good morning. coming up on your business things can get heated so how do you deal with employees no discuss politics at work? educators sell classroom materials to other teachers. and the owners of a men skin care learn a lot from their mistakes. we have got so much good information to help you run your small business coming up next on your business.

hi everyone. welcome to your business, the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. never, never, never give up is a quote attributing to winston chur churchhill. it is a thing most understand when things don't seem to be working. it is took time before teachers pay teachers get traction. they could have given up but

they didn't. they have almost 4 million active users and teachers that sell materials on the site earned more than $200 million for a company that took five years with no traction, no bad for a company that almost didn't make it. kindergarten teacher is something of a rock star. all. >> all of these teachers are coming up wanting their pictures with me. i'm not use to it. i hope i never get useo it. >> that is because she is a self--made millionaire. the first on the web site on teachers pay teachers. this peer-to-peer marketplace makes it ease s to sell things they develop like lesson plans to other teachers. >> i was honored to be the first one and to be able to pave the

way for others so to speak. >> that was back in 2012. not only was it a milestone for deanna but also for teachers pay teachers. >> we saw deanna jump. she is an inspiring teacher. they got teachers excited. from that point on it has been a story about how do you keep up with fast growth? >> it was the last thing new york public schoolteacher had to worry about when he started the company back in 2006. he launched it to support the education community by allowing teachers to share the innovating materials they were creating like lesson plans, interactive note plans and games. and while everyone agreed teachers paid teachers or tpt was a great concept adoption was

slow. patience, persistence and perseverance. after the acquisition there was no growth and the business almost closed down. in a last ditch effort paul bought it back to save the community and business from obscurity. >> what is interesting to me is it feels like a ten-yearlong overnight success story. >> it is the classic overnight success five to ten years later. >> teachers almost always know about it but people outside of the teaching profession don't. it has been a place where teachers came to get quiet help. it is harder now than ever. so tpt is a place they quickly discover today come and find great resources, share some of the ideas, trials and tri

bulatib tribulations. it fuelled the growth. >> two out of three teachers have downloaded something from the site. while it is no secret teachers are overworked and under paid they came up with support and ideas for their classroom with the potential of making extra money themselves if they sold their resources on the site. >> the typical journey is they start downloading for free and when they find a teacher they connect with they start to buy. it is a double good. they make money and get recognition for the work they have done and also get to know they are having impacting classrooms. it is important to know you're a teefrp first and entrepreneur second. >> the teachers have combined forces in a new way, beyond their classrooms and tpt stores.

they created an event, the inaugural get your teach on event. >> we looked at each other and we said oh, my gosh, we have to start a conference. we had the get your teach on logo and get your teach on name. that's what i love about the bichltz if y business. if you want do it, do it. if you want to go for it go for it. >> she has a blog called elementary she nan ganz. >> if i want it to impact their classroom i have to show them what engagement looks like. so that's what i'm doing, ca calling responses because i can't just show teachers, here is what you do. they have to experience it too. that's what inspires them and that's what's going to impact their classrooms. >> you'll see adam freed at this

conference taking notes, engaging with this group. part social, part educational and part entrepreneurial. he stays connected by making sure all of the employees are immersed in the teaching community. >> you have to be in a classroom shadowing a teacher at least twice a year. i go once month. it doesn't matter if you're an engineer or customer support rep. you need to be in a classroom twice a year. we bring them in to ask them questions. >> she is a second grade teacher looking to supplement her income. not only did her tpt store take off in just a few days more importantly she found what paul intended when he started it ten years ago. >> how important is it for you? >> my goodness, it is probably

more important than anything. tpt has been a huge part of my life. they invite us here. they want your feed back and they want to know how they can better this business and how they can help children and empower children. it is great the relationships billionth built because of tpt. it can be hard to get away from politics especially this year when there is so much to talk about. what is the best way to keep political discourse at bay in the office? good to see you. >> hi. how are you? >> i am good. so there is so much to talk about particularly this year, right? >> is there an election going to on? >> i know, right? stay on for a couple of hours.

you'll see a lot more. people are on different sides of the table. how do you keep this away at work? >> you can't keep the approach that says it will keep it out of discussion. it is a very polarizing issue. you have to look at it and accept the idea that it will get discussed. i think there are danger points though, telling people they can't talk about it is a problem. ownership coming out and making a strong statement is also a problem. it can also be polarizing. it is best to keep the conversation to a minimum versus telling people you don't want it to happen in the office and try to diffuse any of those more passionate discussions. explain to them the more passionate you are in the office the more it will create some level of conflict.

>> let's get tactical about this. do you have a conference about it? do you send an e-mail? how do you get this information across? >> one, you can put a policy out there. it can create issues because the national labor relations board may say that's limiting people's ability to concerted activity. i think the policy is a little bit difficult to craft without getting yourself in trouble. moving forward you want to have more small conversations. pull people aside. stay away from something that is printed. >> so nothing printed. chances are you're not going to be there when somebody is having a heated conversation. so then it escalates and then there's problems between two people. >> you want to bring the individuals in who have identified an issue or who have complained and try to work through it like any other item.

try to talk through and say i understand you have differing views. we are not going to take sides here. we are going to say this type of discussion has problems within the workplace. we want to tone the rhetoric down. >> have you seen this happen a lot? >> i see it happen owl most -- almost every day. >> but to the point where it really escalates and it's creating a problem in the workplace? >> this particular election is one that is extremely polarizing and demonstrating as well as everywhere in the country how people have significant and different views from one another. it is natural that it will come up in the course of conversation. someone will make a comment and someone is going to come in and have a completely opposing view. the more it spills into the workplace the more it will create that potential fire storm

if you don't diffuse it. >> and you say we are a culture of openness and we don't want to insult each other. >> correct. >> we want it to be a place where people feel happy coming to work and safe coming to work. it's okay to have differing views but let's not make each other feel badly about it. >> you're not saying don't talk? >> right. i think the talking thing will happen. it is part of the company to have communication. owners will see it start getting potentially out of hand. you want to bring people together in smaller groups saying i know you're really a supporter of this candidate but tone it down in the workplace. >> or say let's be respectful of each other. >> we are all going to have differing opinions. that's okay. we have a common goal. it is all opinion based. on this basis you're entitled to

your opinion but take a look at how people react to that opinion and find out is it going to be due to you being a good k coworker. >> yes, it is an interesting time and lots of people have a lot to say. i think it's important that we had you onto talk about how deal with this in the workplace. thank you so much. >> my pleasure. some of the most successful entrepreneurs we have spoken to over the years have told us that one of the keys to their success was learning from their mistakes. failure, large or small, happens to everyone. it makes all of the difference in the world. just ask the owners. they overcame costly decisions which they shared so you can avoid the same pitfalls.

it may have enter add crowded field when it launched a crowded field but for them dete. >> it is for us with beards. we felt there was a market void there. >> for them it was uncharted territory. >> i had no experience at all. we just did not have any real industry knowledge. >> while they may have been at a slight disadvantage you wouldn't have known it. >> it has gsh they sad mitt they

have made mistakes along the way. >> you have to be willing as an entr entrepreneur and business owner to make mistakes. >> the first started at packaging. they turn toded to china. it took too much time. >> you're having to wait six weeks for every ituati the packaging. >> they produced the right packaging but he had already wasted a lot of time and money. >> 18 months to move through from the time we first contacted the company in china to when we actually received the tubes. it was close to about $15,000 from start t finish. >> c.o.o. jennifer says this company used a distribution center in connecticut. >> the orders were coming in.

so at the advice of our consultants we move today a fulfillment center that was recommended to us. we paid a monthly fee. >> but then the customers started to complain. >> we started getting more feed back with customers, this is what arrive today me. it wasn't up to standard. we didn't have the quality control. >> distribution was eventually brought back to houston but not without losing money first. >> after it was all said and done we took a 20 to $25,000 hit that we won't be able to recoop. as a result of that we are not getting product that is arriving any where damaged. >> they ran newspaper ads in dallas and chicago. they launch add social media campaign too. >> we felt we needed to have some sort of advertising

campaign. >> they didn't bring in any new customers. >> it quickly added up to 15 to $20,000. >> the social media campaign wasn't any better. >> we probably invested between $15,000 and $20,000 and probably closer to $15,000. >> it didn't help when paul looked for a spokesperson either. >> we felt like we needed to be in the bigger box stores, bigger retail stores. as a way to bring recognition and brig exposure and bring some clout we felt that a celebrity endorsement would give us the cash sha we needed to walk in the door. >> despite meeting face to face nothing materialized. >> we were not really a known company. >> that search cost them $15,000 which never amounted to anything, but it turns out j. paul never needed that kind of

endorsement. the products spoke for themselves. >> it is really about your product being able to stand alone by itself. >> the money lost could have been better spent it was a learning experience. in the end j. paul is a better company because of it. >> mistakes probably did motivate us. i don't think every company can do everything right every day. mistakes will happen. it is how you really adapt and learn from those mistakes. improving your small business's performance is we turn for she mehow you can dete whether yours is on the right track. use things like google analytics finding out what products and

services will help you better target your key audience. two, customer satisfaction. you can ask them to fill out a simple survey. monitor what people are saying about your company on different platforms. eck for comments and responses at least once a day. four, finances. small businesses often fail because they incorrectly budget or forecast their funds. track your financial performance to ensure you have an accurate sense of your cash flow. >> and five, productivity, assess how they are. analyze ways to help improve performance outlook so your company as a whole can continue to expand. spring is here. the weather is getting nicer. that means a lot of you will go outside to do some gardening. today has used his expertise to come up with a product to make weeding a little easier.

now let's see if our panel thinks his business can grow. les is the founder. he is author of the 10% entrepreneur. live your start up dream without quitting your day job.

we need an investment by 32 cent to 16 cents and we'll have hire margin profit and be able to fulfill the orders. thank you and let it be your leader. >> thank you. nice job. i will give these to you two. i want to numbers from you. first, what did you think of the product and second, what did you think of the pitch? how did you make your first prototype? >> i went in 2012. he liked the idea so much he made a bunch of it over so he wanted this here on the market. >> got it. good for you. okay. let's get the answers. let's start with you. >> 8 for the product. love it, does the job.

i will give 6 for the pitch. here is the reason why. i want to hear about the business, not just the product. i want to hear about the market, about your current sales activities. maybe you want to hear about product extension so i'm not investing in a single product. >> i love this, right? you should have a different elevator pitch. okay. patrick. >> all right. so i give you a 7 for the product and 8 for the pitch. the reason i gave you a 7 is because i love it. i weeded gardens to make money as a kid. what i worried about is whether it was defensible. i wonder if somebody could take your entire lunch and eat it. i love the passion you brought. i love the fact that you convinced me you're the man to build the business. you told me about your partners

that are highly credible. >> thank you so much. >> sounds like you have great traction already. good luck with everything. >> thank you. >> that's perfect. >> thank you very much. >> yes. i will be handing that to my husband. if any of you want your pitch send us an e-mail. the address is yourbusiness at msnbc.com. when we come back, what you need to know about writing a business plan and will you be ready when walmart or google calls?

will your business be ready when growth presents itself? our new cocktail bitters were doing well, but after one tradeshow, we took off. all i could think about was our deadlines racing towards us. a loan would take too long. we needed money, now. my amex card helped me buy the ingredients to fill the orders. opportunities don't wait around, so you have to be ready for them. find out how american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. >> think about your business plan as a flight plan. a pilot would never get in an airplane in new york and fly to

los angeles without a flight plan. of course. he needs to know or she needs to know which direction they're going to head in. how much gas they're going to need. going to need to know what landmark to look for along the way. that's what your business plan is. your flight plan for the success of your business and you want to think through all the things that you're going to need to know to run your business. how much money are you going to need? what are the obstacles you're going to face along the way. how are you going to market your business? how are you going to do your money? if you think it through all ahead of time you'll have a far greater chance of being successful because he thought it through and you're going to find obstacles that you anticipated and some that you din but if you thought through your plan you'll be prepared to deal with it. how are you going to do that? there is all sorts of helps for you along the way. you can go to a great organization of people to help you work through your business plan. there's a website i like a lot and it has an interactive

software that really helps a lot. do a esearch and find some help and you'll find you can find your own plan for the success of your small business. >> the top two tips you need to know to help your small business grow. all right. let me pick your brains. let's start with you. >> well, my tip today is know what you're going to do when walmart calls or google or department of defense or whoever the big dog is in your industry. what i've seen happen so often is you get the precious call or e-mail and before you know it you don't own your business anymore. you're doing what this massive supplier tells you to. six months later you're making everything to their specification and you've got to start all over again. know how to manage the relationship at the start and most importantly plan to exit because you don't want to be that vulnerable. you don't want to have more than

20 or 25% of your revenue from one store. >> okay. patrick. >> my tip today is say no to fomo. >> fear of missing out. >> fear of missing out and i was credited with boston magazine for coining that term. when you're starting a business everybody knows you should do this. you should enter this market and try this out and try that out. if you listen to fomo you'll spend your time doing things that aren't going to drive your business forward and trying too many things. so try to focus. >> thank you so much. both of you. this week's your biz selfie comes from christine pusateri. after managing a number of small businesses, christine struck out on her own at 62 and started this company that makes custom hair replacement for men and

women. when an inspiration and a reminder that you can start a company at any age. now we love celebrating your businesses. so please pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you and your company and send it to us at your business@msnbc.com or tweet it to @msnbc your biz and use the hashtag your biz selfie. thank you for joining us today. one of the biggest take aways came from the top five about me tricks. we should all have a dashboard of the me tricks at a drive our business and if you don't have this, you need to step back and figure that out. you should look at it daily, weekly, monthly and yearly so you know what leverage to pull to increase your business. we'd love to hear from you as well. if you have any questions or comments about today's show send us an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com and go to

our website open forum.com/your business. we posted all of the segments from today's show plus a lot more. don't forget to connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms too. next week we meet the entrepreneur of a super hero costume company that found himself in debt an on the verge of losing everything. how listening to his customer helped rescue his small business and now has the company flying high. until then, remember, we make your business our business. will your business be ready when growth presents itself? american express open cards can help you take on a new job, or fill a big order

or expand your office and take on whatever comes next. find out how americaexpress cars can help prepare you for growth at open.com. >> could it be a cruel summer for trump? >> there's something really good going on. we're going to make america great again. believe me. >> crooked hilary. >> or will clinton melt as the campaign heats up? >> we are not going to let donald trump bankrupt america the way he bankrupted his casinos. >> we'll have the road ahead for the candidates conventions and beyond. and the real obama legacy. we'll separate fact from fiction as the president enters his final moments in offer. and the judge that