new ways to run your small business coming up next on "your business."

hi everyone i'm j.j. welcome to your business the show dedicated to helping you grow your small business. how does running a business with no employees and zero overhead sound to you? we met one entrepreneur who has figured it out. this designer wanted to make old sheds but didn't want to build according to old construction modelals. >> meet ryan smyth, he's an owner and designer of modern shed. his company manufacturers and

sells distinctive looking shells that are his design his company also distinguishes it's by the unusual way he runs things. >> we're all independent contractors, there is no location, we have been a virtual company for a long time. >> we atry to carry zero inventory. we don't order anything until everything is signed off and the down payment has been collected. >> we don't even have to have a desk with files on it. we went virtual on all of it because everyone's all over it. >> with no warehouse, no employees, that means no inventory, no rent no benefits and almost no overhead. >> we figured those were all costs that didn't make sense. >> if this doesn't make sense to

you, you'll have to talk to jim spence. >> if you want to meet him, you will need to drive nearly two hours south of ryan's place in seattle, at his home which is where he worked. >> i'm the general manager of modern shed. although i'm self employed. >> he's the general manager of the company, but he's not an employee of the can company. he's an independent consultant and modern shed is his only client. >> if you want to see the factory where the sheds are made you'll need to talk to eric johnston he's located more than three hours north of tim. >> eric does all of our cad drawings as well as head of modification. >> erickson's element ploi owe --

he pays the workers, he pays the workers, he pays the taxes, sadand modern shed they -- >> as soon as you have employees and you have space, you kritd liabilities. modern shed as it is now, the entity that it is there's not much liabilities. >> with all of these costs and liabilities. you might wonder why they might not prefer a weekly paycheck from ryan. >> i want to control my own life, i want to control my own time. i'll work with the guys we'll work with each other, but we prefer to be independent. >> i like to maintain that individually to bring in the jobs that i would like to build, the things that make my blood flow. >> i would not be interested in being a corporate employee ever again. >> to find out how this system of independent contractors

works, you need to drive another two hours back south to the edge of puget sound to speak with mike proback. mike is director of sales for modern shed. >> we're all taking care of ourselves and we realize as we continue to grow the company by continuing to put the time in. myself i won't with successful unless modern shed is successful. >> what's eric's secret? >> as a vendor you do all you can to keep your customer shaep, right? >> here amend mod everyone shed each of these members are customers and vendors to each other. >> the independent vendors i think are more motivated as employees. those of us who are self employed are in our business.

our business is in our head all the time we're working on our own business and in this case werks have a common model which is modern shed. >> i think everybody involved in this process has a sense of ownership. without being technically owners, i think you have to take pride in the product you're citing. >> eric says there's advantages and disadvantages to this kind of virtual system but he takes advantage of what he calls the in house system. >> the in house model is very flexible. and the other model, to the disadvantage is the fact that people are further away. but the advantage is you do have a modern business model and people can do whatever they need to on their own schedules. i think it really adapts to how we're living more now. >> millennial entrepreneurs are on the cutting edge of figuring

out how to start companies with low overhead instead of working out of a traditional office setup, many have gravitated to new entrepreneurial work spaces that offers not only education, but mentor ship and community. now businesses want to get into the act, to keep their organizations fresh and tapped into these high energy innovative environments. >> you're really standing on the brink of really the largest shift in workplace dynamics that you have seen in 100 years, this is the industrial revolution of our time. and that revolution is happening all across the country, most notably, behind the -- where entrepreneurs are creating launching and running their companies. >> the way we work is

dramatically changing. across the next ten years, more than half of the american workforce will be independent workers. >> that shift in the way we work is leading more and more entrepreneurs to ditch the desk and abandon the traditional office setup. instead of locking themselves behind closed doors, they're setting up shop in places that foster collaboration and innovation, the alley in new york city is one of these new types of work spaces. at any given time the place is buzzing with activities from mostly 20-somethings who are working on their ideas. >> it's a different way of looking at work it's not your company in your offices you're purpose ly setting yourself up with a whole bunch of other companies. >> collaboration we find leads to innovation. >> here people are not assigned an office or even a desk you just come in and work wherever

you want for a $450 monthly fee. you say membership not rent? >> yes. it's not like an office space, it's like a gym membership but instead of a treadmill, you have access to our office hours or you have access to our events. >> another co-working space says this is how ideas happen. >> citizens around the country are wondering how to create an infrastructure that promotes for startups. the best way to do that is to create an environment where there's sir republican dip to us collisions can happen between smart people. >> which is why he opened up the speak easy, the blaseplace did r -- >> art direction issues on coding issues you've got somebody around that's an expert

in everything. >> the alley and the speak easy are just two co-working places. and developer town the taking the creative office space to a new level. clustered inside a giant indianapolis warehouse, is a neighborhood of small unique houses filled with developers and entrepreneurs. >> i saw pixar's offices had little houses for their creators. i thought that's a pretty good office theme, i could put that on wheels and you own that space as a developer for the whole time you're working as a developer. >> at the grind in new york the space is clean and simple. the atmosphere is chim and is carefully kur rated community is -- >> we got to wrote we could afford an office. but we didn't want to be stuck in an office staring at ourselves, we wanted to be part

of a bigger community. >> bigger companies are now trying to tap into this collaborative mindset by relocating in some of these co-working spaces. even if just for a day. the bottom line in all of these co-working spaces is that you're not going at it alone. can you give me an example of what happened that might not have? >> a venture capitalist may walk into our coffee shop an event will happen later on in the evening, where somebody meets their co-founder. so every day something happens that changes the direction of the company. >> staying connected with your customers is crucial to the success of your business. if you want an easy way to communicate with them check with -- a means to have their questions answered immediately.

they can use the site for troubleshooting before they buy or for care after they purchase. you can customize the chat box. wrapping up subscribers -- here now are five ways you can grow the number of people opting in courtesy of in krm. >> one provide a killer officer, make signing up for your blog by offering an attractive deal. two add an option. for many the about section is one of the top three most visited pages. three, don't make people fill in lots of fields. use the fewest number possible to keep your visitors from ditching the signup process in the middle. three or fewer fields is good to

input. popup or slide in. a constant reminder to sign up could be just what visitors need to join. and five ab testing, so you have a realistic gauge of what's working and what's not. successful entrepreneurs know how to pitch. sometimes you only get one chance to ask for what you want or tell somebody about your company. so here to tell -- engaging place for your business, is jill jillian spraus. so good to see you, jillian. number one you said follow the rule of three cs. >> you want to be concise you want to captivate and you want to connect. whether you're talking to an

investor you're at a cocktail party, you're in al elevator then you want to captivate, if you don't grab them in the first ten seconds, they're not going to listen to the rest of the pitch. you want to engage the person so maybe start with a question. >> this might be the most important thing in a pitch. >> you have to articulate that problem. it's not got to be clear from the get-go. so a company that i ran way back in their infancy, they have this great problem they solve of women who want to wear a designerdesign er dress to a special event, but they don't want to buy it. they can borrow one. >> depend j on who you pitch to you might present a different problem? >> absolutely, you always want to pay attention to who that audience is for example, i work

with female entrepreneurs assault time with startups their customer base is often female. but they find themselves in rooms where they're pitching to mostly male. a male investor is going to get the value of this beauty product or this pair of high heels. >> their your company's mission. you have to get it down to a couple of sentences. >> you do. you want too share a story, because sharing a story, again, is going to engage captivate that person that's listening to the pitch. a company like mercer they design fashionable work wear for women. they tell this story on their website, and i'm sure they tell it in their investment pitches as well. that when they met, they showed up at an event wearing the same dress. which really spoke to them about this problem that there are so few choices. but by conveying that story,

it's a cute story, it makes you think, wow, i understand that i've been there. >> it comes close to telling people that there's a problem. it illustrates that there's a problem out there. >> and finally think about the questions that are going to be asked, so you are not caught up with not being able to answer manager something. >> i hear from investors, great pitch, but the -- they don't anticipate those tough questions. so ask yourself those tough questions before you go in forethat meeting, what is the company's shosht comings, what is your competitive advantage and what is your exit strategy. >> this is great advice thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> coming up reichaching businesses that are -- and today's elevator pictures have a

dynamite idea in a toy that interacts with your kids. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked? american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. this is week your biz selfie is from kathy and diane in edison new jersey with what

looks like a selfie stick. let's see your selfie, send it to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. can do not forget to hash tag it your business selfie. remember the days when a talking toy meant pulling a string on the back of a dog. we're living in a digital age now and today's elevator pictures have combined children's love of dinosaurs with today's interactive technology. let's see if the panel thinks that should be extings. >> what's the world's tallest building. >> at 2,6722 feet.

>> question believe we're the world's first cognitive smart toy. that means that the toy can learn and grow with the experiences of the child. ooirts dialogue based. you can ask it a question, it can even tell knock knock jokes even going into math exercises and spelling. >> our first product, we just entered a really successful kick start campaign when we sold $375,000 of preorders in the first few days. we're raising the $5 million to help us build out our technology and really put the technology toward. >> i know three children who would love that dinosaur. all right, i'm going to give this to you guys. i want two scores one two ten on the product, and one on the pitch. i don't know if this is helpful or not, but you're pitching to two people who have children so

they may understand the market a little bit. >> do you guys have kids? >> no but i'm a giant child, though. >> cora are you reddy. >> no. >> jen let's start with you, let's see what your scores are, 9 and 9, great, why so high? >> i love the product, i love the accessibility that a child has to learn and grow with it and i like that it can actually teach them so the parent feels like they're investing their time and money wisely through that child's play. . i love the way you've designed it and is only question i have in the pitch which is why i gave it a 9 a nine is how you're spending those dollars in marketing because it's so hard to break into and be a recognized name. >> product 6, pitch 5. >> how come? >> i think i've seen a lot of

interactive toys come and go and so i think that's what i needed you to get to a higher bar in order to break through all the failures out there. i would have liked to on the pitch side hear a little bit more about what's the differentiator. how have you going to succeed when others haven't, even price point. on the product side i'm concerned that it's a novelty that's going to last only a day or two days. so how are you going to keep the interest? >> those are great questions because i'm assuming you guys have thought through some of this stuff. this is great advice so if you have, get that in the pitch so you can work with somebody like cory who might have these questions. all right, good luck with everything and you guys thanks so much for your advice. >> thank you very much. >> if any of you have a product or service and you want feedback on your chances of getting

interested investors, all you have to do is send us an e-mail. the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. don't forget to include a summary of what your company does, how much money you're trying to raise and what you're going to do with that money. you never know somebody watching the show might be interested in helping you. it's time now to answer some of your business questions. jen and cory are back with us. the first is an e-mail from daria. she writes i work with clients who are entering joint ventures and various partnerships as a means for increasing brand awareness and ingenuity. what should i be advising them about things that they should be cautious about when entering these kind of partnerships? >> i love these when the goals align. most people want to skirt over and get into the technical low gist particulars but the most important thing is to say who is doing front.

i put up front here's what i'm good at and here's what i'm not good at and a lot of people feel too vulnerable to say that but it's important to have a good relationship so the expectations are really clear that this is what you're going to do and this is what i'm going to do. ultimately the integrity of both companies have to be in alignment. sharing the same goals, sharing the game values which is really important. >> what about liking the person or not, cory is that important? >> well i was going to say you have to listen to your gut. if you have a feeling something is not right, try and identify it. is it a personality issue or something you're not comfortable with. on the flip side if you love the person and want to jump in take a step back and think about what could go wrong and how can you mitigate those risks as well. >> i remember when i was working with an internet startup and we were making a deal with someone it felt wrong but i felt pressured to make this deal

happen. we signed it. in the ending it was a headache. let's move on to the next question, about the value of social media. >> with the ever-changing landscape of social media, what is a really good resource to education myself as well as potentially new business starters understanding the importance of social media. >> things are changing so quickly, right? how can you keep up to date? >> well, so many marketing firms are up to date on social media, so i think it's worth the investment to at least get some sort of strategy that's relevant for your business and then if it's not core to your business maybe find someone from within your company to keep it current. that's what we've done because we're not -- we don't see social media as our core but we know we need to stay current and we found a great person within our company who loves it. >> so social media is a core thing to me to pay attention to. so i think that authenticity is the number one thing you need to

know about social media. there's so many workshops that you can invest in there's a lot of great books coming on the market every single day. i think it's also really important to identify the people who would be role models to you. they don't have to be in your vertical but somebody that you feel has a great social media presence, great engagement and follow what they're doing. use them as a role model and example. what i wouldn't do is just hiring a marketing firm or social media expert unless you really research their level of transactions, their reach, because many social media experts i see now have very little reach of their own, which is confusing to me. so you really wanting to understand do they have reach or are they just calling themselves an expert. do they really have a track record that can show the conversion was worthwhile investment for whoever was investing in that. >> i think if you do a search and spend some time reading a bunch of articles you'll better understand what's pinterest best for, what's instagram, snapchat

facebook, you have to start with a basic understanding of where your audience is. >> gary vanderchalk has a great book about social media platforms. josh writes how do you reach market segments that are transitioning from one technology to another? any ideas, jen? >> well i think staying on top of technology as a business owner is important. the most important thing even going back to social meade yazdia is even if you're not going to activate it as a business owner yourself, you need to understand what's relevant and what it's being used for. so transitioning from something could happen in this day and age in months. so having that mindset to adopt technology so that it can accelerate your growth and your business is really important. >> and this is a lot about education too, just understanding what's out there.

not just hopping on every new thing but understanding where it fits into your business and into the market. >> as a technology company for us, it's very important to stay ahead of the curve, so really trying to fig out what's coming and anticipate and look at how our business model fits with the new technology and that's most relevant for us. >> the most simple advice of innovation, what innovation is or how to adopt it and understand it is just to stay open-minded and that's where people become focused and close-mindingclose- close-minded and miss all this technology in front of them. we around questions every single week here so if you have a question let us know. hit the ask the show link to submit a question for our panel or send a quick e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. we are always on twitter to see what other pieces of

entrepreneurial advice we can kind from small business owners. harvey mackay tweets listen to your customers or they'll start talking to someone else. learn to lead president dave anderson says. if someone is considering you versus a competitor what's your tie-breaker? if it's price rather than experience, you may be a commodity. and nfl great and founder of gosmallbiz.com fran tarkenton tweets i've always hired based on the belief that skills can be taught but attitude is inherited, and i'm not alone. to learn more click on openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find all of today's segments plus web exclusive content. you can also follow us on twitter @msnbcyourbiz and we are on facebook and instagram as well. next week, we profile a business which is going after a very specific kind of customer.

>> modern gentlemen sort of seamlessly traverses work play family, friends, different social settings and appreciates the finer things in life, whether that's food and wine spirits and cigars beautiful cars, nice time pieces. >> how the san francisco-based company wingtip is targeting these modern gentlemen and some ladies too. until then i'm j.j. ramberg, and remember, we make your business our business. american express for travel and entertainment worldwide. just show them this - the american express card. don't leave home without it! and someday, i may even use it on the moon. it's a marvelous thing! oh! haha! so you can replace plane tickets, traveler's cheques, a lost card. really? that worked?

american express' timeless safety and security are now available on apple pay. the next evolution of membership is here. 38 and done. all right, good morning. thanks for getting up with us. happy easter sunday out there to all of you who celebrate that. keep an eye out for holiday-themed additions to our pastry plate this morning. they look very delicious from here, at least. anyway, those who didn't get to watch last night waking up this morning to some stunning news that the wisconsin badgers upset the undefeated kentucky wildcats late last night on college basketball's biggest stage. we are going to have more on how kentucky's dream of going a