at? yes! i'm gonna just go back to doing what i was doing. find your awesome with the xfinity x1 voice remote. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," she asked for our guidance in growing her struggling tea company. this week, we go back with some friendly experts, tell her what she needs to do to make the leap and get her a meeting with sam's club. plus, some simple things you can do yourself to give your office a new look and feel. it's makeover day coming up next on "your business."

hi, everyone. i'm j.j. ramburg and welcome back to "your business." i first met nielis brown about two months ago. she hadn't earned enougho pay herself. she's very impressive, but she needed some help turning her company into something she could actually make a living from. so we called in the experts. we made some introductions. and together, they gave that business a workout. >> 2-year-old niela ellis brown makes her own hibiscus tea. it's based on a secret family

recipe inherited from her jamaican born great grandfather. he created this drink back in the 19 20s. >> what is your favorite thing on here? >> to my favorite accomplishment is the forbes 30 earn 30. >> her company finances are okay, but so far, niela has taken home no salary and has been unable to launch her product into the national market. that's why she asked our show for a makeover. last month, we traveled to detroit to get it started. >> i can walk you through the process starting from the beginning. >> perfect. >> thanks to the your business s.w.a.t. team of industry experts, we learned she has a great product and strong instincts for running a business. >> she works very, very hard and swre, very committed and very aggressive. >> she definitely knows which direction she wants to take her company. >> i think now she's on the edge of really bursting out and becoming something great. >> but they found she needs to step it up on the marketing, on the packaging, and on the

distribution. >> having a great product is only part of what it needs to be successful in a retail environment. >> one of the things to look out for is what the potential strategy and partners are going to be with the party. >> this makeover begins with scott miller, founder of core strategy group and craig binkley. they specialize in helping insurgents branz find a national market and get to the next level. >> you have to take what they give you. you have to do the doable. that's the first principal. >> at first, scott was impressed with nilah's media presence. >> i looked at all the video of you on tv and i was thinking, okay, she's an up and come onner. everyone has their eye on her. but they were so focused on you. >> he noticed almost all the press she got focused on her charming personality a overlooked her product, ellis island tea. >> i thought, no wonder this brand is not getting out of the starting box because this woman is too attractive. >> craig and scott suggested she needs to shift the media attention off herself and focus

it on the drink. to do that, she needs an exciting brand identity for her tea that will grab people's attention. >> i'm still trying to figure out the identity of ellis island tea. yes, it's a tea, but what kind of tea? >> building a brand identity is no easy task. it starts by asking lots and lots of questions. >> what do you want people to feel when they're drinking it? >> the first thing i always get is oh, my god, it's so smooth. then think say it tastes like real tea. >> as we define what this brand stands for and what makes it unique among its consumer is how do we make sure we have a wall around that. >> next step, scott and craig contacted skid more studios. skidmore volunteered to hip nii a lah create labels, packaging and maybe even a new name, eye catching designs that will get noticed on a store shelf and show what makes her tea different from anyone else out there. then katia and drew arrived with

the artwork. before presenting the new labels, katia explained how the team came up with their two design options. we've been, wog for weeks with scott and the team, crafting label designs for you, giving you that way to pop off the shelf, right? he began by explaining how the package needs to sell the product. and without advertising support, the label must do all the work. >> at first glance, the label stops you and you go, oh, that's interesting.. >> okay. >> then you grab it, you hold it in your hand. you said oh, this is en more interesting. and you go, i'making this home with me. >> the team studied the labels of competitive products to be sure the new labels won't get lost in the crowd. >> these are the positions that the competition is setting up. you're competing against the big boys. >> that's how they arrived at the brand identity which they summed up in three words. >> unhurried island craft. >> i like it. okay. >> this is the position. this is what sets you apart. >> at least, the unveiling of the first label decide. >> nice.

>> top of that, i have one for you to hold in your hands. >> okay. >> we made a craft label tea label inspired by wars makan tea dancer. first notice the name, ellis family special teams. >> i'm trying to digest the name change. >> do you want to move forward to the next one? >> oh, there's more? >> yes, there is more. a second design which has the same message, but a very different look. >> i want to introduce you to the black star line of iced tea. >> ooh, nice. >> this is a journey inspired by the golden age of travel. >> okay. >> so now what we've done is we've created that same concept, that refreshing, relaxing, taking ow a journey tea, but it's all about this journey to and from the caribbean. >> if i had to make a decision right now, i would definitely go with this one. >> this is great. >> this screams authentic. i just got a connect to this one. so i, i mean, ellis island tea

is gone now? >> it's gone. >> when i first saw the black star line label, i -- my instinct was this is it. the this is going on to be the label that we're going to use moving forward. and it kind of scared me. i was scared of how quick i was willing to just jump i and forget about ellissland tea. i was speechless and didn't know how to react. but i -- i would definitely say that was the biggest surprise. >> i'm surprised that nilah is as open as she is to taking suggestions. and even as extreme as thinking about the brand name. that was a surprise. >> a phrase on the label really cause niala had he h's attention. what is gentleman nakan sweet tea? >> you've created a whole new category. nobody else has jamaican any kind of tea. . >> with no other tea called jamaican sweet tea, nialah has a

new strategy. >> so you've set yourself up on the shelf against anybody else that we've reviewed and you said, i'm my own thing. >> jamaican sweet tea. >> you can't even compare me to somebody else. you have to try me. jamaican sweet tea. >> i'm interested to see what scott has to say. >> i'm like you. i'm drawn to this one. i think she got two excellent choices and i think she made the really right choice at the end of the day. >> i can't wait to see it on the shelves. i'm wondering if we could put both of these on the shelves next to the current label and people watch and see who twrabs -- >> absolutely. >> they took the sample bottle toes a local whole foods to test it in the display case. >> and look at this. >> yeah, wow, that's -- >> we don't even need to do that. . >> that's the great thing about about this label. it pulls you right in. >> i really like this one. >> it does. it pulls you in. i do like the way it pops. >> it really pops. >> this is a mix to get them from here and to hear is accomplished with ear stuff

here. >> back at the factory, the whole foods vice president for purchasing, bobby turner, came to weigh in on the new designs. >> i want your opinion on which label you think does a better job at popping and branding. >> let's see here. i think this one looks like fun and hip, like, you know -- but the messaging can be overwhelming. i'd go with this one. >> okay. yeah, that was the one that we decided to go with. i'm glad you chose that one. >> i do think the new label is going to help. it's really about creating a design and telling a story. >> that one really does stand on it out. it just kind of calls you light into that centerpiece and has a very good story to tell once you get in there. >> nialah was thrilled with the new labels. but without increased distribution, no one will ever see those labels. >> this is where all of the ingredients get measured out and mixed. >> that's where the executives of hms host come in.

hms operates many food consession at 44 of the 50 busiest u.s. airports. >> how many people does it typically take to work the line? >> hms had given nialah a test run at o'hare airport and now they've come to detroit with an offer. >> you're in one of the most competitive fields in this industry is bottled beverage. you're doing great. >> you've gotten every order in on time, so we really would like to roll you out to 14 more airports. so we're excited to try that out. >> nice. >> and we're really excited to get you to the next level. >> so that's -- that's major. to be honest, i wasn't expecting that. >> i think if you can move into this direction, we think we can do a lot more business with you. >>hen i was talking to host, i was very surprised at the amount of reach that they're giving me here. that was definitely a shocker there. i wasn't -- i was expecting maybe an additional one or two

airports. >> this is a game changer. the increased demand will allow nailah the to reduce production costs. then came a phone call from ed romero in ben yontville, arkansas. you know what's in bentonville. the corporate home of sams club inviting her to come and have a meeting. >> so here we are at sam's club headquarters. and bentonville, arkansas. this is the msnbc crew. and i'm about to go in and find out this verdict. will i get to do, will i not get a deal? let's see. i'm going to poker face this thing the whole way through. super nervous, but they won't know that. >> we're down over here. >> sam's club wants to help with this makeover, too. they offered to start her in the 33 stores in the midwest region. >> and in michigan, indiana and ohio, this will be the only iced

tea in the cooler? >> correct. you would be the exclusive fridge rated iced tea that sam's club carries. >> okay. i like the sound of that. okay. i guess i will -- i'm often told that i try to run before i walk, so i will take my time and own michigan first in the midwest and then see where i'm led from there. >> they went over to the local sam's club to look around. >> so this is -- this is where i'll be? >> yes. so you will be in this juice section. this is one of the highest volume sections in the cooler box. >> okay. >> and they'll see your option right there and hopefully they'll be encouraged to try it. >> okay.. of course they will because my display ready packaginging and my bottles aring going to pop. >> if i were to look at nialah on the scale of take off and invest versus sell and get out, i would definitely put her on on the invest, take off and success. now, is this a million dollar idea or a hundred million idea? i think only time will tell. she has potential f

success here. >> i literally met ed a few weeks ago and here i am with a deal. i feel like this is the big break that i've been waiting for all this time. i feel very, very excited and i feel like it's a breath of fresh air and like i'm just getting started. a quick footnote to this story. a few days ago we got a call from nialah. she told us after the camera crew left and the experts went home, she really loved the new label designs, but she wasn't able to give up the name ellis island tea. so the guys at skid more went back to the drawing board and this is the final version of the label. we want you to weigh in. should niala go with the line or should she do what she decided to do, keep the name ellis island tea. there's a lot of talk about building a personal brand out there right now and i often wonder whether it's important to growing your business or not. our next guest says it absolutely is and she's here to tell us why and how to do it.

dorrie clark is a marketing strategist and professor at duke university school of business. good to see you. >> thanks, j.j. >> i like this topic because i'm a little bit confused by it, right? in the old days, you could just have a great company. right there is martha stewart. her brand was her personal brand. but if you were building, you know, dish washers, you didn't have to be out there. your dishwasher spoke for itself. why do we need to think about our personal brands? >> a personal brand is important these days for business owners for a few reasons. number one, the competition for top talent is enormous. and if you have a strong, personal brand as being a good, innovative, fward-thinking leader, that incense adviseds the right talent to want to come to work for you. the same thing goes with finding investment. investors with, there's a long saying saying you bet on the jockey, not on the horse. they want a business leader that

is able to drive the business forward. if you have a strong brand, that's -- >> so it's interesting. so it's not necessarily to the consumers. you're talking about -- i mean, there might be something to get your consumer's people to buy your product. you about it's really about running your business. okay. so now let's get to the how-tos. number one, you say suppress what you want to be known for. >> yes. the starting place, many people think wrongly that personal branding is about looking into the world and saying what does the world want me to be and how can i pretend to be that? that's where it gets knocked because people say it's about phoniness or inauthenticity. that couldn't be further from the truth. first it's about clarifying what your values are and what's most important to you. it's about saying here are my strengths in the world and how can i better share them and portray them to people. >> got it. that makes sense. assemble your mental board of directors? >> yes. so everybody in business these days knows having a mentor is important. but i think that there's some

misconceptions about mentorship. many people think that it has to be this one perfect person that represents everything you want to be in the world, but that's a unicorn. most of us never find that. instead, i advocate having a mentor board of directors, meaning looking for the people around you that you like and respect, but not necessarily you want to be everything they are. it's about taking the skills and talents they have and learning those facets from them. >> and then, this goes after your next -- your last point about emulate your role models. pick who you want to be like. and you've got these great people to go out there and use as examples. >> that's right. and you can think broadly about this. your role model he hes could be the people in front of you. some people in your mentor board of directors. they also could be historical figures that you learn about from reading biographies. it could be people that you know slightly in your industry, but are a few years ahead of you. they're where you want to be. and you can begin to stalk them in a good way. see what organizations they're involved in. see what activities they're doing. and you can begin to model yourself so you can get some of

the same results. >> two more. set up a google alert on yourself. >> yes. very easy, simple, free. you can literally type the phrase google alert into google and set one up for your name and the name of your business. this will alert you every time it's mentioned on the internet. that way if there is incorrect information, you can correct it fast. if there's someone saying something nice about you, you can tank them rap yitdly. it helps you keep a pulse on your online reputation. >> and finally, create online content which is hard for some people, but it gives you a chance to be thoughtful about things and put them on paper, which organizes your own thoughts. >> that's exactly right. this is a point i make in my book stand out. it's very easy for people to send a 140 character tweet and feel like they're being productive and getting their on ideas out there. but what really distinguishes you, what let's your customers and the people around you see that you have valuable ideas is creating a long form content,

blog or pod cast videos that share your perspective or your idea necessary a big way. that is what enables people to look at it and say i love that, i have to do business with him or her. >> and if you're not a fabulous writer, you can get someone to edit it. >> anytime. >> thank you so much, dorrie. good to see you. >> thanks. you don't necessarily need a team of experts to help with makeovers. if you're looking to give your office a brand new look, we've got some great diy tips that you can use to give the work environment a completely different feel. ♪ >> our offers actually has become kind of a test ground for experimental design. so a lot of the things that we test out in this office, we try and see if they work. if they don't work. .then we'll bring them into start-up spaces. for instance, we have a green wall that will eventually become

an entire green partition wall. >> we've placed a track on the ceiling and we've taken white rope and pulled it down and tieded it to the plants. and we have anchors on the floor. so as the plants grow, we can raise the plants up and it will be a full partitioned green wall which separates the reception area from the coworking area. >> adding something living to every space i think is an amazing design asset to draw from. and so adding something like a plant wall is not terribly expensive. we're trying to design solutions that give the maximum effect for the minimum spend. >> this is our sack wall. it's made out of found objects, like a suitcase. we've used round apple baskets, as well. these are vintage wine crates from etsy. they're around $20$60. you can finds them anywhere in a vintage shop or a flea market. >> i think you're work wng sort

of this paradox of how do we give a face the feeling of permanence while giving it the actual im per nance it needs to grow with thecompany. that transient is a difficult gray area to navigate. i think we use solutions like the greenhouse so you don't get contractors or board approval to get a conference room up. you may not be there in six months or eight months. why waste time when you can construct something pre-fab and take it with you. >> it is something you notice when you walk in. we name there after beyonce songs. halo and video phone and run the world. >> post-it wall where people write notes and put it on to congratulate other people or mask how they align with our three tenets of the brand of

homepolish. post-its are expensive. why not have fun with it? >> this standing desk is a great example of how the design office is making it better. it is unnatural for people to sit down for 8 to 12 hours a day. a lot of people request standing desks, but they are expensive. they are $800 to $1,000. in this case, we took an ikea counter top and attached pipe legs to move around the space with castors so it moves. the marquee is the favore a ones to the office. it is a great way to inspire employees. we put fun quotes up. we use the space for company lunches. we try to keep it positive with a nice message. this is from thomas edison. it is a great quote.

>> we're always experimenting with lighting. i think lighting is something that can really make or break a space. in this particular office, we wanted to experiment with residential lighting. commercial lighting can tend to feel cold or boilerplate boring. we use chandeliers and we decided to see how chandeliers function on dimmers and can you get enough ambient light. what feeling does it give you? the result was great. i mentioned desk space. one of the things we wanted to experiment with is using vintage and found tables and how you create a cohesive look with every table is different. we used a paint color and took the tables and paint ed them al the same color and it gives unity to the work space. in order to grow your customer base, you need to reach

the right people, but you need to reach them at the right time. even tremendous pre your gives us the five tools you need to know. one, chattypeople can push customers through sales panel and take orders from facebook and gather data to customize to the customers. all without y physical being there. two, promorepublic is a content builder and posting tool. auto post and schedule to facebook, instagram and twitter and linkedin. and hotjar has information about how visitors are spending time on your site. four, yoast let's you get your business higher on the sbo rankings. and majestic helps with tools to

make sure you have a way to connect all potential customers to your products and services. when we come back, more advice on helping your business grow. including what metrics you need to get funded and why you shouldn't let your ego get in the way of your business decisions. thank you so much. thank you! so we're a go? yes! we got a yes! what does that mean for purchasing? purchase. let's do this. got it. book the flights! hai! si! si! ya! ya! ya! what does that mean for us? we can get stuff. what's it mean for shipping? ship the goods. you're a go! you got the green light. that means go! oh, yeah. start saying yes to your company's best ideas. we're gonna hit our launch date! (scream) thank you! goodbye! let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open.

one thing as a start-up we are always finding is metrics. my question is what is the affordable way to get metrics we need to close the deal for funding? >> if you have a full-on web site, you can start getting metrics around customer engagement and interacting with the site. the web site is the first place to get metrics. the second place is start getting analytics around customers. that could be potential customers if you don't have them yet, but customers that are current customers. how many do you have? how is the number changing over time? what is the churn of the customers? those are valuable metrics. finally, financials. that is huge for metrics. what are the sales? what are the margins? how is that number changing over time? look to web sites and customers

and financials and that will give you a good ground starting point for metrics. it will be enough to get attention and learn more. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. let's get to the panel. carol roth is a business strategist of a fortune 500 company. and dorrie clark is a marketing strategist and business administeriration at duke university school of business. good to see you. >> you, too, j.j. >> i was just at duke for my reunion. great to be there. let's get your tip. >> thank you. my tip, j.j., is business owners really need to rethink their goal setting. one of the biggest problems we have is that we set goals that number one have too many facets. too many sub-goals and number two, we don't review them

frequently enough. rita at columbia business school has done research. it turns out the business environment is changing so fast these days that actually the most successful businesses don't just have annual plans, instead, they are reevaluating goals four-to-six months. we need to do that and choosing fewer goals. choose one or two things to focus and go deep on. that is the path to success. >> what is your tip? >> in any business endeavor that you do, you need to be pursuing roi. return on investment instead of roe. return on ego. there are too many activities these days. whether social media or pr or networking where there is an opportunity for you to feel really great about yourself. you get the likes on facebook or twitter. you collect business cards and networking event. it doesn't mean it is advancing

your business. until you can pay your payroll and your mortgage with ego, you don't want to focus on that. you want to focus on what brings in the money. anything that you are doing whether it is on a short-term basis or long-term basis, has to have a very clear plan on how you will translate that into actual dollars and sales for business and not just making yourself feel really great. >> great advice. thanks both of you. this week's yourbizselfie comes to us from already luis s. he uses an approach to get rid of canine plaque and tarter. i know some dogs who can use the service. pick up your phone and take a selfie of you and your business. send it to us @yourbusiness.

including your name and name of your business and location and don't forget to use th the #yourbizselfie. thank you for joining us today. if you have questions or comments about the show,-mail us to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. go to our web site which is o n openfor openforum. we look forward to seeing you next time. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. and remember. we make your business our business. so that's the idea. what do you think? hate to play devil's advocate but... i kind of feel like it's a game changer. i wouldn't go that far. are you there? he's probably on mute. yeah... gary won't like it. why? because he's gary. (phone ringing) what? keep going! yeah... (laughs) (voice on phone) it's not millennial enough.

there are a lot of ways to say no. thank you so much. thank you! so we're doing it. yes! start saying yes to your company's best ideas. let us help with money and know-how, so you can get business done. american express open. good morning. i'm ayman mohyeldin at msnbc world headquarters in new york. it is 8:00 a.m. least. day 149 of the trump administration. the battle over the russia investigation. trump hires at lawyer and fallout from the latest tweet. including whether the deputy attorney general will have to recuse himself and will robert mueller get fired? and the battle for the georgia house seat. a poll suggests it will be down to the wire. could democrats steal oe reliable republican seat? still deliberating after 52 hours, the