good morning, everyone and welcome to a very special small business saturday edition of "your business." as you can see, we are out of the studio because we're here in franklin, tennessee, at one of america's great main streets. we talked to merchants on this street to ask them how they're getting people to shop local. we'll show you how some e-commerce companies are opening local pop-up shops to take advantage of small business saturday. and, i head out in my neighborhood in brooklyn with two of my kids to check out some businesses i've been dying to try out. let's grow fast, work smart, and shop local. 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 a very special small business saturday edition of "your business." small business saturday is november 25th. and every year we dedicate an entire show to celebrating this day, which kicks off the holiday shopping season for small businesses. this year we're doing it from here, in franklin, tennessee. franklin has it all. southern charm, deep musical roots, and a thriving main street which you can see right behind me. just 20 miles away from nashville, franklin's named after founding father benjamin franklin. but the history doesn't end there. right here in franklin, less than a mile from this spot, one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war raged, and it was a turning point, ending the conflict just a few months later. rooted in americana, people come to franklin not just for its history, but also for its unique shops that line main street. and, just a few minutes from

main street, franklin happens a second retail district. a hidden gem called leaper's fork. a throwback to a different time where distilleries are hidden away. a country supermarket serves as a venue for some of nashville's brightest stars, and celebrities like justin timberlake and miley cyrus call home. we spoke to franklin's business owners about its small town vibe and how they get people to shop local, not just on small business saturday, but every day. >> when we decided that we were going to open a retail store, the only place i ever wanted to be was on the street. >> holly rawlins was a newcomer to franklin, tennessee, when she embarked on what seemed an impossible mission five years ago. >> i had business cards made with my name and my phone number, and i would just say, hey, if you hear of everyone that's thinking about moving off of main street, please don't

forget about me, call me first. >> when she looked around main street she saw a perfect mix of new and old, and she knew she wanted to be a part of it. now, savory spice shop at 324 main street is one of the busiest spots in downtown franklin. >> it's real. it's how we pay our bills. we employ nine people. i never, never, never thought that i would never be able to employ nine people. and that is a thrill. and we're little. we're teeny, teeny, tiny but we're growing in a lot of different ways that are truly impacting our community. >> this street is dotted with places like holee's hat are changing the fabric of the town, preserving the history while attracting a modern crowd and nothing illustrates this more than this property right here. this is an interesting moment in time for this bookstore in this building, because you have this historic building, this bookstore of used books, and around you, literally around you, they're building a brand-new hotel. what do you think about that? >> well, we're very excited. because franklin in the historic district desperately needs hotel

space. and they're also providing additional parking, which is good. luxury apartments. and more retail. so, we're very excited about their project being built around us. >> and presumably more customers for you. >> absolutely. and for all of downtown main street. >> landmark books is housed in a 200-year-old building that has been a cotton factory, a grocery store, and a field hospital during the civil war. owner joel tomlin is not only an expert in out-of-print and rare books, he also serves as an informal town historian. what role about franklin play in the civil war? >> people do not realize that franklin probably was a major factor in the ending of the civil war in the western theater. late in 1864 there was a battle fought here that only lasted five hours. but it almost destroyed the southern army of the tennessee. so, very important battle here, which was not planned. it happened by accident. and of course lee surrendered in april of '65. >> another piece of history sits

at 419 main street. the franklin theater. it's a jewel on main street. the heritage foundation went out, raised the money, and transformed it, literally, transformed it. >> once a small depression era movie house the franklin theatre has been rebuilt. it still has its original charm but it's also now a state-of-the-art venue for live music and events. >> the franklin theatre is a place where we'd like to think that we actually touch people's lives by hosting events that inspire them, connect them, entertain them, of course. things that actually go out and ripple around the community to change the culture of who we are. >> what do you host in here? there's a sound check going on right now. >> well, we're in the middle today, of doing a television production for the daily and vincent show. our purpose is we're a live music venue. and those artists range from art garfunkel, and sheryl crow and michael mcdonald to bluegrass to

cajun to the gateway chamber orchestra. >> while the theater is central to main street there is nothing more iconic in town than the famous neon sign outside of the old pharmacy turned restaurant called grays on main. >> the sign has been there since the '50s but the grand opening was absolutely unbelievable. we had a party outside. we closed down main street. we really had no idea how many people would come. 4,000 people showed up. >> oh, my gosh. >> 4,000 people. it was amazing. >> because this building is that important. >> very so, yes, yes. so when you talk to the people back in the day, they said that when they would go out of town and they would drive into franklin, when the sign was on, they knew that they were home. so we knew without a doubt that that sign was very iconic and it meant a lot to folks. >> just a few minutes away from downtown franklin is a beautiful rural oasis called leaper's fork where every establishment has a fire pit for hanging out and a few celebrities have been known to hide away. lee kennedy is the owner of one of the newest businesses in town

the leaper's fork distillery. >> just if you want to, it's very earthy, very grainy. >> the dynamics of the little town are very interesting. you have all walks of life there. singer/songwriters, executives, you also have old moonshiners and some of the old families that have been here for hundreds of years. we get a lot of weekend tourists, people want to get out of the city, get a little piece of americana. we have a local road house/restaurant called puckett's grocery. does live music six nights a week. country boy restaurant. a lot of local art galleries. everyone has a fire pit in their front yard. it's really kind of the fabric of the community. >> back in downtown franklin, julie walton the third generation owner of walton's antique jewelry is also getting ready for small business saturday. she'll be running a 10% off promotion, and expects people to be coming through the door all day. so there's a great push in downtown franklin in general for small business saturday. so what better way than to all

get rallied together with the country, and support each other. it's a great way for people to then spend their money where it goes and invest it right into their community. >> hollie williams is country music royalty. the granddaughter of hang williams, the daughter of hang williams jr. and she herself has released three critically acclaimed albums. but she also owns white's room and board and she has five retail stores. we're in one of them right now, white's americaen dial in franklin. >> how are you? >> it's so good to see you. >> you're a lot taller than me. >> i'm wearing heels today. >> thank god. thank you for that. this store is lovely. >> thank you so much. >> tell me how you describe this. >> i describe it as a general store for the modern-day tastemaker. it's called white's mercantile after my grandparents on my mom's side. my great grandfather owned the mercantile in small town louisiana, and even on my dad's side hang williams' mom owned a mercantile. so it's kind of a family thing.

>> retail is having a tough time. >> right. >> what makes this so special. how do you get people to walk through the door here? >> well i think that when for me when stores are personalized it just -- it just makes you feel that connection. and i hope that when people come in here, they can tell that it's curated by people. myself, my amazing team, and employees, we all hand pick every item. we love items with stories. we love helping, you know, local designers. we give a certain amount to charities, and it just hopefully it just feels like a smalltown store. even though we're not in a small town necessarily. you know, a tiny town. >> well franklin is pretty small. >> it is. >> let's go through some of the stuff that you have here. what are some of your favorites? >> gosh so much. this is an amazing brand a local cosmetic company just great bath salts and candles called thistle farms. they do amazing things for women. that have been kind of coming out of addiction. so that's one of our favorite local brands. >> and i like the stuff that's here that has a story from your family. >> yes. yeah, there's all kinds of family stuff. i mean i really curated the store to what did my grandfather

love, what did my grandmother love. their house was not really one style. it was very eclectic. it was southern and warm and modern and vintage, and just all kinds of different things. so i love bringing in lots of different items to make a really cozy, warm home. i actually did some custom candles with a candle company in honor of them. this is the june candle after my grandma. this is -- yes, she loved magnolias and roses. >> beautiful. >> we did a lot of those notes in there. this is men's smokey tobacco man cave. >> totally. >> that was named after them. >> can i show you my favorite thing? >> yes, of course, please. >> it's right back here. it's right here. your scrim shaw knife kit. >> oh, yeah. >> so my grandfather was a scrimshaw artist. on my mom's side. and it was, you know, kind of a lost art. not many people hear about it. >> can you explain what scramshaw is. >> he would take ivory, this is back when you could buy ivory legally and do these amazing drawings on it.

>> i found this through a maker, and it's kind of you make your own. it's really cool for artists. it's a really creative gift. i love it. >> i've never seen anything like this anywhere else. which i found a lot going through this store. >> thank you. rereally try to bring products, we're in a town where you can buy anything anywhere. we're surrounded by tons of shops. it can be really challenging but it's a fun challenge to find things that you don't see all the time. you know, everything from scrimshaw to men's knives to beard oil to dog food we just try to have a little bit of everything. but like the best quality in that item. >> talk to me about small business saturday. are you doing something special? >> we are. we're going to do 20% of our sales to two of my favorite local charities, one is thistle farms, one is called insect slavery tennessee. and then we'll have some drinks and food and just kind of a fun environment for people to come in and shop and hopefully feel like they're, you know, adding to our local economy and all of us work together, there's many employ east and just you know everyone that benefits from

small business. >> all right. holly, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> really appreciate. best of luck with holiday season. >> thank you so much. it will be exciting. le. >> anyone knows renting retail space can be a costly investment. but one company is trying to change that. self-labeled as the airbnb of retail space, appear here is making it easy for online retailers to find a place of their own in some of the hottest shopping districts in new york, london, and paris. ♪ it all started with an idea. ross bailey wanted to sell a line of beautifully designed t-shirts celebrating the queen's jubilee in 2012. so he begged the landlord of a tiny shop in soho, london, to let him rent the space for just a week. >> hundreds are of people queued outside. the t-shirts got banned by buckingham palace and it got a lot of hype, a lot of excitement. and i sort of looked to what we'd done and thought hang on a minute if i'd have done this online i don't think it would have been as successful.

>> he thought there had to be a way to replicate his success for others. the concept was simple. make retail space as easy to book as a hotel room for as long or as short as needed. >> we could pop up during this moment where everyone was excited. you could appear, and then disappear before people get board. >> his company appear here started out with london retail spaces, available for rent on their online platform, and then branched out to offer locations in some of the hottest shopping districts in paris and new york. >> we went and got top photographers, top designers, to go out and photograph the streets and the people. and curate. and i think the reason you want to open up a store is you want to get in front of the right people. you've got to think about what is that street? who are the people there? why are they there? what we want to do is make sure that people understand who those audiences are. so that they can get not just a connection, but they can realize what street best matches who they are. >> washington, d.c. based daniel

berg the founder of healthy snack like berg bites booked a space for six days to appear here in downtown new york. >> it was in soho, it was on 120th, thompson street. it was a great location. a lot of foot traffic. we started off the first night with a party i hired a deejay we had tons of people. >> as an online business the week long pop-up store helped them drum up publicity that they normally wouldn't have been able to get. >> we had "the wall street journal" come down, they took a lot of photos and helped us get news coverage that otherwise we may not have gotten. >> getting access to the ideal customer helped guide the next steps. >> we learn so much about our customer. we wanted to see what flavor we should bring out next. that's why we're rolling out the ross berry flavor. we saw how crazy everyone went for that at the pop-up shop. >> neon andco also cities online. deborah booked in new york.

it allowed them to do this at a pretty low cost. >> this gave us a real insight into what we could offer the american market, and then we felt that we could do this on a permanent basis so people could really enjoy the experience. we felt that it was an opportunity for local new yorkers to test us out and see if we could really cut it out with the rest of the world. >> connecticut based active wear line started selling at whole sale in bloomingdale's. they knew if they could get their product in front of potential customers in their own store they could do a lot better. >> as a small brand online you're choosing between how can you connect with a customer, building stores is expensive, and you're committing to long-term leases. but what appear here is doing is they're giving small, young brands the ability to get in front of customers in a physical retail, and for us, we knew that was going to be impactful, because once guys try our product, they always come back and buy more. >> they rent space at new york's brookfield place where they find themselves selling right next to

some of the world's biggest luxury brands. >> we could never afford to open a store here at, you know, the stage of company that we're at. and if you do, it's such a long-term bet. so you're really kind of taking an unnatural risk. being a part of a community in retail is very important. and kind of understanding the fabric of what you're going into, what we found is, our customers definitely here in brookfield place they're walking through here. and it's a great location for us. so, it's a low cost way to test markets. that gives us the ability to the then make longer-term bets. which we will do. >> smaller businesses aren't the only ones using appear here. kanye west, supreme and pepsi have all used the online platform to get their brands in front of new audiences. and ross hopes this is just the beginning. >> what we should see is the right stores opening nexts to each other so it doesn't just become a cookie cutter situation where every street you go to has the same stores and the same brands, and it's all the same.

i think that the key retail street to say interesting today they've got to think about why they're relevant. why do they matter? who is the neighborhood? i just think they've got to be much more aware of what makes them different to the main street round the corner. >> whenever i'm in a new city i try and check out some small businesses that look great. for example here in franklin, tennessee, i'll probably be coming to the franklin theater tonight to see what's playing. but it occurred to me that every day on my commute in brooklyn i pass small businesses that look great but never have the time to go in and see what they're all about. so in the spirit of small business saturday, i decided to try something new. to dedicate an entire day to going to check out those businesses that i always walk by. i'm here in brooklyn where we have some of the best restaurants and cafes and stores, but because i'm busy, i often don't have the time to check out a lot of the new ones.

so today i'm going to spend the whole day going into places that i've wanted to try out but haven't had the chance to yet. so i'm here at tiger shark with the owner doug. so good to see you. >> hi, j.j. >> tell me a little bit about the concept behind this place. >> we wanted to create a community space that could service many different people in the neighborhood. so we wanted coffee for the early morning workers, and then also provide lunch for our people in the neighborhood who freelance or work remotely. >> what attracted us, or me to this place is that i've walked by it a thousand times and i see surf boards in the middle of brooklyn. my husband is a surfer. >> a lot of people that we meet out surfing live in this neighborhood. so, we thought that we could bring a little bit of the beach to prospect heights in brooklyn. >> all right. well i have to try your coffee. let's try this drink.

it's great. all right. you have a new customer. the next stop in the neighborhood is juniper, but before going here i wanted to pick up my son calder because you've been wanting to come here. how come? >> because i do apew puncture and the acupuncture i went to is far away. >> should we go check it out? >> yeah. >> we've walked by here how many times, a thousand? >> yeah. >> yes. and we've been so dying to learn about it. >> we are a flower shop in the front. and also retail space and in the back we have a healing arts studio so we have yoga classes. prenatal yoga classes. we have treatment room where we have acupuncture and psychotherapy. >> you ready to be the guinea pig? >> yes. >> enjoy your session. >> all right.

>> how do you feel, sweetie? >> good. >> you tried something new, in the neighborhood. think we'll be coming back? >> yes. >> all right. >> i just went home swapped kids, because my daughter, clover, would have killed me if she found out i went to this next place without her. brooklyn owl. why are you excited to go in here? >> because i love unicorn stuff. >> and what do they have inside there? >> unicorn stuff. >> should we go look? >> yes. >> okay, let's go. >> you are the talk of all of the kids in this neighborhood. >> tell me what's behind this. >> well, my daughter, seven years ago, we started brooklyn owl inspired by her wanting to create colorful things that people enjoy using. and then five years ago she said, mom, i want to be a unicorn. she was turning fo ining 4 and , i stopped what she was doing and started making unicorn horns for

her. >> of course you did. >> so would you like to pick something out? let's go find something! you've got to look at yourself in the mirror. amazing. >> so we have chosen this. >> wonderful! >> there are al number of new fitness studios in the neighborhood, but the people coming out of this one look like they are in amazing shape. amanda friedman, you are the owner of slt. >> yep. thanks for coming. >> i'm so excited to be here. i've walked by a thousand times and think, i should be in there, not walking by. so what does slt stand for? >> it stands for strengthen, lengthen, and tone. >> what makes you different than all the other fitness machines. >> we use this machine the megaformer and work very slowly within our moves for an extended period of time, but move quickly between the moves so you never get any rest and you're working the entire time. >> a neighbor of mine came here for the first time a few weeks

ago and she's in incredible shape and woke up the next morning and said, oh, i'm so sore. if you got her to be sore, you're doing something right here. >> sore sns the trademark of definitely your first few classes. you're working muscles you've never worked before and getting at them in a way you've never gotten at them. >> i'm excited to try a class. so one day you're going to be my teacher. i'm excited. that was good. i didn't even take a whole class and i can tell i'm going to be sore tomorrow morning. >> all right. thank you so much for coming in. >> after that, i'm going to go look for a new juice bar in the neighborhood. in the meanwhile, i hope this n inspires all of you to go try something new this small business saturday. t when we come back, we talk to small business dmirnt, linda mcmahon, about why it's important to shop local. and go through a detailed explanation about how shopping mall can change the economy in

your community. 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. this is the eighth national small business saturday. you know, it's so important to have it for small businesses, because do small businesses need

more than anything else? more customers through the door. zblu >> absolutely. >> let me rephrase that. more buying commerustomers thro the door. how can we create that sort of scenario whereby they can have more people coming to shop. and we can do that by getting our communities to support our small businesses. shop there, eat there. go see a new small business that you haven't been to before. because you know, small businesses are absolutely the glue of communities. i mean, do you see a big company normally on the back of the little league t-shirt as a sponsor? it's the small businesses in the town. >> joining us now to talk about the importance of the small business saturday and why now more than ever consumers need to make the effort to shop local is senator jeanne shaheen. she's a democratic senator from new hampshire and the ranking member of the senate small business committee. so nice toe see you, senator. >> nice to be with you. nice to be here to talk about

small business. >> it's a great, fun time to be talking about it. consumers out there know that they should be shopping at small businesses for the holidays. but what do you tell someone who just needs the extra push? >> small businesses are so important to our economy. they create two out of every three jobs. they have more patents than larger businesses. and they employ a lot of our friends and neighbors. and in new hampshire, over 90% of businesses are small businesses. they employ over 50% of the workforce in the state. so, we need to support them >> i always say, too, what i think people need to realize, if they love their community, if they do not support the small businesses, the small businesses will disappear. and i'm sure you've seen that happen to quite a few communities, have you not? >> absolutely. and that's one of the challenges. and those small business folks are usually the people who contribute to the local sports teams, who are part of the local chamber of commerce, who promote

the community they're in in so many different ways. so we need to support them, too. >> what are some of the favorite small businesses you love going to? >> we are a small business family. i have two daughters who started two small businesses and the other has started another one. >> what are they? >> one is a clothing business. one is a business that helps with nutrition. they do personal nutrition profiles. and i have a granddaughter who has diabetes and so her mother got into nutrition. the other daughter has both a retail store and a wholesale clothing company. so it's very exciting to see. and you know, it's like -- it's like a child, having a baby, because you see all of the successes when your customer base starts to grow, when your profits, you begin to see those increase. you have all of the challenges, too, with being able to comply with regulations, with capital, with all of the challenges that small business owners space.

>> you sure do. and it is -- it makes everyone i know feel good to know that the people who you, right, on the senate making the laws around this have real personal experience with small business. you can turn to your daughters and say, here, what are some of the challenges you're dealing with? because you can get into the nitty-gritty. well, i really appreciate you coming by to talk to us. this is a really exciting day for us every year, small business saturday, and a chance for us to remind all consumers, shop local. it really, really matters. and it's great to have your voice on. >> go out on november 25th, small business saturday, tell your local businesses how important you think they are and how much you appreciate what they do. >> all right. thank you so much! >> thank you. where do your dollars go when you shop on main street? we follow the money to find how shopping local affects you and your community. we've all heard the slogans. support small business. locally sourced. but is the shop local movement

really helpful to the communities that adopt it? yes! first, thriving small businesses need support. they hire accountants, cashiers and contractor who is spend their wages locally. second, small businesses pay more in local taxes and their taxes pay for roads, schools, and social services. third, according to some studies, communities only get one out of every hundred dollars spent online. they get 15 times as much from the big box retailers in their towns, but local communities can see upwards of $45 of every $100 spent in independent stores. in fact, the local first campaign found in the greater des moines area, shifting 5% of the area spending from big box stores to local retailers generated more than $1 billion for the community and created more than 6,000 jobs. thank you all so much for

joining us today from franklin, tennessee. we love hearing from you. if you have any questions or comments, just send an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. also, please take a chance to go to our website. it's openforum.com/yourbusiness. we posted all of the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more for you. and you can connect with us on all of you aour digital and soc media platforms, as well. i wish you all a very successful small business saturday, don't forget, shop local. and we will see you next time. 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 "politics nation." on the show today, new alarming data shows hate crimes on the rise, according to a new report from the fbi. is the current political climate feeding the hatred? and what is the white house doing about it? also, attorney general jeff sessions was grilled by the house judiciary committee for nearly six hours on tuesday, as part of an oversight