across our entire network, to more companies, in more locations, than centurylink. we do business where you do business. ♪ ♪ good morning, coming up next on "your business" a luxury apron line which grows into a multi-million dollar company with celebrity chef customers. designer tori birch tells us how she grew her brand into a billion dollar business. and i head down to washington to find out how you can procure a government contract. we have all the information you need to grow fast, go far and work smart, coming up next on "your business." your business is sponsored by american express open. helping you get business done.

hi, there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" the show dedicated to helping business decisi decisionmakers grow their companies. for those of you who watch us every week you might notice something is different. we have a brand-new set here and a brand-new look and we're very excited about it. what we have is the same great stories that will help you run your businesses. we'll start with this one. when ellen bennett was a 19-year-old cook working her way through culinary school, she never thought she would be cooking up something stateside that would change kitchen wear fashion forever. caught the attention of hundreds of thousands of fans across the country. now, she's running a multi-million dollar business. and there's no doubt ellen has made the leap. ♪ >> it's been called the apple of the culinary world.

offering a collection of high-end, durable aprons, chef gear and accessories. l.a.-based headley and bennett have revolutionized the way we look at fashion in the food space. >> we take making aprons very seriously. >> 29-year-old founder ellen bennett foundly known as the apron lady is the burst of inspiration at the helm of this movement. since 2012, her vibrant handcrafted design have been a favorite in more than 4,000 kitchens across the country. ellen was working as a line cook earning $10 an hour when she cooked up the idea for headley and bennett. >> no one thought about making an apron that looked good and was functional. >> reporter: the standard a white apron. >> it didn't fit, i wanted to make a better uniform and something that people felt proud to wear in the kitchen. >> the art of the high-end apron

became ellen's daily focus. the lack of design experience never held her back. >> i had chunks and dreams and i had ideas. i had to be like, no, let me just tell you. we're talking about proper aprons. they're made out of japanese denim and handmade in los angeles. and every pocket is reinforced and then put it on their body. tie it on and then they'd love it. >> the steep price tag wasn't a hard sell either. >> you look at the craftsmanship that goes into and you think this thing will literally last forever. it takes 12 people to make one headley & bennett apron. >> from the structure and stitching to the fabrics and hardware, it brings a bold and durable design as threat took the world of culinary work wear. much of the company's success is driven by ellen's work ethic. >> when tickets are coming in and the chef is yelling and something came back and somebody is gluten free and you have to

fix it. that men tetality of working wi urgency, you have to be hustling, especially when you have a start up. >> one item on ellen's management was her fine dining approach to details. >> everything is about finding the tiniest little error in fixing it and making it perfect. so, you know, when you take that approach to business, sometimes it can like really clash with people because you're trying to get them to be so meticulous on something and they don't think that way. so, it's like finding that happy medium. recognizing that not everybody is me. and being willing to be okay with that. >> ellen uses instagram to celebrate her growing group of fans. they celebrate the drive and passion behind headley & bennett. >> that's the apron squad. we're makers, we're doers. >> you're part of the apron

squad. you're part of the team of people that believes in this. get out there and wake up and fight. we're going to be hustlers and wake up and we're going to make something out of ourselves. that's what we stand for and that's so cool. >> mario and martha stewart are two of the most well-known squad members. and her pet pig serves as its masc mascot. it's not just for manufacturing. ellen has made the apron factory a place for current customers to get an emersive brand experience. >> it's like willy wonka and the chocolate factory. we greet you and we'll give you a hug if you're willing to get one. you get to go try aprons on. your kid is in the slide and somebody rides the zip line. it's a whole world. i want to see you post about it online and we'll repost it and taking old school ideas and new school technology and jamming them together. >> the apron factory also hosts

all kinds of events. shining the spotlight on people and brands throughout the food community. >> i want every touch point with headley & bent to be special. >> recently they welcomed shake shack to the west coast. >> we threw 3,000-person party and put a deejay in the tree house. to open your doors and share that other people, we're growing together and we're doing something bigger and better for everybody. >> that sentiment rings true in their packaging. with every shipment customers receive a little gift highlighting another brand. like connecting the community and being willing to share that platform and say, hey, what do you have that's cool? let's include it. i think it's osanymoreawesome a tahelp my community grow. >> an overall feeling in the community space. >> teams are now looking better, feeling better and way more on brand. more like put this on and hold your head up high and do a good

job today. and that's so awesome to be able to do it with a uniform. over the last 13 years tori birch turned her fashion company which she started at her kitchen table to a billion dollar enterprise. today while she's best known for her very recognizable clothing she, herself, is equally, if not more proud of the work she's doing to help empower other women entrepreneurs through the tori birch foundation. we sat down with her to talk about her journey building both ventures. tory birch built her fashion company on a simple premise. colorful, classic and a little bohemian. >> i certainly never went to business school. i never went to design school. and i had an idea and it struck

a cord. it was something that was missing in the market. it was something that i was personally missing and it was a pretty simple idea. clothes that were beautifully made that didn't cost a fortune. and i think that when you're missing something that's another good way to think about the business you're launching or working on building. >> her style resonated with women almost immediately. even though there were naysayers who discouraged her almost every step of the way. >> think of negativity as noise. and, you know, really believe in yourself. so many times people said, oh, i don't like your logo. why are you launching online? people will never buy online? this is 12 years ago. we launched with one retail store at an ecommerce site and they said that was absolutely the wrong way to do it. if you have conviction and you go with your gut and you believe you're answering a need, that's when it works.

>> in 2015, "forbes" listed birch as the 73rd most powerful women in the world. behind the scenes, she knew her company was starting to suffer from growing pains. >> every ceo i had spoken with had told me about this inflection point and i didn't buy into it until i just had this feeling that things were different. things were happening. technology was taking hold. and we needed to really address the next ten years of our business. it was about putting in the right infrastructure. putting in the right systems. looking at our team which was hard because i'm a really loyal person. but some people are great at different parts of your business and you need to look at and pivot into different areas. it was probably the hardest thing i've ever done. you have to be a leader. you have to have your team

believe in what we're doing. and it's not always easy. but i think if you're not nimble and you're not reactionary, that's when businesses really have long-term problems. >> reporter: from the day she launched her business, she knew she wanted to do something else, as well. she wanted to build a foundation to help other women develop their companies. ♪ >> we just want to help more and more women. we want to be the go-to source for women entrepreneurs. and i think our website is really that. people are writing business plans off of the website and hopefully we're giving them a ton of information. >> the tory birch foundation empowers women entrepreneurs by providing access to capital and education and resources. >> we are disrupting business as usual for the boutique business industry. >> the foundation offers a fellowship program where ten finalists get to pitch their companies for investment to birch at their new york headquarters. >> 800 applicants and then

narrow it down to 200 and then narrow it down to 35. and from the 35 incredible businesses, it was pretty tough. >> the winner is paris sabo. >> they created natural nontoxic toothpaste and personal care products. her pitch convinced birch and the other judges that her business was the one they wanted to help boost. >> well, paris is going to get $100,000, $50,000 out right and $50,000 a no-interest loan towards her business education and i think it's the beginning of a wonderful relationship. finding great employees is hard. in my experience, it's one of the most difficult things you have to do. and it starts with making sure you're getting the right people into the interview process in the first place. if you don't have a good pool,

you're not going to end up with a good result. "forbes" gives us five ways to help you attract great candidates. one, use interactive video. when deloit used a gamified version for their job search the result was greater candidate engagement and a better sense of what people were looking for. two, invite candidates behind the scenes. host open houses where potential employees can experience your culture first hand. this will help you weed out people who aren't the right fit. three, integrate artificial intelligence and big data. tools like mia and lisa can reduce the admin work so you can have your human recruiters measure like personality and character. four, be optimized for mobile. google now ranks companies that are mobile friendly higher in searches. and, five, don't ignore word of mouth. your employees are your biggest brand ambassadors.

so, encourage them to spread the word when you have open positions. earlier this week, i went to washington, d.c., to participate in a conference on government contracting. and here's a fun fact for you. the u.s. government is the largest consumer of products and services in the world. the entire world. so, if you're looking for a new customer, don't count them out. but it's not easy to get those contracts. managing director of red carrot, a miami-based advertising agency, wondered if she could sold the guovernment working wih her company when she launched in 2011. it is her biggest client making up 70% of her business. i caught up with her seeing how she did it. >> getting a government federal contract is a dream come true for us. we got our first government contract about two years ago and helped us hire more people and deliver events all over the country and grew us to the next level. >> you're marketing and

advertising agency. what even got you thinking about this? >> i do know that government almost works like a business. they purchase everything. they purchase marketing services, janitorial services. they purchase everything that you wouldn't think of and i started looking into the government and seeing what they procure on fbo.com and i found them. they do buy advertising services. >> how hard was it? it's a common thought that it's just not worth the red tape going through the bureaucracy and too hard, so why even bother? >> everything in life is hard. if you really want something, you have to stay focused. not easy to land a federal government contract. they don't go to your door knocking. if you stay focused and persevere you'll get a government contract if you're good at what you do. >> what tips do you have? i talked to people who tried to get them and at some point threw up their hands. >> i think the most important thing with federal government contracting is to stay true to your core and focus on what you really do. don't try to do it all.

also establish the right teams. sometimes you may be good at something and you may find another company that is really good at another area and team together to work together to get the government contract. >> do you do that? >> i have done that. >> in what way? we can handle the advertising and someone else and do something else? >> we can handle the advertising and someone else can handle the logistics. you can't think of a government contract that you're going to do it all by yourself. always great companies you can work with and have great past performance that you can use, also, to make your proposal stro stronger. >> did you use any consultants to get through the paperwork? >> i did not use consultants to help with the paperwork. there are a lot of consultants out there, but i have not had a chance to work with consultants to help with the paperwork. >> you felt you could do it on your own and it was fine? >> i like to try something first on my own if i can do it. if i need the extra resources, i can tap into a consultant.

>> how long did it take and what mistake did you make that you say to other people that you say, hey, watch out for this? >> so many mistakes with federal government contracting. i did learn a lot before i submitted my first proposal. i read a lot and the first proposal that we did, we won. and it was because we did our homework and doing your homework really, really helps. >> it was just reading and talking to people. >> reading and talking to people. >> you were able to fill that out. you beat out an incumbent, too. you took the job from somebody else who had already been doing it. a lot of people think once you're in, you're in. that's clearly not the case. >> not in this situation it isn't. we offered solutions and the client really liked our proposal. >> congratulations. 80% of your business comes from the government. >> it does. >> i'm sure the company is going to keep growing. thanks for stopping by. >> thank you. rosemary knows an opportunity when she sees it. she understood that getting a government contract could make a business. so, when she started her

company, gher strategy was to ct through the red tape and make it as easy for the government to work with her. the government is the world's biggest procurer of product. that's a huge opportunity for someone like us. >> rosemary is something of a rock star in the world of government contracting. >> we were able to do business with the government within 60 days of starting the business. >> she's mastered the art of getting diversity certifications, bidding on government contracts and, you guessed it, filling out piles of paperwork. when she launched gor rilla stationers in huntington beach, california, she was bound and determined to get her business a small slice of uncle sam's pie. >> we started the company knowing we would go after government and diversity business. that was always our plan to become a diversity supplier

because that's a niche in the market that is not 100% fulfilled at this point. >> but it's hard to get that first contract. so, how kid sdid she do it? for her, it was just about experience. rosemary's knack for the office supply business and fearless approach to government contracting was something she learned at her first job. >> when i moved to california at 18, i went into the office products business. so, i've learned a lot of things about doing business with the government. >> with $500 billion available every year for purchasing, rosemary simply couldn't afford to let an opportunity as big as this pass her by. she had to go out on her own and start a business. >> hey, heather, it's rosemary, hope you're having a good week so far. >> for the uninitiated, working with the government could be daunting. that's why we asked rosemary to share some tips on how to approach the task of landing a government contract. her first piece of advice, if you can, get a diversity

supplier certification. rosemary has six of them. >> a diversity supplier is a small business, a woman-owned business, a hispanic-owned business and an asian business. now they have the gay and lesbian designation. that diverse business is a percentage of sales that the government has to spend with these designations. >> for instance, women-owned businesses get 5%. if your head is spinning, rosemary recommends contacting your local small business development center to help figure it out. that's how she got contacted with linda hoyt. >> pick a day to come over. >> i would love that and i'm dyeing to meet charlie. >> people experienced in doing business with the government like linda can guide you through the process. >> number one, you need to understand who your target markets are. it's not just saying, i'm going to get government contracts. but who is going to buy the products. how do they buy and understanding that whole process. >> understanding what products

appeal to the government led rosemary to buy out two smaller companies to diversify and broaden her product line. >> our first acquisition was a company called gizmo. a very fun, hip, technology-based company. then in may of 2015 we purchased a company based in van nice called inc. for all and that's been a very successful integration as all. ink for all sold toner and ink, gorilla station sells toner, inc., office products, janitorial products. >> michael stone one of the founders of ink for all has stayed on with gorilla. so far the partnership is working exactly as planned. >> rosemary approached us and kind of inquired about acquiring ink for all, we thought maybe this is a better thing for us and it turned out to be a great thing, it's helping our section of the company grow. >> prior to the acquisition michael had no government customers, now the ink and toner portion of the business is a big

seller at gorilla, especially for the government customer looking for those special recycled products. >> there is so much opportunity in the government sector, so, you know, we are always looking for new contracts, new segments of business that we can get involved with. >> another way to find out if indeed you want to work with a government agency and if you're qualified to is to go to a how to class run by the organization. >> if you don't understand how to do business with an agency they regularly have classes, you know, how to do business with this agency, what paperwork they are required. >> and there is the dreaded word, "paperwork." >> it's government so it is going to be -- it's all about the paper unfortunately. she had some experience so she knew what she was up against and she understood the system. for somebody that's starting out totally new, it takes a while. >> linda says once all that paperwork is figured out and that first government contract is snagged, getting others to

follow becomes easier. rosemary now has customers at the federal, state and local level and as she guessed when she started this process, they've turned out to be some of the best customers she has. >> they pay their bills on time. so with the federal government in some cases it's net ten. so before they pay big businesses they pay our invoice. >> stay with us. coming up on "your business" we have expert advice on how to scale your company and then we go to our brain trust to find out where to go to fund that growth. 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. ♪ what are some unexpected challenges you face when scaling a medium-sized business to a large business? >> the biggest unexpected challenge you face when scaling from medium to large is just because you are the business leader and you say it, doesn't make it so. you have to start scaling your decision-making which means you, like all the other leaders in your company, need to sell through great new priorities, you need to create check points to make sure they're getting done, otherwise you will come back in five weeks later and

realize nothing has gotten started. trust me, the reverse is far worse, which is you've mumbled something under your breath in a meeting and everyone has taken that as the net new priority. making sure getting things done is something you can scale and you're really stating your priorities to everyone so they know what's most important is one of the biggest unexpected challenges you'll face. this is the brain trust where i get to take the really complicated sticky messy questions that we all deal with in business and ask it of some of the smartest minds in the business world. today i have cindy whitehead ceo and founder of sprout pharmaceuticals, you took the female viagra, pushed it through the fda, sold your company for a billion dollars which is truly amazing. >> sam skii the president of she knows which has grown three times, it's one of the top five media companies online, also the biggest conference for female bloggers. congratulations to both of you. >> i want to talk to you about funding. you decided not to take any vc

funding for your company. how much did you raise for sprout. >> ultimately $100 million. >> wow. that's amazing. >> no venture capitalists. i want to know why. what was behind that? >> i had been in a number of different operating roles in venture-backed companies and i felt that that short-term perspective and that lack of appreciation of the fabric of building the company really was missing and when i was going to do it i was doing it on my own terms, i wanted people in there hobbled in what i was trying to do more than just the bottom line alone. >> sam, you've been in vc-backed companies, private equity, public companies and one of the things that i hear from people on the good side of getting venture money is suddenly you are part of a club. >> yeah. >> so you get this automatic network and you get this group of people who can help you. >> no doubt. so i think that -- and i've had good experiences in all of the above, whether it's public, private equity backed, private equity owned, vc backed, angel backed and i've had terrible experiences with all of the

above also. being vc backed it gives you a polish, it gives you a feeling of being validated, endorsed, i'm so impressed by those who choose not to go that way because it gives you confidence in a moment when you might be struggling for confidence. >> sure. >> and it gives you a network. >> one of the things that i always get sort of -- i think is crazy is when you say how is their company doing, they are just successful, they just raised $40 million in venture money. venture is lit erred with unsuccessful companies. >> sure. >> it's weird that we celebrate that metric, isn't it? they have just raised. for me that was the moment of abject terror. i had people's money, i had their kids college tuition, it became very personal to me because of raising it through angel so i really knew their family, what this money was earmarked for and why i had to deliver it back and then some. one of the -- my fears is -- and i've had good experience as well of course in venture backed companies is a little bit like the other people's money

syndrome of, well, they made a bet, they can lose it. i think we're nonchalant about that today. >> you think founders are. >> yes. >> and the venture companies. >> yes. >> they're expecting to lose it, so if it happens -- >> if you look at the odds you choose in, you are more likely not to succeed. >> right. >> as a vc. i think we celebrate these funding rounds because we're looking at like five companies who got a lot of funding early on and blew it out of the water. >> right. >> we are not usually -- i think more and more we're starting to look at the hugely venture-backed companies who failed miserably. i think that that's going to change a little bit and that there will be more due diligence i hope. >> that is a perfect place to leave it. thank you both. this week's your biz selfie comes from kingsly gardener, owner of kgm entertainment in bow neat at that springs, florida.

he runs a talent management agency, it looks like he's pretty good at his job because he just got a picture of some of his clients on national television. let us know who those women are, we'd love to know. >> all of you out there pick up your smartphone and take a selfie of you and your business, no professional shots, please, and send it to yourbusiness@msnbc.com or tweet it to msnbc your biz. include your business, location and use the hashtag. >> thank you everyone so much for joining us today. we hope that you like our new look. running a show is just like running a business, when you make a big change like this you have to have process and leadership and all kinds of things like you need when you make a change in your company. so i want to personally thank every single person at msnbc who touched this project, and there are a lot of you, because i think it looks great. now we would love to hear from you, so if you have any

questions or you have any comments about today's show just e-mail us at yourbusiness @msnbc.com. go to our website openforum.com/your business. we've posted all of the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more. don't forget to connect with us on our digital and social media platforms as well. we look forward to seeing you next time. until then i'm j.j. ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. 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. ♪ good morning and welcome to "politics nation." as the nation celebrated its independence this week, in parts of chicago there was no reason to party as gun violence continued to rock the windy city. we will talk about that in a moment. also, president trump's voter fraud commission is having a real hard time fighting a problem that simply doesn't exist. more on th