coming up on msnbc's "your business," as president trump moves from trump tower to the white house, small business owners are upbeat about what his administration is going to do to help them when it comes to deregulation and tax reform. that plus two fraternity brothers who turned their partying lifestyle into a lifestyle brand. and how to reach an incredibly influential demographic, millennial moms. we've got that and a whole lot more coming up next on "your business."

hi everyone, i'm j.j. ramberg, welcome to "your business." the show dedicated to helping your small business grow. donald trump has been sworn in as the nation's 45th president and according to a number of surveys small business owners are excited. the optimism index jumped a remarkable 7.4 points in the december, the largest jump since the index was started in 1986. it is just one of a number of

surveys showing that main street businesses are upbeat with the hope that the trump administration will be business-friendly and usher in a new period of deregulation and tax reforms. raymond keeting and todd mccracken, so good to see both of you. >> good to be here, thanks. >> i've seen a number of surveys where optimism is higher, right? people in small business feel like the next four years may be good for them. so let's get down to why. what do you think will happen in the next four years that will be good for small business? >> you'd hope that entrepreneurs and small business openers are optimists. if you're starting a business you should be an optimist. you're also a realist. the last eight to ten years have been tough. the great recession, a miserable recovery, frankly the obama administration has not been friendly to much of the business community. i think in terms of what they

heard in this election and what they focused on, i think the two big things was regulatory reform and relief, and tax reform and relief. those are two biggies for small businesses as well as large businesses. >> when we talk about this, regulatory reform and relief, todd, what does that mean? what regulations are going to disappear and suddenly is going to make my business easier to run? >> well, there are going to be work for the administration if te happen. we're not going to suddenly see a bunch of things disappear. our hope is we can put into place a whole new process for thinking about how regulations affect companies. from our perspective, the biggest problem small businesses face isn't a given regulation, one or two of them, one more additional one. it's the vast bulk of federal regulations, the unknowns that face a small business owner, they don't know what regulations are going to affect them, they don't know how to figure it out, they've got to hire lawyers, it gets if the way of progress. we like the idea of reordering the regulatory process so the agencies have to focus on things that are the most important.

and that the president-elect talked about a system where for every new regulation comes in, two have to go away. i'm not sure how that works. but something along those lines where new regulations have to be counter weighted with reduction in the overall regulatory burden on small companies. >> we've seen happen many times a regulation gets put into place and nobody's thought about how it's going to affect the small business owner. i it may make sense for big business but small business gets talking up. >> you have to have institutional reform so that you force government to do this. sunsetting regulations, for example. it forces the elected officials to say, does this still make sense? in terms of what's changed in technology and the economy, should we still be doing this? is this a better way to do it? look at the cost/benefit analysis. those types of reforms are needed so we bring sanity to the regulatory morass in washington, d.c. >> todd, you did a survey about the cost for small business

owners, $83,000 i believe you found in the first year? >> yeah, the average cost of complying with new regulations to start a new business was $83,000 a year, according to our just-released survey. ongoing costs $12,000 a year for a typical small business after that. that doesn't really even capture everything because so much of the regulatory burden is baked into our economy. and just get handed to a lot of small companies. the real cost is higher than that, those are just direct costs. you mentioned before, i find that one of the biggest costs is not actually complying with regulation but figuring out which regulations you need to even comply with. >> right. does a small business have the staff to do that? no, they don't. you have to do it yourself, you're a startup. there's an enormous undertaking. time is money, bottom line. >> go ahead, todd. >> raymond's exactly right. every minute a small business owner spends trying to figure out where they need to comply with regulation is a minute

they're not finding a new customer, mentoring new employees, expanding their business. it doesn't make any sense. >> todd's point earlier about you just can't look at the latest regulation and what the cost is. because that's on top of everything that's been going on for you want to say 50, 60 years, in terms of an increasing regulatory burden. study after study shows that these costs are significant and they also fall much harder on small businesses than they do on large businesses. >> i would love to -- we have to wrap this up. i would love to have both of you back four months from now. i want to just do a check to say, where are we? is the mindset changing in the way that we thought it was going to change? is it heading in the right direction from your perspective and your constituents' perspective? what smell needs to change? >> love to do it. >> absolutely. >> good to see body of you. >> thank you. necessity is the mother of invention. it's why so many new parents come up with baby gear companies and pet owners start doggy businesses. if you're two college fraternity

brothers what is it you need to make your life better? or rather, in the case of the entrepreneurs we met, to make your party better? these friends came up with a product that caught on so well they've built a whole brand around it. ♪ >> scottly and wyatt first met as college sophomores at fy kappa fy. >> we met over a glass of whiskey. >> hey, you like entrepreneurship? i like entrepreneurship. >> i kind of felt, maybe i can do business with this guy. one thing led to another. >> reporter: they set out to prove their chops as entrepreneurs. >> it didn't have to be some huge project, very small. >> a couple of thousand saved up. >> what can we do for a very cheap amount of money, our personal savings? basically prove to people that we're legitimate entrepreneurs? >> that was the original idea. >> reporter: they setted on making a special kind of tool that canter a hole in the bottom of a can. don't know what that would be used for? well, you're one of the people

who's never shotgunned a beer. >> shotgunning a beer when is you're basically breaking into the bottom of a can, and then you're drinking from that hole. >> reporter: once the partners settled on what to build, they had to figure out how. >> we started calling people. >> reporter: the people they called for help were engineers, industrial designers, metal fabricators, and their parents. >> we both got a small investment from our dads. i think around $10,000. >> reporter: with all that help, the two created a sleek-looking, inexpensive product they eventually called the saber tooth. after graduation, they body got jobs in silicon valley. but quickly ditched those when they realized the saber tooth had some real teeth. >> this year we've grown almost 800%. it's been really great growth. >> reporter: they say it wasn't the product itself that caught fire, but the whole frat party brand, which they named raging mammoth. >> raging mom moth is all about having a great time. >> reporter: the saber tooth opened their eyes to an

overlooked market niche. >> we look around, why has no one started a company around this lifestyle that we love? that's really how raging mammoth formed. >> reporter: more than a logo, raging mom moth became a symbol of the high-octane adventure their customers craved and a brand with a mission. >> so why are we doing this? our why is to create good times. it's literally the way you feel when you use the product. that was a defining moment for us. >> that's what really drives our growth. >> reporter: not only did sales numbers explode but they say their customers hijacked their instagram and facebook pages. with hundreds of unsolicited pictures and stories boasting of their exploits. >> about 99% of our posts on social media, they're all created by our customers. they're seeing us online and like, oh, this is what this brand represents. and then once they fall in love with that, then they can buy our products. then they're part of the community. >> reporter: now they're using that brand idea as a springboard to new products. >> really it doesn't matter what

we make. raging mammoth, everything that we create is about having a better time with your friends. that's all that matters. >> so then the products come out, that come out of that, how are we going to create a product that's going to complement that lifestyle? >> people come to us with an idea -- >> reporter: that's where rob lang comes in. >> then we work through the different faces of designing and developing and getting a product into manufacturing. >> reporter: they turned to rob and his san diego-based southern california design company. >> we'll meet with them and say, this is what we want, can you guys engineer this, what do you think? >> we'll look at that idea, look how to make it better. >> do a couple of prototypes, sign off on them. then from there, they'll find manufacturers and get it moving. basically manage the product's lifetime. >> we're removing here, we're going to flatten it out, right? flip it back over. >> reporter: the next product up for release is their deluxe take on the humble shotski with

several magnetic-based shot glasses lined up for group drinking. >> our friends were upset they were spilling it all over themselves. >> what about the weight? you seemed to think it was good? >> weight's perfect. >> hound the rigidity of it? >> reporter: this is only one of more than a dozen new products scotty and wyatt want to take to market as quickly as possible. >> they are going to be a massive part of our company in this next year because we have 13 original products we're releasing. >> reporter: to keep things moving they've outsourced the design and manufacturing to rob's southern southern california design company. >> the way we look at them, they're up and comers. they're going to grow that business. we're confident in that. >> so instead of us going out and trying to learn like, okay, like -- we need to get a warehouse, you know. we need to pay for the insurance on the warehouse. we need to hire. let's just give to it somebody who knows what they're doing. >> reporter: with big dreams they've outsourced the shipping and fulfillment, customer service, and marketing. they are concentrating on what they do best, developing the

brand and the supporting products. where that leads, even they can't predict. >> we never started out to try to make this a huge company. we really wanted to prove to people we could do something valuable. so we could go do something bigger down the road. just ended up doing a lot better than we originally planned. millennial moms have some say. they have hugely influential. according to our guest, 55% of millennial moms say they are frequently asked for product recommendations. so how can you get them to start spreading the word about your product? sharon bindering is the founder and ceo of parent tested, parent approved, one of the most-recognized awards program busy consumers. good to see you. >> thanks for having me on. >> you've grown your business a lot by millennial moms talking about it. >> absolutely. that's literally how we grew our business. word of mouth, getting moms talking about it, telling them our story and getting them to

spread it for us. >> look, so many people are trying to get to these mommy bloggers because they know that moms, as a whole, they're speaking from the heart. it worked for my kid, it worked for me, i'm going to tell my friends. >> that was the whole concept behind our business. what i think a lot of brands are missing out on is they're still advertising to these millennial moms in very traditional ways. so for example, they need to stop advertising showing moms in these very traditional roles holding a laundry basket, looking all disheveled, running after the kids. reality is that's not a millennial mom's typical life these days. >> right, it's not speaking to them. >> no, not at all. the husband plays a role in this. >> yep. >> or they have help at home. because they're likely working full-time as well. so let's show them as professional, accomplished women. even when we see as women in the board room, they're always in a hurry. why are they always waiting on the side of the street, they're late, waiting for a taxi? always, every ad i've seen in a

professional sense. so show them in a way that's more modern. so that they'll actually -- it will actually resonate. >> so they can relate. also you talked about, we use the word authentic, everyone does. authentic. but don't push stuff down. >> yes. >> right? be authentic about why you're talking to them. >> right, connect with them on an emotional level. it's funny, there's this video that publix put out, 2014, mother's day. literally an ad of a mom and her daughter and she's a pregnant mom, she is standing in the kitchen baking with her daughter. yes, they're casually showing ingredients. but by the end of this commercial, nobody is not crying. and it's three years later and i am still talking about this commercial because it resonated with me on an emotional level. so it made that connection for me and publix. so that's how you need to be communicating with people. >> i think a lot of these brands still think of millennial moms as my marketing tool. i've got to get to them, got to get them to try my product. and you can't ram it down people's throats. >> that's exactly it.

that used to work. it no longer works. they want a subtle message. they want to know a little bit more about the companies. millennials really want to know about the companies. they want to know if they have a social conscience. if it's food they want to know where it's sourced. these things are more important than the advertising that you're ramming down their threats. they are turning to video. so we did a survey and 83% of millennials said they go online to search for the products they're going to purchase. 3 of every 5 turned to video to learn more about the product. so that is a no-brainer for companies. be out there, be on video. again, make sure you're taking into account all of those emotional components that you want to have resonate with that consumer afterwards. >> once you get one, once you've got a millennial mom who likes you, how do you encourage her to spread the word? >> so it's all about making sure you're talking to them about the things that are important to them. what we found is really important to millennials, they want to know that there is value in the product they're purchasing from you, they want to know that there's

convenience, and the number one thing is safety. so as long as you can incorporate that messaging, that customer will really stay with you. because where it used to be a price plan, i won't say the price doesn't impact their purchasing decision. they are willing to pay a little bit more to make sure that they have all those three things encompassed in the product that they're purchasing for their family. >> right. once you get someone like this to move it -- >> they stay with you. >> and spread the word. >> exactly. the last thing you need to be on is social. at the end of the day social is such an important component because theme are talking about thins they love. we'll go out and find influen influencers who loved a product we want to be talking about and make sure they are authentic. by authentic, i know it's a buzz word, but to us it's won't that they've used the product, they really love the product, they've talked about it in a positive manner before they've been paid to do so. that's how we're trying to build

a positive buzz for the brands that we work with. >> all right, congratulations on your success. >> thank you. >> you know more about this than anyone. thank you for stopping by. >> my pleasure. i don't care if you're a silicon valley startup or a small-town dry cleaner, technology is going to keep on changing your business. in order to stay one step ahead, you have to know where the trends are heading. ink.com highlights five of the top tech advancements coming our way. five, upgraded wireless signal that's going to make smartphones and tablets even more valuable. two, augmented reality. companies like microsoft are launching headsets that could change the way you do training, sales demos and more. three, chatbots. systems that you interact with via text will get much more sophisticated in 2017. there are already ones that will handle your travel plans or tell you the weather, but think about

ones that you think will monitor your health or spending. four, phones go wireless. expect to have even more ways to charge all your mobile devices without using cables. and five, amazon's alexa is already being used to lock your car, read a book, or make purchases. in 2017 expect to also see it shop at public places like your bank or local grocery store. pleasure to meet you, chair onthomas. pleasure. so look. in the dining industry there's a gazillion choices where to eat. we've all been there before. where do you want go? i don't know, where do you want to go? no more arguing. instead of arguing you bust out spotluck, a free app. you get one spin per day, we pick a great local spot for you and give you the discount. it's a smart discount so we patented software that makes the discounts change based on day, time, weather, and other factors

that affect restaurant occupancy. you'll get higher insensitives on a monday than a friday, higher if it's raining than if it's nice out. consumers love it because it's fun. like spinning a wheel. we've got great traction, over 100,000 people on the a pchpp e month, we're the number one dining app on itunes. a good foundation but a long way to go. we want to get the right people involved. we're raising $1.5 million to launch new york, arguably the largest dining in the world. we have half committed. we have over 200 restaurants signed and ready to go live in march. so really, we're here because by have a decent foundation and a good product but the team is magic. these guys eat, breathe, live, sleep spotluck and we can prove we can execute. >> congratulations. number one app on itune i say start the pitch with that. because that's big. while we're chatting i need two numbers from you guys. number one, from 1 to 10, what

do you think of the product? number two, what do you think of the pitch? okay, let's see what these guys think. >> i'm up. i gave the product a 7. i gave the pitch a 6. the product, i live if new york, i'm a foodie, we don't just use one app, we use multiple apps to find restaurants. i think there is a potential for something fun. unlike j.j., i always get a little suspicious, especially when a young startup company says that you're number one in anything. i don't believe it. how is it possible? >> sure. >> i like companies that are -- sort of say where they're going, what their intention is. in terms of the pitch, i wanted to know your story. i love a company born out of personal challenge, personal story. you were fighting with your friend. as opposed to the generic, when you're out, you know. for me, i was looking for something to relate to and i think that's the potential for improvement, that part. >> i appreciate the feedback. >> this is what simon is all about, connecting with the why.

the why you started your business, the why your business. you should listen to his ted talk. >> we're big fans at spotluck. thanks for the feedback. >> so 8 and 7. so on the product, i think you have a great product. what i'm looking at is that it does have other uses. and you've done a great job of kind of focusing on one thing right now, not getting distracting, which is really good. and i've learned the hard way that when you get distracted, you only dilute. you get in trouble. on the pitch, i have to agree with simon, make it your story. put a little thing behind it that's personal. we used to have the story about wow, people would get -- instead of talking about money and results, they would get hung up on wow. tell us about that wow. what does that wow mean? that became the bigger conversation than trying to talk about money and results because the money and results aren't good in the beginning. >> it strikes me that you are a solution and next version of

groupon for these restaurants which was a problem, but you allow them to change the price discount. >> absolutely. i agree with what you're saying. our story is traditional. we started in my basement, quit our jobs, used our own money. >> what was the birth of the idea? >>s. ing that prices in a restaurant at tuesday at 2:00 p.m. when it's raining shouldn't be the same as friday night at 6:00. >> that's real. >> we wish you the best of luck. thank you for coming on the program. thank you for giving your honest feedback, so helpful. if you have a company and you want to pitch our panelists like you just saw, send an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. tell us what you do, how much money you're looking to raise, how that money is going to change the trajectory of your company. we cannot wait to see some of you here on the show. still to come, when it comes to hiring managers, what's best? hiring from within your company? or looking outside of it? why you shouldn't be chasing the money.

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 american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. how do you choose your top-level managers within your organization? do you prefer to promote from within? do you hire from outside? president quick answer is this.

both. and it depends. so clearly what we have to do, if you're going to hire from or promote from within, then the great news about that is that these people are going to bring -- they understand the corporate culture, they understand the history and the dna from the organization. and also what they do is they inspire other employees from your organization who want to grow. the great thing about bringing people in from the outside is that they bring a new level of energy to the organization. new blood. new ideas. a new fresh set of eyes. clearly we have to bring people into the organization who have experience. we want to round out our team of strengths. more importantly than that, though, whether we're hiring or promoting from within, hiring from without, we need to have people who are highly motivated, who have a lot of integrity, and who have tons of capacity so they can grow with you. >> we now have the top two tips you need to know to help your small business grow.

leadership expert simon cynic and tariq fareed, founder and ceo of edible arrangements, are back with us again. not only leadership expert, top three most-watched ted talk. if i can tout both of you, you were the second or first story we did on this show, one of the first three. you had 400 franchises? >> a little less than 400. >> now? >> 1,300. >> so i clearly want to hear the tips from you. you guys know what you are doing. >> it's the show that did it. >> exactly, i launched you both. all right, let's start with you, simon. >> sure. so my top tip is, take care and work to see that those around you succeed. so many entrepreneurs make bit themselves. and they forget there's other people there who have devoted their lives, their work days, to support. and when they feel that they're always subordinate and trying to see you succeed, it's actually demoralizing. work to see that those around you work to their natural best. they become valuable members of the team, and more and more they

will offer you blood, sweat and tears to see your vision come to life. >> what does that look like? celebrating them at company meetings? >> helping them grow. so part of it is offering aff m affirmation and positive feedback. also offering them opportunities to grow. it's offering them classes and opportunities to learn communication skills. or confrontation. things that will actually help them grow as human beings. put them in situations where they can fall and try again. where you won't just take over because you can do it better. let them screw up and let them thigh again, you're there to support them. >> people aren't coming to your company to punch the clock? >> right. >> they want to get something out of it too. >> they want to grow, they want to be better versions of themselves. >> so my best lesson that i learned was from the best business person i knew, my mother. >> i always say the same about my mom. >> i was 17, started my first business, struggled every day. i would come home disappointed. and she looked at me, she said, stop chasing money, it runs

really fast, go to the right thing, it will chase you. so it changed focus totally at that point and really focused on the customer instead of focusing on trying to make money. and just making the customer get that wow experience. and really listening and everything. so i think you have to, in a business, small business, as you get larger, it becomes tougher and tougher, youreally have to focus on the customer. a lot of people believe they do but they'll see they actually don't. not the way they do it on the first day they started business when they were desperate for every sale. >> so did you lose money, you think, as you were changing from chasing money to understanding the customer? did your revenue go like that? >> you know, to my surprise, when you take care of a customer, they always leave a little more behind than they needed to. so then they tell ten people about it. they come back because of you, not because of maybe the product you were selling. i was selling flowers. they could have gone to 30 different places but it was that

spooeshs they would come back for the wedding, they'd come back for all the other things. we stayed true to that but we tested to say, are we really true to that commitment to the customer? >> i think what you both say is don't cut corners. if you succeed by cutting corners with your employees, customers, it will get you here, but it will not get you here. it will eventually get you here. >> take care of the people inside, take care of the people outside, watch the business grow. your biz selfie come from the owners of s and s intimates in dearborn, michigan. they say they're about empowering women in the way they look and feel and this is the sexiest your biz selfie we've had so far. pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you in your business. send us to us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. include the name, the name of your business, your location, and #yourbizselfie.

thank you to all of you for joining us today. we love hearing from you, so if you have any questions or comments about the show, e-mail us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. we read all of your e-mails. you can go to our website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. we posted all the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more. connect with us on digital and social media platforms as well. we look forward to seeing you next time. till then i'm j.j. ramberg. 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 american express cards and services can help prepare you for growth at open.com. there's a lot going on. i would like to introduce you to the patron saint of pressure. his name is dr. isaac silvera, he's a named chair, very fancy professor at harvard. he says he just created something that never existed before on the face of the earth. and he and his post-doctoral researcher, they made this brand new thing using this little device which is small and doesn't look that mighty but i think we've gotten a image of it here. this device is called a diamond anvil cell.