good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc's "your business," the owner of a seattle sandwich shop reinvents the convenience store model to meet the millennial lifestyle. and build support for local businesses. our experts provide some small biz hacks that can attract customers on small business saturday. and this entrepreneur is helping other vets find jobs that can utilize the skills they learned in the military. let's grow fast, and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business."

>> "your business" is sponsored by american express open. helping you get business done. hi everyone, i'm j.j. ramberg, and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. in seattle, we met one entrepreneur who's taken her great grandfather's old school business model, the corner store, and updated it to fit the millennial lifestyle. it's got a wine bar, coffee baristas and locally sourced handmade gifts. this entrepreneur has already got three neighborhood locations in seattle, and just like other local seattle business, starbucks, she told us she's got big plans. >> puget sound, earl grey or coconut lime. >> we focus a lot on community

here. and that opportunity to come and have somebody say, hey, how's it going, and really mean it? all of that is what creates the opportunity for me. >> dani cone is the owner of cone & steiner is, a small chain of three convenience stores in seattle. >> i've been in the service industry my entire life. and one of my favorite things about the service industry are those relationships that you form, literally, over the counter. >> for dani, the community focus, or shop local idea, isn't just limited to her relationship with her customers. >> we believe in creating opportunity on all sides of the counter. which means with our team, with our customers, and with our vendors. this isn't the dani cone show. this is us. >> for her largely urban, millennial customers, small batch locally sourced products are a big draw. >> so many of the products are surrounding us in this store that we're sitting in have roots here in seattle. shopping local gives all of us a chance to grow.

>> in fact, she sees her shops as a three-way growth opportunity. for manufacturers who get shelf space. for shoppers who get unique products, and for her stores which get a reputation for offering these kinds of hip goodies. >> we support them. but in that way, they also support us. we have unique access to some of these products, because of what we do. because that's part of our values, and part of our business model. >> dani is providing an incredible service. >> erin nelson is head of seattle made a local manufacturer's advocacy group. she sees an economic impact in what dani is doing. >> there is an exponential multiplier effect in terms of the amount of money that stays in the community when you are having local retail, local manufacturing, and employing local staff. >> dani's expanded vision of shop local doesn't stop with her customers and vendors. it also extends to her neighboring storekeepers, too. here at the pioneer square store, she opens the wall between her store and her next door neighbor. how has the week been so far?

>> good. >> they both say the customers love being able to pass through from one place to the next, and at the capital hill store, there's a wide open passageway between her shop and the next door bakery. >> they let us use the walk-in, we store our excess ingredients over there. we have a really nice relationship with their staff. we use their bathroom, they use our bathroom. customers just flow back and forth. it's really nice. customers that weren't aware of cone & steiner see it through the window and -- >> while dani is very focused on developing her own community she is quick to tell you that she has not lost sight of her own bottom line. >> i mean it's a business. in a for-profit business if our business model is not viable and successful, then i can't create jobs. i can't create that shelf space for local vendors. i can't create a community place for people. i can't do any of these things. >> with seattle as her hometown, dani says she's got a great example of a shop local success

business model. >> everybody starts from somewhere. right? starbucks started skwr. it happened to have started here. so shopping local can lead to huge and it's not about just help out a little guy over here. >> dani's business is not very huge. it is very local. >> i'm from here. i am local. my family is from here, who also have businesses here. >> when dani talks about her local roots she's not kidding. this store might be only a few years old, but its ancestry goes way back. >> it's based off my great grandfather's grocery store that was here in seattle about 100 years ago. >> just like her great grandfather, who built his business to serve his neighbors, dani's flagship store is located just a block and a half from her home. and, less than half a block from her first business, a coffee shop she still owns and operates called fuel. and her customers get it. >> i think it brings us back to kind of that vintage feeling of going to the soda shop, or you

know just knowing the store really well and feeling comfortable in it. >> with a coffee bar, pastries, sandwich station, fresh produce, clever gifts, candies and a wine bar, dani's mix of products and services stretches from breakfast to way past dinner, and the model seems to be working. >> we're taking that model, and bringing it in to today for the modern consumer. >> i live in an apartment upstairs around the corner. so i actually come here quite frequently to pick up a couple things on my way home from work or if i need anything to dinner. >> coming to get my wife a birthday candle and card and see people here having a pint of beer in a nice community area. >> it's a nice place, real quiet, not too -- >> well i think of like a little tiny grocery store, but with other accessories. yeah, there's tons of stuff here. a great variety. >> for this reason dani sees her store as an updated version of

7-eleven. >> our sales per square foot are in the same range as 7-eleven. we believe that this model is like i was saying kind of the 7-eleven for the modern consumer with an eye to more quality, specialty, and local. >> what makes her shop local business model work? dani says it's her commitment to the community. >> this isn't a new and innovative idea. this is what my great grandfather was doing 100 years ago when he came to this country and was seeking community. this is the kind of store he created. and that's what was created there in community. that's what we're creating, is that place. >> small business owners are going to be doing all they can to get customers to shop local this small business saturday. so what are some things you can do to maximize your sales on this kickoff to the holiday shopping season? receivea lesonsky is the founder of grow biz media, and barry moltz is a small business consultant. you can find him online at barry

moltz.com. together rieva and barry are author of the upcoming new book small business hacks, 100 short cuts to success. so good to see you both. >> great to see you. >> small business saturday, this is our day, right? this is our christmas. >> we wait all year for. >> exactly. okay. so let's talk about what owners can be doing now and one of the things you say rieva is think about that online listing. >> yes you have to claim your local listings. and claim them in all the search engines. so you claim it in google, bing, you claim it in yahoo! whatever there is. but also think about what your business is, and you might want to claim it in yelp. you might want to claim it in tripadvisor. >> how do i claim it? >> you go online, and they all have forms you can fill out. or you can a company will do it for you -- the forms are free. google's not going to charge you to do this. but you have to be painstakingly correct. so you can't like list your address as street and spell it out in one and s-t abbreviated in another because you have bots

who are making the connection and they don't connect. >> and the reason to blame this, you might be thinking oh, people are just coming to me anyhow but i know that when i look for something online i look at those hours. >> right. >> especially during the holiday season. >> so the stats are actually 82% of smartphone users who are looking to shop somewhere locally go to a search engine to do it and 72% of those end up in a store within five miles of where that person lives. >> got it. >> so that's why you have to do it. >> okay. barry, let's talk to you about prospects. when we think about prospects not responding to us generally i think of a b2b business. you say think of your big ticket item customers as prospects. >> a lot of people go to a place where they're going to buy a car or a couch or a piece of art and you get the contact's name and reach out to them and they never respond to you. so we have a hq in the back it's hack number 51, how to get these prospects to respond when they won't. it's called the abc method. you send an e-mail, quick favor,

please reply a, b or c. a i'm still interested. b, i'm still interested but could be tact me in a week. and c, i'm no longer interested. you'd be surprised 95% of the people actually get back to you with a, b or c and then at least you have an answer and you can move on to someone who really wants to buy from you. >> this is a good thing to do now before -- >> absolutely. >> get them thinking maybe the actual purchase will be made on that saturday. this gets also to the point of loyalty program because it's all about reaching out with your customers. >> it really is. you're in a competitive environment today. why should somebody shop with you small when they can go to a department store, maybe get more done at once. so it's about creating loyal customers and the way to do that is create customer loyalty pr t programs. and we're not talking about buy 12 sand witches get the 13th one free. a lot of companies, belly does it where you can join up and they'll create this program for you. but it's about getting information on your customers. sometimes it's about -- oh, you

bought this, maybe come in and do this. it's about telling them, oh, small business saturday, you have their name. you want to market to them. look what we have in the store just for you. oh, you're a loyal customer, we're going to give you an extra discount if you come shop with us that day. but if you don't have a formal program you have no method or process in which to reach out to your customers. >> and should businesses -- actual i i know the answer, be teaming up with other businesses in the area. of course. in what ways? >> i think if you have any kind of joint promotion that really helps because then you're going to a larger audience, so you have mohr of a chance of attracting a customer that may be interested in this retail store and you're right next door. they'll come to you, as well. >> and the real issue is small business saturday is the kickoff. >> right. >> and so make an event of it. get people in your door >> right. >> and then if they don't buy anything then you still have the whole holiday season. >> this one we have an extra shopping saturday. i just wrote about this -- >> oh, that's great. >> so there's an extra day of shopping so you want to establish that, and when you get

them in on small business saturday make sure you say hey, come back in two weeks, we're going to have this really special thing. and again, incentivize them to do that so they come back to you and not go somewhere else. >> and the good part about the holiday season is people are already predisposed to buy now. >> yep. >> so you have them right where you want them. >> yes. i was at the store the other day. you should have seen my shopping cart. i'm not even a real consumer. but still piling stuff for the holidays. it's not even thanksgiving yet. so good to see you both. congratulations on the book. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. >> have a great small business saturday. >> you, too. employee health care is one of the highest costs that businesses pay every year. here are five ways to use wellness programs to save on health care. one, educate your employees. engage and empower your team with information that they can use to improve their overall health, and well-being on their own. two focus on disease management. programs that remind people to

take their medication, schedule checkups, and otherwise stabilize their current conditions can help keep your employees out of the emergency room. three, find a partner. work with hospitals or health professionals to create the best short and long-term wellness programs. four, invest in lifestyle management programs. initiatives like fitness competitions, and smoking cessation programs can cut costs in the long-term by preventing at-risk employees from developing costly illnesses. and five measure your program's success. wellness programs can be a great resource, but if no one uses them or they're not working, they are a waste of time and money. so, pick the metrics and keep track of them to see if your program needs to pivot. as we prepare to celebrate veterans day this week, we're mindful of how difficult it can be to make the transition from combat zone to an office building. for many returning service people, the process can be overwhelming. and that's where this veteran

entrepreneur saw his opportunity to make a difference. >> we're dust off aviators. we flew medical evacuation. we picked up the wounded. you don't know if you're going to get shot at. you don't know if you're going to be able to land. you fly into this hot l.z. and sometimes you're throwing people on board and trying to treat them as best as you can en route. >> anthony garcia jr. is a veteran of the second iraq war. he and his team repeatedly flew into the line of fire to rescue wounded soldiers. the army trained him to do the best you can. >> there was definitely things that you can't get out of your head. things that you wish you could unsee. >> amanda willett is an air force veteran. she and her team cared for those wounded. at war they were celebrated hard chargers. but back here at home, things were just plain hard. >> we're trying to change the way that the united states of america used the veterans. most of us don't have ptsd. it's just we're getting used to

having our freedoms back. >> today, anthony is the cofounder of an oakland california based tech start-up guideon. he's making it his business to change those civilian perceptions. >> they have always viewed a veteran as somebody who's broken or somebody who needs to be retrained or somebody who just doesn't have the skills to succeed in the private sector. >> anthony says that's ridiculous. and two years ago he put his money where his mouth is. he built a business around getting vets adjusted. particularly focused on helping them find jobs. >> i never wrote a resume while i was in the army and i had several different jobs and i was in there for eight years. i never had to network or sell myself. you don't know how to explain what you did in private sector terminology. >> part of a medevac company working in rc south and part of isap as part of oef. >> tell that to a hiring manager and they'll probably give you a blank stare. but tony garcia sr. knows what that means. >> so you were the third team

leader of a particular department that worked in a regional area that was in some cases in very dangerous territory. >> and so guideon takes that military speak and translates it into something civilians can understand. >> so these are the top skills. they have a long list of skills, we're only showing the top nine here. >> tony garcia sr. is cio of guideon. he's a retired lieutenant colonel, a behavioral science p.h.d. and he's also anthony's father. >> what i do is i take a look at all the military assignments and positions, we examine each one of those positions, translating the duty titles into performance statements. >> tony's translations have now been converted to dropdown menus. >> if i wanted to edit this i could actually go in and get some resume writing tips. >> these allow vets to upload military records, choose civilian equivalents which can be fitted into a civilian resume template. >> an e-5 sergeant, or e-6 staff

sergeant in the united states army, they're very well suited to be a line manager, or a line operator in manufacturing. and running and loading a team. >> guideon is more than just a resume tool. it's a modern tech business with a social network, linking vets to recruiters, and to other vets also adjusting to civilian life. >> i know a lot of people kind of downplay what they're feeling and try not to -- or maybe pretend like it's not an issue. but i think anybody who's been over there and seen those things, i don't know how it could not affect you. >> amanda says that when she returned guideon not only helped her get into business school, but also helped her cope. >> you're just used to this up tem tempo, going, going, going over there, very high intensity, and so it's like once you get back home and everything is quiet and then you can kind of process what really happened. that's when it kind of hits you. >> it's designed for a service member to come to the community,

and discover all the possibilities out there that can help them advance their career. >> today they have corporate partnerships, and the support of the military. but the philosophy of the company comes straight from basic training. >> don't sit there and complain about it. do something. >> when we come back, more great advice for business decision makers, including how to grow your company in new ways without alienating your existing customers. and the inspiring bonnie st. john on how business leaders can remain focused and upbeat in the face of adversity. every day, on every street, in every town, across america. small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town.

that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. so, on november 25th get up, get out, and shop small. how would you increase revenue without alienating your existing customers? >> i think the essential thing about increasing revenue without alienating your customer is to think about why your customer is with you. the central mission of your business. and so, if you have that -- those fundamentals, it's really easy to add other services, if you're in the service business, or other products, if you're in the product business. or whatever business that you're in. sort of things that are essential to the mission, tangential to the business but

not way off base. so if you keep your customer engaged in the, you know, central mission of your business, you will be able to add revenue by adding other parts to your business. we now we now have the two to help you grow your business. let's introduce our panel and get their advice. the co-founder and president of chief strategy officer of bank mobile a completely digital bank and the founder of j. goffry. you've both been through this. you are ceos. you built these very impressive businesses. what do you say to people i need one piece of advice. >> set daily goals. i get to my office and right beside my desk is a leather bound book where i focus on daily goals where i already achieved them. it's based on healthy, wealthy and wise. every single category i put a

goal that's way beyond reach and really allows me to focus and really target what my main priorities are every day. if they don't have anything to do with those goals, forget it. i'm not interested. >> are these goals for the day or the month or year? >> healthy, wealthy, wise, there's a goal to run a half marathon by 2018. it forced notice register for the miami half marathon at the end of january. wealthy. i'll say to myself i would like to get my business to this much profitability by 2019. why? read 35 books in a year. >> do they switch every day. >> sometimes they switch. sometimes they get bigger every day. but it allows me to really, really think, not big but huge. >> got it. lovely. >> for me being an entrepreneur, i think it's so important to focus on creating a superior product. but you can't end with that. you can have a great product but if you have no customers it

doesn't matter. so my strategy is have a great product that addresses the need in the market but then make sure you have a very clear sustainable strategic customer acquisition strategy that's going to get you where you need to go. >> it's interesting because there was a point in time where people said marketing isn't important. your product will be its own marketing. it's so great. people will spread the word. this is what happened with so many products. really it's the product is the beginning. >> yeah. >> to get you your fir customers and some word-of-mouth. you do need some acquisition strategy. >> i 100% agree. i think it's across the board but definitely for banking because there's credibility. there's trust. there's security that people care about. if you're a no name brand coming out they will go, no, thank you. you have inertia fighting against you. people are used to their bank. that's okay. i'll stick with them. we found a way that through distribution partners that we

could have a few of them and get access to millions of customers and that has really been our way to get high volume, low cost customer acquisition. >> that's the best way because you're not marketing one to one, you're marketing one to many. so great to see you both. thank you for stopping by. >> thanks for having us. one online we use is up work. up work is a website that features a wide variety of freelancers from all over the world who have different skills and services, everything from advertising to technical skills, software, i.t., graphic design skills as well as services such as virtual assistant. >> one app we use is allowing customers and vendors to gain access into my calendar directly without having to assign an assistant to manage my tasks and my schedule for me. >> one site i use is retail

path. it's an amazing site that's run by a woman and she's a former target buyer. and she's got resources on there, everything from marketing to how to communicate with the retail. got a lot of resources that are very difficult to find in the industry all in one place. as we go about our day at work there are a thousand things coming at us and any of them can throw us off. the thing that make them not throw us off is called microresilience. that's what called by our guest. i love talking about this topic with you because there's nobody more resilient than you. you've experienced so much in your life and here you are. >> when i was at the paralympics i was the number one ranked skier going into the second run of the race. i thought i could win this race.

as i went down the hill i fell. i was so disappointed. i finished the race. when the dust cleared it turned out i was still in third place. i still won the bronze medal. >> so there was something that got you up again. >> but what happened what was really inning about that the woman who won the gold medal in that case she also fell. it wasn't that she didn't fall. so when nothing went wrong in the first run i was the fastest skier in the world. but in the end she got the medal because she was the quicker getter upper. >> that's what your book is all about is how do you become basically the quicker getter upper and how do you bounce back faster. you've taken these ideas that you kind of know in your own life. you just have it in you. talk to scientists. >> it's not innate. you talk about labelling. >> when you are getting hijacked emotionally by what other people doing. a difficult call with a client or a deadline moved and you're

getting hijacked and feeling threatened and upset. research from ucla shows you can calm your brain down just by using words to describe what you're feeling. so if you just say i'm angry or upset or i'm feeling betrayed or, you know, just putting labels and you don't have to do it out loud. just do it in your head. it changes what's going on in your brain scan and you can be calmer. >> i've done this thing since i was little. when i do something where i think i messed up or embarrassed me and it's bugging me and i can get over it, if i just admit to myself that it happened, right but pretend i just messed up a speech and i embarrassed myself in front of a thousand people i just say i embarrassed myself in a thousand people it goes away. >> you say it happened and it's gone. >> you talk about getting in the zone. >> one of the things that drains

us and overwhelms our brains is multitasking. we can't stop. >> i'm basically texting while talking to you. >> we can't end that. what we can do is create islands in the stream. we talk about zones in the stream of communication because if you can close a door or go somewhere, let the people know you work with i'm going to have some concentration time things get faster. >> this is a zone to do whatever you need to do. >> let your boss know. >> and it's basically about stealing yourself and these are the little thing that prepare you. prepare you so when you fall down you get up faster than "the other woman". >> exactly. >> this is so helpful. thank you. great to see you. this week's your biz selfie comes from lori kaplan. she's been providing beneath the

seams as they call it underg undergarments for broadway actors. send us yourself i t to #yourbizselfie. include your name, the name of your business, your location and don't forget to use th the #yourbizselfie. thank you for joining us. last week i was in bulgaria where i was a panelist for an organization called endeavor which supports high growth for entrepreneurs from around the world. it was so interesting. but what endeavor striefs to do is create these eco systems in cities where there aren't eco systems of entrepreneurship. here in the u.s. and a lot of cities we're lucky because it already exists and so i suggest to all of you, if you feel like you're not in an eco system of people who are growing businesses, whether you're an entrepreneur or running a

division of a company, you should get into one because it is so incredibly helpful to meet people who are trying to do things just like you. and i don't mean have the same kind of products as you, i mean to the same stage in your company as you. we would love to hear from all of you. if you have any questions or comments about today's show e-mail us at your busiest @msnbc.com. clip on our website. we post all of the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more for you. don't forget to connect with us on our digital platforms. we look forward to seeing you next time. until then, remember we make your business our business. every day, on every street, in every town, across america.

small businesses show their love to you. with some friendly advice, a genuine smile and a warm welcome they make your town... well, your town. that's why american express is proud to be the founding partner of small business saturday. a day where you get to return that love, because shopping small makes a big difference. so, on november 25th get up, get out, and shop small. good morning and welcome to "politicsnation". the trump white house has continued to confound black americans and most historians when chief of staff john kelly explained this week that the american civil war was caused by