what kind of person is responsible for taking someone from this look, to this look? a retail buyer who knows his brand as well as jimmy webb does. we'll find out how jimmy does it. coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy, and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc.

hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business." they are the unsung heroes of the retail business. the buyers whose eye, intuition and relationship are the key to making sure you have the right products to sell. we wanted to know what a good buyer looks like. so we headed down to a legendary new york boutique with a decidedly rock 'n' roll attitude to meet jimmy webb the man behind all the leather and leopard skin. >> biggest selling jackets right now, the plaids, nonstop. the yellow. >> yeah. >> really amazing. but this jacket that i made? yeah, killing. current but gothic. rock 'n' roll. >> meet ray goodman and jimmy

webb of new york city's punk clothing boutique trash and vaudeville. >> how is it going? >> good. nonstop, nonstop. boys and girl version. nonstop. best fabric ever. >> ray is the owner. he bought the business in 1975, renamed it trash and vaudeville, and since then has cultivated its ultrahip, rock star loving identity. >> i guess, you know, i've always been into clothing. i've always been into fashion. i've always been in to rock 'n' roll and it was a way to put the two together, i guess. >> jimmy is the store's key buyer. primary salesman. and number one spokesman for everything that makes trash and vaudeville trash and vaudeville. >> it's leopard. and it's a white motorcycle jacket. and it's red plaid. and it's a silver star. and it's something, and it's a stud, and it's sex pistols pink and green. and it's a leather jacket.

when you put it on and zip it up and unzip it, it's how you feel. >> when it comes to picking merchandise like this, jimmy is a punk fashion genius. >> want to see my favorite tattoo? i need more compassion. i need more forgiveness, i need more understanding, i need more jewelry, i need more leather pants. >> he knows his customers, the stars and the fans, and maybe even more important than that you might say he's his own best customer and that gives him a huge edge as a buyer. >> can you tell me what the top five things are? i'm probably not going to buy them. i want to stay ahead of the top five things. i want to add to the future, not be stuck. >> trash and vaudeville is a bit unique in its merchandise mix and what we sell here. what works for a lot of people doesn't work for us, and what works for us doesn't work for a lot of other people. >> recently, ray and jimmy took off from new york city to attend a week-long fashion vendor showcase called magic. in las vegas.

they hit the convention floor in search of new merchandise. >> we have so many shots we don't need that. no prestudded no, no, no. not for men. it's so rock 'n' roll, so pimp, so styly, so urban, so girl, so guy, it's good. this is [ bleep ] beautiful. how much is this? $300? oh, this is good. >> oh, yeah. >> it's very jimmy. >> yes, it is. >> good. >> we try -- >> you know what i mean? it's beautiful. but it's just not us. >> jimmy is the lifestyle. and he can relate to a 17-year-old kid, or a 60-year-old guy. doesn't make a difference. >> don king, sales rep for new jersey base schott leather company says jimmy's relationship with his customers is not typical of most buyers and that's what makes him so good at his job.

>> he's the guy on the floor. he's the front of the line. a lot of buyers are sitting behind a desk and working based on numbers. and so they're not as intimate or passionate about what their customers specifically are looking for. >> there's something about me being with ray, there's a magic between us. we can look at a leopard together and say that's the right one. we can look at a fake fur and you just know. you can put on a big hat or a little gentleman's hat. i don't even wear hats but i'll put on a hat to buy a hat. >> sometimes jimmy and i agree on something and it's unanimous right from the get-go. other times, one takes a little convincing from one side or the other. a little explanation. i'll listen to his argument why it might not be right. and then we make it as sort of a decision, you know, and whether or not to buy it. jimmy has been such an important part for the store because of his style and his abilities, and combination of that, and personality, and the street smarts, and it was a match made in heaven really. >> you're going to make me cry happy, thankful tears. and i love what i do.

i really, really love what i do. i make people happy. i find out what's inside them, and i bring it on out. i find that hidden color every day. and if i were ever in that office looking at numbers, i would miss the magic of truly what makes that number. you know? and i just want to make people happy, and i just want to make dreams come true. and truly that's what i'm going for. that's what i do every day. >> trash and vaudeville is clearly a unique enterprise but what should more traditional retail businesses be looking for in a buyer? vanessa ting is the chief retail buyer for buyerly, a company that helps entrepreneurs get their products in the doors of major retailers. she also runs retail path, and she used to be a buyer at target. david meerman scott is a marketing and leadership strategist as well as a blogger

and a best-selling author. his book the new rules of marketing and pr is now in its fourth edition and christiane lemieux is the founder of well studio. last year she sold her company to wayfair, the largest online retailer of home decor, where now she's the executive creative director. great to see all of you guys. >> great to be here. >> one thing for anyone who didn't notice in the open of the show those shoes i was wearing the heels were guns. jimmy webb found my inner color. >> i hope you got to keep them. >> i would have fallen down. i could barely walk across the store. i did keep the t-shirt though, the sex pistols t-shirt. vanessa i want to start with you because you have spent so much time in this industry. jimmy is clearly unique, right? he has a passion that is unmatched. he really gets his customer. is that what you need to be looking for in a buyer? because i have to imagine that's hard to find. >> i mean, it's great to have someone who is really passionate

about the industry, and what they do. but, i would argue it could be a double-edged sword because you want someone who is knowledgeable but who can also separate their own opinions and feelings from the business decisions. at the end of the day, when you're a buyer, you're making smart decisions to run your -- to drive your sales and profitability, and if you can't remain objective, that can be hard sometimes. >> you're shaking your head. >> well i also think that i think jimmy is wonderful, he's a character and personality, but it's also not necessarily scalable. he's got one store, one buyer, he's on the floor, he's passionate, he's involved. but if they wanted to roll out 50 trash and vaudevilles it would be a lot -- it would be difficult. it wouldn't be scalable. >> so is the buyer's job more about numbers than instincts? >> you know what's interesting to me about trash and vaudeville, first of all being a little bit of a punk myself. >> yeah, you seem crazy over there. >> but, what's interesting is that there's, if you think about it from personas, the idea that there's different types of people that you can buy for, there's the total punk rocker, there's the young person, and

there's someone a little bit older like me, and you know, did the clash concert and the sex pistols concerts in the '70s an '80s. but you know, being able to understand personas is really, really important. so that's what i would want to look for in a buyer is someone who can understand the different types of people that might come in to a store. >> and i'd also want somebody, you know, who could -- who understands the numbers, as well as the essential, the brand, the feeling, the vibe. so i think, you know, a perfect combination will be jimmy, with a little bit of numbers. >> i would agree. being a buyer is part art and part fight. you can learn the science in school but the art comes from firsthand experience. you know, as a buyer you are the expert in your business on the customer. on your competition. on the category, which is the industry. so, you know, i agree you have to be a real expert and really know these things and really get deep in to who the customer is to be a good buyer.

>> vanessa, if possible, is it a good idea to get a buyer who is also your customer or does that not matter? >> i think it helps to have someone who understands the customer and wants to be a student of the customer. so it's not -- not so important that you be a customer but you know how to understand their attitudes, their behaviors, what drives them to purchase. that's what's really important at the end of the day. >> is it important for these buyers to go sit in focus groups or do they need to be on the floor? >> they need to be on the floor. >> on the floor. i also think they really need to be passionate about the brands, the experience that they're buying for. i think that the passion is gone. it becomes only numbers. that's when i think from a business perspective that's when you start to see problems. >> the other thing that's important is to get beyond existing customers. and try to have a conversation

with people who are potential customers. because if you're only speaking with existing customers, then you get sort of a jaded view. i mean, not jaded, it's great, customers are fantastic, you should always talk to them. but to build new business, find a person who's never been to the store before, find out what their problems are, what they're looking for, and see if you need to tweak a little bit to cater to someone who has not yet -- >> i got to say that's where jimmy was really great because he makes everyone in there feel like they should be -- i mean i could walk in feeling looking like this and he would make me feel like hey you belong here just as anyone else does. it was a really fun piece to do. thanks, guys for all of your insight on this. here at msnbc we work right across the street from saks fifth avenue which takes our window displayses very seriously. around the holidays you can hardly even walk over there because there's a line around the block to just walk by and look at them. every retailer should take a page out of their book. having a good presentation can mean the difference between someone walking in or walking right by your store. so today, we go back to portland, oregon, to get some simple do it yourself tricks of the trade to make your window display stand out. ♪ >> i think that our windows just

bring people in to our store because they're -- they wonder what is in that store. >> debbie is the owner of tilde, a small gift and jewelry boutique in portland, oregon. >> yellow. >> debbie and her assistant joanna jackson put a lot of effort into their window displays. and they have a reason. >> you want to stop someone who is walking or driving by and make them turn around and come back and wonder what's in there. and so they come in the door to find out what's in here. and then we got them. >> hey, debbie. >> how are you doing? >> good. >> look at our new windows. >> i am loving it. at tilde, debbie and joann her assistant have done really fun things with very small amounts of merchandise. >> i love how you added that little dangly necklace on the -- on the antlers. it's just fun. it just sort of carries the colors across. >> linda cahan is not just a neighbor and customer, she's a professional store design

consultant who specializes in window displays and visual merchandising. >> i always draw it really slowly past your store. and then if it's a new window i stop and take pictures. >> linda, whose clients have ranged from big national chains like saks fifth avenue to local boutiques says window displays truly are key to attracting and keeping customers' interest. >> a lot of retailers think, oh, i'm going to put this sweater in the window and it's going to sell. where in reality, you are selling the image of the store. >> linda says store windows can do much more than sell particular products. they really should be used to give the store its identity. no matter what the business. because customers pay so much attention to what's in the windows, retailers need to be very careful about ohio they set up their displays. for example, linda says, luxury items and affordable items must

be displayed very differently. or they'll confuse the customers. >> when you have very expensive merchandise, and you cram it all together, it looks cheap. essentially, price equals space. >> take shoe stores. >> if you have a $500 pair of shoes, and you cram it next to other $500 pair of shoes you might as well just be a discount store. but if you give those shoes their own space, and you honor them with space, then they look like what they're worth. >> today, debbie and joanna are putting to the a new display. they didn't put many products in the window. but they decided to feature one item. a very popular hand bag. >> people come in just for those bags. so we like the colors and the shapes. >> the rest of the display is mostly just color. colorful paint, colorful paper, and colorful fun things to look at. while it may not be surprising that color gets attention, many of us may not be aware that people react differently to

different colors. >> every color has its own meaning and it's really interesting how colors influence us on so many levels. >> so, if you're using color to help give your store its identity, linda says choose wisely. >> yellow actually is the color of optimism. and when you look at yellow, it releases serotonin in your brain, and makes you feel more upbeat and makes you feel a little happier. blue is considered one of the most favorite colors in the world. if you think of any of the big corporations in the united states, a good portion of them have blue logos. because it's also the color of authority, communication, and trust. red vibrates at a different intensity. it vibrates much more quickly than any other color. so, it emits heat. it stimulates us in a very quick way to eat more, buy more, do everything more quickly.

>> of course, color is only one element. >> i love the use of the old suitcases. and the clocks show up really nicely. there's a nice flow and line that happens here. this is really charming. what a great time. even the type is fun. but who sees it? there's so much stuff on the window. perfect display. they're known for their delicious breads, they're front and center. and they've done a very nice job in displaying them. >> and does it need to be expensive to do this? linda and debbie say no. you just need to be thoughtful, and be willing to roll up your sleeves. >> it is not expensive to make windows for us. >> not at expense at all. it just is a little time intensive. by now you've probably have a facebook page up and running for your business. but having a presence isn't the end-all. here now are five easy ways to get more facebook fans courtesy of top ranked blog dotcom. one, look attractive. use an engaging profile picture

and create a well-designed cover photo that fits your brand. set your us tomorrow url and craft a keyword rich copy on your about page. two develop your content plan. post on a regular basis. at least two to five times daily, and encourage frequent sharing. add new content straight on the page, and tag users with their facebook page names. three, add a like box. embed this handy widget on your website for additional inbound traffic. four, actively participate. comment on posts and target complementary pages using your company's username. spend at least five to ten minutes per week on community management. and five, run a contest. providers like offer pop, and short stock offer contests via facebook. when we come back we answer your small business questions on building a website and bringing in middle management and how to score with three important things you need to know about writing up your business plan. if i can impart one lesson to a

new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. when it was just me in '95, the idea was that we would listen to people and act on what

people were telling us they needed and wanted, rather than deciding what people might need and doing that. the idea is always to listen, to act on what makes sense, then to listen some more. >> time now to answer some of your business questions. david and christiane are with us once again. the first one is about scaling your business and hiring more employees. >> i would like to know when do you know it's the right time to bring in middle management from a start-up perspective? right now our organization is structured where it's just myself and another vp. and the rest are mainly general staff. >> christiane, you had to do this. you started your company right out of college. >> right out of college, it was me by myself. i think when you get to the point where you can't do everything anymore, and you really want to hire into your weaknesses, so for me, you know, there are various areas where a woman is probably the best person to be doing the job and that's when i brought in middle management, so to support my strengths and weaknesses, and then to start to focus what people's jobs were. so you know, everyone's a generalist from the beginning then you have to start to put in

layers where people are doing specific tasks. >> and the other thing that's important is to make sure that it's not just middle management, as if managing other people, but everyone is in a sense a player or coach. everyone is doing real work. everyone is out in the marketplace talking to customers, dealing with partners. i've seen companies that have really had trouble when they bring in a layer, and all of those people do is just manage others. that doesn't work so well. >> yeah, and you have to be careful about where you're getting them from, right? because if you're getting them from a big company they may not be used to doing -- >> yes. putting out the garbage may not have been in their -- >> that's not in my job description. >> at a start-up it always is -- >> goes away. >> this is a question from katie. she wrote to us asking -- i'm trying to build an online community and i need help building a website. how does an entrepreneur like myself find reliable, reasonably priced professionals for

expanding from i blog to a fully functioning device compatible website? great question. >> i'm a big believer in tapping a social network to find people who can help you. so if you're popular -- if you're on twitter, if you're on linked in, use one of those tools. facebook, ask your friends, who have you used? who do you recommend? because if something comes in recommended by a friend, then you know, well, okay, something -- somebody i think i can trust. so it's a starting point to finding somebody tap social networks. >> do you suggest doing something like that, hiring someone or just doing it yourself on squared space or a site like that? >> i would hire somebody to do it. i also love -- i love to, you know, do the research and look out there and bid it out. so you know, i start with craigslist and then you can work your way all the way up through to the international community. getting a website can be anywhere, any time. there might be somebody who is fabulous, who is reasonably priced, supports your aesthetic.

>> stu does my website, and their based in melbourne, australia. >> do you have a relationship with them? >> i just e-mail or skype or something and it works great. >> finally here's a question about localization. >> how do we develop localization within the countries and companies we do work with? these people live all over the world. >> do you get people on the ground in all these countries? >> i think it's really important. i live for ten years in tokyo and hong kong. the biggest mistake companies make they just translate. they use a translation company and translate. that doesn't work culturally. finding somebody on the ground and where of it is, japan, china, france or germany, and having them do the work and them be on the ground is important. so i would localize a couple of companies starting off with, rather than trying to be everything to everybody. >> and you find partners or employees or how do you do it? >> i think it's either way. i think employees are probably the best, most effective, the quickest solution, but i

completely agree and it is very cultural. it gets lost in translation and the subtleties aren't there. it's hard to coalesce people if it doesn't feel close to appropriate. >> i think so. >> it's good to ask people who have done it, i imagine. they know some of the roadblocks that you wouldn't even think of because you'd never been there. >> right. and the same thing for social media, finding somebody locally to do your social media efforts is important. creating content for the website. making the content created locally is essential. straight translations just don't work. >> david and christiane, thank you for coming. lucky for us we got to pick your brains a little bit today. >> thanks for having you. >> if any of you out there have your own question and you want some good advice head over to our website. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. click on the ask the show link to submit a question for our panel. or you can e-mail us your questions, too. the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com.

twitter is a great resource for targeting people interested in what you have to offer. our website of the week will help you find them. needtagger.com is a site that helps you find customers, generate leads and attract followers on twitter. the service minds twitter for people who are talking about you and need your you have stuff. zero in on future potential clients. a lot of people hear the words business plan and get completely intimidated by the idea of writing one. where to start? what needs to go into it? does it have to be 100 pages long? well, whether you are looking for investors or not, a business plan is worth spending time on because it can be your blueprint for going forward and writing it forces you to think through your challenges. today we have some tips on how to put together a business plan. hal shelton is a mentor for an organization that provides

resources to small businesses, and he is also an angel investor and author of the book "the secrets to writing a successful business plan." a pro shares a step by step guide that gets results. it's so great to see you, hal. >> thanks, j.j. good to be with you today. >> i sort of alluded to this in the beginning, whether you're looking for investors or not. you talk how when you create a business plan, know your audience. it might be an investor, a potential partner, it might be a customer, right? >> that is correct. when you share your business plan with others, you are marketing your business idea and yourself, and most likely you will not be in the room when the business plan is written. so you need to know your audience, what information they need to reach the decisions that you want them to take. overall the business plan should demonstrate that you're serious about the business, and you have the passion to move it forward. let me give you three key examples. you want to start a retail store. you need $300,000 from the bank.

you go to your small business loan officer. really what does she want to know? she wants to know that you can generate the cash flow to pay back the loan with interest on schedule and you're organized so there's no hassle. another example is go to an angel group to fund your i.t. cyber security can company. what they're interested in knowing is you and your management team have the technical experience, the industry experience, and the leadership to move this forward. in the beginning they only want to see two or three pages. final example is you're ready for your first big sale. your customer wants to know obviously that you're going to produce a quality product or service, but they want to know you're going to be around a couple of years to service that product and hopefully have some lead on sales. >> it's the same as thinking about when you're first getting your job and sending resumes out to everyone, right, and you have a basic resume and then you tweak it for each company that

you're applying to. i want to get quickly to your other points, focus on the customer, not the entrepreneur. we talk about this a lot in running your business. how does that translate to writing your business plan? >> so a for profit or a nonprofit is set up to solve a customer need, a customer demand, a problem, a society need. and so you should be demonstrating. sometimes people call it your power point. and demonstrate why it is you're solving this problem and since you're the new girl on the block how you're doing it better than the established competition. why should people buy from you? >> got it. >> and you have to demonstrate you are the person to run this company and it if you're not, you'd better demonstrate you have people surrounding you or working with you that can help you. >> absolutely right. a small business and particularly a startup business

is a bet on the entrepreneur, the startup has no track record, but you do with your experience and with your accomplishments, so you need to write a bio which is an important part of the business plan. it should demonstrate that you and your management team have the experience, but it should not be the kind of linked in standard format. it should scream out, i've been there. i've done that. and i have the t-shirt to prove it. >> and you're involved with score which is a great organization that provides advisers for free all across the country. i hate to cut this off, hal. i think this is a great book and something a lot of people need help with so i really appreciate you coming on. >> thank you very much, j.j. thanks so much for joining us today. if you missed any of our segments, you can find them on our website openforum.com/yourbusiness. we have some web exclusive pieces for you there as well. you can also find us on twitter. it's @msnbcyourbusiness. we are on facebook and instagram, too. next week, how you react to adversity can make are or break

your brand. >> there are times where you throw up your hands and say, i'm done. other times you feel like, hey, we are nailing it. you just have to be willing as a entrepreneur and as a business owner to be willing to make the mistakes. >> find out about the mistakes two entrepreneurs made but how that invaluable experience has made them a better, more successful company. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg and, remember, we make your business our business. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone.

there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. abc giveth and abc taketh away. new jersey governor and 2016 presidential hopeful chris christie at this time last week was launching his supposed comeback tour. he released a report that he commissioned from his offices own lawyers. the report that said he exonerated himself in the ongoing scandal to lanes on the busiest bridge if the world being shut down as a way of the administration getting some revenge. in one 24-hour period, the governor released the report, held a press conference on the