we visit one local neighborhood to find out how the small businesses here were affected and how they're working together to get people to shop local. that's coming up next on "your business." >> american express open can help you take on a new job. or fill a big order. or expand your office. for those who constantly find new ways to grow, american open proudly presents "your business" on msnbc. ♪

hi there, everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. as a lot of us know, getting customers to support our local small businesses rather than shop at big box stores can be hard sometimes. now imagine the difficulty merchants faced during and after the civil unrest in baltimore this year. in the highland community, folks came together and fostered a shop local attitude which was the key to getting business back to usual. in april 2015 all eyes were on baltimore as protests of the police mistreatment of freddie gray turned violent and riots broke out. businesses across the city were affected either from looting,

damage, or citywide curfews that kept shoppers off the streets and therefore out of the stores. highland town, a baltimore neighborhood with a large latino population and growing arts community didn't see the riots from their windows but definitely felt the effects. >> everything around here was destroyed. it was. >> mario diaz lost $160,000 worth of inventory on the night of april 27th. basically wiping him out. destroying the business he bought in 2011 to support his family. >> can you describe for me in as much detail as you can, what did it look like that morning? >> well, really difficult for us, really. it was i never think something like that could happen. >> a couple blocks over, an italian market and restaurant popular with locals and visitors

saw business drop significantly for weeks after the riots. >> a lot of people come from out of town and they didn't know, although we were in a safe area away from the direct unrest, they were just thinking baltimore city. and they weren't coming. they didn't care where we were in baltimore city. it just didn't matter. >> for small business owners who count on the revenue each and every day to keep their businesses alive, this was a scary time. >> we're a restaurant. you know, our base is customer service. so a lot of my business went away. >> in the beginning i feel alone. i didn't know how i going to do it. i just know we somehow we were going to try to do this again. >> mario learned quickly he wasn't going to have to do it alone. amanda peters is the highland main street manager. as soon as she saw the local

hyland small businesses were being affted by the civil unrest, she went into high gear. >> oftentimes when people go through hard things together, they come together. did you experience any of that after the civil unrest with the business owners here? >> oh, definitely. we really created wonderful relationships with the businesses. for the business owners, we were helping them file paperwork and clean up glass and get estimates. and whatever they needed. we were just a phone call away. i gave out my cell phone number. i texted and made sure they were all right. >> the community bonded and helped those who needed it. >> i can't say i knew half of the businesses and the people who ran them and worked in them before that happened. and all of a sudden we were in those stores picking up glass and picking up shoe boxes. cash registers that had been overturned. >> some people, they never probably work in here before. but they came in and they try to buy something to support this business.

that is a really wonderful thing. >> thank god for the customers who kept us going through the downtime. they spread the word in social media. kind of, you know, what made us feel more safe and secure. >> now months after the civil unrest, building a strong network continues to be key to this success. highland town gallery features the work of talented local artists. she's found that being an active member of the community is an investment back into her business. and helps everyone on the main street. >> when i go to these different events, i'm meeting people from various different businesses, various different organizations. and i'm building relationships. and then opportunities sometimes come from those relationships. >> it's networking. >> exactly. >> in early october, the town featured one of these events. a chicken dinner hosted by

highland town's main street to get more face time with locals who are all potential customers. and to give back. >> things that they have that they offer help mes bring my name out, the brand out to the people. so i love to be part of it. >> it's that strength of the community that kevin burkhardt is looking for. >> we all had a niche that needs to be in the neighborhood. some good people from out of town to come visit us. >> though knocked down by events outside their control, the businesses of highland town main street learned on important lesson. there is strength in numbers. >> it just took a little bit of time to get over that bump. and now we're doing really well and everybody is really positive and coming together and coming back out. i've been really proud to see

our neighborhood work so hard, have people come back together, and keep moving on. it's business as usual. >> the shop local movement isn't just about getting consumers into brick and mortar stores, local businesses need customers to shop online this holiday season too. the goal is to get customers to log on, support community businesses, and shop local year round. ♪ >> when allison and her husband got engaged, they knew they didn't want a traditional registry. >> we went to our favorite kitchen shop and then we thought we want some more out of the box things. and we put it all together in a google doc and our guests loved it. >> so much so that allison decided to start a company that made this whole process simple. nearby registry. it's a gift registry and wish

list service for people who like who her wanted to list products and services from unique local companies. not just the big box stores and national chains. currently nearby works in towns like new hampshire and seattle. and only lists locally independently owned businesses. >> we don't look at it as competing against the big box. we look at it as supporting another part of what people want. >> here's how it works companies pay a start-up fee to be listed and then transaction fees. customers can add items from these stores to their registries. it's about customers who shop small. >> it's much more about who we are than just a set of plates from, you know, a big box store would be. this is about what we do and what we value and it's free. >> so, how did allison get businesses to sign on? she teamed up with organizations that have a similar local mind-set. >> it's a thing. it's real but it's been around

forever. for local first movements, shop loefl movements. >> for some of the businesses, it's been a way to modernize their registry systems. for others, it's been a way to start having a registry offering in the first place. >> people are so used to buying online with amazon and various other big registries which are great. but this is sort of this great way of shopping online locally but across lots of different stores. >> but part of nearby's future growth lies in changing the definition of local to mean much more than the mom and pop stores down the street. >> our site was built with the idea that it would be nationwide. >> they're getting customers to think local no matter where you consider home. that's why tom holbrook, one of the owners of a bookstore in portsmouth used nearby as not only a great way to get

residents but a way to get tourists in the door. >> we have those who stop by for a weekend or a week and like the store. and nearby allows them to shop an area that they're unfamiliar with but make local independent choices. >> i think independent businesses will remain unique because not just because of the services and products they offer, but also because of who they are. they are your next door neighbor who owns a shop. and, you know, you go in and you meet the owner. the owner is working there. it just has a different feel. different customer service. people will always shop local. people now look at things differently, the way they make purchases, where they spend their money. i think things have changed and will continue to change. you know you're doing something right in your company if your customers love your business. so our next guest has several ideas to help you create those rabid fans. peter shankman is the founder

and ceo of the geek factory. and he's also author of the book "zombie loyalists: using great service to create rabid fans." great to see you. >> great to be back. >> we all want people who love the company, tell friends about us, keep coming back. >> it is true. never more so than now. people who love your company are going to bring in people who want to love your company. social does everything almost automatically. with the sentiment of your tweets and instagrams. people know hey i should shop there because this person is shopping there. no one believes how great you are if you have to tell them. >> exactly. we're following what our friends do. you talk in the first point about knowing that people have a problem. >> if i go on to united.com, what's my problem? i want to get somewhere and want to take a plane to do that.

if i go to a restaurant, what's my problem? i'm hungry. i want to eat. if you look at every customer as a problem you can solve, right there you're saying i'm going to take care of you and you're not going to be alone. >> number two, treat people like human beings. it should be obvious. >> it should be, but think of the last experience you had on an airplane or at a dry cleaners or something like that. customer service seems to have gone by the wayside. i don't tell clients to be amazing. i tell them to be better than what we expect. if we set the bar low, it's not that hard. a simple smile, a hand shake. looking someone in the eye when you talk to them opposed to better dealing them for the next customer. those little tiny things make a world of difference. getting insight from them. you'll learn so much about them that you can then use. a simple trick of mimicking. if you talk with your hands, talk with your hands. it's the practice of make k them feel a little bit more

comfortable. saying wow i feel okay here. let's spend some money. >> my mother when she was starting her business always told us when we were making cold calls, use their direct address muchs you can. >> no question about it. >> and if you treat people well, they'll talk to you more. >> exactly. anything above the norm is going to get people going, this is good. the internet runs on two things only. bragging and drama. you have a problem, i hate this company. you have a great experience, i love this. that's the entire internet. >> i never do customer reviews, right? but i had such a good experience with someone, i did it. >> the interesting thing is yelp isn't going to matter much anymore. because it's not about people i don't know. if i didn't know you, your review wouldn't matter to me. i'm the dad of a 2-year-old which means i want to buy everything for my daughter. who am i looking at? other dad friends. i'm looking at the photos they're posting.

that's the new batman lego plus. i got to get that. it's about people in our network. as the network grows, everyone's going to be in the network. >> i agree, but the point i was making was the service was so good that i actually took the extra step. >> imagine if the extra step is even easier? the simple act of having a great experience. look, when i land in san francisco, for instance, and i'm like show me steak houses, google maps shows me first of people in my network who have gone there. i trust that one because jonathan or michelle went there. let's eat there versus the ones on yelp. the act of giving just a little bit more and having a positive sentiment or review, that's going to drive it. >> so this is a little depressing, but just a little bit more. the bar is relatively low. >> and it is so scary how low the bar is. whenever i give these speeches,

i ask people, how was your last flight? we showed up on time, landed on time. they did exactly what they promised and you're over the moon. what does that tell you? there's a great company called scratch labs. they make energy nutrition products for cyclists and runners. i live by their products. it's great for training. every time i order from their website, they throw in three or four samples of new products. no cost, nothing. you're a loyal customer, we love you do this. thanks. that shows they're caring. it's not just he's a new customer, we'll do it once. i can't tell you how many people i recommended use their products. >> peter, so great to see you. i wish we could talk for another hour. >> don't feel any obligation to talk to me for the next hour. happy to. >> good to see you. >> thank you.

the holidays are coming up, and more customers are making more purchases online. this probably means you'll be getting more deliveries and sending more product out to customers. so here now are five strategies you could use right now to help reduce shipping expenses courtesy of entrepreneur.com. one, establish a relationship with your preferred carrier's representatives. they handle rates and questions, knowing who they are helps. two, negotiate shipping rates. companies will often provide incentives to secure you as an account. all you need to do is ask. but make sure to price compare too. three, use their equipment. depending on your volume, many carriers will provide software and tools for you to utilize free of charge. four, consolidate your accounts. since shipping rates are often based on volume, it would benefit you to have as much as possible on your account. ask vendors to use your account

as well to keep numbers up. five, seek out shipping refunds. if the company you're using doesn't meet guarantees, you're entitled to a refund. reclaim these with refund tiger and recover any money lost. the clock is ticking on affordable care act requirements for businesses with 50 to 99 full-time employees. starting on january 1st, 2016, businesses must offer the government it was of affordable medical insurance to eligible employees and dependents or face penalties. with us to sort out all of the new requirements for owners is david lewis. he is the president, ceo, and founders of operations inc., a human resources consulting firm. good to see you. >> good to see you, jj. >> are people going to be surprised by this? >> scary answer, but i don't think enough people know it's coming. >> so i'm glad you're here to explain to us.

let's say i'm an employer. i have 60 employees. what do i do? >> i think you need an insurance broker as quickly as possible and look at operations. look at healthcare.gov as well but it may not give the best option. so you have to keep all paths open. then you have to start learning and understanding exactly what affordable care means. there's a term called a bronze level plan which is a the minimum requirement plan and that's really what most businesses who haven't ever offered insurance before is going to migrate too. you're going to look at that, how much it's going to cost you, how much as an owner you have to play. >> isn't it easy? i mean, i could go to my broker and say don't show me anything that doesn't fit the requirements, right? >> until you start seeing the numbers and get sticker shock and see this is a cost your business has never incurred before and suddenly you are. you start asking questions of how can we manage this down further. so i think that, yes, you can say, listen, we want to comply. show us that plan. what you're going to see is

businesses who say we can't afford that. what are our other options? there is another path. the other path is to get a plan that doesn't meet the minimum requirement but gives employees some insurance because you want to go that route. but still has you paying a penalty. and the combination of the cost of insurance plus the penalty is less than the cost of the affordable care that you are required to offer. >> so maybe you need to look at more than just cost and also look at, okay, what am i offering as a benefit to my employees? >> and look at the job market too. are you going to be a competitive part in this market right now when you tell candidates we don't offer benefits. >> i'm back to being the employer with 60 employees. it is november right now. is it too late? can i get this up and running by january? >> you can get this up and running by january. it's going to be a lot of jumping through hoops for your vendor and for you. so you need to be sure that you give it the appropriate level of time.

but, yeah, you could go all the way up to probably the 20th of december and still have a plan in place by january 1. >> got it. okay. thank you for coming on and reminding us all. at the least i hope everyone talks to their insurance broker. >> get education on this. >> absolutely. thank you. and stick around, when we come bab david is back and talking about what to do when a former employee slams you an social media. 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. >> this week's your bis selfie come from the brat shop. they are catering we hear does great barbecue. pick up a cell phone and take a picture of you and your business and send it to us here at msnbc your business or tweet it to #yourbizselfie. time now to answer some of your business questions. so let's get our board of directors in here. david lewis is back once again. and slavo rueben is joining us. he's the ceo of indigo go. a new father, congratulations. >> yep. thanks for having me.

>> let's get into the questions. first one is about a potential drawback of social media. >> how would we handle disgruntled employee basically tarnishing the company's reputation on social media. and the time that it would basically consume to mitigate that? >> i'm glad we got this question. we never talked about this on the show. we talk about your customers. you're an employee who is talking about you. what do you say? >> be careful what you do here. there's freedom of speech issues. there's thing tied to the national labor relations board. if it's something they are talking about proprietary nature act on the basis of your proprietary or intellectual property right. if it's opinion based move on. look the other way. not a lot you can do that's constructive or legal. >> what do you think? >> yeah.

i would have to agree with some of that. building on top of that if it's rand random trolling comments i would stay away from it. if it is trying to establish facts to pull your company one it's important to have responses. you don't have to respond to the commentator but to future readers can understand what the company has to say. there's also organizations out there that can help with regards to this management of reputation and that is a potential reslug as well. >> it sound like you deal with it in many ways the same way as you would a customer. if it's random trolling comments don't respond. if it's something that will undermine you, do respond. >> when it's opinion based, and if it just is more about disgruntled employee it's one thing. when it's opinion based but attacking your business and constructive way to respond to

it to repair your own reputation i agree that's the path to go. >> your finances. >> when should business owners think about debt and versus equity. a lot of times our whole culture encourages business owners to think about venture capital. is that necessarily the right thing for all businesses? >> how did you guys think about this? >> i mean, trying to raise money is definitely not the right idea for all businesses. i think it's important to understand what kind of assets you have and what kind of growth rates you're trying to accomplish. often taking a loan or some sort of debt can be very smart especially if you have assets and looking for a slower growth rate. looking to get venture capital is a big nuundertaking. it's exciting now that the jobs acts has been signed there's a chance for equity crowd funding to raise capital.

>> what do you think? >> it's a matter of control and responsibility. if you're willing to have other people essentially be involved in your business through private equity, and you need the money and that's basically your best path then i think it makes sense but you have to realize you'll have other people to answer to. when you take the debt on yourself and get the debt your own, you have 100% control. you have to pay the debt off but it's a different experience. >> he talks about venture capital but we can talk about the same thing about angel investors. one of the questions there is can you get debt? >> a lot of this comes down to how much money you need and what exactly your goals or objectives are. by going out and getting private equity money that usually is going to be a lot larger sum of money than you can secure on your own. >> that's private equity sway whole other world. in the beginning, if you're thinking about angel investors or debt would you take debt if you could and only go to angels if you couldn't get debt?

>> depends on the amount of money. if we're talking about tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands it would be nice to get a friend and family loan or potentially a small business loan. really the value of once you get into angels and vc i hope you get more than the money. you're trying to get mentorship, connects, getting openings into distribution, sell better, because like the other commentator said you're getting somebody involved in your business and you need to be ready and prepared for that. >> they people don't go away. the last question, about staying on top of trend as you grow. >> how do we find what other industry people in our industry are doing? >> one of the traps you can get caught into is trying to copy and replicate what other people are doing. it's really hard to get ahead when that's your nature. that said it's really important to understand the competitive environment and to under the innovations that are happening around you. it's always critical to evaluate the other sites or other

businesses. use them, test them, work with them, ask your friends and others to evaluate them and constantly be evaluating things on google. you have google alert, search. you can see what customers and others feedback is around the industry. depending on the size of the industry there will be industry reports that will give you the trends. >> sometimes a new company launches and there's all this fan fare about it. it gets this press. i want seems like this is something everybody wants. i've seen this happen many times, a few months later, few years later it fizzles out. if you followed too close what they were doing, your company may have failed as well. >> listen, you have to keep an eye on your business first and foremost. when you move on, you should always be looking around and be following what your other companies are doing that in your sector. google news is a great way to do that. signing up for their newsletter maybe on a covert basis by using

an e-mail like a personal e-mail instead of your company e-mail so it doesn't get flagged. join an industry association where you're going to come in to contact with other people in the industry. following just press clippings alone by a lot of companies that are in your sector will tell you what they are doing and then you can decide whether or not you want to follow some of their leads or you want to keep an eye on it and see if it is viable and has legs. >> great to see both of you. thank you so much. good luck with your baby, slavo. good to see you too, david. thank you everyone, so much for joining us today. if you missed anything head on over to our website. it's openforum.com/yourbusiness. there's more information to help your business grow. you can follow us on twitter. it's @msnbcyourbis. next week our very special small business saturday show.

we come to you from golden colorado. a deeply proud community that enthusiastically supports small businesses. this year with a 5 k race and a special discount initiative. >> it's called a golden ticket. it gives them a percent off. >> find out what this community and others are doing right to get people to shop local. until then, 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 >> welcome. i'm alex witt. we have new video that shows gunfire interrupting inside the le bataclan concert hall. take a listen. [ gunshot ] >> shocking wasn't that? our continuing coverage begins now at this hour. in just a moment we'll go life to my colleague, richard lui. all that is coming up in just a moment. at this hour here's what we know in terms of statistics. 129 people dead. 103 bodies identified so far. more than