it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. how this woman created a successful business cleaning up crime scenes, busted meth labs, and the homes of hoarders. and these inmates at a women's prison are turning their lives around by learning entrepreneurship and starting small businesses. that and more coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on

msnbc. hi, everyone. i'm j.j. ramburg and welcome to "your business." the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. if you have a business that addresses an issue that's hard to talk about, it can be really tricky to spread the word. if you work in an industry that's associated with horrible events, for example, crime scene, how can you put a positive spin on what you're doing? we went down to tampa to meet one founder who's had to figure out a way to market her company which cleans up after some horrific situations. in shows like "csi" and "breaking bad," crime scenes and meth labs are the pivotal settings. in real life when all the tape

is cleared there's often chaos and debris left behind that no one wants to clean up, that is, no one but former law enforcement officer laura spaulding. after being on the scene for a terrible crime she saw a terrible opportunity. >> it was a double homicide. it was on christmas. i was helping these people that really had no means to pay for it, but their homeowner's insurance covered the cleanup. after i was done with the cleanup i thought, this is it for me. this is exactly what i want to do. >> so laura started spaulding decon, a company that specializes in crime scene, meth lab, and hoarder cleanup. after setting up camp in tampa, florida, she soon found that she had little competition. but the work wasn't steady at first. >> the cleanup was sporadic. it's not something that you can open a brick and mortar and put a for sale sign and people come in. it's death related. we added hoarding in 2006 and meth lab cleanup as well. those are circumstantial and not

scheduled. >> the tricky nature of the business means laura can't spend her days waiting for the phone to ring, she has to hit the street and go door to door. >> it's an awareness thing so i'm going to multiple hotels, i'm going to apartment complexes, i'm he going to insurance companies because when they get that call, they don't know where to turn. you would get the reactions, we never need this service, two weeks later they say, i can't believe i'm calling you but we had a suicide or something of that nature. so you don't think about it when you don't need it, but when you need it, they knew where to pick up the card. >> that's what happened for gay coaler. then tragedy struck. >> my son was killed this year. he was murdered by a young man. and the police came and had -- were at my house for most of the

day that day. when they let me back in they told me that there would be, you know, cleanup and that it was -- because it was biomedical waste that i probably better get somebody. >> a quick call made to a number she never imagined she'd have to dial and laura's team was on the scene. the workers took care of a job that gay was thankful she didn't have to do herself. >> it's very tumultuous when you lose a child, a son, especially like that in a home. it made things easier. if i had to clean it up and my son had to clean it up i think it would have made it so much harder. i was glad that i met laura before. a lot of people don't realize that there's somebody that can take care of that kind of thing. >> to grow her business laura knows that's one fact she needs to change, but not all publicity is good publicity. >> this is not your typical service. this is not a typical coupon or find a buy one get one free.

obviously that's not going to fly. you have to be very strategic about how you advertise. you know, some of the advertising is billboards with outlines of dead bodies. you know, that'll definitely get your attention. i know they're going for an awareness type thing. maybe it worked for them, but that type of approach doesn't work for us. >> instead, this discrete professional brochure addresses the services specifically. >> i designed the brochure to talk to those specific customers rather than have like most company a one size fits all brochure. they don't want to see that. the hoarders don't want to know that you do a crime scene and you're associating them with a crime scene. they feel worse about themselves. >> that sensitivity to what her customer needs also spills over into how her team delivers on each and every job. >> for hoarding we're very, very sensitive about the way that we speak to them. we teach the employee that you

have to be empathetic. i'm he going to help you today. we're going to get you started. we're going to back up some bags. >> you have to be empathetic. i spend time on that. i think not everyone is from the same background or grieves the same way or understands how people grieve. >> knowing her employees well makes her understand on her job if she's not taking care of herself, the high level of service continues on. >> i can tell what their strengths and weaknesses are. when i put them on a crew for example that deals with a hoarding job, i can assign who i want to be the lead and the contact for the customer. >> her ability to speak to the needs of the customer and what many people think is an unsavory business is good for spaulding decon. she's franchising. >> we do the services that no one else wants to think about. we provide peace of mind and

restoration property. >> i think the growth for this business is really unbelievable. it's a recession proof business. it's never going to go away. the need is never going to go away. the awareness is only growing. getting past horrible events and life-changing mistakes can be a monumental challenge, and that's where entrepreneurism can often be a positive force. that is exactly what we discovered when we visited a women's prison in oregon where learning to own a small business is helping inmates turn their lives around. >> at the coffee creek correctional facility in wilsonville, oregon, once a week you'll hear a conversation like this. >> yeah, the receptionist is sitting there is she a cost of goods or expense? >> expense. >> how come? >> welcome to life or lifelong information for entrepreneurs. it's a 32-session course teaching female inmates at this

minimum security prison how to start and run their own companies. >> effective communication involves active listening to understand what others are saying, feeling, and needing. >> even though some of these women have been convicted of crimes like attempted murder, assault and manslaughter, nobody cares about what the students did to get into prison. the focus is on what these women will do when they get out. >> i've always liked to run things and i would love to be the owner of a business, you know, rather than the employee. i would love to employ people. >> shalonda ford is a student of the lifeclass. throughout the term she and her fellow classmates are learning everything you need to know to launch a company from the ground up. >> we cover the p and l, the balance sheet, soft skills, effective listening, effective speaking. we cover marketing. the class is built around being able to write a business plan. >> doug cooper is the assistant

director of mercy corps northwest in portland, oregon. he's been with the life program since it started. >> people that are incarcerated we're going to come out into an environment. it will make it difficult. so being able to start your own business or be self-employed seemed like a very viable option. >> after having conviction of manslaughter i didn't think anybody would want to hire me. so the idea of starting my own business and being my own boss and still being able to make a living was very appealing to me. >> so far, about 100 inmates have completed the course and 5 to 10% of them have started businesses. michelle barton will soon join those ranks. she's just about to start her company, forget me not cards and prints. just about a year and a half after getting out of prison she came up with the idea while enrolled in the lifeclass. >> in prison mail is a huge issue, and a lot of people are really disappointed when they don't get a birthday card.

it just seemed to me like it would be a good thing to do if you could mail out cards for people and they wouldn't have to worry about it. >> after raising $1,000 herself and getting a grant from mercy corps, she was ready to go. >> it was exciting to sit down and write something up and figure out what the feasibility of the idea is and really pick it apart. >> but actually starting a business right out of prison isn't the goal. getting the confidence so someone could start one is. >> we want them to be more economically secure and by that have that as a means to rebuild their lives and be successful and never come back. the name of the institutional is correctional facility and if the implication is that you are -- that you are learning to do something better, that requires education. >> tonya oltman was one of the first students to ever take the class while serving an 8 1/2 year sentence. >> but i know when i started the

life program i started to have that little glimmer of hope that i don't have to be that person with the mark. >> in the four years since we reported on mercy corps, the life program has expanded to the washington prison for women in gig harbor. it just graduated its 11th class. it has reduced the recidivism rate of its students by 40%. they've got the skills to turn their life around. >> i refuse to come in and leave the same way i came in. that was my theme. i knew underneath everything else there was a bigger person than what i portrayed myself to be. >> i think i've been most impressed by the women's desire to change and start a new life. consequently it looks like we're doing a real good service by trying to give them a way to reach out. >> this is real.

this is real. i feel like i can't be stopped. investing in customer service can really pay off, and fortunately there are plenty of creative ways to delight your users without a big budget. here now are five ways you can regularly wow clients courtesy of entrepreneur.com. one, free extras and upgrades. complimentary percs like express shipping and sample products won't hurt your margin but can increase revenue. two, invite them to hang out. give your best clients a behind the scenes experience to learn who you and your team really are and what your product represents. three, offer a give away. bundle a bunch of your products together and create a sweeps stakes your customers can enter. coupon codes when customers least expect it often work wonders. four, break the rules. when interacting with customers, it's easy to read from a script, but make exceptions when customers have uncommon issues

and ask you for help. five, tell their story. your customers are real people with powerful stories. authenticity can go a long way to engage existing users and prospective buyers. still to come, what do you need to do to make sure your business is still profitable five years from now? and more of our favorite business online tools and apps. brought to you by american express open. visit openforum.com for ideas to help you grow your business. nme. nme. 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 week's your biz selfie is from michael conley of springfield, massachusetts, who runs a unique diaper baby company called stinky cakes. stinky or not, we'd like to see your selfie, too. i like this company. that is a good gift. if you would like to see your picture up here on "your business" send it to your business@msnbc. or use twitter @msnbcbiz or use hough yourbizselfie. it's time to answer your questions so let's get our board of directors in here. amos windbush iii is the owner

of a data synchronization company and we have the owner of forbes business company. it's about small business survival. >> what is the biggest challenge that most business vs that prevent them from making it five years from the date that they start? >> that's a good question, i think. >> yeah. >> you cover a lot of businesses. >> we do. as you know from my background, i was also in venture capital for a long time before i joined forbes, and to me there are lots of things, but it's all about people. and if you make the right choices -- if you make the wrong choices about people earlier in your trajectory, getting to five years is difficult. making the right choices, maybe it's hard, you have to be a little more selective, i think that's the gating factor. >> what's so tricky about those first five years is that presumably hopefully you're growing a lot. >> yeah.

right. >> you need people who are clearly flexible. >> right. >> and understand the job they have at day one probably isn't going to be the job that they have at year three. >> exactly. >> very true. >> i would say ridgedness. being very ridged of what your business can be, and under capitalization are some of the biggest and toughest issues that, you know, reaching that fifth year. >> that you see? >> yes. >> next up, a question about contracts from the owner of a marketing company. >> so one of our main challenges is to get people to honor the contracts that they sign, and so what we would like to know is how to maintain the relationship with the customer so they can fulfill the contract and actually see the results produced in their life and their business that they actually pay for. >> you know what's tricky about this is that people expect immediate results. >> yes.

>> and marketing and pr, sometimes you need to wait. so if he's done, let's just say, a six-month contract with someone and they're saying i don't see anyone or my couples, then they're just going to throw it out the window. what can you do? >> if i had a chance to talk to him, the question i'd ask is, what is it that's disappointing your clients. and he might say that they're not getting results quickly enough. i think this is an example of where you really just need to spell out what you do, how you do it, what people's expectations should be over what time frame. we -- we see this question a lot. we have a entrepreneurship channel on forbes.com and these kinds of questions come up, particularly around soft -- softer businesses where it's not black and white what's going to happen in the near term. >> right. i think your point about expectations might be the most important point. >> and communication. i think throughout the period of you working with that particular client you should always be in communication with them and talking to them and having an open dialogue on what's working,

what's not working, how can we tweak it, how can we change it? like mike said, managing those expectations. i think when you look at that type of business, it's a six month run. >> right. >> it's something you have to be in it for the long haul. if you're charging 60 k for that work, have you to let them know that you may not see results in the first couple of months but they will be there. >> particularly because you're probably going to get more customers from satisfied customers. the last thing you want is someone who's unsatisfied and gave up on you a few months in and has a bad experience. >> exactly. it's not just a bad situation for the customer who's not interested in paying because they didn't think they got value, it's a bad situation for the marketing company because that's bad word of mouth. >> right. >> particularly in the marketing world. >> right. exactly. >> no one's going to back out of a contract and run around the world telling everybody that they really -- >> hire them. let's get to the last e-mail from karen and she writes, i've been a chiropractor for 23 years

and am well branded. i'm now changing directions and going into holistic wellness care. how do i rebrand? >> what are you thinking? >> wow, that's a really great question. i don't think you should necessarily have to rebrand. i think you are who you are. most companies, their branding really relies on the presence of the ceo of that business and the executive of that business. regardless if you're moving from regular chiropractic business and moving into holistic type business, you are who you are. the core of your business should be, you know, everything to transcend any sort of marketing and pr that you would need to do. >> and it doesn't feel like it's so out of left field. >> right. >> right? it's all within the same umbrella. it's not like, now i'm suddenly a baseball coach? >> no, i think that's right. i think to move to nutrition and

yoeg dwa a yoga and structural integration and all of the things you can do connected with chiropractic services makes all the sense in the world. i suspect that this caregiver talks with all of her clients -- >> yeah. >> -- about what she believes in and what's going to be best for them. it probably isn't much of a leap. she should specifically start to write about it, talk about it, get engaged with social media, try to connect with her clients and their bigger universe of people. maybe hook in with caregivers who come from one of the other tent posts of holistic care giving and cross fertilize. >> i thought about, start with your existing clients, right? >> right. >> you don't have to rebrand yourself if you start offering this service to people you're already working with. >> yeah. >> it will happen itself. >> built in market. >> it sounds like a good idea to me. >> i do, too. >> i feel better already. >> you can go see her. both of you, thanks so much

for your advice and for stopping by. >> thanks for having us. >> see ya. >> if any of you out there have a question for our experts like we had here today, just head on over to our website because we answer them every single week. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. once you get there you will see a button called ask. the website is openforum.com/yourbusiness. send us an e-mail. the address is your business@msnbc.com. in today's world there seems to be an app or website that claims to help you with everything from falling asleep quicker to improving your payroll procedures, but which ones will actually deliver in making your entrepreneurial life easier? we give you some of the tools our viewers swear by. >> as online sellers, a big part of our business is shipping products. and we use indicia to quickly and efficiently ship those products.

it's a desktop application or web-based application however you wish to use it that imports your orders and shipping information and quickly processes and prints your shipping labels. we've been using this for almost ten years and for us it's by far the best solution. >> i use moldiv app. it helps me create, bring different pictures together and post it on my social media where i can focus on more than one picture. i use it pretty much every day. >> one of my favorite apps is todoist. it syncs. it works on phone and e-mail. it keeps me absolutely on track with my to do list. >> samoc is one of the best tools for e-mail. we all know we're bombarded with it. you install it into your g mail account and it will store. it's very intuitive. it has a label called same newsletters and it puts all of

the newsletters. it has a sane later. it e-mails people that have not oh. mailed before. it has people you e-mail frequently it puts into your actual in box. when i use it i save on average about 4 hours a week from checking e-mail. it keeps you really focused on the important e-mails and puts all the others in folders you can check later knowing they're not a high priority. >> one of the apps i love is podio. podio is a project management system. it has the ability to be reconfigured and built for your specific purposes. i have different work spaces, different work spaces for projects, different work spaces for internal applications such as my finances, my sales, and then within each work space it has different apps that are all completely customizable. i can build a product management system for me and the way i want it to work rather than what's preboxed. do you lead your business from the top down with the old command and control system? management systems that used to

work in the past don't necessarily work anymore. our guest says that today effective leadership is being done with more of a side-by-side relationship. ken blanchard is a leadership manager and he is also the co-author of "the new one-minute manager" which is based on his original best selling "one-minute manager." great to see you, ken. >> good, j.j. how are you doing today? >> i'm good. it must have been quite interesting for you to go back and revisit this book that was such a success. let's start with one-minute goals. what does that mean? >> well, that's so important for entrepreneurs, for anyone. if you want your people to do something, they have to be clear on what you're asking them to do. today with the one-minute manager, rather than him setting the goals for everybody, it's much more collaborative. he sits with them and they set the goals together so that everybody's agreed upon it so that they can know what

direction they're supposed to go. once against are set, you don't want a lot of goals, you want three to five at most, you want the ones that can be the biggest impact, then you want to make sure that people are looking at them continually, both the manager and the direct report. you know, the manager style in the past was some manager would tell people to do something and then they would disappear until you made a mistake and then they'd be seagull managers, fly in, make a lot of noise, dump on everybody and fly out. that wasn't very good. as a entrepreneur you can't micromanage everybody. you want them to eventually be able to catch themselves doing something right. that's the difference in the tone. then if they make a mistake rather than punishing them the one-minute redirect sort of says, as you said, hey, listen, this is what i've observed. doesn't seem to be the direction we were talking about. do you agree? how can we get back online?

>> how do you think your employees should be praised? >> well, as soon as possible, you know? you don't want to wait for an annual performance review. if you see something going on well go to them and say, geez, let me tell you what i've observed. this is how i feel about it. you know, congratulations, you know? keep up the good work. that's why some people say, how can you say this is a one-minute manager. it doesn't take very lock to recognize somebody and acknowledge them for good performance. >> but how often? how often should you acknowledge someone for good performance? you may have someone doing a great job all the time. you don't want to constantly be praising them. it may lose the battle. >> you praise them a lot in the beginning when they're learning a new task or inexperienced. once know really become experienced you're not doing it as much. in kt if a, you're hoping that they're going to be catching themselves doing something right

and cheering themselves on but you're always there to encourage them if they need it. but you don't want to be there having them depending on you patting them on the back all the time. that could be overkill. >> all right. and then finally we've talked a bit about this already, but you don't reprimand, you redirect. what's the difference between those two? >> well, the reprimand really was almost like a kind of a form of a punishment. the whole idea of the redirection is really both of you taking a look. you say, geez, this is what i see. this doesn't seem to be in the direction i want. how do we get back in line? what you don't want to do is let people get off the wrong way and not do anything. i'll get them when we do our annual performance review. you don't want to do that. you want to be on top of things for people to go in the direction you want. >> so much of what you're talking about is all about collaboration and getting your

employees as engaged as possible. >> absolutely. what i have found is that the greatest entrepreneurs realize that their number one customer is is their people and if they take care of their people, empower their people, you know, they're going to go out of their way to take care of your number two most important, the people that use your products and your services and then they're going to be excited about you and become part of your sales force and that takes care of the ownership and the profit and all of those kind of things. that's the direction. >> well, ken, congratulations on taking a new look at this old, successful book. we appreciate you stopping by to talk to us. >> thank you. appreciate your energy and all the help for people that are really making a difference. entrepreneurship is the back bone of the company today. >> it is, thank you. to learn more about today's site it'sforum.com.

you can follow us on twitter@msnbc.biz. next week while some hope for less regulation, greg r renfrew is looking for more. >> we've been meeting with senators offices, introducing them to a beauty counter. it's pro commerce and pro regulation. >> how this woman is on a journey to change how beauty products are made. until then, i'm j.j. ramburg and remember, we make your business our business. brought to you by american express open. visit open forum.com for ideas to help you grow your business. 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. >> >> so the cliche is that something is the best of times, and the worst of times. not here. that's not this. what this is is more just the worst, full stop, alone. this was a world in which the bronx really was burning, and a serial killer named "son of sam" was stalking the local lovers lanes and john travolta was the height of american cultural aspiration pouring himself into that white suit and dreaming of a brighter disco ball and ford told new york city to drop dead. the it was the decadence and the sticky sweltering misery and