arizona, to find out how small business owners are dealing with the issue of serving two separate marketplaces, one here in the united states and the other one right on the other side of that fence. that's coming up on a special main street edition of "your business."

hi, evan. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business." today is a very exciting business for us. today we kick off a tenth year of being on the air. one of the most interesting things we've been doing over the past nine years is going around the country to visit america's main streets to find out the challenges small business owners are facing and how they're meeting them. this week we examine what it's like do business in a border town, specifically the community of nogales, arizona. many of the entrepreneurs we met there are bilingual and multi-cultural, and they're building relationships that have impacts across the nation. but they've also had to contend with international regulations and border issues that affect

the way they do business. no gals, arizona, is in many ways a classic american small town. early mornings here are sleepy and quiet. >> and the backbone of this town are we're a very small friendly town. >> everyone kwhoms in here, we all say hi to each other. >> my parents came to no gals in 1924 and bought a company. >> i had a construction store and then a candy store. >> but that's where the similarity ends. here in no gals runs through everything is a steel fence marking the borderline between the u.s. and mexico. >> people come here to spend. >> billions. just billions. just the amount of trade that flows through this particular port is just huge. >> this fence and the traffic passing both ways through its

carefully guarded gates has a profound effect on almost every small business here. >> border cities are right in the middle of this huge amount of international trade. >> the borders are dynamic places to do business. >> but as we discovered, not every business is affected in the same way. >> our business is greats and we look like we have a great brite future. >> the retail, it's not doing very good. >> how much product do you move through here a week? >> we move an average of 50 to 20 product back and forkd to the united states. >> francisco and his wile alba together run a small meat packing company called premier distribution center. where does this come from in. >> this comes from the united states a all going down to mexico. >> yes. >> francisco says there's a rapidly growing demand for meat business on both sides of the border. >> it's a growing business.

we have 15 trucks and we've been generating business for 15 drivers. >> luis is a cattle rancher with clients on both sides of the border. he credits long-term family and personal relationships as one of the key reason these nogales businesses are skpajd. in the case of his own family, the business relations go back a very, very long time. >> the ba hor cass family, the name has been in this area since the mid-1700s. >> we've been in business for 90 years. >> bruce becker is one of the third generation owners of brackers department store. >> however the economy of mexico is doing is how we're doing. >> what do you mean by that?

physically you're in the u.s. and 90% are mexico. bracker's has tlooivd by finding american products you kind find on the other side. >> you have found a clientele of people in mexico who have money to spend, want to cross the border and buy stuff they can't get there. >> when they say we're a destination store, we're a destination store. >> but over the past several years. federal regulation has reduced much of that traffic. >> we had 77% crossing over the border. last year the number was under 3 million. >> while bracker's supporters have continued, overall the sales have slumped. >> it makes it really, really challenging to be able to maintain those people and those

salaries when your business is decreasing. >> everybody used to come in from mexico, load up their little cars, trucks, take it across the border, and now that's no more. it's gone. it stopped. >> why? what changed? >> the free change. >> villa's market. >> they experienced a huge drop in customers but he responded by flipping the business mod. >> we've got a different customer base now. i think that's what's really keeping us going. >> he now offers hard to get mexican products for mexicans living here. >> we have a lot of customers here. grab it, take it home, throw it in a pan, and it's done. i think in town nobody has this. >> as a result he and his son have opened three new business. he operate as four-room bed and

breakfast in nogales. >> they come here to have their backs here. they want their kids to but state citizens because in the future, well, it's an investment. >> and she said demand for her service is booming. >> sometimes i don't have enough face to really accommodate all my client. >> chris suruli's grandfather founded suruli's 70 years ago. they district that all over the united states and canada. >> it's a business that has grown for the last 40 years. >> he said this town of 20,000 is well home to 100 import/export companies like his. >> nogales has more fresh product coming in here than

philadelphia, than long beach. so this is a hub. >> almost everything we have is spanish colonial style made over the centuries. >> sam sanders is coowner of holler & sanders. he's been importing south american and colonial antiques for over 35 years. >> he operates his business out of this facility that is on the border of the fence. >> it start out as a hobby. the hobby became a business. we started traveling. >> sam said in some ways his business mirrors that of a fruit business who collects things from the south border and districts it to across the united states. >> even if people have been here. we have a virtual store on first dibs so that really has become about half the business. >> what does this sell for?

>> this boot would roughly sell for $1,200 to $1,500 depending finance the python was carried all the way through. >> she's also a third generation business. her grandfather paul bond founded this company. his boot became sought off. >> where are most of your customers? >> all over the world. all over the u.s. we work with people in japan, europe. >> do you deal with people in mexico at all? we're so close to mexico. >> no, not really at all. >> the fact that you're in a border town is kind of incidental? >> yeah, i would say coincidental. >> paul bond boots pays no attention to the border. nefrms, alex says she does share something with many of them. >> there are a lot of people like you in know no gales?

>> i wouldn't be surprise. there's a lot of great family companies. it's hard and sad to let them go and you don't want to have it slip into the wrong hands so a lot of younger generations will step up and say, look,'ll going to continue to grow and continue what my family started. >> one of the most rewarding segments with dough on this show is the "your business" makeover. i'm not exaggerating when i tell you that i've left quite a few of them with tears in my eyes after watching the expert really put in time and effort to help small business owners get back on track. bients truly amazing to been part of this. as we look back on our tenth season, we're happy to tell you that many are back on their feet and attracting customers. when hurricane sandy hit rockaway beach in new york in 2012, ted kenan and scott saw

their store surf side bailings wash away. the two former firefighters turned entrepreneurs didn't think they could rebuild their bagel shop given that their company was hit hard by the superstorm. we partnered with a facilities firm front street to rebuild the business from the ground up hoping to capitalize on that area's beach season. we're happy to report that surfside bagels has sprung back to life. they have put essentially of the team's makeover practices back into practice including a customer loyalty business, coffee box, cutting back on menu items and installing waiting tvs telling them when the bus is approaching. they have added a new menu item, bakele chip, using leftover product that the customers love. they have partnered with grub

hub so customers can order on the go. in 2011 evelyn anderson wrote us about just for fun playgrounds, a north carolina-based kpep sco she and her husband jerry hayek were running. they were known for their high end custom play grounld nchl 2009 their business was eroding. gerald ander len cut back so far they were live behind in a motor home. our team advised them to reband their company which they did. asheville. it was billing a brand-new website showing their unique custom work. she credited much of her new business to that improved site. in fact, business has been very

good for asheville, play ground. they've taken on some of their biggest plans to date. the business has also downsized moving into a smaller location, reducing their overhead and increasing their profit. they also made the decision to raise prices to be more in line with the a. of time and effort the build process requires. she says even though money is still sometimes tight, the practical changes we recommended for their business have had a lasting and positive impact. they're building a little nest egg on a sunny creek where jerry and evelyn are designing a custom house and garden for themselves. when we first met jane carroll back in 2011, she was trying to rebuild her floral business hit hard. to prop up her florm business

she opened up jane on may. our makeover team helped her rebrand the business emphasizing her fresh flowers and food by rebuilding a website, logo, and menu. all anthony jane still does flowers, that part of her business didn't rebound the way she had hoped so she pivoted and started focusing more on the cafe business and the food and sweets she served there. she moved into a new bigger space in town and rebranded herself and the cafe jane. she also created jane bakes. a line of all natural cookies low in sodium, sugar, carbs and calories that she sells online and in gourmet cobky shows. she also caught the eye of meredith vieira. last year we traveled to monterey, california, famous

fisherman's wharf where they ran four jewelry stores. their son claim they'd were too busy runs the stores. our makeover team helped joe and mary create a plan to double their company's valuation. the team recommended joe and mary consolidate their four stores into one and name it monterey bay jewelry company. they cleaned out the other three store fronts and will be leasing them to other businesses. they provided new display cases and with help they're setting up processes to track sales and focus on increasing turn joer. joe and mary express gratitude for the guidance and feel they're in better shape now for when the day comes they do want to retire. heading into our tenth season, i want to take a moment to reiterate something we say all of the time hear on the show.

running a business can be fulfilling and interesting and exciting, but it is also hard. if you feel overwhelmed, you're not alone. we've done a segment called learns from the pros where we've talked with some of the greatest entrepreneurs. what they all say is though it may look easy from the outside, it simply is not most of the time we've been lucky enough to get to learn from their journeys, so we've put together so a montage of some of the best pieces of advice we've received from them. ♪ ♪ winner i'm a winner ♪ ♪ winner i'm a winner ♪ >> the best way to run a business is just to try it bit. getting out there and trying things, you will -- struggling in trying, you will become an entrepreneur. i think that applies to most people.

if they fall flat on their face, they'll try again. and the next time around, i suspect they'll be successful. ♪ >> money doesn't wake you up. the passion for your business is what make use up. the consumer is looking to see if you are passionate about speak about what you're trying to sell them, what you're trying to get them to buy some of if you're not passionate about it, how can your workers be passion ate about it? how can the consumer be passion ate about coming in to support your business? >> when you develop your business plan, don't be afraid to write everything down. everything that comes into your mind. ultimately if you have a good business plan, well thought out, cared out for a year or two or three, it doesn't always work. it doesn't always turn out the way you think it's going to turn

out. you might stumble or trip or fall in a gully. but if you have a plan, you can get up and continue on your path. >> i think you have to realize that a plan is very much alive and it's almost like a child. you have to nurture it and you have to protect it. you have to continually ask yourself what the next step is, what the next material is, what the next color is. so for us to stay a step ahead of our customers, it is the very best idea. if you're a step behind, you fall off the cliff. if you're way too far ahead, they don't get it, and you're in trouble. ♪ >> the marketing of b ben & jerry's was simply communicating in an honest and authentic way what the company was. we're trying to bring about a certain kind of world.

if you happen to believe in that kind of world and you happen to like the ice cream, partner with us. we're not selling you a product. we want to partner with people to work on the issues together. >> quality really starts in your own commitment to the product that you're making and the experience that you're giving your consumers, and if you're really passion ate about that and stay focused on it, you ought to be able to continually improve the quality of what you're doing for your consumers. ♪ >> i learned from one project i did that i should do only whatever i know how to do. about 15, 20 years ago, we opened a restaurant which was a

brewery with a restaurant. so i went into business with partners who could not do their job right. they had maybe a vision, but they could not execute. you know, a lot of people have a great visions and they we can do this or that. i said, you know, let's stay with the core business we know really well, and i think since that day, i do that exactly. before i thought, you know, if i open a shoe store, jewelry store, whatever it is, it would work out for sure. now i know. i stay in the restaurant and food business. ♪ >> one of the things i've learned as an avocado grower and as a songwriter and touring artist, it is important to ask for and take the advice of people who are in business longer than you. >> i couldn't be into business if i didn't look up to others, if they didn't give me a template and map to follow.

and what i want is the possibility for others to watch and follow and be a part of mine or create their own based on what i've seen. ♪ >> never be the first one to do anything. you'll be the poorest guy in the world. don't be the first ground breaker. it won't happen. let somebody else do market research and create a marketplace for you and just walk in and do it. you know n business, it doesn't matter if it's expected or unexpected. it shouldn't be surprise, original. who cares. either it works or it doesn't. whether it's expected or unexpected. there's either success or failure and everything else is just smoke and mirrors. >> in the old days it was very difficult. we had a long list and i had thousands of elves trying to keep track of all these children. now social media. we can find out what they're doing. i have the twitter account, they

can write in what they want. the same thing on facebook. the adult deposit through linkedin. it's a wonderful way to keep in contact and keep in touch with the people i serve. >> stick around as we mark the kickoff of our tenth season with what we love to do most. answer your small business questions. we'll be talking about invest irinvolvement and planning and exit strategy. 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. comes from a company known as fan hands. they're special gloves that sports fans can wear to help their clapping get louder is. that a good thing or bad thing? i guess if you're a sports fan, it's good thing. thank you for sending that in. please send it to your business at msnbc.com or tweet us at @msnbcyourbiz. >> let's get our board of directors in here to help us out. kimberly wisele is a columnist

and monica metais a managing principle at capital llc. good to see both of you guys. >> good to see you. >> you have been around since the very beginning, the very first year. >> congratulations. such a huge milestone. >> hopefully you'll be around for the next ten years. >> that would be a great. >> let's get to the questions. the first is taking on investors. >> we're doing extremely well, we're experiencing wonderful cash flow, the business is growing every year. at what time do we involve other investors? >> that's a good question. >> so what kind of thing should you think about? >> my gut reaction when i fefrt hear that is your cash flow is that strong you don't want investors yet. there will come a point if his growth continues that he's going outstrip it, and so i think he needs to think about, one, you want to approach investors he

went you don't, quote/unquote need them when you still have a choice nchl that case he still wants to be a little bit early. the better bargaining position you're going to be in. >> and i would add you should think about investors when you want to stop having full control of decisions because that's a big part of it, too, which is you're used to making decisions the way you make decisions and the minute you bring in an outside party, it's just not your babe anymore, and so the answer may be never. frank let's not just investors. there's other options out there. there's growth capital out there. there's all sorts of options. pay for your accounts receivables. maybe never. >> he's in a good position. unlike many other companies he's in a good position where he's got cash. finally we have one more. >> how do i go about that it

will really be a win win for us and an opportunity for somebody else. >> where does she begin, monica? >> well w an exit strategy that works for everyone, one of the big things to consider is time. are you allowing enough time for orderly transition. the folks, the employees, that's definitely a consideration. the employees that work for you, are they going to have enough upside when there's new management, when there's going to be a new buyer in the business. so a lot of business owners -- >> what do you mean by upside? do you mean are they going to participate in some of the sales or will they keep their jobs? >> yeah. are they going to be around. people stick around for reason other than money. they have a relationship. they feel a level of stability. they like the culture. so how can you make that transition more ortderly. i think the best emphasis is time. >> well, there are probably, if she thinks about it, a couple of

likely buyers already. right? there are probably a couple of industries known as acquirers. i assume that's the exit she wants and we don't know that. she probably has an idea of who those a are. so she should be getting to knows them at trade shows. she should know who the companies are, how they operate so as the time comes she'll have a better chance of finding a good partner. i think it sounds like she's thinking about this well in advance and as monaca said, like time is so important. during that time, think she really needs to think about how -- two things. one, how can the business essentially run without her because it sounds like her role will not be the same going forward and, two, how can she take risk out of her business so the buyer is comfortable with it. >> would you hire a business broker? >> it can help you manage bids and buyers much better. i don't know that she's really red for that. >> a broker can help you be far more realistic, so your books

need to be clean for starters. you may be seeing "x" amount of profit. if you want to actually sell, you may need to get into the process a couple of years in advance. you may need to get an accountant to verify that your books are as you say they are. so a broker can help you through all kinds of those issues. >> great, great, great. good to see both of you. thank you for your advise. >> my pleasure. >> if any of you have questions out there, we answer them every single week on the show. send us an e-mail. the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. thank you so much for being here today. i cannot express what an honor it is to be kicking off our tenth season. as an entrepreneur myself, i have been in the trenches just like all of you. i look forward to being with you tackling all the issues so we can all keep growing our businesses.

if you missed anything on today's show, head over to our website. it's openforum.com\yourbusiness. you can also follow us on twitter, @msnbcyourbiz. and don't forget we're on facebook and twitter as well. next week, see how two retail experts help her transform her store so that her foot traffic turns into buying traffic. till then i'm j.j. ramberg, and remember we make your business our business. 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 i'm dara brown. nbc news has confirmed a plane crashed that took off earlier from sharm el sheikh airport. nbc's ron mott is live in london are more. >> reporter: dara, good morning. details are sketchy, but we have confirm that would this plane is lost. russian air carrier disappeared from radar over the sinai peninsula en route to st. petersburg, russia. it's krooshed north of the