hi everyone. i'm j.j. ramburg. welcome to "your business" the show ked indicated to helping your small business grow. talk about heading into the shark tank a small business owner with he met in hawaii does that every single day, though there's no tank and when she says sharks she's not talking about investors. she is talking about real sharks. few years ago conservationist ocean ramsey had an idea to introduce people to the anals she loves. today she's got a thriving business. ♪ the idea of getting this close to a shark might be a nightmare for most people but for ocean

ramsey, the co-founder of hawaii based one ocean diving it's a dream come true. >> the first time i ever saw a shark i was really young and i remember seeing it and thinking wow, this animal is so beautiful and so graceful and i actually ended up following after it. i think i've been in love with them ever since. >> ocean has been called the shark whisperer, called crazy. that's ocean swimming with a great white. what makes you love this animal that so many other people fear? >> i get to see them on a day-to-day basis, and it's inspired me to speak up for them. >> ocean and her fartherer in had created a nonprofit called water inspired to study sharks but quickly learned that they needed to do more, so they came up with a plan start note company, a for-profit venture which takes people like me and

my fellow advent tourers swimming with the sharks. notice there are no kangz. unlike most sharm swimming tours, with this one you are up close and personal. it's crazy you see that iconic picture of the fin of that dorsal fib and instead of running away from are this i'm about to dive into this. it goes against anything anyone ever told me to do. ocean and juan figured giving people this experience and having them come away with their limbs intact would do more to help sharks that be any research published. do you feel differently? >> yes. >> really? >> i didn't get eat be. >> can't go diving with a shark, find out how amazing they are and not want to do something to help save them. i see that change in people every single day, the fear to fascination. >> a fear hollywood has grown.

>> similar to the blockbuster "jaws" which is all teeth and exciting and is ensayingal and demonized. >> i think of one drop of mood in the water. can i cut myself they're after me. >> i've been in the water with under 200 shocks and my leg bleeding. >> two kids were recently bit off the most of north carolina so ocean spends the entire boat ride out to the site explaining the rules. she says if you follow her instructions the sharks will not follow you. most shark attacks are a case of mistaken identity where shots perceive you as play. >> the ocean is their home so you should factor that in and play on their rules. >> they use the funds to pay for their work is water inspired.

money can get scarce for the research they do. >> ther's no way to find all the work we want to do without having that business fuel the concentration work. >> i love the business model of it. we have to go out there and get our data new ways. >> as much as if he feel one ocean is inspiring. >> i use the sharks to enjit income could grow without the conservation but the passion that drives me and ocean to go hard every single day is the help to againbenefit the animals. >> their marketing expenses to date almost nothing. >> we don't have a budget for marketing. i know through another girl in our conservation group social media is powerful. >> juan is an award winning fore. when you're a customer of one ocean diving you get photos

too, and ocean encourages people to share them. do you get the people who come on their trips to utilize their social media? >> we ask them if they post photos or video to write something nice about this. we ask if you wouldn't mind using something on sharks. utilizing hashtags and search engine optimization even though ouris with card. >> right now too much business to keep up with. >> juan and i both work seven days a week and we get maybe four or five hours of sleep. i'm currently 250 texts behind just text messages not voice mails or e-mails, not anything else so it's a lot, go go go. >> ocean and juan have had to try and balance the part of the job they love with the part that is less fun. >> challenging stuff is the

paperwork. >> as they grow they hope to expand their team but for now, they both feel everything they have to do is worth it just to be out there. >> i can get up at 1:00 this morning and go to bed late at night. it's my way of gufg back to the community. it's successful because we're so passionate about it and willing to work hard for us and it's our life. it doesn't feel like work when you love what you do. for a lot of owners the shark is taking a bite out of their competition and the great white sharks of competitors for all businesses are often the jorpts. whether you're selling a product or service, it takes a little something extra to get someone to come could your business instead of a well-known big brands. that challenge is daubting in a small community, like aspen, colorado. once a small rural enclave it's a glamorous ski resort with booming luxury market. some of the smaller real estate

independent companies there was only one way to compete, join forces. 40 years aspen, colorado was a hard-to-reach backwater, far away from the world of big business and international tourism. >> it was much smaller, much more intimate. the businesses were small, the shops were small. it had a wonderful feeling. >> bill opened up his own real estate business kaulgd sterling homes incorporated. >> i started with a before loan in 1998. >> i thought well i'm going to strike out, i was young enough naive enough to think i keith olbermann it and i started off thinking i could do this. >> it's evolved and become a luxury market and now we're

selling people luxurious homes like this. >> donette smith is ball's partner. she loves aspen real estate. >> looking around these houses are gorgeous and enormous and on this amazing hill. you can see the gondola in the background. what does something like this count? >> the one where you're in it would probably sell for $9 million, $10 million. >> with millions at stake and a growing international clientele it's no surprise that big companies took notice. local independents like bill's sterling home, b.j. adams and company face stiff competition from big time brokers like sotheby's and caldwell banker. how does a local small business compete with the deep pockets of

big wrandsbrands? for bill stelg and dawnette smith, the answer was to form a single four-person agency. did you feel you have to merge in order to keep with some of the other stuff happening in aspen aspen? >> yes. >> it was time. >> we needed to figure out ways we could operate with a critical scale that saved us money and by merging enabled us to do that. we get more bang for our buck in the promotion. >> they share office speeds and share leads on buyers and houses and say together they're each doing much better than they did alone. >> being big isn't better and the biggest problem in my opinion with all that is that the culture changes when you're big. >> b.j. has owned her company for almost 13 years. she says there's not much

history how to stay ahead. she says flexibility to react to market change is one of the natural advantages that comes with being small. she says there is the knowledge that comes from being a long time member of the community. >> if i only have one afternoon with the buyer before they go home i only have the opportunity to show them six or ten properties and they better be the best damned products on the product. >> as a result she claims she closes more deals and wastes less time than the big guys and that's the strategy that keeps her in the game in some ways shared by dale and bill. >> you don't get handed off to some assistant. bill is there for the hoegz, and recertain and hose' the way we decided we want to work with every one of our clients. business travel can get expensive and complicated, and

checking out a number of different sites to do a price or time comparison is overming. this website helps make it easier. pintrips.com you can pin together flight results from different booking sites so your plans and actions are laid out. you don't have to nor gait through a bunch of different websites. are you trying to attract more b3b customers? here are five online marketing ideas proven effective for reaching other businesses courtesy of entrepreneur.com. one, upindicates on linkedin. target company size seniority levels, job titles and employees of specific companies. you can promote your own articles or blog post to advise your business page and brand yourself at the same time. two, banner ads. find out what your group is reading online and advertise on those industry-specific pages.

three, promote google hangouts. you can record them automatically to show them on youtube. four, contribute to online magazines. publishing outstanding content on the right website is a cost effective way to leave your mark and put a face to a name for potential customers and five advertise during how-to videos on youtube. video ads can be time consumeing. provide helpful information and showing the usefulness of your product or service. between linkedin and twitter and facebook we're all doing a lot of networking online. this can lead to clbrations or partnerships with people we never met with a person. our next guest has a checklist for to you use in order to protect yourself when forming working relationships with people over social media. maria ross is chief brand strategist and creator of red slice which advices

entrepreneurs on brand strategy messaging and position and author of "branded basics for small business: how to great an irresistible brand on any budget." good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> i go to linkedin all the time when i'm trying to meet people see who we know in common. does it happen often in your experience that somebody meets someone other social media, creates a relationship with them and something goes awry? >> i've heard both great success stories and have experienced them myself but also heard some cushionary tales. i'm here to share how to protect yourself and make sure you are doing business with people so you get more success storyies. >> social homework you met them online and now do recertain. >> check out their social media profiles checked out their linkedin, most recent tweets

facebook page. have they not updated in six months. are people interacting with them back just make sure that they're active because if it's a legitimate business they should be active in social media and presenting themselves the way they're presenting themselves to you. >> the website well? >> absolute will you. scour the penwebsite. check it out is it up and running? does it look good? does it look professional? are the lirngz allnks all working? make sure references and testimonials and make sure those people are real as well. >> you talk about putting things in writing. whale you may have wet informally make the relationship formal. >> for sure. i worked with a lot of web designers, copywriters, people that i've never met in person. anyone on the up and up will not balk at this. it's not about being nice. it's about protecting yourself. put the terms in writing.

it doesn't have to be a complicated contract but this is a great screener if they're hesitant to put anything in wrug you're not dealing with someone that does business professionally. >> protect your ip when working with somebody else. >> people are asked by people they never met to speak at a webinar or event and you're going to be presenting your trade secrets or your i. make sure you have copyright notices on anything you send to people and try to avoid sending them their tools and materials until you know you can trust them. use gotomeeting or join me to show them your desktop before you spend them files. this will not stop particularly clever people but it will deter them. it's all about again protecting your brand.

you want to align with brands that will elevate you, not bring you down. what are they doing out in social media on their website. what kinds of things are they saying and what kind of people are that he tacting? you want this as awe parse tier that allows your values and brand to succeed. >> if you have somebody do some work for you on the creative side, make sure that you own the ip if they're doing it for your observe company you own the product not them. >> absolutely. you want a clouz in the contract that says they're doing the work for hire and you even you are creating. >> thanks for the tips. >> thanks so much for having me. still to come more on partnerships, a fewer asks how to know when it's time toebd end one. and a competitive kickboxer has sweet, all-american desserts.

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 weeks your biz selfie is from kevin campbell of wichita, kansas. he owns slug bug and rug. dream cleaning rug cleaning pest control copy. take a selfie of you and your

business and send it to you yourbusiness@msnbc.com or tweet it to us @msnbcyourbiz and use #yourbizselfie. today's elevator pitcher was a competitive kickboxer who had a strict diet regimen but still wanted dessert. angel investor alicia surrette is founder and ceo of pantegreon capital. and rod burns, consultant and media strategist. >> hi i am a chef. we specialize in making healthy, delicious desserts. would you like to try some? >> dessert for breakfast, good shot. >> everything is raw, vegan, gluten free no refined sugar

added. from kickboxing i double up rez pies for dessert for sugar of customers from word of mouth. it started from the gym community and spread out to corporate events restaurants, and with social media playing a big role. we have been operating for just over a year. we have sales roughly of $50,000. and we are looking to raise $100,000 to expand our capacity and hire pr-minded. we believe we can be profitable within two years with an ir of 15%. >> thank you. i'm going to give you guys these. so i can try them. do you want me to hold them? i'm used to these. so scale of 1 to 10 the product and then the pitch. congratulations on this exciting year into business. >> yes. >> i'm going to taste it. i have a big -- oh, that's good.

>> that's delicious. >> wow, that is good. okay, product first. i know what mine is. alitscha, the product and the pitch, 1 to 10. >> i love the product. it's delicious. and you're on the trend of healthy foods. that's great. for the pitch, i gave you a 7, because i think that it was very succinct what you do. i got a sense of your background and i understand a bit about your sales and your marketing approach to date. but i would love to hear a little bit more about the market overall. so how big is this market who are the major players in it how fast is the overall market growing. >> right. >> but overall, i thought it was pretty good. >> thank you. >> all right, rod. >> i think for the product, i give it a 7. it's tasty, which always helps. i'm always surprised, i get a lot of pitches in any kind of consumer product and don't bring samples. so it's great to have that. i think it's a healthy dessert is something i haven't seen. there is a lot on the shelf

these days. i think the product definitely has promise and we can get to the pitch next. >> go ahead. >> i thought it was a 6. i think you knew your stuff. the problem is you crammed a lot in there, and this is a quick ride in the elevator. and i think you have to highlight something i advise companies on take the two or three most engaging most interesting things. what i heard in this pitch, you're trying to create a healthy dessert, talking about how much money you need what our rate of return is what the market looks like. it's a little overwhelming. you want to hook us first with the food and then walk us through. all you're trying to do in an elevator pitch environment like this is pique our interest to want to know more. what's the most compelling thing for investors out there. >> great advice. i'm going to give your product a 10. i think -- i've been eating while you guys are talking. what is this one? >> this is berry bombs. >> it is so good. congratulations on that. >> thank you. >> they had some great advice on the pitch. good luck with your company. >> and leave those behind for us. >> thank you. now if any of you out there have a company and you want feedback from our elevator pitch

panel on your chances of getting interested investors, please send us an e-mail. yourbusiness@msnbc.com. include a summary of what your company does how much ire trying to raise and what you intend to do with that money. we look forward to reading the pitches and seeing some of you here on the show. it's time now to answer some of your business questions. rod and alicia are back with us. the first is about deciding how to grow your business. >> being a small business starting to grow i have been doing everything and i know that some parts of my business i need to stop doing, and i need to discern which parts of my business are scaleable. so my question is how do i make that decision? >> all right. alicia you are often of thethe first outside money into a company and so you probably see this problem all of the time. >> all of the time. it's hard to transition from being a jack-of-all-trades to being a manager. the two bits of advice i give

what makes you happiest in the company. if you're able to direct your time more towards that and hire someone that takes on things that you least like it's easier to give up control. and the second question is where can you add the most value. now, that could be in driving sales or it could be in relieving bottle next in areas like operations or helping the culture in hr. but if you think about what makes you happiest and also how you can really drive the growth of the business it's a little bit easier to bring other people in and let them take the reins in other areas. >> the interesting part about bringing people in these early stages because you are so involved you have to make sure you're getting someone who is on the same page who knows more than you, who is better at this function, but who -- >> that's tough to admit for a lot of entrepreneurs. it's their baby. they think they do everything well. one thing i would suggest, i'm a huge fan of post-it notes. i would take four put them across your desk make lists of things you're good at things you love things you're bad at and things you hate.

really be honest with yourself. you're going to start to see overlap on these different lists. there might be something you love to do you're not so good at. once you find the commonalities, you're almost putting together the job description for that person. i think that's something that really any entrepreneur that's looking to scale their business they have to have a candid conversation with themselves. >> that's good. i like that process. >> post its. >> or just a piece of paper. >> or the white board. >> or maybe even the computer right? >> i'm dating myself now. >> all right. next up a viewer who wants to know about going into business with others. >> one question i have is about partnerships and how to navigate when you have really different personalities with someone that you own a business with how do you and a halfnavigate that and potentially when do you decide you need to step away and maybe to something on your own and end the relationship even though you have put a lot into it. >> i want to divide this question up into two parts. number one, how do you navigate it in the beginning, right, what kinds of things do you need to talk about, et cetera. and number two, assuming you

have that in place, how do you navigate the day-to-day. >> you'll laugh, but i often say there are so many things in business like dating and i think a partnership is the best example where you're looking for a complimentary skill set, obviously someone you get along with personally. you can have different kinds of personalities, be good at things. i would actually encourage that but you do have to have that chemistry and sort of experience some good times and bad times early on to see how you react to it. you're right to ask the question about early on. it sounds like she might be a little further into it which gets pretty tricky. >> so what does she do now? it sounds like she's having problems. >> yep. so i completely wholeheartedly agree. i think that partnerships are often like marriages or any long term relationship where it's really key to have mutual respect and constant communication. that's the first thing is really saying, like have we made all the effort we need to in these kind of in-depth relationships to communicate with each other, what our grievances are and are we showing mutual respect. now, if that has been done, and it's still not working, then i

think the real question is are we in an environment where every day it's toxic, and the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. if instead you really feel like you're better off on your own, it's time to have that hard conversation. because you're only holding each other back from something better if it's toxic environment every day. >> i feel this is one of those cases easier said than done. i know many people who are in partnerships where a good friend of mine in a partnership, and she is mad at her partner every single day but she fears not being with her, because she brings something to the table that the woman i know doesn't have. >> you can't bottle it up. you have to have -- it's better to speak more quickly and address something. one thing we should mention about the early on as well is sometimes a lot of times people start companies with friends or family and it may seem like we're growing the business so quickly, we're so excited. get that partnership agreement, talk to a lawyer. it's like a prenup to bring it back to the dating and marriage analogy. you'll be happy you did it.

you just want all the bases covered. let's get it over with. it's a reality of doing business. >> also if we go back to your four post-it notes, you can think what does this person bring to the table. if they weren't there, how could i fill in those holes. >> right. >> and then it becomes less scary. you have something concrete saying i think i can do this on my own. >> and i know plenty of partners, they're complete opposites but make it work. >> this is great advice. thanks so much. both of you. >> and if any of you have a question for our experts, we answer them every week on the show so you can get some great advice. send us an e-mail. you can send it to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. thanks everyone so much for joining us today. if you want to learn more head over to our website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. once you get there, you will find all of today's segments, plus a lot of web exclusive pieces with a lot more information to help your business grow. also follow us on twitter. @msnbcyourbiz and we're on

facebook and instagram too. next up one business wasn't enough for two entrepreneurs. they own five different companies that operate under one roof. >> i would say that they all work together and they all feed off each. >> each business is able to give back and forth in ways that are beneficial to all of businesses involved. join us for a special episode where we devote the entire show to the challenges of running multiple small businesses. until then 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. the next fight, religious freedom. all right. good morning, thanks for getting up with us this sunday morning. the supreme court decision to make same-sex marriage the law of the land across the country has put republicans in a tough situation. where do they go from here. more on that in just a moment. also ahead this morning, some are calling this past week the best week of barack obama's presidency. we'll be taking a closer look at that this morning. plus chris christie poised to officially jump into