we traveled here to the fisherman's wharf because of a letter we got from one of our viewers. he was worried about his father's business. that's coming up next on a special edition of "your business."

>> hi, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business." today, a story about a writer who wanted to help his parents find a way to retire. we got our "american business" 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 monterrey fisherman's wharf for more than 18 years and now they need help. let's give this business a makeover. >> hello, joe.

i'm j.j. ramberg from "your business." hess family business, "monterrey bay silver," is one of four independent jewelry stores right next to each other that he and his wife operate. >> you must be mary. it is so nice to meet you. we are thrilled to be here today. >> i'm thrilled to have you. >> i saw this silver store. what's the name of this one? >> this is morning star pearl. >> a pearl shop targeting older women and a silver shop targeting younger ones. >> and what is this? >> splash. >> it is less about an age group and more about fun and then the most recent store called "everything must go" filled with various leftovers at closeout prices appealing to bargain hunters. >> how is it that you have one jewelry store one after another? is it space kept opening up?

>> i don't know. it just kept happening that way. >> the reason you are here, my son wrote us a letter, my parents gave everything to give to us so we would have a leg up and have never asked for something in return. they ever both 64 and 65 years old without a retirement nest egg to rely on. >> it sounds like you guys your whole life have kind of flown by the seat of your pants. >> it is true. of course. >> is that how you see it too? >> you are making a nice living but 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. with retirement on the horizon, they now suddenly need a strategy. we came in to give them one. >> on behalf of your children then, i am excited to get this team in here. i know you have been talking to them and have them tell you what think have thought through for your business so at some point

you guys can retire. >> oh, my god. >> now, it is 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. >> hi. how are you doing? >> they got me all caught up on your business. they have lots of great stuff for you. i am going to leave them to it. i can't wait to see what happens from all this. >> our first expert was chris myers. he is the denver-based founder of bodi tree financial software. >> what we went ahead and did was sink up your accounting system, quick books, with body tree, which is our product here, which will give you a broad overview of your business. >> chris ran joe's numbers and they are good. he found with just a few small tweaks, the valuation could increase exponentially. >> a few small adjustments that are actually pretty easy to do, will see that you can actually create quite a bit more value in

the business. we can go from 700s all the way up to $1.2 million just by making a very small change in how you do that. >> with chris's analysis of joe's financials, together, they tr created a road map to boost the value of the business. >> that's what helen is here for. she is going to take this road map and translate it into something tangible. >> this is helen, a partner at san francisco-based newport group. she advises ceos at top national retail chains. >> the silver business is doing almost half of your total sales. >> true. but your silver business has about 70% of the inventory. do you need all of this? >> do you you node thneed them ? >> the way i have always done it is overdo it in terms of certain items. if somebody wants a chain, i

have them all. >> like many entrepreneurs, joe has always believed that more selection means more sales. >> that's not how helen cease it. >> i have been a buyer for the largest retailer in the world. that's macy's. everything we there and everything i learned was about reducing your assortments, not expanding them. >> as they examined all the shops, it became clear each one has large amounts of unsold inventory. >> to make it easier for the customer to buy is to narrow up some of this. >> her first recommendation. get rid of the slow-selling merchandise, even at discount prices and use the cash to focus on what's hot and profitable. >> the problem was, how to accomplish that. >> i would love to have i can get it down to 10 and whether it gets down to 3, then i can order

more. >> without accurate inventory tracking, he won't know when he is out of the good stuff and left with just clunkers. >> here comes dawn. dawn roland. >> hi, everybody. >> that's where our expert, cpa, dawn roland of connecticut-based powerful accountinging comes in. >> oh, my goodness. >> you have a full blown point of sales system. you have an actual touchscreen monitor, which is nice and easy, the full keyboard, cash register, computer. the software is already installed for you, all set to go. >> thanks to a generous donation, dawn god joe and mary fast tracked on their latest inventory control system. >> that is so cool. i have been dreaming of it for a long time. i never stepped into it. i was just a step away. >> no more excuses, joe. you are going to know everything that sales every minute of the day. >> and you will be able to share those numbers with your

suppliers. they can then help keep you in stock on the goods that sell. >> i am so excited. i'm so surprised. who do i hug first? where are the letters? who do i write? can i make them a lasagna. >> she might be making more than one when she sees what the interior designers have drawn up for their business. they can hardly wait to see. >> i am excited to see what we have in store for you and what you to do with it. >> we'll find out. i'm very excited to find out. >> we're not finished helping them quite yet. we have some business 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 business trends.com. >> one, take better pictures.

sites like pop photo.com and cio.com offer great tips on how to use your smartphone's camera to take viral wore shi shots. check out your instagram statistics. it will show you information from the number of likes your photos get to the growth of your followers base. three, use relevant hashtags. search around for similar con toent 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 brands. 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 are posting when you are 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 so the deleche's how to consolidate their four stars. we also have some other 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.

as we saw earlier, joe and mary deleche have been so busy with the day to day of running their business, they haven't had a chance to do any long-term planning. now, as they peep for their eventual retirement, they need help changing the direction of their company. a makeover team has already given them some advice. that was just beginning. we have a lot more in store for these small business owners. >> the "your business" makeover team has arrived in monterey, california. they are here to help these jewelry store owners op timize their business to support them in retirement. looking through their books and walking through you their store, chris myers, ellen bowick and dawn brolin have already make a lot of suggestions. >> the fact is, j.j., it is a

great business. they are doing $1 million 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 -- where he is at in his life. if he was 35, it would be a slam-dunk. it would be no issue. in his early 60s, he is looking to retire. that's where it gets difficult. >> are they in a position right now where they can count on these stores to take them for the rest of their lives? >> no, i don't think so. he is going to have to find a way to get these businesses optimized and stabilized to step away, spend time with his grandkids and still see the revenue coming through. >> one way to boost the revenue occurred to helen when she first talked to joe and mary. she learned they get an extra discount on the high-end pearls when she learned they buy them loose and string them by hand in

the back of the shop. >> you are not buying the pearls strung? >> no. do they know that? >> if they ask. that makes you highly specialized, right? that is a real key selling point, something you can become known for. who is doing the pearl stringing? if he are doing all of it? >> francis. >> where is francis? can we meet francis? >> 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 they can see you stringing these pearls. they are going to love that. can you do that? >> i think i can. >> we're going to work that out in some of our planning here. >> it's a pleasure. you are an artist, my friend. >> 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 are able to do that, joe? it will reduce the overall payroll by two-thirds. >> that's huge, yeah. that would be great. >> according to our team, if these guys are going to up the value of their business, then they are going to need to op timmiti timize it by consolidating all four locations into a single store. >> mary and joe, we have talked about how important it is to kind of bring this all under one roof. >> i think we have got a real surprise for you here to have a seat. >> interior designers, michael and amy, of the san francisco-based firm genz letter, usually work on plans for large corporate clifrnts. after looking over joe and mary's space and talking to them for the last few weeks, the designers are ready to present their ideas.

>> what we are proposing is that we con dense those three spaces into one to give you efficiencies that we don't think you are having today. >> you are going to walk into the silver department and go past fashion and we have created a shop and shop, which is going to be your pearl area. in the very back of the store, we have created an everything must go, very condensed but very efficient. we have given joann office. >> fantastic. that looks wonderful. >> off to a good start. >> the first thing we are going to notice. we have changed the name of your store. surprise. >> what we have chosen to do is name the new store, monterrey bay jewelry company. it captures everything you are all about. make sense? >> makes a lot of sense. >> you got that one. that's terrific. >> mary and joe, we are going to start on this board, which is the view the customer sees when they first walk in. the very first thing you are

going to see is an employee. this is actually going to be francis stringing pearls. we believe in what we have referred to as retailtainment. in retail, there is this idea of theater and entertaining the customers. >> what is the round thing on the roof? >> these are light fixtures. >> i see that puzzled brow. they don't cost a lot of money. we have a source that creates them and has them brought up to code so you are complying with all the local jurisdiction requirements. >> i like them. i think they look really need neat. >> and they supplement the track light fixture we are putting on the ceilinging. when we looked at the tract lights, we created a packages system that we think is going to be wonderful and your customers are going to love. we took the gusset. this is a photograph of the

monterrey bay. we applied it to the gusset itself. shopping bags become a walking advertisement or billboard. they are going to walk around with monterrey bay jewelry company showing everybody the name of your store. >> why didn't we think of that? >> thank you. >> as michael and amy were wrapping up, helen stepped up with one more surprise up her sleeve. >> joe and mary, one you of the things i know you are thinking about the expense of also doing this. coincidentally, i sit on the board of directors of one of the largest fixture manufacturers in the country, premier store fixtures and premier would very much like to create those fixtures for you. so that's one expense you are not going to have to worry about. >> thank you so much. >> oh, my. >> what do you think? >> i can't believe it. i'm overdone, really. >> you are the best. both of you.

>> you are the best. >> thank you. >> we're so happy. >> it is a whole different direction. my theory was buy more, sell more. it's really not that way in terms of focusing the sale 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 feel like inspired and ready to roll again. i feel like i'm 21. >> yes. it is something that we've been dreaming about, talking about, and now you have brought it to fulfillment. so it is really hard to just say a simple thank you. >> joe and mary deleche are with us now from california. it is so nice to see you guys. >> it is so nice to see you too, j.j. >> i would love a progress report. tell me where you are.

i willis the a few things. the name change, monterrey bay jewelry co. is it going to happen? >> it is in the works. i would say everything is in the works and progressing well. there are a lot of different fronts from the remodel to the p.o.s. system. hopefully, we will have the run of summer here to really test all of the theories. >> did you start knocking down walls yes? >> yes, we did. >> everything is in process in terms of the remodel. >> basically, everything in the store is almost completely gone. >> are you getting rid of all these clunkers and making more room for the stuff that sells? >> exactly. >> yes. >> it's been really fun and great because i haven't had to buy inventory. it has been a great experiment. all the people are just fantastic. >> it was a fantastic team.

joe, this point of sales system must change everything for you. you were sort of buying in the dark before. now, you have real data. >> >> yes. it's an ongoing experience here because we're still loading it. in this business i've got there's so many items which makes it even 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 here and say, okay, you need to do this, this, this and this and then you can retire? it's really a whole change of attitude. >> yes. i've been a little hard-headed --

>> no. you hard headed? >> i always say when something is the truth you can't deny it. i think all the theories are solid, and i hope -- so different than what i've done, overloading the inventory, trying to carry anything and just focusing on the good sellers makes sense. >> i know your kids are worried about you. they're so grateful in everything you've given them. they want to make sure you enjoy your retirement. good luck with finishing the changes and we look forward to checking in with glou a few months. >> we're so excited to pull it altogether. that's our main focus every day. >> your small business's reputation online and off-line is crucial to future success. if you want a way to improve

what what happens when you're googled. brandyourself.com allows you to manage your business's presence online. the site walks you thruways to make the links appear higher in search results. your progress is monitored and alerts are sent whenever your results change. time to answer some of your business questions. let's get our board of directors in here. larry chang is a managing part at vo ligs capital. kol len debase is the direct tower of digital media at the story exchange, a non-profit media group that provides 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 in time? >> it's a good question. it's confusing. i've got to say, it's always been complicated, benefits. if your inclination is to give benefits, i don't think you should cop out by not giving them. where does he start? >> i think the fact that it's complicated is not a good reason not to offer them. there's a small window in a young company's life where you don't have to offer benefits, but that ends quickly. >> where can he turn to uncomplicate it? >> i think one of the simplest things that any business owner can do is to encourage employees to go out and find their own individual policy. they're talking about health care, they can buy policies on the exchanges, the state or federal exchange or go to an individual provider and then

offer to reimburse at least a portion of that. that way you're giving something to your employees without going through the massive set up a plan. you're not incurring all the administrative costs, but at least you're doing something. at the very least i would encourage him to do something like that. if things go well from there and things are going well with the company, he can put a formal benefits program in place. but that's a good place to start. >> there also a bunch of companies that you can out source this to, payroll and benefits. there is an administrative fee, but at least it gets the headache out -- >> you can definitely out source health care and retirement. i'd also look at non-traditional benefits. those are non-financial things yu can do as a benefit. >> a great idea. >> let's move to the next one.

about 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 help 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. this is what you look at, boot strapped high growth companies. >> despite the fact that i'm an investor, i think the default response if you're running a profitable business is to use your profits to invest in the growth of your business. there's two criteria you should qualify to look for outside capital which is your market has to be big enough that it could support an investor. secondly, you have to know how you're going to spend it. you have to know you can acquire customers. if you're not sure about that yet, it might be a little early to raise capital. >> that's a great point, right? >> she's asking should i go out and seek funding.

well, she can try but whether she's going to get funding that might be a different story. judging from the looks of her company, it's probably named after herself, a consulting service maybe. if she's still in these early stages it's going to be very hard for her to get a bank loan. they always say with a bank, the one time you can get money is when you don't need money anymore. that's when you qualify for a bank loan. 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. >> you could go to a lending club. >> exactly. any of those. it's also 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 market it as well. the next one is a question about contacting people on social

media. >> how do prospects and business owners feel about financial services professional asking for connection on linkedin to stay connected and perhaps building relationship for future business together. >> i think that's a good idea. that's what linkedin is for, right? >> no. >> let's be clear. >> that's my gut response. i think any social media, particularly lynn,ed in works best when it supplementing an existing relationship. you don't start the relationship on linkedin. especially for a financial service pros feshl 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 and then you connect on linkedin. >> i think you have to have one meaningful off-line interaction before you consider it. i would agree having a face-to-face meeting, even a really substantive phone call

before connecting on linkedin. >> before we leave, you a neat thing going on on your site? >> we always cover female entrepreneurs. we put out a call and came up with a list of ten young women to watch. these are amazing young women doing everything from -- they've invented removable wallpaper, rodeos for special need kids, techy stuff like online scheduling tools. >> maybe there's some you want to invest it. go check it out. great to see both of you guys. thank you so much for stopping by. thank you so much for joining us today. if you want to see any of the segments again, they're posted on our website openforum.com/yourbusiness. we put web exclusive pieces up there as well. you can find us on twitter,

'6@msnbcyourbiz. we're on facebook and instagram, too. next week an own of a security guard company realizes her business is limited only by her imagination. >> i didn't have the scope right. i think that's what keeps a lot of small businesses and entrepreneurs where they are is they don't realize the size of the opportunity that's out there. >> how a shift in attitude can change everything. till then, i'm j.j. ramberg. remember, we make your business our business.

the vanishing of the middle class. good morning. thanks forgetting up early with us this sunday morning. there's a lot of news we want to get to including reports that at least ten people killed in gaza in the strike on a united nations run school. the number is being confirmed by the u.n. and nbc news. the school was housing civilians displaced by the conflict. the second school hit in less than a week. earlier on sunday shelling in gaza killed at least 30 people. hamas fired 13 rockets into israel.