getting your laundry delivered. on a bike? this philadelphia entrepreneur is cleaning up with that concept. find out how bootstrapping got this company is spinning with a spotless business plan that attracted investors. that's coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy, an 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." a little cash confusion can gee long way when starting your small business. be honest. investors want to make sure they're going to get they are money back and then some. so what do you do when potential investors are not even living to your pitch because they think your business could be a bust? as the other than ofwner of a c bootstrap your business, manage it kraectticreatively and you ge to pay attention. >> all right. ♪ >> the first time around pitching the idea was not easy. everybody thought it was nuts. >> reporter: when gabriel started his small business in philadelphia, he knew right away

that getting funding was going to be tough. >> some people are like, that's the coolest thing ever. other people are like, that's one way to pay your bills while you find something else. >> reporter: his bike laundry pick up and delivery service, had a bit of an image issue. >> how could you possibly service a large account on a bike? what sdo you do when it rains? what about the snow? >> reporter: at first gay bree be considered going at it alone whrchlts i started the business i saturday of thought that the savings in my bank account would be enough and i was going to do it all myself and then, voss, the savings in my bank account ran out. >> reporter: he realized as he grew he would actually need some money, so he started out by bootstrapping it to show everyone, including invest. what the company was capable of. >> people have been initially skeptical about whether this is a gimmick or a real business. >> reporter: step one was to stick to the most important part of his plan. the bikes. even though people had their

doubts about them. >> i don't think a lot of people just understand stood the scale of what you can accomplish with bikes. i think a lot of people thought i was going to carry laundry in my backpack or on my bike many handle bars. >> reporter: the bike saved the company in a lot of ways. first of aural advertising. word of mouth marketing and the obvious, transportation. >> bike delivery is about three times cheaper than truck delivery in downtown areas. you don't have to pay for the truck itself. you don't have to paper for the gas. you don't have to pay for the truck insurance. we don't get parking tickets. >> reporter: the bikes are also better equipped to handle time-sensitive pickups and deliveries to places likant private residency, gyms and the philadelphia convention center. >> there's a lot of bike lanes where we can bypass traffic and actually move quicker than traffic in most places downtown. finding a place to unload is a lot easier for us. >> reporter: wash cycle laundries help streamline operationing. >> it does everything from allow

customers to schedule their appointments for pickup online to routes and tells cyclists where to go and be at in particular time. all of our carriers carry cell phones to track where they are and what stop they're at. >> reporter: all orders are tracked when they're in transit. the laundry teams use it, too. >> this is how we start the machines t. alerts the staff in the laundry as to what they have to do that day, as soon as an account is what's done, it generates and feeds to see what's going on. >> reporter: another area, real estate. >> we've actually found underutilized laundries and rent from them during down times. >> reporter: gabriel didn't want to deal way mortgage or machines that need to be repaired. >> it's turned, initial capital expense into an operating cost. it means when we get more business we pay more. less business, pay less. >> reporter: it's the flexibility of not owning real

set that gabriel noticed the most. developing relationships with community partners has helped cut costs. >> they know what we're looking nor a laundry team member and soon as a position comes up, hey, we know smub perfect for the job. the goal, help under served population out of work a while but eager to get back into the work force. >> reporter: location manager tracy mart sn one of the employees gabriel hired. she remembers telling him how hard it was to find a job. >> you know, this is like my 200 in the room, which a lot of people don't believe me because i was out there for so song. so he taught me. he trained me. i don't look at it as just working in a laundry plat. i look at it as working for a company. >> reporter: the benefit here some of the costs for onboarding new employees is already covered. >> they will actually cover up to 50% of the trainees wages for

three to six months while people are getting up to speed and going through a pre-approved training curriculum. that's huge. >> reporter: employee, also cross-trained so that they can understand every aspect of the company. >> we do everything on a 24-hour turnaround. if something's not going right on the cycling end it impacts laundry quickly. if laundry's running late, it impacts the cyclists quickly. >> reporter: investors have taken notice of all that the company accomplished. >> now the questions are more like, can you service a 200-bed hospital? can you build your sales quickly enough to provide us a return? >> reporter: wash cycle laundry suction in philadelphia resulted in expansions in washington, d.c. and austin, texas. the bootstrapping principles have followed. >> if you launch in washington, d.c. with less than $25,000 in investment, and one of our investors put it to us this way. i was giving a presentation. she comes up to me and says, our other portfolio companies don't

even have this for $25,000, much less a launch. >> reporter: gabe brriel says t bootstrapping served its purpose and bootstrapping will be staying with t. after we expanded to our second company, people began to see potential in it. every time we show it, it's built the business. for many entrepreneurs it's not enough to just start a successful small business. they also want to give back. that's the case in chicago where one former veteran has expanded his barber shop business, allowing limb to teach other veterans not only how to cut hair, but also how to start a company. nbc's ron mott that his inspirational story. >> do whatever, but i'll take care of him. >> reporter: for jerome williams taking care of number one means taking care of others. interesting, the location in a grocery store. how's that worked out? >> fantastic. >> reporter: a fixture in

northern indiana outside chicago. an operation that started humbly five years ago with three barbers and now boasts 37. >> i took guys who didn't have any kind of clientele and put them in place where a lot of people needed mayor cuts. >> reporter: after a career in the marines he went to nursing school, was honest with himself and got out. >> i realize that you don't want a person in health care that's just going it for money. >> reporter: so he tried his hand at barbering and with his personality and pinchant for wooing people has built a successful business as diverse behind the razors and scissors as underneath them. >> the way he focuses on business and how he makes things happen. >> reporter: williams isn't merely satisfied with giving opportunities. he mentors. teaching his crew the ups and downs of ownership. ivan duncan has joined those ranks, partnering with williams in a shop that opened this summer at o'hare airport. >> jerome gave me that opportunity to work 24/7, you can make as much money, if you

like. >> $1.6 million is the goal. >> reporter: williams clearly has financial goals for himself seeing other reach theirs motivates him to keep j's growing one barber shop at a time. >> it's important for me to help barbers become owners because once you're an owner, then can you help others. >> reporter: a philosophy he never wants to see out of style. >> it's good. >> reporter: ron mott, nbc news. we are near the end of this year, which means that now is the time to set up your company to be even more productive next year. here now are five must-dos to check off your list before 2014 is over, courtesy of entrepreneur.com. >> number one, get your books in order. take hard look at your financials and take actions to push in the right direction next year. two, gather with your staff. the end of the year is a great time to reflect on the company's

performance an get your team on the same page. three, seek out savings. look how you spend your money and find ways to lower costs. monthly software services, for example, often grant a discount to those who pay a year in advance. four, evaluate your company's technology. find out what software your employees regularly use, and which ones they never do. consider eliminating any unused systems next year. and, five, contribute. making donations of your time or money helps build a sense of purpose for your staff and your company. do you have any idea how much your company is worth? if you were to sell it tomorrow, how much would somebody buy it for? there are no hard and fast rules for valuing a business but we wanted to take time to show you how to start to come up with a number. brandon is here to give us a quick rundown of company valuation 101. let's start, brandon. great to see you. a company is worth what somebody

will pay for it? >> exactly. baseball cards, houses, businesses, the same thing u. might have a number in mind but it might not be what you get. let's figure how to get a number to start with. >> a couple components obviously. the first is it's based off of a multiple of your company's cash flow. the more cash flow your company generates the more valuable it becomes, the faster it generates cash the more equity you build and the more desirable that equity becomes for a perspective buyer of your business. >> yes. talk to us about ebitda. what you will probably look at is a multiple of or ebitda. what that is, tell us what it is and where you find it. >> exactly. cash on ebitda, synonymous. you basically go to your income statement, find net income, add net income plus interest expense plus taxes plus depreciation and amortization expense and that ebitda number represents the pool account to service the

debt. >> you've found your ebitda. got that number. income statement, have that number and now get a multiple that you're going to multiply it by something. how do i no? am i multiplying it by four, ten? how do i pick that number? >> generally, for small businesseses the proxy is four to six times. generally that's the multiple used times ebitda. your business generates 100,000 of ebitda, probably worth between $400,000 and $600,000. the important point one dollar is worth four to six dollars. a lot of people try to use company credit cards to buy sports season, cars for family, but it reduces your taxable income for the business and hurts the vaum of your business. again, $1 is worth $4 to $6. >> thinking of selling my company, doing it as a multiple. spending money on something else that money is not multiplied. >> yeah. you better really like those sports tictsds. >> tickets. >> you say $4 to $6 but it

varies between industries. you should look at other companies like yours that have sold recently? >> yep. >> see what their multiple was. how to you find those? >> there's a great site called gf data, what we use. yahoo! finance has public data but not sso-of-applicable. just like is your house, can you get financing for your home? if you can't it's not worth as much to a potential buyer and how predictable and sustainable is your revenue? for example, you have an apartment building fully occupied you're confident that cash is going to come in. no occupanty, obviously it's less likely. the two primary components in my experience and view, credit worthiness and predictability and sustainability of your cash flow. >> brandon, thank you so much. helpful to dial it back and get the basics on this. >> my pleasure, thanks.

when we come back, our viewers share their favorite online tools and apps to help their businesses and how to turn a brick and mortar into an e-commerce site, and looking for the right holiday gift for your clients or staff? we'll give you suggestions for science-related products created by some talented women entrepreneurs. 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.

giving a holiday gift is the perfect way to tell your clients and your best customers, thank you. it's just showing a token of your appreciation, and it can also be a great opportunity for you to support a small business. so here to deck the halls with interesting science inspired gifts from women aunt tentrepre for the story exchange, a nonprofit and contributor to the "new york times." good to see you. every year we get to do this. >> playing santa again. >> this time a new theme. science. >> i do, yeah. we affectionately call this our

geeky gift guide, so many female entrepreneurs are inspired to make these products. it's an affectionate term. >> the first one? old school. >> yeah. old school. floppy disc coasters, if you're a certain age you may not know what these are. used to make fun coasters. natasha of the new york city area makes these and likes to do products for the high-tech, high-style home. >> where do you find these? >> these are online. we can search for floppy discs. >> exactly. >> what are these cute little bags? >> her company is also called technosheet. >> okay. perfect. >> these are reusable snack bags. they're sort of like -- it's ike a zip lock you can keep using over and over again. transport christmas cookie if you want or put grapes or carrots or celery. >> brat for work. bring a snack to work with that.

lurch that. >> and made my sherry french of michigan. she used to work in the automotive industry and used automotive processes to invent these bags made with super durable material and you can throw them in the dishwasher and wash them over and over again. >> brilliant, for just taking a little snack to work. a very fun gift. >> a good stocking stuffer. >> sp bang? >> yes. >> every year you bring a scarf. you know that? >> they're really good gifts. can't help it. what's fun about these scarfs made by michelle banks of washington, d.c., and she likes to see the art in science, and so if you look at, closely at all of them what she does is, she does paintings of cells and neurons, even ekg readings and puts them on scarves. these are red blood cells. kind of interesting. we really like this one, which shows the division of cells which is mitosis, i guess. they're fun and unique and it's a good way to flaunt your geekry to wear these.

>> those are really cool. you wouldn't have known that's what that is and then have something to talk about. >> yeah. and then so these are more for women, for female clients or employees you might have. this is probably a better gift for men because it's kind of a chunky -- it's a belt buckle, chub actually and i find this amusing. the quad draek equation, made by a person who started a business doing all of these accessories that are math-inspired. really loves math. >> that's cool. >> that's a fun one for men. >> let's move on to these. >> so these are -- these are earth science posters, and they're made by brianna fuela, a self-employed illustrator from new hampshire, and what she's trying to do with these is to make scientific information that can sometimes be presented in a dry manner. she's trying to present them in a colorful, visually appealing aesthetic way and these are the smaller sizes. they also come in these bigger

sizes. >> hmm. >> and we thought these would be really cool framed, maybe in a conference room or lining the hallways of your office. so really pretty and eye-catching. >> and colorful. that's neat. >> exactly. >> and these are -- >> those are -- >> purses? >> yeah. these are ceramic jewelry. made by peggy muddles who actually works as a scientist in a genome center and studies, it's like the evolution of path genic bacteria or something like that, and she needs a creative outlet so has this business where she actually -- these are -- these represent bacteria. so these are little images of bacteria that are on these jewelry. and again sort of like our scarf lady, kind of sees the beauty in the science, in the microbiology. >> and what is so neat about these, they are incredibly unique. right? if you're giving these to a special client or a customer, you've thought about them. >> right, right. >> thought about something they

might like, that they might care about. >> they're really one of a kind and you would not find things like this at a big box store. >> right. >> or anything like that. so really unique. >> okay. and what do we have here? >> oh. these are the super nerdy a, b, c blocks. i did not name them. that's actually what they're called, made by tiffany art, great gift for young in other words everywhere. look at the blocks. they have a lot of science information on them, like a stands for atom, b stands for -- and w is for wavelength. they would be great for kids, like, if you have employees with kids, or -- they're also really good for young employees. i had to -- one of my co-workers had this on her desk this week. i literally had to tear them away from her to bring them into the studio here. they might be fun at a tech start-up. i can see them next to a ping-pong table or something like that.

>> you said kids, sometimes it's nice to give something to somebody's kids because frankly adults have a lot of stuff and don't necessarily need anything more, but to be thinking about somebody's kids. >> thoughtful to think of someone's kids. >> colleen, thank you so much for bringing all of these. appreciate it. when you come every year i'm thinking what i can steal from you on your way out. >> i'm sure. happy holidays. >> thank you. you, too. and here's a gift that keeps on giving for your company. 7 we have a brand new small biz tool segment for you. we went out ant asked our small business viewers to share what web tools and apps they use to keep their companies running efficiently. >> on website i use all the time, every day, is bigcommerce.com. my back end solution for my web store. it's less thanes 25ds a month. $24.99 to be exact, and it runs my entire store. i use it every day. highly recommend it. it's a great way to have an online store presence for a low cost.

>> a favorite website of mine is investapedia. allowing me to understand a little more the finance side of things pertaining to my business. it allows me to understand certain terminology and what i should be doing for my business, fundamentally, because, you know, finance is such an important part of returning it. >> the partner rapport reports a weekly recap every thursday of media and news trends with regards to new media and digital media. it's been great to use that and leverage it for get out in ways to harness social media trends, new platforms and look what's coming up on the forefront. >> emyth because they're send notes and tidbits on daily basis how to grow your businesses and what challenges are out there and often i find i can relate to the business challenges that therapy addressing. >> so i found this app recently called dual lingo through an artist and it basically helps

you to practice languages that you don't use all the time. when i'm not in a country i pretty much use it every other day to keep my skills and language up. >> the application i'm going to recommend you to use is named cute cut. it's application available on different mobile phone, and it's a great way to cut your videos online and on the go. so it helps you to -- to pause any videos for your business. it's time to answer some of your business questions. let's get our board of directors in here who help us out. angela is the co-founder of saver the success, a business network for female entrepreneur, and denise is the ceo of the s3 agency, a brand elevation group. so good to see you both. >> pleasure to be here. >> and you're an entrepreneur choiceover? >> many times over, a spa and

organic skin care line. >> the next question from susan, return as review website. sdhou a tiny business, a staff of five, stay up to date, relevant sand keep up with the bigger guys? our main challenge now is competing with yelp, frip adviser, we have to be selective with advertising, we're a small company that could be a benefit to be tiny, if she plays up on that. >> absolutely. local is key. word of mouth marketing is so important. it is the cheapest and most powerful way to get your word out there. activate your loyal customers. another thing that a lot of entrepreneurs are a little scared of but it's effective is p.r. people get a little scared of it because they think, oh, how do i get into the local paper, even in a national magazine, and it's a lot easier than you think, diypr, because reporters they want good stories. if you've got a great story to share, don't be shy to contact your local reporter, and the

third thing is, i don't know if you've heard of it, we've used this in our own business. every door direct marketing. eddm. you can choose a route you want to target, and you have the mailer that you've got and then the post person will deliver it to every mailbox on that street. which sigh-of-i think is smart in getting the word out srnlgts it expensive? >> not if you compare it to an ad or a p.r. firm. it's really reasonable, and we use it quite often. >> got it. >> i would say hear this person talking about, yelp, frip adviser, what are they really like? i don't hear the brand diff differentiation. people want big influencers. differentiate, recognize who you are, recognize your strengths and don't go against yelp. saying i am the nantucket expert, the one you need to talk to yeah. >> why should i go to you instead of yelp?

>> here is an e-mail from christina. i own a busy business sharpening knives and tools. a good decision to have internet store. how do you go from retail to implementing an e-commerce component? ideas? >> well, i'm not sure if she's looking to extend to selling knives or looking to have the service going through, where you're mailing things back and forth at the postal service. if it's that, sounds like it might be that, you've got to remove the barriers. people aren't used to buying shoes through the mail until zappa made every possible. returns, doesn't fit, send it back. no harm, no foul. or dollar shave club. look at that. razor blades in the mail. >> in a box, put your knives in here. sending you the box and ship them back to you in two days. i'd send my knives out to get sharpened. >> and take away the need to drive somewhere and drive back. >> exactly. how does she get the first customers?

>> a great question. build it and they may not come. right? >> right. >> for us, we use the power of social media. i can't describe how great instagram has been for us, facebook has been for us. once you figure out your secret sauce and really figure out how to get the customer base excited and how they'll start to instagram about you, it can take off like -- you know, hash tags, like wildfire. one thing we've done that's really increased our influence within the social media market is, every order that goes out we send a simple postcard that says follow us on instagram, on facebook. you'd be surprised how many do that and hash tags you designate you kind of own. they really take off and people start talking about it. i can't think of a better way to start building traffic, because when you have a retail store, the name of the game is, bring in walk-ins. right? online store, do the same. want to get the online traffic. so be as attractive as you can with your seo and -- >> she has a base of customers

like do you from people coming into your store. she can use them to build up. >> right. use be surprised how many will go into our store that may live in california, she's in new york. that may want to purchase from her later on. >> right. okay. great. so good to see you guys. thank you so much. take care. >> thank you. thanks so much for taking time out of your day to join us. to learn more about today's show, jut head over to our website. it's openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find our segments plus web exclusive content with a lot more information to help your business grow. you can also follow us on twitter it's @msnbcyourbiz and on facebook and instagram as well. next week, we meet one entrepreneur whose line of temporary tattoos is the latest craze, but that doesn't mean she says yes to every opportunity. >> i started this company because i wanted to fix the world of temporary tattoos and i'm not just going to guess distracted and i will focus on it and i don't want to stop until people call temporary

tattoos. >> we'll see how this brooklyn temporary tattoo company maintains laser sharp focus to make sure they're brand name sticks, even when all the others fade away. 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. she has desoeuded she will keep her money safe by putting it in the bank. and this scenario, i am the bank. thank you very much, and we will keep your phumoney safe, becaus i'm the bank. as a bank, it's my responsibility to give julie her money.