we traveled here to the famous fisherman's wharf in monterey, california, because of a letter we got from one of our viewers. he wrote us that he was worried his father's business needed a makeover. so we assembled our s.w.a.t. team of business experts to swoop in and shake things up. that's coming up next on a special edition of "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, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business." today we have a really special story for you. it started with a writer's plea to help his parents, who owned several jewelry stores, find a way to retire. we got our "your business" makeover team together and headed out to the california coast. i'm here in california, with the "your business" makeover team to answer a call from one of our viewers. his family has been in the jewelry business on the famous monterey fisherman's wharf for more than 15 years. and now, he says, they need our help. let's go give this business a makeover. you must be joe. >> oh, hey.

>> i'm j.j. ramberg from "your business." >> oh. >> it's so nice to meet you and get to finally see your store rp joe's family business, monterey bay silver -- >> we've been here 15 years. >> is one of four independent jewelry stores right next to each other that he and his wife mary own and operate. >> and you must be mary. >> i'm mary. >> first i met joe and now i met you. so nice to meet you. we are thrilled to be here today. >> i'm thrilled to have you. >> okay so i saw the silver store. what's the name of this one? >> this is morning star pearls. >> there's a pearl shop targeting older women. and a silver shop targeting younger ones. >> what's the name of this store? >> this is called splash. >> splash is less about an age group and more about fun. and then there's the most recent store, called everything must go. filled with various leftovers at closeout prices appealing to bargain hunters of all ages. how did this happen? how do you have one jewelry store and then another one and then another one. is it just that space kept

opening up? >> i don't know. it sort of went that way. i never plan too much. >> the reason we're here is because your son wrote us a letter. may parents give everything to give to us so we would have a leg up in this world and have never asked for something in return. they're both now 64 and 65 years old without a retirement nest egg to rely on. it sounds like you guys, your whole life, or at least your married life and your business life, kind of flowing by the seat of your fnts. >> that's true. >> it's true. >> of course. >> is that how you see it, too? >> absolutely. >> you're making a nice living. if something happened tomorrow you don't have anything put away yet. >> yeah, i think it is time to think about that. >> planning for the future has never been joe and mary's style. but with retirement on the horizon they now suddenly need a strategy. and we came in to give them one. >> well, on behalf of your children, then, i am excited to get this team in here. i know you've been talking to them, and have them tell you what they've thought through for your business, so that at some

point you guys can retire. >> oh, my gosh. >> now, it's time to get to work. and transform this free flowing business into a rock solid retirement nest egg. >> joe. the s.w.a.t. team is here. >> okay. how you doing? >> they got me all caught up on your business. 245i have lots of great stuff for you today, and so, i'm going to leave them to it and i can't wait to see what happens from all of this. >> wonderful. >> good luck. >> our first expert was chris myers. he's the denver based founder of bodie financial software. >> what we did was sync up your accounting system quick books with our product here, which will give you a broad overview of your business. >> chris ran joe's numbers. and they're good. but he found that with just a few small tweaks, the valuation would increase exponentially. >> with a few small adjustments that are actually pretty easy to

do, we'll see that you can actually create quite a bit more value in the business. we can go from the 700s all the way up to potentially $1.2 million just by making a very small change. >> with chris' analysis of joe's financials, together they created a road map to boost the value of the business. >> what do we need to do? >> that's what helen is here for. she's going to help take this road map and really translate it into something tangible. >> that's retail sales expert helen. she's a partner at san francisco based newport board group, where she advises ceos at top national retail chains -- >> if i looked at your overall business, the silver business is doing almost half of your total sales. >> true. >> okay. but your silver business has about 70% of the inventory. do you need all of this? you need them all? >> well, we have always done it -- >> yes. >> is overdo it in terms of certain items. but i like to be the -- someone

wants a chain, i got them all. >> like many entrepreneurs joe has always believed that more selection means more sales. but that's not how helen sees it. >> i've been a buyer for the largest retailer in the world. and that's me. and everything that we did there, and everything that i learned was about reducing your assortment, not expanding them. >> as they examined all the shops, it became clear that each one has large amounts of unsold inventory. >> to make it easier for the customer to buy, is to just narrow up some of this. >> narrow it out? >> narrow it up. >> held be's first recommendation, get rid of the slow-selling merchandise. even at discount prices. and then use the cash to focus on what's hot and profitable. the problem was, how to accomplish that. >> and i would love to get it this way, where yeah, i can have ten of those chains. and i'll get down to three. i order again. you know, because it pops up on the screen. that would be -- then i don't need this much inventory.

>> of course you don't. >> but without accurate inventory tracking joe worries he won't know when he's out of the good stock and be left with just the clunkers. >> here comes dawn. >> that's where our next expert dawn brolin of connecticut based powerful accounting comes in. >> oh, my goodness. >> wow. >> you have a full-blown point of sale system. >> you're kidding? >> you have an actual touchscreen monitor which is nice and easy. you have the full key board cash register, computer, the software aalready all installed for you all set to go. >> thanks to a generous donation by the intuit reseller program, dawn got joe and mary fast tracked on their latest inventory control system. >> oh, my gosh. that is so cool. we've been dreaming this for a long time. didn't really step into it because i just was a step away, actually. >> no more excuses, joe. you're going to know everything that sells, every minute of the day. >> and you'll be able to share those numbers with your suppliers.

>> exactly. >> and they can then help keep you in stock on the goods that sell. >> i'm so surprised, and i don't know who do i hug first. where are the letters? who do i write? seriously. >> watch out. mary might be making more than one lasagna when she and joe see what the interior designers have drawn up for their business. joe can hardly wait to see what's coming next. well i'm excited for you to see what we have in store for you. >> yes. >> then i'm excited to see what you do with it. >> we'll find out. i'm very excited to find out. yes. >> we are not finished helping them quite yet. we've got some big surprises in store for them. stay tuned to see what they are. more and more businesses are turning to instagram to reach younger demographics. here now are five ways to get the most out of your presence on the site courtesy of small biz trends dotcom. one, take better pictures.

sites like top photo dotcom and cio photo dotcom offer tips to take viral worthy shots. check out your instagram statistics. the site will show your account stats on everything from the number of likes each of your photos gets to the growth of your follower base. three use relevant hash tags. before posting your image, search around for similar content to see which hash tags are likely to lead to the most awareness and engagement. four, give a behind-the-scenes look. candid shots help to personalize your brand. and five, post at peak times. pay attention to the times during the day when your images receive the most likes and comments. use the trends to be sure you're posting when you're most likely to reach members of your audience. stick around, when we come back, we return to monterey, california, for the "your business" makeover.

we bring in some architectural experts to show them how to consolidate their four stores. we also have some more big surprises for them. 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. step out of the management of the business, the day-to-day

management, as soon as possible, because you know, entrepreneurship, people who like to start new things, who like new ideas, they're not necessarily good day-to-day managers. as we saw earlier, joe and mary delechi have been so busy with the day-to-day of running their business that they haven't had a chance to do any long-term planning. now, as they prepare for their eventual retirement, they need help changing the direction of their company. our makeover team has already given them some advice, but that was just the beginning. we've got a lot more in store for these small business owners. the "your business" makeover team has arrived in monterey, california. they're here to help these jewelry store owners optimize their business. so it can support them in retirement. looking through their books and walking through their store, chris myers, helen bulwick and dawn brolin have already made a lot of suggestions. >> the fact is, j.j., it's a

great business. i mean, they're doing a million dollars in 1,000 square feet, which is about $800 a square foot. most retailers would kill for that level of sales per square foot. >> the challenge i think is just joe's, you know, where he's at in his life right now. if he was 35 it would be a slam dunk. there would be no issue. but in his early 60s, he's looking to retire. and that's where it gets difficult. >> are they in a position right now where they can count on these stores to take care of them for the rest of their life? >> no, i don't think so. he's going to have to find a way to get these businesses optimized and stabilized so that he can step away, spend time with his grand in dids and still see that revenue come through. >> one way to boost that revenue occurred to he willen when she first talked to joe and mary. she learned they get an extra discount on the high end pearls because they buy them loose and string them, by hand, in the back of the shop. >> you're not buying the pearls

strung? >> no. >> does the customer know that you're stringing the pearls? that's a big selling feature. >> well, if they ask. you know, sometimes you can give a customer too much information. >> right. that makes you highly specialized. right? that's a real key selling point, something that you can become known for. who's doing the pearl strings? if you're doing all of this -- where is francis? can we meet francis? let's go find francis. >> okay, let's go find francis. >> francis. >> yes. >> we need to get you out in front of the customer, in the front of the store, so that they can see you stringing these pearls. >> okay. >> they are going to love that. can you do that? >> mm-hmm. i think i can. >> okay. well, we're going to work that out in some of our planning here. it's a pleasure. you are an artist, my friend. >> and the next step? >> four shops. probably not the best thing.

can we actually turn this into one store? with all the brands inside of a single location if we're able to do that, joe, it will reduce the overall payroll by two-thirds. >> that would be unbelievable. >> yes. >> right? >> yeah. that would be great. >> according to our team, if these guys are going to up the value of their business, then they're going to need to optimize it by consolidating all four locations into a single store. >> mary and joe, you know, we have talked about how important it is to kind of bring this all under one roof. and so i think we've got a real surprise for you here. have a seat. >> interior designers michael and amy taylor of the san francisco based firm genzler usually work on plans for large corporate clients. after looking over joe and mary's space and talking with them for the last few weeks, the designers are ready to present

their ideas. >> we're proposing we condense those three spaces into one to give you efficiencies that we don't think you're having today. you're going to walk in to the silver department, you're going to then go past fashions and we've created what we call a shop in shop which is going to be your pearl area. and in the very back of the store we've decreeited an everything must go, very condensed but very efficient. we've given joe an office. >> fantastic. that looks wonderful, huh? >> off to a good start, huh? so i think the first thing you're going to notice we changed the name of your store. surprise! . so what we've chosen to do is name the new store monterey bay jewelry company. we think it captures everything that you're all about. >> yeah, that would work perfect. >> make sense? >> yeah, makes a lot of sense. >> great we jumped that hurdle. >> that's a good name, actually. >> mary and joe, we're going to start on this board which is actually the view that a customer sees when they first walk in your new store. and as you walk in to the store

the very first thing you're going to see is an employee. and this is actually going to be francis, stringing pearls. we believe in what we have referred to as retail tainment. in retail there's this idea of theater and of entertaining your customers. >> it's beautiful. >> what's the round thing on the roof there? >> these are light fixtures. i see that puzzled brow, joe. they don't cost a lot of money. we have a source that creates them, and has them brought up to code so that you're complying with all of the local jurisdiction requirements. >> i like them. >> again, great. >> i think they look really need. >> and they supplement the track light fixture that we're putting on the ceiling. then when we looked at the packaging we thought this is a great opportunity for you. so we created a packaging system for you. that we think is going to be wonderful, and your customers are going to just love. you can see in the actual shopping bag -- >> i love that. >> we took the gusset, again,

this is a photograph of monterey bay, and we applied it to the gusset itself, because shopping bags become a walking advertisement or billboard and they're going to walk around with monterey bay jewelry company showing everybody the name of your store. >> why didn't you think of this? >> yes. >> thank you. >> as michael and amy of gensler, helen stepped up with one more surprise up her leave. >> i know you're thinking about the expense of also doing this. coincidentally, i sit on the board of directors of one of the largest fixture manufactures in the country, premiere store fixture, and premiere would very much like to create those fixtures for you. so that's one expense you're not going to have to worry about. >> wow. thank you so much. >> oh, my. >> so what do you think? >> i think it's awesome. i can't believe it. >> i'm overdone. i mean, really.

>> you are the best. >> you're the best. >> oh. >> so happy. >> it's a whole different direction. my theory was buy more, sell more. and it's really not that way in terms of focusing the sales, and putting the three stores together. will save so many headaches in terms of overhead. totally a different direction but it changed our lives. i'm almost -- this is like a major life changer. absolutely. i mean, i feel like inspired, and ready to roll again. i feel like i'm 21. >> yeah, it's -- it's something we've been dreaming about. talking about. and now we've brought it to fulfillment. so it's really hard to just say a simple thank you. >> joe and mary delechi are with us now from california. it is so nice to see you guys. >> it's so nice to see you, too, j.j. >> hi.

>> i would love a progress report. tell me where you are. i'll just list a few things. the name change, monterey bay jewelry c.o. is it going to happen? >> it's in the works. i would say everything is in the works. and progressing well. i mean there's a lot of different fronts. from the remodel to the pos system. and yeah, i think it will -- ultimately will have the run at summer here to really test all the theories. >> did you start knocking down walls yet? >> yes, we did. yes, we did. everything's actually in progress in terms of the remodel right now. >> basically -- >> everything from the -- from the everything must go store is almost completely gone. >> wow. so are you getting rid of all of these clunkers then and making more room for the stuff that sells? >> exactly. and it's been really fun, and great because i haven't had to buy inventory so it's been kind of like a great experiment.

all the people were just fantastic. >> it was a fantastic piece. i mean, joe, this point of sale system must change everything for you because you were sort of buying in the dark before. and now you have real data. >> exactly. >> yes. exactly. >> yes. it's an ongoing experience here. we are still loading it. in in business i've got, there's so many items which makes it more valuable because it's so hard to track. it's not like maybe another store. in the silver business, there's lots and lots of items. >> especially that we can eliminate so much inventory. we love the ideas. chris, helen, amy, michael, they were so helpful. >> what has it been like for you to step back and get this group in there and say you need to do this, this, this and this, then you can retire? it's really a whole change of attitude. >> yes. i have been a little hard

headed. >> no, you? >> kind of like going, yeah. but you know, i always say when something is the truth, you can't deny it. i think all the theories are solid. i hope -- it's no different than what i have done, overloading the inventory and trying to carry everything and focusing on the good sellers. yeah, it makes sense. >> your kids were worried about you guys. they are so grateful for everything you have given them and they want to make sure you have a nice time in your retirement when ever that happens. good luck with continuing and finishing all the changes. we look forward to checking in with you in a few months. >> we are so excited for it all to come together. that's our main focus every day. >> thank you so much. >> your small business's reputation online and offline is crucial to future success.

if you want a way to improve what shows up when you are googled, check out the website of the week. brandyourself.com. it's a do-it-yourself platform to manage your business's presence online. users submit the profiles they want users to find. the site walks you through ways to make it appear higher in search results. the progress is monitored. it's time to answer some of "your business" questions. larry change is a managing partner at a company that invests in high growth boot strapped companies and colleen is the director of digital media. they provide stories about entrepreneurial women. >> the first question is about employee benefits. >> the whole arena of benefits for employees and my people is

changing a lot. it's very confusing because of the costs involved. the easiest way out for a small company is not to do anything. is this the right approach at this point and time? >> it's a good question. it's confusing, but it's always been complicated, benefits. if your inclination is to give benefits, don't cop out by not giving them. where does he start? >> it's complicated is not a good reason not to offer them. the best people are going to require benefits. there's a small window in a small company's life when you don't have to offer benefits. that ends quickly. >> where can you turn to uncomplicate it for him? >> one of the simplest things you can do is encourage employees to maybe go out and find their own individual policies. we are talking health care, they can now buy policies on the exchanges, the state or federal

exchange or go to an individual provider and offer to reimburse at least a portion of that. that way, you are giving something to your employees without going through the massive setting up a plan, you know, you are not incuring all the administrative costs. at least you are doing something. at the least, encourage them to do something like that. then, maybe if things go well from there and maybe things are going well with the company, he can then put a formal benefits program in place. that's a good place to starlet. >> there are a bunch of companies you can outsource it to, the payroll and benefits. there is an administrative fee to your point. >> you can outsource health care, retirement and so forth. i would encourage him to look at nontraditional benefits, the 20% role where you can spend 20% on personal projects. not having a true vacation policy. they are nonfinancial things you can do as a benefit.

>> great idea. >> let's move on to the next one. how to best invest money in your business. >> building my business based on the amount of clients i'm getting per month. my question to you is, should i seek additional funding now to jump start and grow my business in a big way or continue to use my profit from my business and put it back in. >> i'm going to start with you, larry. these are the companies you look at, right? boot strap, high growth companies. at what point do you say we are going to put money in you. >> your default response is use your profits to invest in the growth of your business. there's two criteria you should qualify to look at outside capital. the market has to be big enough and secondly, you have to know how you are going to spend it. you have to know you can acquire customers efficiently. if you are not sure about that, you might be early to raise capital.

>> i think that's a great point, right? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. should i seek funding? you can try, but whether you are going to get funding is a different story. judging from the looks of her company, it's named after herself, so it's probably a consulting company. if she needs early stages, it's going to be hard to get a bank loan. you say with a bank, you know the one time you can get money is when you don't need money. if she is looking for funding, one option is crowd funding. a lot of people do kick starter campaigns. maybe there's a specific project she can put her toe in and figure out if she can raise money that way. kick starter or whatever platform. >> go to the lending club. >> any of those. it's a good way to get the word out about your business. you usually have to put a video and profile up. it's a nice way to spread it. >> let's move on to the next one. a question about contacting

people on social media. >> how do prospects and business owners feel about financial services asking for a connection on linked in to stay connected and building relationship for a future business together? >> i think it's a good idea z. that's what linked in is for, right? >> no. >> okay. >> let's be clear. >> that's my gut response. i get queries like this on linked in. any social media, but particularly linked it, it supplements a relationship. you don't start it there. for a financial services professional who wants to manage somebody's money, you have to get to know that person the old fashioned way in person, or through a referral. >> you have to have one meaningful offline interaction before you consider it. i would agree, having a

face-to-face meeting. even a phone call is a baseline to consider friending someone or connecting someone on linked in. >> great advice. you have a neat thing going on right now. >> i do. it's awesome. we cover female entrepreneurs. we recently put out a call of women to watch and came up with our list of ten young women to watch. they are amazing young women doing everything from they have invented removable wallpaper, rodeos for special needs kids z, techie stuff like online scheduling tools. really amazing women. >> maybe there's someone you want to invest in, larry. check them out. great to see you. thanks for stopping by. >> my pleasure. thank you for joining us today. if you want to see our segments, they are posted on our website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. we put exclusive pieces up as well. you can find us on twitter, and

we are on facebook and instagram, too. next week, the owner of a security guard company realizes her company's growth was limited by her imagination. >> i didn't have the scope right and i think that's what stops a lot of small businesses or at least keeps a lot of small businesses and entrepreneurs where they are. they don't realize what is out there. >> how a shift in attitude can change everything. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. 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. the crazy deal that compelled president obama to nominate an antiabortion, antigay judge to the federal bench. good morning and thanks for getting up with us. if you spend time dissecting washington like we do on the show, we are going to talk about partisanship and stale maits of congress to get anything done. not this morning. this morning, the numbers show the do nothing congress is actually kind of doing something.