need to pay? do it in seconds. because we should fit into your life, not the other way around. go to xfinity.com/myaccount good morning. coming up on msnbc's your business, we kick off national small business week with linda mcmahon. she tells us how the administration is working to help small and medium sized businesses and talks about the president's new tax plan. also, what you can learn from the creator of makeup geek who turned her youtube tutorials into a fast-growing brand. get an early start on the competition coming up next on "your business."

hi, everyone. i'm j.j. ramburg. welcome to your business, the program dedicated to helping your business grow .thrive. it is that time again and national small business week begins today. from april 30th through may 6th, the u.s. small business administration will recognize the achievements of the nation's top small businesses, rurs, small business advocates and champions. and we get the chance here to kick it off with the newly

appointed head of the u.s. small business administration, administrator linda mcmahon. she'll be traveling around this week. very nice to see you, administrator. >> thank you very much, j.j. it's good to be with you. >> we are thrilled to have you. and this is your first time as the head of the sba for small business week. what do you hope to get out of the next week? >> the next week is really the opportunity for our country to salute our nation's 28 million small businesses. we are recognizing the small business person of the year from each state and from the u.s. territories. they'll all be in washington for a big kickoff dinner sunday night. and then on monday, when we actually do kick off the week, april 30th, we will have probably maybe a couple of folks from the white house who are going to come over and address our group and we will announce the winner of the u.s. business small person of the year and the three runners up and that's always a very exciting time for us. and we'll announce winners in

other categories, as well, for their innovation, for their volunteer, for their mentorship. so it's really a terrific week for us to be able to celebrate this. and i'll have the opportunity to not only be this washington, but then to go to new york, then to go to indianapolis, dallas/ft. worth and winding up in fresno. so i'll get to visit our district offices in those areas and also our disaster relief center in dallas/ft. worth. so i'm really looking forward to visiting all these districts. >> and we are looking forward to seeing who the winners are. you come to the sba with a interestg background because you were at one time sma business owner and then the owner of l a veryarge business. you've had discusses, you've had failures, so you can relate to to a lot of what some small business owners go through. with that background coming to the sba, what do you think are the biggest challenges for the administration and for you moving forward and being successful at this job? >> well, i think that the

administration is already addressing some of the biggest challenges. one is the cost of health care. we're looking at that coming down. hopefully the new bill will get passed because i do hear from so many of our small businesses the cost of health care is really tough for them. but the biggest issues that small business really bring to my attention is lack of access to capital and also, you know, the fact that they need mentoring, they need counseling, and that the regulatory environment is so burdensome it's tough for them to get their head above water. so president obama has started by reducing impacts to small businesses. what we've seen in this reduction for regulatory reform and the hope of the new tax reform package going through is a spirit of optimism for entrepreneurship in the country that we haven't seen in a long tile. we're seeing many more start-ups in businesses and that's -- you know, it's really encouraging,

you know, to see that in the marketplace. this optimism, greater confidence level, and i think we're going to see some great things as our small businesses continue to grow and we have more start-ups. >> okay. i want to part out a few things that you said. so if we start with regulatory reform, yes, there's concentration on it on the federal level, but a lot, as you probably know, for small businesses. it's the local and state level. is there anything that you can do in this position to have any influence over that? >> well, we can't really legislate, obviously. but we can certainly talk to city and state officials. in fact, i was in order on monday and i had convened a business round table of hispanic businesses, all small businesses. and they talked to me about some of the conversations that they were having with their local and state regulators and i think on that level, when we have counseling, when we have advocates for small business who are having those conversations, that is going to be very, very helpful because often i have

found it is our lawmakers and the regulators don't really understand the impact of the regulations that they're prom l promulgating and how they affect businesses. it's more the opportunity to explain this is the impact and this will be the positive impact the you can lift those regulations, reduce some of those fees, reduce this volume of paperwork that all of our small businesses have to go through just to try to do business or to start a business. >> well, it's interesting. i had a conversation with congresswoman yvette clark who is on the small business committee. and what she told the audience, i was on a panel with her is, look, a lot of people in congress and in the senate, they have not been small business people. and so it is incumbent upon you to go and you, as the head of the small business administration, to explain to people this is what it takes to be a small business person. let's get to the news of the week, which is tax reform. 15%, interesting for small

business people directly is a 15% tax on pass through entities. is there a chance that that could happen? >> i certainly hope so. i know that president trump has been a strong advocate of this from the very beginning. it's one of the things that he and i talked about when he asked me to take on this job was reduction in taxes for our small business fess, reduction in regulations and he's delivering on that. so he's certainly putting it forth. and i think i have found that the small business agency that i'm so proud, you know, to represent and be the administrator is probably the least partisan agency in government because everyone wants the economy to grow, everyone wants businesses to thrive, because a rising tide will -- on both sides of the aisle, we want to see more businesses have the opportunity to start, to grow, to scale. i've had the opportunity to live

the american dream, starting small, surviving bankruptcy, losing everything, coming back. so i can walk the walk and talk the talk with our small businesses and i can be their advocate. and that's really what i think my primary job is. and so i'm going to be continue to go be their advocate for tax reduction and regulatory reform. >> so i want to challenge you with one thing. so it's easy for you to understand as most small businesses pass through entity, your tax rate goes down from 15% from the top people, 39. 5%. the small business majority put something out yesterday which said small businesses aren't asking for a lower tax rate in a vacuum. today's proposal makes no attempt to close any of the loopholes large firms exploit therefore it does nothing to put all of america's businesses on even footing. what's your reaction to that? >> the small businesses that i have spoken to permanently and trektly are thrilled with the prospect of having taxes -- you know, their business income taxed at 15%.

it's the pass through income that you're talking about. and they haven't had that opportunity before. so they are penalized, they feel that they have been penalized compared to big businesses who get more tax cuts through loopholes that they're not able to have. and i think part of this tax reform will eliminate a lot of the loopholes that exist today. >> got it. we just haven't heard about that yet. that's coming soon? >> i hope so. >> all right. well, administrator, it is so nice to have you on the show. thank you so much. we're so happy to kick off small business week with you.. we wish you the best of luck over the next week and over the next four years and we hope we get a chance to check in with you a lot to see what you've been able to accomplish. >> thank you. and stay tuned to see who our winner is for the small business person of the year. >> we absolutely will. thanks so much. >> thank you, j.j. consumers want authenticity. it's been proven time and time again that people like to buy from brands they feel they can trust. and that has only been

heightened by social media. i went to the offices of the cosmetics company make yum geek to meet the founder, marlene estelle. she built an entire company around herself. she is real .she's relatable and people have responded by buying her products. >> california native marlene estelle is one of the most recognizable faces at the forefront of the new beauty landscape. >> it's all about the nitty-gritty education of makeup. >> her glossy and glam video is are followed by millions. marlene's 6-year-old company, make yum geek, has more than 250,000 products and last year the company brought in over $2 million in sales. marlene built her thriving beauty brand by blending her makeup artistry and social savvy

with the tools she learned as a high school band teacher. >> i loved teacheing, but the music wasn't where my heart was. i started doing videos on the side. >> that was 2008. >> i would turn on a camera and say, i love makeup. i think i'm going to teach makeup for a bit. >> marlena had no intention of becoming a digital sensation and her videos were far from perfect and far from polished. >> i wanted to sit down and do a five-minute makeup routine. >> if you had seen my first setup, you would laugh. one camera in my second bedroom. >> so total investment was? >> maybe $200, if that. >> for marlena, it was simply about sharing her passion and sensibility. then it was hard not to notice the demand for her content was multiplying by the day. so take your brush .your.lip color. >> what do you think it is about

you that got you so many views early on? >> i think because i was real, i wasn't afraid the to be myself.you know, i've always been a curvy girl. i'm not always the most press teen with my speaking. this is me. take it or leave it. >> at what point did you say maybe i make a business out of it? >> i think it was to when i got over 100,000 views. what? 100,000 people are watching my videos? i think i can do this. so i quit teaching and opened up my site, makeup geek. >> hopefully this helps you guys figure out why your face looks orange. >> at the core of makeup geek foundation was education, driven by marlena's magnetic personality and know-how. but what made her unique was her unfiltered journey through h life. marlena has always organically woven personal stories throughout the fabric of her

makeup day. >> her authenticity and creativeness created an audience that wasn't only loyal, they were engaged. >> hi, tori. hi, lindsay. good question, miranda. >> and it didn't take long for marlena to see how leveraging that could pay off big time. becoming a player in the oversaturated highly competitive world of cosmetics would be daunting for most, but marlena honed in on a gap that she believed existed between the industry giants and consumers. >> people don't have that personal connection. they don't know what the hobbies are or what they love. people feel a little disconnected. >> the brand loyalty that came with her authentic connection immediately boosted sales. >> how did you know what you were doing? >> lots of trial ask error. learn as you go. yeah, we had 589 a lot of mess ups. i was honest.

this eye shadow, this does suck. i'm really sorry, you device, but i will fix it, i roms. so i've always been very transparent with them and they appreciate that because they know i'm not going to sell them something or the sake of a dollar. all of you watching snapchat, you're like, we know marlena loves this color. it's her favorite. >> despite her rise to fame, marlena remains committed. >> we do handwritten notes that go in their packages. customer service always try to be personal with them. they're loyal because they know it's human beings behind that screen. >> it's another day at make yum geek in michigan. >> she uses snapchat to give her fans insider and in the moment access to makeup geek world. >> i'll turn it around and say guess what i'm filming today, guys, or give me your feedback on what you want to hear for the next video. they get to build that one-on-one connection with me.

>> we do polls on facebook and ask them,hat product would you guys like to see, what are you missing? and that gives us feedback on what to creative for them to make them happy. >> that happiness and support thrived even more when she revealed more about herself. >> i used to weigh almost 300 pounds. i would get a lot of questions from people, i'm struggling with weight. what did you do? so i thought, i'm just going to show my whole body. so i posted a couple pictures on instagram, i did some outfits on curvy girls .they loved it. i took off than makeup. >> so the more layers you shed, the more people love you. >> yes. instead of what some people may fear is that if i show who i am, people might move away from me. yes. but tore me, that's been what connects them. >> the power of connection has made makeup geek a force to be

reckoned with the in the cosmetics industry and marlena is just getting started. >> i want to sell a lifestyle. i want people to feel beautiful .confident each if it is a swipe of a lipstick. so i feel that's how we're different from some of the big companies is that it's all about the confidence. it's not just a product. >> for generations, cubans have been dousing their babies with this violet scented cologne. behind that is one business owner who brought their tradition and company stateside. taliana reports on how this business is building up a celebrity following and taking stru to its cuban roots. >> if you've ever been around a baby of cuban descent, you've lookedly noticed a small of violets in the air. >> you want to learn for about six months. and with that, he -- you know, with his own knowledge, created a formula that few people have

ever been able to replicate. >> his name is also agustin reyes ask he's the third generation owner of the company which he runs. he continues to create the agrance called royal violets using the origil formula his grandfather invented years ago. >> very few fragrances are that timeless. you can count them on one hand, how many 1920s fragrances are still around. >> in 1960, shortly after the castro regime took over, the reyes family took over, carrying the formula for the mixture that brought them success. once established in miami, they continued creating the fragrance this time in the exiled community and beyond. >> what's this? what do you use it tore? perfume for babies? >> the product is a staple in

most hispanic american homes regardless of age or economic status. reyes says gloria and amelio esteban purchase it by the case. it leaves us wonder fg ryan gosling uses it, too. >> what do you think your grandfather would say? >> i think he would be extremely proud that what he did is still around. facebook, twitter and instagram now offer live video streaming. it is an easy way for you to give your customers a realtime look into your world. this week, we have five practical tips for going live on social media courtesy of entrepreneur.com. >> one, head outdoors. try filming outside the office to keep your content fresh. two, peel back the curtain. people want to feel connected to the brands they consume. show them how your product is made and introduce them to your employees.

three, check the comments. try to answer questions you get from social media or e-mail during your live videos. four, mind your analytics. in the digital aiming, it is especially important for you the to pay attention to your stats. not all of the live platforms offer analytics on live videos, but you can use the information you get from facebook to tailor your content. and five, call out your viewers. with live video, you can see who is watching. give them a shout out to make the video feel person equal. personal. personal.personal. ♪ 6/. >> hi. i'm monica ferguson, this is becca brown. we're the cofounders and inventor of solemates. . we invented the patented sole

protector that keeps heeles from singing into the grouped. we have distribution in thousands of stores around the world. >> a bit about our background webs monica and i met while working we both got mbas from columbia. sole mate is between three major industries. the $30 billion global women accessories market. the $100 billion market global footwear market. sole mates is expanding. we expect to increase to 1,000 locations next year and exceed $3 million operating at 65% profit. to that end, we seek $500,000 of growth capital for 5% equity to build infrastructure and meet increasing demand for the business. >> nicely done. all right. this is for you. i can take your sole mates. i need two numbers from you.

1 to 10. what did you think of the product and what did you think of the pitch? >> i gave you a 9. i think i have been there. i feel that pain point so many times at the event and i have to hold on to him so i don't sink and ruin my heels. i think it's a fabulous product. >> and the pitch? >> i give you a nine for both. the one thing i wish you mentioned was the price. i was curious of the price. everything else was amazing. you are incredibly smart and hard working with excellent track records. you are basically a ten, but one little place to improve. >> $12 for single pairs and $30 for three pack. >> ryan. >> i gave you a nine as well. you are solving a problem here. i have my wife with thisissue. i think anytime there is a product that is solving a real

need, that's exciting. i have never heard someone producing this product is exciting. >> all right. nine across the board. congratulations. i suspect we may see an article. thanks so much for coming on the show. congratulations. thank you both. you stick around. we need you back on the set in a moment. all of you out there, how would you like to come on your business and pitch your company? the best way is to send us a video of you doing your one-minute elevator pitch. send it to us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. include a short summary of what your company does and how much money you raise and what you n intend to do with the funds. when we come back, the importance of transparency. why you should be hiring based on company culture and how to market to the ultra rich.

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. so one of the primary questions we have is how to market to the ultra rich. >> the biggest thing you need to

do is understand the marketplace. get in it. many who sell to the ultra rich don't know it. you need to surround yourself with the people you sell to. get inside their head and understand who they are. go buy the brands they are using or wearing or driving so you know a little bit more of what theyare. they used to say, you want to know this person, spend a mile walking in their shoes. you have to understand the marketplace. they buy differently. they don't use discount codes. they buy them because their friends want them and they can. they can afford it. if you sell to the ultra rich, you better look it. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. alexander wilson and ryan harwood are back with us again.

hello. >> hello. >> your first tip, ryan? >> i know a lot of people talking about recruiting and this is cliche. i cannot stress how important it is to hire culture first. first couple years, i looked at resume. you are desperate for success. you need to make money. you hire off skill set and if the resume makes sense for that still. you make a lot of mistakes. you want to hire culture first. a lot of times we have foregone skill sets of someone more talented than the second person. we will choose the one that fits the culture more. it works time and time again. you want to be able to work with the person day in and day out. get excited to go to meetings and have chemistry and trust. it will allow you to be quick and nimble. >> i totally agree with ryan. to be different, my tip is about transparency. be transparent. i think that can be applied on

so many levels. on daily feedback. whether it is internal meetings, external meetings or pitch with a partner. i will ask my team members to give me feedback. i give them feedback. it is okay. it is not considered negative. it is helpful developmental feedback. transparency is really important to us. also as we think about things like fund raising and the future of the company and the vision of the company and what the real challenges are. being open and transparent with everyone on the team from the top all the way to the most junior levels. including interns and tough conversations is something i believe in. >> it is interesting. i think people's instincts when they start out is to pretend everything is good.

>> start-ups are hard. they are hard work and challenging. there is a reason most start-ups fail. if you are transparent and honest and have a culture where that is embraced, i think your employees and team members will appreciate that and everyone should feel like a founder. >> i have a challenge for you. both of you i'm sure have been through hard times with your company. it is great to be transparent when everything is going well. we're having a hard time here. what do you think we should do? what do you do when evenirythin is tanking and you want to be transparent and you want people motivated? >> honesty is the best policy. people can sniff it on you if you are trying to hide something or skirt the topic. hit the nail on the head. actually tell them what's going on. you can't solve everything yourself. you will need the help of the team to solve whatever issue are you going through. it is better to be honest to come to a conclusion.

>> this goes back to culture. this week's selfie is from dan bickerstaff from shaker heights, ohio. now, why don't you pick up your smartphone and take a selfie and send it to us. we love seeing photos from around the country. include the name and name of your business. thank you so much for joining us today. it is take your child to work at nbc. here is what i have been thinking about. all of us who are small business owners shod talk about the company with our kids. kids can learn what revenue is and profit and you want them to go have a lemonade stand and say i made $10. here is my profit. here are my expenses. a lot can happen if we teach our

kids young. we would love to hear from you. if you have questions or comments, e-mail us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. we posted all of the segments from today on our web site. don't forget to connect with us on our digital platforms. we look forward to seeing you next time. i'm j.j. ramberg and these are the your business kids. 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. hi, everybody. i'm thomas roberts at msnbc world headquarters. this is what is happening right now. with the chickens coming home to roost after the passing of the health care bill, there will be a republican lawmaker with a town hall. he called this a great victory. constituents may come out in force today. we will have a preview. and passing the health care on to the senate. why there is more than one issue with the bill on its way to being handled on the other side of congress. election hacking. this time it is france. what was revealed one day before the presidential runoff. we begin with politics at