an orlando comic bookstore doubles as a speakeasy nightclub. clashing in on partiers with a mobile hangover treatment company. plus how to make effective videos to promote your business. all that and more 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 on every step of the journey, american express

open proudly presents "your business" on msnbc. hi, everyone. i'm jj ramberg and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. it can be really frustrating if you have a product that you know a lot of people would love if you could just get it in their hands. the owner of an orlando comic bookstore was in that exact position. so he figured out a stemt way to get his comics in front of a whole new audience. >> are you ready for nerdy karaoke? >> it's friday karaoke night and as always, it's a packed house. ♪

>> customers are belting out the latest hits, grabbing a beer, and buying comics. buying comics? yep. buying comics. this is a brain child of aaron howland who opened the company in 2006. >> i saw a record store going out of business right here in this location and i wanted to put a comic bookstore here. >> comic shops have long suffered from e the stereotypes that shows like "the big bang theory" and "the simpsons" have reinforced. >> saying i don't like comics is like saying i don't like books, music, tv. and i realize there was this big stumbling block where they were seen for children or eccentric older people that obsess over them. >> instead of selling limited

editions with hefty price tags, a comic stocks only new up and coming series with affordable price points. >> these are what comic book writers are work on right now and kind of share the love of the comic book medium as entertainment and not collectibles week in and week out. >> the goal? to make comic book reading approachable for a new set of consumers. at the beginning it meant talking to anyone who would listen. >> we were basically nonstop trying to get people in here. >> and that soon evolved into holding regular social events. aaron felt confident if he could get people to come in, he could connect them to a series they'd love and they'd become repeat customers. >> a comic book is just you and the page. i wanted to do something that got people together and enjoy comic books together. >> sometimes twice a month we'd

have a party with a keg of free beer, a writer, something going on. with that we decided, well, why not have this every weekend? why not have this every day? why not have this to where we can monetize having people hang out here? >> an idea was planted for a more official hangout spot. >> there was a space available in this strip mall, but it was kind of an odd shape. i made a joke saying we can make it a speakeasy and call it the geekeasy. it was off the cuff and people said yeah do that. we made it have pop culture instead of sports. >> in 2014 it officially opened for business. it soon became headquarters for regular readers looking for a place to enjoy their favorite series, find out about new ones, and make friends. >> now a social atmosphere where i can meet all these folks that i didn't think would talk to me before and we have this common

ground. immediately starts, did you read the latest edition of batman and it spirals out from there. when's your next drink, let's buy the next round. >> weekly trivia and karaoke nights brings in locals for a good time. >> it brings people in the comic shop that maybe would never come into a comic shop. they have to literally walk through the comic shop to get to the geekeasy. it's introduced people to comic books in a way that is comfortable and just inviting and just kind of, like, just chill. i'm coming in for my reasons of hanging out with my friend and having a beer. and i see this comic that i heard about or this character i heard about from something else whether it's video game or movie. and i check it out. >> and they keep coming back. often with friends in tow. >> when i talk about, you know, the geekeasy, i tend to say it's

a great place to come on friday you should come with me. a lot of people are like, well, you know, i'll give it a shot. they'll come with me and be like, my goodness this place is awesome. >> the type of events the geekeasy hosts is as diverse as the crowds they attract. anything with a fan base is welcome. >> we have a stage and whatnot. why not have local bands play? and then it got to open mike and comedy nights. and plays. i'm open to basically anything that people want to do in here that has fans and the people are nice and friendly and are at least interested in comics even in just a passive way. >> as the shop and geekeasy continues to diversify their customer bases, aaron says the potential of where the business and the industry can go is to infinity and beyond. >> i've always said there's a comic book for everyone. even the superhero stuff.

more comics for women, more diversity, more voices as creators. and i don't think that it's going to stop. i think it's just growing and growing and growing. that's where i want to see growth. not necessarily expanding my empire, but expanding the people that are enjoying comics. ♪ >> some of those speakeasy patrons may need the services of dr. jason burke. he founded a company called hangover heaven in las vegas. a mobile hangover treatment facility that saw a 40% increase in revenue last year. the company expects to grow more this year with services in hotel rooms. ♪ las vegas. a typical saturday night. this is a ritual played out across the city day after day. but partying this hard comes

with consequences. >> i've got kind of a headache, a little queasiness. nothing -- that's about it. >> we're definitely a little hungover. >> many have searched for the miracle hangover cure. a greasery breakfast, a trip back to the bar. >> i was treating patients for post-optive headache, nausea, disorientation. thought the same medications i'm using in the recovery room might work for a hangover. tried it on a few volunteers, worked great. >> and he's made a business out of it. a medical degree from the university of north carolina, he promises that in about 45 minutes he can treat almost 95% of all hangover symptoms. >> physicians, nurses, paramedics, firefighters have been using iv hydration for

decades to resolve hangovers. i've added in vitamins using the anti-nausea medicine to deal with the las vegas-level hangover. >> to deal with the growth, he knew not only did he have to cure a hangover, but he had to make it convenient. so he renovated an old gospel tour bus and hit the strip. the hangover heaven bus will make stops to pick up people and treat them right on site. the company quickly found the demand for treatment was too much for just one bus to handle. so they also opened a clinic nearby the trip and transport patients by shuttle bus. clients can also opt for in-room treatments. >> as it goes through your system, your body starts feeling better. once you get up, it's like, wow. i mean, it does. i feel great. >> it was definitely worth it. >> i feel like i did when i got off the plane to come to vegas. >> every patient is asked to

post about their experiences on the internet. building an online reputation for the business. dr. burke also created the hangover research institute to gather scientific evidence to back his claims. >> we started collecting hangover scores as part of our quality control. and it's to the point where i think it's necessary to publish some of that data. >> and they've expanded the business to attract the athletes and health conscious. >> it's also part of the expansion plan. hangover heaven works well in a tourist area. but in a more professional place like, say, new york or boston, vita heaven may be a better entity. >> but for everyone who's had a pounding headache disappear, there's been someone on the other side calling foul. >> there are a lot of people who question the ethics of it. does a hangover need to be

treated? was it a real medical condition? i would beg to differ. these people were miserable. they need something to get them feeling better. >> even though they stay playful with marketing, dr. burke is the first to stress that at the end of the day, they take people's health seriously nap includes not just treating anyone who calls. >> this is a professional medical practice. we take a medical history, vital signs, and form consent. you can't get informed consent from somebody intoxicated on alcohol or some other drug. i don't want to do anything to risk the business just to treat one or two people i'm not sure they should be treated. we've had plenty of people call up from the bar or wherever. i'm drunk, can you pick me up. we were like, you need to sleep it off. most people do sleep it you have and call us four or five hours later and we take care of them. >> no doubt to do it all over again. they're still in vegas, after all. when it's handled correctly,

public relations are kep your small business capture lots of attention. if you're reckless with the media, you'll find yourself wishing you'd set up a game plan. here are five ways to sharpen your. pr plan. one, understand the reporter's role. journalists value their job and resent companies that try to cover them. two, don't go to the press too early. have your release reviewed by workers to make it sure it will benefit the target audience of readers. three, develop long-term relationships. pr is a process, not an event. you have to be patient and willing to consistently deliver reader valuable messages that make your business an asset to the media. four, be honest about bad news. in a negative situation, a company's character and style will greatly influence how the

press perceives and writes about it. and five, use your top management. nothing helps gain coverage like making your ceo available for interviews. when you think about creating videos for your business, do not get overwhelmed with the idea of creating something perfect and expensive. there are so many things you can do with just your smartphone or your tablet and there are a lot of areas on your site or in social media or in your store where you can utilize video to help your company. >> hi. i'm matt tomshow. you may have seen some of my videos. i help business owners like you -- >> so that's an example of one that's kind of like a commercial. but there are all kinds of things you can do. ruth sherman is president of ruth sherman associates, a strategic consulting firm that helps entrepreneurs to develop content. it's good to see you, ruth. >> great to be with you, jj.

>> i think people need to understand it doesn't need to be perfect and beautiful. but it needs to be compelling. >> we always say that perfection is the enemy of getting it done. right? so we all have these video paraphernalia at our fingertips. smartphones, tablets, computers. >> you have to think i need to want to watch this, right? i can't just take my phone out and video things. it has to be something people want to see. >> it depends. what we were just watching was matt tomsho who is a coach. he helps people find out who their customers are and goes into the data and helps them sell better stuff to existing customer zblps in his case, it makes sense to show him because what he is selling is himself. >> that's right. >> so let's look at a video you brought us. >> can you imagine that this

could become this? hi. i'm ann greenberg, founder of the underground chic. a collection of stylish ecofriendly handbags, and, yes, they are made from recycled plastic bottles. >> what does she use that for? >> what ann uses that for is she is a manufacturer and designer of those eco-friendly handbags. vegan leather. >> who sees that video? >> when she is at these shows, she has it playing and she has it on her website. it's important if you're on entrepreneur to be able to shoot a video which shows your stuff. with handbags, it's hard to get the feel of them just from photos. they're two dimensional. but a video show what is they're made of and talk a little bit about how valuable they'd be to someone. >> i look at something like that and it's interesting. it tells her story. but it didn't grab me in the

kind of way that it would make me keep watching it. if i'm doing a deal with her or waiting for her at her booth, i would watch that and then it's compelling, right? >> absolutely. so the thing you need to remember is she is not out there speaking, for example. this is a way for people to get a feeling for who she is and what she does. it's about how do i relate to my customers? do they like me? >> let's look at one other video that you brought. someone from professional services. >> welcome. today i'm going to address a question so many ceos have asked me recently. that's what should a ceo be doing on the financial side of business? this is a very good question because there are numerous functions and duties on the financial side. >> so what's the purpose of this video? >> what barbara's doing is she's doing a training video. she's giving information. now, it's a very interesting thing because training videos don't have to be long. they can be five minutes each.

that's what she did. this was one of three training videos that barbara shot because her job, she's a former partner at a big new york city law firm and a finance partner. now what she does is help businesses get funded. whether that's at a bank. so she's -- >> she's basically giving content. here's what i do. now come in and hire me. >> correct. if you want to work with me. >> all right. ruth, thank you so much for coming in and bringing these examples. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure, jj. thank you. online video is just one digital tool entrepreneurs can use to boost their businesses. let's get some more suggestions from our viewers on what online tools and apps they use to help run their small companies. >> we use snap seed. it's a digital editing app. we use it to edit all of our photos before we post them to

any digital platform. >> one website we use is shipping easy.com. we're an e-commerce business that ships uses united postal service and u.p.s. and fedex. it's one click, print a shipping label. it talks to the back end of our store. it has saved us so much time. >> we use track star to track and manage our online sales responsibilities. as online sellers, we collect sales tax for many jurisdictions and it's difficult to keep track. so tax jar to the rescue. they will track all sales tax collected, provide us with reports for it, and they will even file the sales tax reports for all the states that require it. >> i use the app zite. it's an aggregate app where it takes all these articles and organizes them on your interest to it. it's a great place for me to

find content outside of my area. i can look at craft and diy and other interests. it can give me unique content that everybody that's in my sphere isn't already sharing. so i can share that on social media, get inspired, and keep up to date with news. >> one wonderful app i rely on, i use it on my tablet is hours tracker. it allows me to categorize all my jobs i do for all my different customers and keep track of the time i spent on each different job that they give me. and i can even go in there and add details to what i did and which products. so i can tell my customers what i did and how long it took. >> there's still more advice ahead to help your small business. we'll talk about one of the important traits and how to determine if a customer isn't a fit for your 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. today's your biz selfie comes from matt hatchton of west memphis, arkansas, who as you can see works with a lot of aspiring youngent prer nuuring with his company called elevate. send us a selfie of you and your business. e-mail it to yourbusiness@msn

yourbusiness@msnbc.com. it's time now to answer some of your business questions. let's get our board of directors in here to help us out. leo arussi, founder and president of a global customer service experience research and consulting firm, and he's also author of the new book "exceptionalize it! stop boring. start exciting your customers, your employees and yourself" and casandra dougan, founder and president of pisces, makes overboots to protect women's shoes from the element. i love how the book says excite yourself. >> absolutely. >> it's so important because a bunch of years in and your eyes start to roll back and you need to keep that excitement. >> absolutely. >> let's get to the first question. it is about hiring. >> i have a question about staffing. does one focus on skills or

customer service? >> it's a great question. we'll start with you. >> for me it's an amazing one. you can train a potato to become a carrot. for me, attitude comes first. customer service comes first. there's a story about an online bank in the uk that focused on hiring social workers and nurses, not bankers. they said banking we can teach them but attitude, loving people, caring for people, wanting to help people, you can't teach that. >> what do you think, casandra? >> i agree. i think it's so important to realize that both are very important. if you don't focus on customer service, respect your customers, keep them wanting to come back, you're not going to have a business, so it's paramount to make sure that they're both equally important. >> got it. i think it's true also, when we hire, we hire for cultural fit. >> absolutely. >> and that's probably the most important. you have to have a base of skills, but you need to have a good cultural fit and you need to be curious, and especially as

a small company that's growing, you need to be able to be flexible, because the job you have today may not be the job you have three months from now. >> your employee you don't know when they'll be in front of the customer. i don't care if they're mopping a floor. they may be facing a customer who came late and the store is closed. they need to have the same attitude and values that you want to exude to your customers, so as far as we're concerned, everyone is in a customer service business. >> okay, let's move on to the next question about your ideal client. >> just because a customer is paying doesn't always mean that they're the right customer, so how do i pick the right customer for my business? >> so casandra, we have someone who comes on the show who gave us a tip about this, at the end of every year, rate your customers a, b, and c and get rid of the c customers because they're probably taking a lot of your time and you're not making a lot of money off of them. >> i think it's so important to stay keenly focused on what are

the lock term goals of your business, maybe review your business plan every so often and make sure you're always aware of where you want to be and be very focused who your customers are, list them, rate them, survey them. maybe it's getting on the phone and talking to them or doing a survey. figure out which customers are best serving those long-term goals of your business and then do more of, you know, the messaging, the marketing that attracted those best customers for you. >> it's hard to fire a customer, though. you're growing a business. it's still money in hand. >> it is and this say critical piece here. you need to first come with the mentality that you understand not every customer say good customer. we need to let go of the cliches, every customer is right. some customers are wrong. the question is what are the definition. first beware of the coupon customers. some of them are coming for the discount. they don't really appreciate your value proposition at full price which means they will have expectations that will not be

necessarily profitable for you. some will ask you to do things that are not within your core competence or your future growth. those type of customers probably not going to be your long-term customers. you might as well send them to the competition. another area is what we call unforgiving customers, customers who no matter what you're going to do, they're never going to be happy. you made a mistake, they'll remember it for a long time. you know what? if they can't find a win/win environment they belong somewhere else. you have to be curious what is the criteria, as you said, what is the criteria in a will make them a good customer. it's not about top line but bottom line. are they profitable on their own, not part of this pool of customers. as much as it's money in our pocket we cannot afford to lose money because somebody is dragging resources in the wrong direction. >> that's point, sometimes people who do not bring us a profit take up a lot of our time. >> we need to be more sophisticated what is the right

customer. most business owners don't sit down this is my ideal customer. >> the last one is a question about your social strategy. >> do you have a solution for the core issue of social media management, because you don't have necessarily as a business owner have time to manage it yourself, and you need to automate it, but the foundation of social media success is really about relationship building. >> let's start with you, because you deal with social media. >> yes, i'm actually a little scared of the word automate. i don't know exactly what he means by that but i would be wary of just automating it where you have no input. i think social media is the voice of your brand. >> i think by automate he simply means scheduling things, right, so you can schedule. >> and that you can do, as long as it's authentic and conveys the voice of your brand and if time management is really an issue, consider doing less platforms of social media, you

know, facebook has been really successful for us, and it's sometimes i wonder if we should have just started with facebook from the beginning and focused only on that one because then you can really do it best. >> you can automate, right, but then add to it during the day. >> so i do automate, but here's what i do. i actually dedicate a time in the month where i'm think being what do i want to tell to my audience and i'm trying to humanize it. it's the brand but i'm trying to speak for myself, build up -- i'll dedicate two hours a month, these are my core messages, this is it what i want to say to them. and the timing becomes less relevant to me than my team can go and automate and put it out there whenever it's out there, but it's still my authentic world so don't automate or don't outsource your authentic voice. make sure it's distribution being automated but your own message, own authentic human voice remains the same. >> what tool do you use? >> i don't.

>> i should be calling someone on your team, you write it town and they push it out. >> i actually as a business owner make sure that i personally you know, kind of focus on what is my message and humanize it. that's the key word for me. don't make it sound commercial. >> that's the interesting thing, too. lot of people want to hire outside companies, interns, et cetera, to do it, which is okay but it has to be your voice. >> don't automate the content. make sure you're behind that content creation or you know, at least making sure that outside entity really knows your business. >> thanks, you guys, so good to see you both. thank you for coming on and giving your advice. thanks, everyone, for joining us today. if you want to see any of the show again we put it up on the website openforum.com/yourbusiness and also added additional segments with more great tips on how to grow your business. you can follow us on twitter, it's @msnbcyourbiz and on

facebook and instagram as well. next week, what is your relationship like with your would-be competition? we introduce you to one entrepreneur who believes collaborating is actually better than competing. >> even when we've talked with our friends or family about it and they're like, you work together with your competitor? yes. i mean the answer is yes, we do. >> we'll tell you why you might want to give your competition a second look if you have things like customers and products in common. 'til 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 today on "politics nation" our special 201 preview, what to expect in the year ahead. can donald trump become the gop nominee? what happens if he does? and could there still be a surprise in the democratic race? also, what president obama is planning for his final year in office, and why the real fight in 2016 could be voting rights. from rockefeller center in new york city, it's "politics nation" with al sharpton. >> good morning.