kim chi because it is an extreme food. >> that is lauren chung founder of mother-in-law's kimchi. her mother-in-law has owned a restaurant since 1989. >> all of this pressure. >> since she was a small child lauren's mother has warned her, never share kim chi with nonkoreans. >> and eating, we cannot fear,

but not eating is not good. >> while this fermented cabbage dish is a staple in korean families, the pungent aroma can be off putting for those who did not grow up with it. and that is eye ais why it is ir lauren to sell kimchi. >> i will be at whole foods and there is a family of koreans, and that got me thinking, that is odd, why is she serving kim chi to nonkoreans. >> that is how lauren thought about kim chi, too, until five years ago when she lost her job as a high-end wine promoter. >> when the downturn hurt and i lost my marketing job instead of looking for the next marketing job in another company, i thought it was the right opportunity to go into business for myself.

>> she realized that she could use her understanding of the wine and cheese market to introduce kim chi to a brand new consumer base. >> she takes a traditional asian artisan food and makes it organic. it is not the same as what is sold in a bucket in chinatown. >> and now realizing that lauryn's approach with nontraditional packaging was catching on. today, she is at an orange county market that sells her product. today, she is sampling it on a grilled cheese. the recipe comes from a cookbook she published for how to use and

eat kim chi. >> i developed the book, because i want people to understand that it is beyond a condiment and eat it and cook with it, and put it on the grilled cheese sandwich. these cheeses and wines and natural fermented products have a common thread and kimchi is part of the natural fermented food. >> five years later with her product in widespread mainstream drirt shun, she is ready to expand her business to the next level. >> i am definitely beyond a startup, and i'm really at the stage looking to see how i can grow and fund my business. who would have thought that salsa or hummus would be a stakeholder in american diets today. >> and while she has managed so far today without taking on investors lauryn says that has to change, because she cannot expand competitively without investments. >> she had investment already

and on the retail radar and that is half of the business is getting it on the market. >> and now this is her job of trying to connect developers and investors. while he is not ready to invest in mother-in-law's kim chi, the brand is clearly on his radar, too. >> she has gotten into the retail grocery stores and food establishments and restaurants, too, but what we like to see is further along as we say the life cycle in seeing repeat revenues and getting a further distribution. >> like wise, lauryn is not sure she is ready for their level of collaboration and investment, too. >> i have heard stories of people losing control of their company and not having an understanding of what the potential liabilities are, and i think that you have to be cautious about all of those

things as a businessperson. >> there are stigmas out there that people, that when you take investment capital, you are giving away part of the ownership of the company and losing control of the business, and that is not necessarily at all times the case. >> for a lot of investor relationships, it is like dating, it takes a while to get to know someone. you get to know them a little bit over time, and you become more intimate, and you get a feel for what they want. >> lauryn appreciates the comparison. >> i guess i'm dating a lot these days. >> you never know where she will get her funding from. >> and she has plans to build the market share, and she knos s she needs big money to make it happen. >> i am cautious and realistic about what it means to take somebody's money, and so i know that having funding will help me grow my business sales and product category exponentially.

>> having a business grow to the point where investors are interested is many small business owner's dream, but as we just saw, there are a lot of factors to consider, and who better to talk about this than today's great board of directors. phil town is an investment adviser and entrepreneur and author. you can find him at ruleoneinvestor.com. and also join g ing us is the founder of the organization uniting and organizing latina entreprene entrepreneurs. good to see you both. >> you, too. >> and i recently hosted a panel of venture capitalists, and we spent as much time to talk to people why not to take investors and getting people to invest in the company, and we were writing notes at the same time so i'm interested in what you think. >> well with, this is a myth, because i have been around the venture capital industry and

angel capital for 30 years and i have never met a single one of the people who is have put up the money who wants control of the company. nobody does. they want you to hit the business plan. when you don't, somebody tries to come in to make business of the whole thing and that is when you can lose control. >> well, she is not really ready for the money yet. i related to her and she is going to be successful. when you come from a minority background as i have, and you do work around the pain. her mother said to her, don't sell this. and she has a little shame about it growing up, just like i did of the kid of immigrants and when you work through the pain and the immigrant background and you are so conservative and do everything right as she has done, you will succeed. but in order to raise money, she needs to find the brand extensions, because the food companies, you have to have extension products. she has one product, and when she starts to going deeper into

the korean background and comes up with a line of products and now that she did the hard part the distribution, then that is when i would go after the money. >> i disagree with it. >> i would not want the money too much and give away a bigger percentage. >> you are thinking of her stretching out an already thin marketing budget. i would say dig the first product in and make sure it is really catching fire. that is where she could get some help with, and maybe you are right about extending this things but if she went out to get some help from the angel investors who are already in the industry and sitting there with a bucket of money and looking for somebody to mentor, she will find somebody who can take it one step at a time without that worry of control. >> i don't agree, phil, and i will tell you why. goria foods. and i grew up on the goria foods, and they did deals with with other people, and decided what is our brand and --

>> say her company is doing well, and they are in whole foods and fresh market, and all of the great places, but she does not have enough money to go into the brand extensions, what should she do now? where does the money come from? >> i think that a lot of money comes from the government and on the tour, i am realizing that the u.s. government has earmarked monies for minorities and women, and particularly women, and they don't have the opportunities to market those opportunities, but they are there. there is all kinds of opportunities where there is small business loans and government contracts and all kinds of things and other ways to get money right now without giving up a piece of the company. >> we are going to have a war. >> i love it. >> phil, you get the last word. >> i started a latina company and if i had sold out early on, i would not have made the money i have made. those who know a certain market, and she knows the market and extending it, because usually when you know the market very well, it will become universal. >> but you don't have to be in

the government to get the money. >> no i am saying that is one area that e she does not have to give up equity. >> she will get better advice through a angel. >> i love a panel that disagrees with each other. thank you guys. another company is seeing rapid growth thanks to a '50s pinup star. a vintage clothing star has added stores in new york, philadelphia, boston and salt lake city, and has become a publicly traded company. the success can be be attributed to the uniqueness of the designs and procuring that all-important licensing deal. >> bettie page, where did you go -- ♪ bettie page ♪ doesn't anybody know >> what makes bettie page the quintessential pinup is that she

is naughty and has the girl next door appeal. >> she was almost like a meteor, and she came on the scene in the early '50s and disappeared in the late '50s. note whe ♪ where did you go bettie page ♪ >> she was an iconic pinup girl, and how did she get connected with entrepreneurs? >> if you want taupe up-- want open up a store, it has to be on the store. and they said, well, to open up a store on the strip, you need an experienced retailer and you need at least one other store. >> typical of entrepreneurs the lack of experience would not deflate their dream. so they went back to the mall and asked if branding the line as a celebrity would increase the lack of experience.

>> so we did research on '50s inspired fashions and several names kept coming up, and one of course was marilyn mon e rromon another was bettie page who was scandalous and edgy and i thought, that is las vegas. >> the creative behind designing the clothes had not even heard of bettie page. >> you find out a lot of interesting information about your pictures and you really fall in love, and i said, that is a perfect name. >> the name was made famous by hugh hefner when he published a photo of her in 1955. soon after, she stopped modeling and disappeared into a life of obscurity. she died in 2008. while she was still alive, hugh hefner introduced her to mark

rothler. mark is responsible for licensing several products in her license. >> the name bettie page is trademarked and valuable. >> for the clothing line, it is a new twist in the quickly evolving business plan. >> he said that he thought that he could develop the first store, and if it went like he thought it could go, he could roll out a chain of the stores across the country. >> with the bettie page branding secured miracle mile in las vegas was ready to sign a lease with the new bettie page clothing company. >> without the bettie page name, we would not be p able to open up a store at the miracle mile. >> adding to the store was brick. shoppers flocked no the store.

>> i knew about bettie page, herself, and searched for her on the internet and the store came up, and i saw retro clothing in it, and nice clothing and nice fit as well. >> licensing the bettie page name has created a symbiotic relationship where mark connects the store with other bettie page branding like shoes and lingeri lingerie. >> the store is growing and p putting out a lot of product, and a lot of demand, and we are growing, because it seems like the natural thing to do. ♪ hey i love you so ♪ where did you go bettie page ♪ >> when we come back, nely and phil will answer your questions on find iing a manufacturer in e u.s. and the pitfalls of moving your company to a new location. and also, a line of clothing and access i ris with a heartwarming message for this holiday season. we've all had those moments.

when you lost the thing you can't believe you lost. when what you just bought, just broke. or when you have a little trouble a long way from home... as an american express cardmember you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. don't be a scrooge. 'tis the season to help others. today's elevator pitcher hopes that her message is worth silver and goal. >> hi, there. >> hi. >> i'm chris whitenberg called

"be good to people." after a rude experience i decided to put be good to people on a shirt, and now it is traveling all over the world inspiring kindness where it goes. people absolutely love be good to people. our customers make repeat customers and become evangelists for us. today, i want to ask for $300,000 in funding, because we want to take it to another level. we have been in retail sales and farmer's markets and we want to go further. for this our investors can expect a 30% return over two-year period and we will use it to increase the marketing and web social media presence and valuable p.r. and product development and product inventory. >> chris, nice job. i did not mean to interrupt you. >> did you hear that voice? >> chris. >> okay. >> i wanted to keep hearing some more. >> and the time now. >> you did a great job.

>> and phil, you are an old hat at this. did she get everything this the pitch? >> no, there is a lot more to go, but you hooked me emotionally which is the most important thing, and i never talk about this, but it is the most important thing that you can do is to get an emotional hook in. there is something about this, hmm, and grabs the heart a little bit. there is a lot more i'd like to hear from you and what are we going to swap here, and i would like to have a meeting here. i would give you a total ten on this meeting, because i liked it. >> nely, you hear pitches everyday and what do you think? >> well, social entrepreneurship to me is the way to go. there is an existing company that does life is good, this brand is deeper and better and more valuable now, and i don't know why you need to raise money, and go to them and see if they will buy you or merge with you. but this is a great idea and it is so important right now that i hope you trademark the name and in spanish and other language,

because i think that right now, it is a world market, am i right? >> yeah, yeah. >> and this is something that nobody else has done this in other cultures, and you better do it before i steal the idea from you. >> watch out when you go to get the url in span irk and you see owned by nely. i want to ask this question, would you take another meeting? >> yes, yes. >> and for sure, and help her with contacts. >> you are perfect for this by the way. >> thank you, very much. and if any of you have a product and service, and you want feedback from our elevator pitch people for your chances of getting help from investors send us an e-mail the address is your business@msnbc.com, and in that e-mail include a short summary of what your company does and how much money you are planning to raise and of course, what you intend to do that money, and you never know because somebody watching the show may be interested in helping you. linkedin is one of the top

social media platforms for professionals, but are you using it effectively? here are five things that you may be doing wrong on linkedin courtesy of linkedin.com. >> you have an incomplete profile. two, you don't belong to the right groups. join at the very least your alumni groups, and other relevant groups are a clear next step. number three, you are not sharing valuable content. when you publish a great blog entry, post it. share valuable links with groups that you are a part of. four, you are not building out the connections. don't wait until you need something. you should be constantly adding and accepting connection from people that you know professionally or personally. and number five, you are not utilizing the linkedin answers. in this section, you can provide questions and answers for people

in a forum, and over time it can generate leads a year later even. it is time to answer some of your business questions and phil and nely are with us once again. the question is how to keep customer customers and decide to make a location change. >> we have had customers for 20 years, and we want to make a move and how do we attract new customers to the new store and keep old customers to the new store. >> that is hard, and the place she moved, it does not have as much foot traffic as the old one, and what can she do to take over the customers. >> well, i hope she had the e-mails of the customers. in today's world, if you don't have the customer's e-mails, you are missing the boat. what i i believe is the future of retail is to create events in the store, couples night or romance night or whatever it is

to bring people into the store. i think of blockbuster going under, and why not date night, movie night, young filmmakers' night. >> and yes. >> and us. and people fall in love with you not because of the story and the product, but it is a social getting together. i think that is the number one thing that i see smart retailers doing. >> it is a great idea, but she has to get a little bit techie here and go over to the local google guys and get the google map thing change and the yelp map and go old school, and go p paper with the civil service exam sites and pay for the place where she was and get the neighbors to put up the posters and the fliers and she needs to dominate it, because she is a civil service store, a nd how difficult could that be to dominate it. >> please, do a rewards program

or something so that you can get the e-mails. >> and get people to like you on facebook. >> yes. and here is the last question, about doing business here in the states versus overseas. >> how can we find manufacturers in the united states that will do small runs for our business? we found one that does clothing, but we haven't been able to find anyone who can do socks or bags? >> it is interesting, because we get this question all of the time and when i first heard it a few years ago i thought it is not that hard. but it is. it is incredibly hard to find. >> it is incredibly hard and as soon as i heard this, i thought, i have seen some great companies start by manufacturing their stuff themselves. the cost of things has gone down and down and down and the cost of machinery to do socks an bd bags might be well within her range and companies like patagonia did that. she may be p able able to do th >> and there are all web sites

trying to promote usa thing, and again, we forget that the government does not market to us, but they have knowledge and resources that we could tap into. >> and by the way, i could encourage her to dig through the internet to find manufactures in that database to private label for you, and they will do the manufacturing. >> and the woman we spoke to literally went knocking door after door after door and took a long time, but she found somebody to manufacturer her clothes, but it was leg work. >> and there is a resource that you hahave t can find, but you online. >> how do you feel about the upcoming year about small business? >> totally optimistic. >> are you ever pessimistic? >> no, you can't be pessimistic as an entrepreneur. you have to know that an entreprene entrepreneur's life is best when

things are bad. we find holes. and haven't you heard warren buffett say, when others are conservative, i'm greedy and when i'm greedy, others are conservative. and latina women are the number one growing market, and go after s segmented markets, and you will find a windfall of money for the business. >> i always say a good idea and well implemented and it does not matter what the economy is doing, it will be successful. >> i have known people taught courses of how to sell whale bones in the russian revolution. >> fedex. >> yes. there are bumpy rides, but be careful with the cash and do not do anything that does not generate return on investment. >> i have to say this, and i'm sorry, and i know you would agree with me being a military guy, you cannot be afraid to fail. failure is your best friend, and it has to be with you all of the

time. it is okay. when you look at the people in, in the internet so many of them have failed and then the next thing is a success. so you cannot look at at things that it is a problem and then afraid and you have the say, it is part of the journey. >> yes, i was in silicon valley in the bubble. >> you won't see me disagreeing with that. >> you succeed and you are fine. >> yes, and they don't shoot you anymore for failure, so it is okay. >> you lose a leg, but that is it. okay. thank you guys so much with the help on the questions and great advi advice. if any of you have a question for the experts all you have to do is to go to the website and the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness and there hit the ask the show question link, and again, it is openforum.com/yourbusiness. phil and nely had helpful

advice on how the improve the business and now let's get some great advice from small business owners like you. >> if you are going to open up a business, you should always know the demographics of the area that you are in. i have a bunch of restaurants and each one of them we decide if they should be more child-friendly or adult-friendly. know that and always know the customer. >> my great idea to fellow entrepreneurs is to find a mentor that you can click with, that you believe in, and to hold on to your faith. >> find a way with your small business to give back to the community. i think that everybody has a big heart. america is full of people generously give. if you can make it easy for your clients to find just some technique, some way they can give back to charities through the work that you do with them, it is a fantastic way to them and help yourself and help others.

with people spending more and more time on the smartphones and the tablets, it is increasingly important to have a mobile presence. if you don't have one, check out the website of the week. mshopper.com helps you to customize a store front. every mobile app is put into your existing shopping cart, and so the standard customer service processes are streamlined. it will also transmit text-based discounts and promotions to your customer customers. to learn more about today's show click on our website. it is openforum.com/your byzanti byzantiumnes nesnes nesnes nesn >> don't forget to become a fan of the show.