what happens when not one but two company founders find they're having baby at the same time and one entrepreneur finds a second act thanks to zelda the dog. that and more coming up next on "your business."

hi there, everyone. welcome to "your business." the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. picture this. this is probably you. you are running your company. you know everything that's going on. you are there all the time. everyone turns to you for decisions. and then something happens and you're going to be out of the office for a while. maybe months. how do you get your team prepared for that? this is a scenario two founders of beauty company just dealt with when they found out that not just one of them, but both, were going to have a baby. >> cassandra hasn't taken a day off since we started violate gray. she hasn't taken an hour off.

it's going to be interesting. >> in 2014, cassandra gray started her beauty business along with her co-founders. like most startups, it took long hours, complete dedication and laser sharp focus. >> starting a company is not for sisies. in the beginning, it's so hard. so many days where you feel like you are not going to make it and endless amount of hurdles that come your way. >> the company has grown quickly and has more than 50 employees which made this latest hurdle all the more interesting to tackle. >> we should go with this and determine what should be on that line. it feels like you want to say cover story.

>> earlier this year they found out that not just one founder, but two founders were pregnant. >> you have nine months to get it all together before you leave. >> i would say the hardest part about being pregnant and thinking about going on maternity leave is the realization that i'll have to step away and i may not know everything going on. >> for two women that care deeply about their family and company, this has presented a challenge. how can they continue the growth of violet grey while taking the time they need to focus on their new venture, motherhood. >> it's about balance. work is important to you and your family is important to you, you have to figure out how to make them both work. >> implementing a plan was their goal. >> if you are going on leave and you have to be stressed out about it, you need to be able to power on no matter what. >> determining what initiatives were crucial for growth and what

could be put on hold wasn't an easy task. >> a lot of the original dna is there. i am still staying up at night and not just because i am eight months pregnant but because there are so many things that we want to do. >> identifying what core responsibilities would need to be delegated and who they would go to was essential. >> we're going to train a couple of people to take on some of my responsibilities while i'm away. >> the really great things about startups is each individual is wearing more than one hat. >> maternity leaves can foster major growth opportunities for employees that assume more responsibilities or take on more roles. >> you just really need to trust your employees and really make them feel empowered to lead and to make decisions. >> no matter what the circumstances, it's always important to reinforce the

company's focus, message and mission. >> you need to have a really strong vision and you need to articulate that. >> that's really good. >> when you're an executive of the company to really make sure you're expressing yourself clearly and you're setting a very clear vision. it's a lot of work. if you put that work in place from the start, you set yourself up with such a much stronger foundation. >> the stronger the foundation, the better prepared a company will be for any unexpected twists and turns down the road. >> the one thing that every mentor of mine has told me is that you don't really know what to expect. >> one thing that both cassandra and ariella was sure about, going on maternity leave doesn't mean being off the grid. >> we're a digital company at our core. it's not as if i'm going to a wellness center where you have to turn technology off. i'm told they sleep a lot. i think during that time i might be engaging with my team.

>> i'm going to still be involved in the big decisions. i'm going to be checking in. and knowing what's going on at the company. if i have time to send e-mails throughout the day and come in after the first month, i'll do that. we're actually setting a great example as founders. we happen to be the first ones pregnant at the company. i think it's giving everyone a lot of confidence that if they get pregnant, they'll be completely supported here. >> mostly women work at violet grey. they're all sort of at that age. it will be academic because this can only make you a stronger leader because everything matters so much more and it makes your work and everything in your life more meaningful. >> how do you think about maternity leave or paternity leave as a small business owner?

as the boss, you have to have a maternity and family leave plan in place for your employees. let's get our board of directors in here to talk about this. attorney nancy cooper practices labor and employment law. nancy is also a former business owner and we have the founding partner of another company. good to see both of you. often times people think maternity leave and they forget about paternity leave. really it in many ways is one and the same. can you just address that for us? >> sure. it's actually important to remember both because gender equality is becoming such a big issue that both parents deserve time off to bond with their babies with their adoption, with placements from foster care and the law requires that you treat people the same. it's good to just kind of switch your line of thinking from maternity and paternity to

parental. >> if i want to think, okay, this woman is having a baby. she's going to nurse that baby perhaps. i want to give her x amount of time. this man is a father. he's not nursing. maybe i would want to give him x amount of time and it's different. can i do that? >> it's very risky to do that. your best is to come up with blanket of time and reality is federal and state laws often preempt whatever companies want to do. there's the federal family medical leave act. many, many states have state corollaries to that. that gives a 12-week period of time for both parents. >> unpaid leave. >> right. >> if you are a company that's less than 50 employees -- >> you're not required to actually have a program. it's for you as the business owner to set an example for your team and to tell them, listen, this is where i put in my stake in the ground for family values or for respecting people's relationships. it's really how you view the

culture of the company. i think that's the most important thing in setting this policy. it's not just about husband or wife or spouses. it could be for partners. it could be for people who are co-raising children together and not in a marital situation. there are many different things to consider. >> how do you determine this? you are a small company, right? you're a mother. you want to have people take a lot of time off to bond with their baby. you think this is important. and yet i don't mean you in particular but one is a tiny company where everyone is important. you cannot afford for someone to go away for maybe six months or three months, right? >> it's a million dollar question of what you can afford. i look at it as a temporary stopgap for a long-term goal. you need to invest in talent and that isn't a temporary fix. it's not focusing on 12 weeks they're out. it's focusing on 10 years ahead and investing time and talent.

it will build loyalty and increased productivity. investing in policies that allow your team to have flexible work or flexible time off. not everyone is ready to take their weeks off and jump right back in. maybe they need a transition plan it maybe they'll have difficulty getting a caregiver in there and training them. you need to take each situation on a case by case basis. >> yes and no. >> having blanket policy. that's universal. >> isn't consistency the most important? >> consistency is very important but you can still within that consistency be creative. you can do the intermittent leave. you can do work from home. you want to be careful and look at the laws. federal is 50. for example, oregon is 25. so you want to make sure you have covered all of the laws, paid sick leave and federal laws and be creative to what meets your culture in your company. >> maybe you offer a menu.

i'm consistent in offering all of you a menu and we work together to choose which one works best for you. >> or one blanket policy universal for everyone whether they are a husband or wife or partners or male or female. it's completely gender agonistic and based on relationships so it's a universal blanket but people say these are my specific needs and how i need to craft this to work for me. it's on a case by case basis. you have to do things within federal and state perimeters but beyond that you need to really focus on people's strengths and what they need. >> and to your point, nancy, you have to look at the law and your point that you have to look at who you are as a company. >> what the situation or person is also. they may not be ready to jump back in. they may need intermittent team off. you want to have consistency because you don't want to treat one person one way and treat another person another way. you want to offer a consistent policy across everyone in the team so you don't have a bunch of lawsuits coming back to you

for discrimination. >> that's where a lot of people get into trouble. they have their close friend that they work with that they want to give one thing to but they don't want to do it to somebody else. consistency is key. >> great. thank you both so much. i know there's been a lot of confusion on this very topic and you do not want to get in trouble nor treat your employees unfairly as a small business owner. thank you both very much. ask anyone what they think about moving and you're probably going to get a negative response. people absolutely dread doing it. that's why mary ellen knew she couldn't start any moving company. since the first move in 1985, two men and a truck has grown to be the largest franchise moving company in the country. mary ellen's family has been by her side every step of the way as the brand has grown to more than 300 locations around the world. we spoke with mary ellen and her daughter, melanie, the company's chair about knowing your

reputation and knowing the numbers in this learning from the pros. >> the reputation in the moving industry was never very good. when we started, people asked me what was it like. you found a niche. you're so lucky. a niche? it's like the grand canyon. >> she wanted clean trucks and clean equipment and movers in clean shirts and uniform. >> we got this young men. they're polite and well dressed. we even like it if they're humorous. can they make the customer's day better? we did it by hiring the right people. making sure they were paid enough. they had healthcare. our franchisees want the best going into people's homes every day. we always put the customer first. you have to think of things from

their point of view, make them comfortable and feel like they got a good value for their money. >> a lot of times customers will say give me 50 bucks for the scratch on the table. we know friends and family will walk in and see the scratch on the table and ask how the scratch got there. >> we would say that we're so sorry. we even had a sorry package that had a mug and coffee and stuff. we would pay to have anything fixed. we always paid to have anything fixed. measuring the numbers comes from mary ellen. she would get the sales numbers in and she would put them in an excel sheet and fax them out. franchise companies don't usually do this. they don't share the numbers at all. our franchisees were eager to see each other's sales numbers and sales numbers were matched to their names. we came up with a profit maxization analysis.

they could compare numbers and people engaged in informal mentoring. if they want to lower expenses, they would call each other. give back to the communities you serve. >> first year we were in business, i made $1,000. i was a single mom. i didn't have much. i sat down and i wrote ten checks to local charities. it was so empowering. >> our accountant said to my mom, you give too much to charity. it's not helping your taxes. it's not helping you. she said i don't care if it's helping me. i'm doing it because we're supposed to. >> you have to love what you do because life is not a dress rehearsal.

i spent 20 years sitting in a cubical working for the government. when i broke out it was, like, boom. i love it. i love it now. >> here are five ways to leverage your market strategy. one, use online questionnaires. have your website visitors answer a few questions regarding your products and services. keep it short and focus on points that relate to key metrics. two, add a search field to your website. knowing what prospective customers are looking for will help. put a pop up on form on your website so people can offer

feedback. four, integrate social media. having sections for platforms like twitter and facebook allow you to share ideas and make your website more interactive. and five, provide real time support. instant access to customer support can act as a powerful market research tool to gather information about a client while problem solving and trouble shooting issues. >> when we come back, we'll have more information about growing your business including whether to offer equity to your manufacturer and how to find the right people to hire that will fit into your company culture. and entrepreneurs over 50. how one woman ended up with a million dollar company thanks to a dog named zelda. 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 >> this your biz selfie is a dual one. we want to see yours. pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you and your business and send it to your business@msnbc.com. please do not forget to use hashtag your biz selfie.

there's not one perfect time in life to start a business. some do it when they're young and some as a second act. one woman created a million dollar company. >> these are your leg warmers. >> few tasks sound more challenging than styling a bulldog for a photo shoot. >> that's great. those are great. >> for carol gardner, this is the fun part. >> good boy. >> the tough part came in 1997. >> i was 52 years old. wham. there was divorce hence depression and huge, enormous debt. >> then came zelda. >> your attorney said you should either get a therapist or a dog. you decided -- >> i chose dog. >> together they won a christmas card contest at the local pet

store after dressing the english bulldog in a santa costume. >> her face is so expressive. >> that inspired gardner to create a greeting card company called zelda wisdom. zelda is the face of a multimillion dollar company. >> her face is human. >> in your 20s do you think you could have come up with this idea and it would have been as successful. >> in my 20s i was looking for a job that paid me a salary that i could count on and i wasn't as likely to be entrepreneurial at that stage. >> one study finds americans between the ages of 55 and 64 actually start companies at a higher rate than 20 to 34 year olds. >> age brings a number of factors. greater ability to weather storms. patience. empathy. a stronger financial picture.

>> an author invites consumers to write a business plan that includes financing and know their skills. >> keep your mind open. look around. what would make me happy? >> older and wiser, gardner is no longer the underdog. time to answer some of your business questions. we have co-founder of savor the success. the first question is this about equity. >> thinking about offering equity in lieu of fees to my manufacturer. i would like your opinion of offering equity in my company in lieu of paying them fees. >> so i'm guessing the idea is he does not have the money to pay them or he wouldn't be giving equity. >> it's interesting.

the question is how much equity do you want to offer or you can do what we did which is profit sharing. >> the tricky part about equity is it doesn't go away. if something happens and you grow and that manufacturer is not equipped to work with you anymore. they still own a a part of your business. >> it could be the most expensive way to finance your company you're worried about the cash in the early days when you're cash strapped. if you think your business will be the most successful thing ever you want to value every little piece of equity well. if you give up a piece in the early days when eight not worth much you give this manufacturer a huge amount of upside.

you have to look at equity as your most ex-peptsive way of your business. you don't eight want to be bound to them >> move on to the next question about hiring specific employees. >> we'd like to fwlipg hibring skilled and qualified people to grow the business. how would you find these highly skilled and qualified people and at the same time find the people to fit into the family business culture. >> interesting. >> if you want highly skilled and qualified people the best thing to do is look at your existing team. number one they are a culture fit, it's working with you and working out. they can screen for who is a cultural fit for this organization and they can help you recruit the right people to let you get to your next level of success. give them employee referral bonus. they have an economic inis enive to bring employees in and they have a cultural bias because we

know what the organization is like. you are at the best source of newtal sent your existing talent. >> say everyone is in the family or not family members perhaps you are looking for a different person who can take you to the next level, you might not find it within your existing pool. >> i found some of my best employees even on craigslist, linkedin, putting it out there on face book. i found incell talent. you said it's all about your leadership team and being clear on what your value set is and making sure the people from your job ad to the way you're interviewing and the people you're interviewing and the way you set them up for a successful trial period you're clear on what your company culture values and ethos are. >> i've opinion approached by a few sooking show competition

asking me for my product ingredients and recipes. it. >> obviously she has to share that with them eventually if she works with them. >> i don't know what the logistical demand are. if they are asking for if recipes that's fine. she is a chef and interesting concept. we'll have to reveal all her recipes but if someone asked me for all my formulas for organic skin care formula you can give a hill bit and get a lot. >> i'm on the side of protecting your intellectual property. i think that it takes so much to build an amazing product or incredible brand. there is see much thought, energy, time, effort money that goes into it you want to preserve that and keep it special. focus on building your brand. >> how did you give them enough

to they're interested in-to-hire here? it's not going to give away her kitch kitchen. >> you want to share your knowledge, tips and techniques and pripg them in that way. >> sorry i have to cut you off. good to see both of you. thank you so much. if any of you out there have a question for our experts we answer them every single week here on the show. just have to go to our website openforumth com/yourbusiness and hit the "ask the show" link to submit a question for our panel or send in an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. there are so many helpful online tools and apps that will help you run your business. we asked our viewers to let us know some of their favorites. >> one website that i love is kendall summer hawk.com. it is a money coach around women

relationship with money and she's phenomenal and great content and i love to see what she puts out for helping us think differently about our relationship with money. >> so one website i used is mind valley. it is a website that works on life hacking and it has information on health, personal development, business development, and strategies for growth in the current world bringing ideas from health care as well as the business world and combining them together to really make this world a better place for everyone to live in. >> one of my favorite website apps is lean domain search.com. if you type in one word that describes your business enter lean domain seven it will give you hundreds of suggestions of domain names that are available.

>> stitcher radio is a great pod cast. you can listen to great podcasts, a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of that 30-minute drive you have every day to learn about great things that are out there. it has some really great avant-garde voices that might be tra kigsal media but great e exposu exposure. >> thank you for joining us today. to learn more, head on over to our website, it's openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find all of the segments we have on today's show, plus a lot more information to help your small business grow. you can also follow us on twitter and we are on facebook and instagram as well. come up next week a pennsylvania golf course founded in the 1920s needed a new name to signal a new business plan so the owner turned to the people

who knew the fairways best, the customers. >> we thought really including the public into the name change was the way forward. holding the competition really made everybody start talking about oh they'll change their name. >> we'll tell you how the contest helped make the re-branding easier before the course's new identity was introduced. until then i'm j.j. ramberg and remember we make your business our business. we thought we'd be ready. but demand for our cocktail bitters was huge. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding. fast. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like that.

you can't predict it, but you can be ready. another step on the journey. will you be ready when growth presents itself. realize your buying power at open.com.