clothes or furniture but gave up because the process was too difficult? we meet a group of second hand companies tackling these so you can buy in a couple of clicks. meet the man behind the dollar shave club who disrupted the razor industry with viral videos. we cut through the noise to give you the advice you need to run your small business all that coming up next on "your business." >> small businesses are

revitalizing the economy, american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc. hi everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business", the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. when seasons change people tend to clean out, declutter and purge things they no longer need. what if you could be rewarded for your evidents an actually make a little money on your unwanted things. a bunch of second hand companies have popped up to help you buy and sell your clothes, furniture and even your cars without lifting a finger. how do they do it? we went to san francisco to find out.

>> i live on the third floor. it's all stairs. and i don't want to have to ask a bunch of friends to move furniture. >> libby wanted to refresh her san francisco apartment with new furniture, but she didn't want to spend a lot of time or money figuring out the logistics. with just a few minutes of searching and a couple of clicks, this arrived the next day. >> i bought this chair, i bought a bureau and i bought a red trunk. they all look better than i thought they were going to actually. i'm happy. >> this is a friction list second hand transaction, smooth, effortless, easy. >> yea. looks good. >> capitalizing on a need in an industry that had not seen innovation move loot is part of second hand companies that are dramatically changing the used goods market. >> you can transform your space with a click of a button without

needing to lift a finger, we do all the work and that kind of ease of dealing with these very bulky not easy things is pretty spectacular for people and noen woo's really been able to do. >> it wasn't always this easy. up until now, craiglist was libby's go to place to find cheap used furniture. the experience was a hassle. >> you get e-mails and then you have to respond to people and set up a time, some aren't willing to pay what you've offered. >> so she started searching for an alternative and found move loot. >> their website was nice, it was clean and things were the right price. >> for $635 she got all of this. plus free delivery. move loot saw value in her old couch. she will get a portion of the profit if it sets. not bad for a piece of furniture she was going to throw away. and it's not just furniture. used clothing is being

transformed by this model too. in the process what's old is new again. >> to build a great brand there needs to be that magic for the customer. so i think the beautiful box and the hang tag and the tissue paper takes an experience that might feel like second hand and it feels like new. >> this enormous warehouse is where james and john, a former netflix executive, make the magic happen. they are doing for clothes what move loot is doing for furniture. >> it's the largest consignment platform. we help consumers sell the clothes they are no longer wearing and allow you to buy like new clothing like you were shopping at an on line retailer. we send you this bag, has prepaid label, you fill with it all of the clothes and we pick it up at your house. it's re-inventing the thrift store second hand experience. >> to make a transaction frictionless the businesses in the space have identified the pain poychblt like taking great photos, writing detailed listing

and pricing. it's gotten this down to a science making quick work of all of these steps so you don't have to. >> the real innovation for us was if we aggragated the supply and a lot of consumers to get rid of things, we could create a new market and create value. i think as great as ebay has been, there is a lot of friction in the buying and selling experience. for all segments of goods. so, thread up is taking the opportunity and reimagining how consumers would do it. >> but you wouldble mistaken if you think it's just a clothing company. >> ultimately it's a technology company. we put 12,000 items on line every day. and we do it day in, day out. so, a lot of what we built in the back end of our systems and infrastructure. >> though these complex systems ultimately cost more for the end user, most customers get a pay out for the items they send. even though it might not be as much as the local consignment shop would offer t convenience

is worth it. especially on clothes that were going to be thrown away. >> what customers want is to know their things are reused. if we can help keep stuff moving, one more time around, that's going to be valuable. >> another second hand company called shift is up in the ante and pushing the model in another direction on a higher ticket item. used cars. this isn't the usual used car experience. at shift there is no used car lot. and there are no staels people. instead they employ car enthusiasts to complete the transaction with no price haggling and door-to-door service. >> you have a used car you want to sell, shift provides you with a service to do that for you. where you don't have to do any of the work, we come to you, use technology, price your car and if you like the price then we take the car away and you never see it again. on the other side the buyers where we deliver the car to the buyer for a test drive. which we think could

revolutionize the buyer experience. no one else does that and makes it much simpler. >> in fact, mark spent the last couple days going through the process, and today he gets the keys to his new used car. a 2014 jeep, delivered right to his door step by his car enthusiast jordan. >> they were extremely helpful, low pressure environment when we took the car to test drive i got a list of things they checked. they were transparent with anything that may have been an issue. handed me the car fax there. no pressure. no haggle pricing which is fantastic. very different than past experiences. >> and george has a vision for the next step in his used car business. removing all open stackles to ownership offering the consult mat frictionless experience. >> every six months change the oil, every year you have to change your brakes, every couple years your tires. that's a lot of work for people and we think that also coulding

done. michael introduced dollar shape club with the help of a really fun viral video back in 2012. the on line company that delivers razors starting at $1 a month to its members now has more than 2.1 million subscribers and it's still growing. we've sat down with michael at dollar shave club's headquarters to talk about what it took to disrupt the razor industry and how he plans to adapt those lessons to his new venture selling men's grooming products. >> disruptingable industry to me means bringing a different approach to an area or to that industry that is perhaps as unproven, and then having that approach become validated by the consumer, and gain incredible traction and ultimately change

the way that the industry does business. the consumer today wants to feel a more emotional connection to the brand that he or she supports. humor is a really great way to estroke a visceral response from somebody. if you want them to remember you. >> are the blades any good? no. our blades are [ bleep ] great. >> we launched our video in 2012. it was humorous and told a really resonant story about a topic that guys discuss frequently which is how expensive razors are. we made a funny video about it and they forwarded it to friends. subscription businesses that are successful the ones where the nature of the subscription adds value. nothing fun comes in the mail. it's not only a product you love and you use, it's also makes your experience fun. so our members love to see how

we're evolving. having this direct relationship with the customer is one of our great advantages. we can ask a customer what he wants and then develop that product and launch it for him eight to 12 months later. american men, especially v evolved. we're much more comfortable talking about what we put on our face, in our hair, what we wash ourselves with, the attitudes in the marketplace have changed. and dollar shave club is not only riding that wave but we also feel like we're contributing to the size of the wave because of the way we talk to our member, which is in its very relatable voice like your friend who says heymann, you should try a butt wipe. >> you want to talk about number two. great. let's talk about number two. >> it's really awesome and it's going to change the way you do that part of your thing. competition helps you think more critically about your business and how to differentiate and how to increase the value that

you're driving. we're not the first company to sell razors on the internet. we're not going to be the last. ultimately what dollar shave club is providing is a mixture of price, convenience and experience and fun. in order to set your strategy you really need to understand your finance shall. we invited chris meyers here. he is the co-founder of body ef tree.com, the finance and accounting processes for small businesses and start-ups. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> il think people sometimes are afraid to admit it how little they understand their numbers, right, because what the outside world feel like they understand them. i think the first thing we need to say is don't be embarrassed, just fix it. >> exactly. it's funny. we work with hundreds of thousands of small businesses across the country. 90% do not have organized timely

and accurate finances. they just don't. it's a terrifying statistic. >> right. >> we've done some makeovers together where we walked into businesses and asked them what is your revenue, profit. you get stares. >> exactly. >> those are the most basic. so let's dive into the first. you are going to say take advantage of technology. >> yeah. historically there are two paths. the first is hire an accountant, a bookkeeper, all this time and money and get something that you don't understand. right. or, the second path which the vast majority choose is do nothing. just ignore it. it doesn't matter today, ignore it until there's a problem. and the nice thing is that because of technology, bode tree, my company but also a lot of others, there is a third path for businesses now. that third path is getting the benefit, the education, the insight into that, into your

business, without any of that additional pain or investment that goes along with the traditional route of hiring an accountant accountantle, or bookkeeper. >> there is stuff out there to help you. do a little research. right. >> it depends on what your needs are. there are so many options now f you need something with a little more of a human touch, there are great companies like bench that they can do that. if you need something more scalable we do that on the other side. there are so many options out there. no excuse. >> let's move on to the next one. review numbers weekly. once you have figured out a system, review those numbers and really pick out which numbers are most important for you to know for your company. >> right. and i think the most important thing in that whole process is really to make sure that you're making this repeatable behavior. something that you just do in your business. >> right. once a week, once a month,

whatever it is. >> exactly. >> you set time aside. >> even if it doesn't change a ton from week to week you need to make that part of your behavior. if you do that, then you'll find that when problems do arise -- you spot them early. >> and now here goes to your next point is set and monitor goals. that's to the point of reviewing it weekly or monthly, whatever you do, because i have a goal revenue of this or profit of this or something. >> exactly. >> you'll see the trend. >> you need to know where you want to go. you can't -- you know, everyone says i want to be successful, i want to make money, i want to grow. okay. great. so do all of us. but you actually have to know specifically what you're shooting for in order to see if you're on track or not. setting and monitoring goals not only gives you a direct financial benefit but it also actually puts it again as part of the process of your business. >> and gives you a way to look at the numbers. a way to organize them. and then finally, use the thog framework. >> we need a better acronym.

it is finance, operations, goals, and strategy. it's really what it is is a way to think through tackling challenges in your business. so you have a question, do i want to expand to a new location, do i want to hire a new employee. you think about the financial impact, the operational impact meaning do i have the infrastructure and the team and the resources to do this. you think about the goals, does that further the goals that i've set, does it help me get to where i need to be, finally, strategy. does that fit into the overall strategy that i have for this business that i'm running. >> and focusing on the finances because this is what we're talking about here is you may want to take a big risk, right, with whatever issue you're tackling right there. whatever idea you have. chris, so great to see you. you help us without a lot thefs makeovers, nice to have you on set. >> great to be here. we often lament there are only 24 hours in a day which

doesn't feel like enough time. so here are five ways technology can help us be more efficient courtesy of entrepreneur.com. one, curate your to do list to categorize tasks. break up big projects into smaller parts. two, read faster. you can use sites like eye your size to power through that don't require word-to-word scrutiny. three, invest in e-mail tools. e-mail marketing services can help you stay on top of mass e-mails and long client lists. four, put your social media on a schedule. you can use apps like tailwind and foster which let you schedule social posts so you can consistently be providing content even when you're away. and five, track your time. being self aware about your computer use is the first step to gaining control of your

schedule. you can use tools like do, rescue time or write to see just how much time you spend scrolling through facebook instead of making important sales calls. when we come back, we'll have more ways to help your small business grow, we have advice about starting a business at an older age and how investors can impact your company. and our elevator pitcher we'll see what the fan thinks about her line of arm and leg warmers. selling 18 homes? easy. building them all in four and a half months? now that was a leap. i was calling in every favor i could, to track down enough lumber to get the job done. and i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials. there are always going to be unknowns. you just have to be ready for them.

another step on the journey... will you be ready when growth presents itself? realize your buying power at open.com >>. >> this week's selfie from sarah and robby of chicago. they own the healthy snack food company i heart keenwah. which is really good. if you would like to show us your selfie, please pick up your phone, take one of you and your business and send it to us at your biz at msnbc.com or tweet to the @msnbc your biz and don't forget the hash tag your biz selfie. today's elevator pitcher was a yoga and fitness instructor. she came up with a line of leg warmers. let's see what our panel thinks. brian is the chairmanch new york angels, and eric the founder and

ceo of yfs magazine. >> hey, i can see your checking out our pipes, our nice pipes. they are leg and arm warmers made from the fabric as yoga pants. i was inspired to create the first pair walk into the studio i was cold so i designed performance fabric leg warmers that extend the length and seasonal life of all of your favorite workout pants. when i wore them everyone wanted a pair and asked where to buy them so i started a business. our pipes add style, color and functionality to every workout wardrobe. they are unique. no one else is making them. four way stretch, compression enhancing performance. when i wore them to the studio everyone wanted a pair, and asked where to buy them. >> how much are you looking for? >> $500,000 and would invest that in marketing, distribution

and building our team. >> all right. great. i'm going to give you guys b's. i want two numbers, the first, 1 through 10 on what you think of the product, and the second one, 1 through 10 of what you think of the pitch. you know, i run way more than i do yoga and this seems brilliant. going out and i want a tank top but i'm cold when i first get out there. i would wear this for more than yoga. >> marathon runners, they love that. >> you can push it down. >> exactly. >> i think that's so good. that is what i think. the panel is here. brian, let's start with you. >> i love it as an accessory. i love the fact it matches and frankly, it should be part of the yoga outfit. to really found a concept that compliments the look of what ucht to be when you walk into the yoga studio. on a functional standpoint, right, everybody worries about arms being scratched or maybe there is a bit of cold rooms around that they need to feel more warm in. >> what's your number on the

sflod. >> i think an 8. >> and the pitch. >> you responded perfectly to the needs of a customer. to recognize that you connected. and now you're trying to see if it's going to work. well, the vision you've got is something i think is a good opportunity for people to invest in. >> number? >> eight as well. >> you did a great job. i think the product is amaze, so i'm going to give you a 9 on the product. what i love is that it reaches multiple target audiences. you have a really good opportunity to dial deep and as you said reach various people that exercise in the community. various situations, so i think that's -- >> the number for us. >> i give you a nine on the product. on the pitch i would like to see from an investment standpoint where that figure comes from. in terms of equity stake, a little more background. >> great. thank you, guys for look at this and giving them your advice and thank you for coming on.

you have one new customer. i'm going to buy those. thanks for modeling for us. good luck. if any of you have a product or service and you want feedback from our elevator pitch panel on your chances of getting investors send us e-mail. your biz at mbz.com. what your company does and then what you're going to do with the money. never know, somebody watching might be interested in helping you. time to answer some of your business questions. brian and erica are back with us. the first one is about the role investors might play in your small business. >> i would love to know how investors can impact a small business both good and bad, and how it generally works i guess i don't have enough understanding how an investor can impact a small business. >> i'm going to start with you. one, they can bring new money. let's put that aside. >> smart money.

yes. >> that's what you're looking for. >> i call it investor raising. i don't call it money raising. it starts with the entrepreneur finding the right investor and once you develop the relationship with the right investor, they shouldn't be annoyi annoying. they should be part of the constant evolution of your business or any advice is ort of s.w.a.t. team like. the nature of what i learned regarding the biggest central is opening doors for you. if they got some history of entrepreneurship they can look at your numbers and help with number analysis but in the end it's their contacts and relationships that's critical. >> what questions should you ask someone who is interested. if you're at a point you need money and you might feel like i'm going to take any money because i'm dels pratt what question should you ask? >> i think that's a great point. to that when you look for smart money you need ask an investor what are your values, your interests and your methods. how do they align. a lot of times what you find entrepreneurs get an investor and it's a bad fit. it might not be smart money like

brian said. so it's really important to understand exactly make sure the investor understands your industry, your company, understands your vision and is able to real align on those key factors. >> it's also important the entrepreneur has a responsibility to communicate. here's what's happening. am you're not going to get the investor to give you the best of what they can give unless they give them some context for how they can be part of the conversation. >> so one company, i have seen recently, e-mail, this is an update the good, the bad, the good, the bad and the ugly at the end here is what i need. very specific. >> beautiful. >> it's perfect. because i as an investor might not know what you need you ask me something specific i can say yes or no and it's my money. let's move to the next question. her e-mail says we've had negotiations to acquire a business we really like for over a year. we're trying to speed the process along. at what point should we say we

can't work with you and pull the plug? is there a point? >> yes. so there is a point but what i want to know is has an agreement been established. if you stalled negotiations go back to round one, to the agreement. where have you been so you can know where you're going. most importantly it's a miscommunication issue. they are not communicating appropriately so you need to find common ground and start setting deadlines because at the end of the day you want to make sure that you can get to that finalized answer and move forward in your business but a stalled negotiation is not good business. >> most of the time it stalls because people don't know who is going to be in charge. it's a big ego thing. and if they don't start from the beginning with some clear i'm going to be doing this, i'm going to be doing this, who is going to make the final decisions, i don't care what the pieces are in the negotiation, it doesn't matter. because it's personal. you're selling your business, you want to know where do you fit. am i still important. >> right. does that company want to be bought. maybe it's stalled because they aren't interested.

so you need have an honest conversation about that. okay, finally this question about older entrepreneurs. >> i decided to start the business when i was 50 years old. and a rot of my friends are looking toward retirement and i'm looking toward business growth. i'd love to know ideas or helpful hints from your panel for somebody who is starting their business a little older. >> my mother, i will tell this story, started her company in her late 40s, never having worked before, for pay, she worked plenty. started it in her mid-40s and 13 years later sold her company. so it's never too late if you have the passion and the interest and willing to put in the time. so that's my advice for robin. you? >> i live and eat and breathe young start-up community. the energy that i get at my age thinking about opportunities vale derived from that. and the resalt you captain start a business without some technical accumin that lives eats and breathes in a lot of

these start-up communities, the best advice i can give any one an colder states man is attend the younger types of meet-ups where they can learn a lot and gain a lot of the energy and see the world in a different perspective that they need to know that frankly they don't always share so. going to these meet-ups is great. >> i think that's a great point. to that making sure you are with like minded peers. meet m up, incubators or even accelerator in your area. they are going to have the resources and tools fill in the skills gaps possibly in terms of technology, advancement, things that might not be as familiar with as a millennial or a gen-examiner. >> i want toch dispel this myth of the young entrepreneur though. if you look at the statistics of successful companies, it is not the 21-year-old in the hoody. there are plenty of those. it's not necessarily the 50-year-old who is starting a company either. but there is the something to be said for experience and a lot of

the successful companies are started by older people. somewhere in between those. >> i live in the scalable young tech world. that's where my focus is, my investment lives. >> it's never too late. >> if you have the interest, the passion, the ambition, the desire to work hard. because it is not easy. >> and execution. >> great. thank you both so much for stopping by. really appreciate it. if any of you have a question for our experts please send it in because we want to answer it here on the show. send but e-mail. yourbusiness@msnbc.com. thanks for joining us today. if you want to learn more about the show go over to our website. it's openforum.com/your business. all of the segments we had on the show today plus a lot more information to help your business grow. you can follow us on twitter, it's @msnbc your biz and facebook and instagram as well. next week, a maryland business

owner thought he had a handle on his company but then his customers started paying him to do something different. >> when you get customers calling every day it's hard to turn them away. nice people, they want to give you moychblt it's a good thing. >> we'll tell you how customer demand got this entrepreneur to embrace making beer tap handles which have since become his bestseller. till then, i'm jj ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials.

amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like that. another step on the journey. will you be ready when growth presents itself? realize your buying power at open.com you know, on any normal day, the leaders of the two most powerful countries on earth having their first formal state dinner at the white house, that would be the lead news story in the world by a mile. right? i mean, on any normal day, frankly, this radical fascinating pope addressing the united nations and speaking at the 9/11 memorial and then holding a mass at madison square garden where they turned the concession stands, the place where you get popcorn and pepsi, they turn the concession stands into confession booths before his arrival. on any normal day that would be the lead story in the news by a mile. even though he got there. i mean, on any normal day the pope's drive to madison square garden through an adoring and