good morning. coming up on "your business," some big brands thought that this north carolina running store was too small to care about. find out what the owners did to get the same brands coming back clamoring to be included. and will the buyers at sam's club give the creators of these clever storage pillows the opportunity to be featured at the stores? plus how to get customers to spend their holiday shopping dollars on your service business. let's grow fast and work smart. that is all coming up next on "your business."

hi, everyone. welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. it is not a sprint, it is a marathon for a store in north carolina. they had heard nothing but no from some of the big brands, but that all changed when the owners created a culture and customer base that were very tough for these large companies to ignore. ♪ >> if people want to be a part of our brand, then bigger brands will want to be a part of our shop. >> when alex and brent opened run ol runology, they didn't have large brands that people would expect to see. >> the big players, they were just like you guys are really tiny at this moment. we need to be cautious because the market is saturated.

>> those initial nos could have resulted in disaster. but instead, they helped shape the success of the only independently owned running store in downtown raleigh, north carolina. >> we have built a bland where people want to be a parti e a ps community. people like our story. >> the owners got off to a solid start when they opened their business in 2014. the smaller brands of running shoes they were selling helped define their boutique shop's experience. >> our core mission was like keep is small, so that's where we felt like that is where we should start. treating it like an event place that people could come and hang out. >> and once alex and brents developed a following, some big brands started to circle back and track their success. >> a lot of folks said we were turning heads on social media. it is certainly flattering and validates what you were doing. we're taking the right steps 37.

>> the sy weren't pining after more recognizable names. instead they were focusing on what was already working. >> i think we all had this moment of, well, we're still chasing these big brands and maybe we should actually be the ones who are just going to sit back and just continue to grow. and it seemed like as soon as we started doing that, then bigger brands came knocking at our door. >> and this is why the owners proved to brands like under armour that their concept had legs. >> there are a lot of places that don't have that down home mentality of we are your neighborhood shop. and we wanted to fill that gap. >> representatives for other companies like skechers noticed, too. alex and brent pushed hard to build relationships that have extended beyond the walls. what they saw at larger stores is what they didn't want. >> you may not know who the

owners are, but when you look at our shop, they will see us and that we're going to say hello to them and we're probably going to know their name. and rather than them being a customer, they have become a friend. >> running groups, races and a major push for community events helped bring runolo ghchltgi's presence. they turned heads. >> you're doing things like treadmills on the sidewalk with people watching you run on a treadmill, seems strange, but you have people in the shop. >> more customers in stores means more eyeballs on products. and it is also translated into shares, retweets and hashtags. >> do as much outside the door as you are ichbs aare i think i eventually that creates energy. one person can be ten people down the road. >> the secret shoppers have gotten a sample of the kind of customer who visits the store. they tend to be young, mostly

female and have money to spend. >> our average transaction is fairly high. and i think brands see the uniqueness and they see a certain market that they are not probably hitting. >> alex and brent also started their own line of apparel. which has set them apart from major competitors and also makes them more attractive to larger brands. p the first product was a pair of men's shorts. >> one customer that is very fashion conscience customer that comes in, and i think a lot of other running stores hit people that just want a pair of running shoes and shorts. so there is weight and value in us making stuff. >> every inventory decision is made just as carefully today as it was on day one. >> and we're at the point now where we feel like we've got some growth under our belt and we don't have to just say, oh, we want to work with all these brands now. >> we're worried about the quality of the product and the product's story and how it walks out of our door.

>> even as alex and plenty pursue other large partnne part, they recognize that the community deserves part of the credit. >> could be 300, 400 miles away and we see one of our hats or something. that is kind of the moment where you realize, oh, you're having a bigger impact than just our small running store. if you run a service based business, do not count yourself out at getting some of the holiday shopping dollars. you can market your service that people can give as a gift. daniel is a sales guru and author of six books. the latest one is called when, the scientific secrets of perfect timing. so good to see you, daniel. >> thanks for having me. >> so service businesses i think giving someone a service as a

gift is a great, great idea. so how can you as someone who sells these get people to start thinking of you that way? >> well, let's say that you are an accountant, a cpa. and you've got clients who are happy, i hope you have happy clients. you could suggest so-to-some of those clients that if they have a friend or a relative who is little number phobic, that you can give -- that they can give them, that friend or relative, an hour of your services. if you are a designer, you've got satisfied clients, you could suggest to those clients that if they have a community group that they work with or a church or synagogue or mosque, give them a gift of two hours of your design services. i like to think of this as giftifying your offering. >> and i love that. because oftentimes what we really need is something that is more servicey than another gift that we could open right there and may not use later on. this takes educating people though on how to giftify it.

how do you do that? >> i think that you can educate more broadly. i think that is another great thing of the holiday season that the service businesses can do. service businesses in general are in the business of expertise. so one of the things you can do is to demonstrate your expert tease. write a white paper, hold a free class, write a newsletter. i like the idea of circulating a best of list. what are the best ideas that you encountered, the best books you've read, the best solutions you've refd. i want to emphasize so much that service is about expert stees. so if you are always offering great information, great insights to people, in the long run that will pay off. >> and i think also this is going back to the giftify, you have to create something. it is a certificate or -- something that people can actually give to people. >> sure, that is a good point on. there is something to be said

for tangibility, something of value. but we also know about gifts. and i actually think that service businesses should rethink point set tasettias andf cookies. people love receiving gifts that do some good. the other thing which is sort of peculiar and this comes from the research of harvard, that people tend to prefer gifts that they ask for rather than gifts that are surprises. and so we can combine those two things and you can do this as a service business. go to your best clients and customers and say this year no poinsettias, we want to give a charitable contribution in your name, tell us what charity we should give to. you can harness some of the science of gift giving and deepen your relationship with those important clients. >> and i also like the idea of

saying instead of those poinsettias saying we'll give an hour of our time to someone in a community that you guys care about. >> absolutely. it is a great idea. and actually the socieshcial scs has given us insight as to what people like in gifts. and gifts that are pro social that do some good are held in very high esteem. people like them more than they expect they will. givers like giving them more than they expect that they will. >> and frankly no office needs another box of cookies, right? we're already eating too many cookies around the holidays. >> ixnay on the cookies and thumbs up on the good deeds. >> well, these are all great ideas and again, i love your idea of giftifying your service because people love these kind of ghiftgifts. >> my mother-in-law every year gives of a gift certificate to a

masseu masseuse, right? a perfect example. you can do the same with account anun ants, as well. >> any service business that works really well. and we're at sam's club where our elevator pitcher will have the chance to pitch two buyers from amousam's club thata membership only warehouse club with more than 650 locations across the country with millions of members. so if our pitcher gets the thuchls thuc thumbs up, they will have a chance to get their product in a sam's club just like this one. let's see what happens. andrea, jennifer, nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you too. >> so what is the name of your company? >> minish. >> i love these designs. is it this is for kids? >> kids and parents. >> all right. i don't want to give away what

it does. but how do the two of you know each other? >> our children attend the same school. an dree drea designed the very storage bean bag. >> and are your kids messy? >> very. that's why one day i was like everybody mass bean bags, everybody has a lot of stuffed animals, a lot of stuff. and -- >> save your pitch for inside. we'll go inside. you'll pitch to two buyers for sam's club. if they like what you have, they will invite you to brentonville to possibly be at a sam's club like this one. >> sounds great. >> hi. >> i'm steven. >> amy. nice to meet you. >> very nice to meet you. we are mimi smptsh. i designed and patented the first storage bean bag. >> and in 2016, we partnered and

together we are building it into a full lifestyle collection focusing on storage and organization. all feature storage compartments. this is our poof. it has beens on top and storage on the bottom. it holds hard and soft items we also have storage pillows. they also feature our storage pockets with fun zippers and pocket placements for remote controls, your favorite toys or keep sakes. >> and our prices range from $19 to $69. and you can find the storage poof, the storage pillows and the full category of products at m mimi mimishdesigns.com and coming up in national retailers. >> all right. you used your minute beautifully. anyone who has a kid who likes

will leg goe os because looking that with envy. >> who is your target audience? >> our target age range is from 8 to 18. so we're really focusing on a wide -- it is age neutral. so products that will appeal to kids, but also that are parents won't mind having them peek into the living room. we're also really focused on all of our products being appealing to boys and girls so there isn't that very specific target there. >> i love this, i think this is beautiful. >> so we are trying to mix and match the fabrics and fun colors and also metallics. so this one, it comes like this. you can see the storage underneath. and then you zip it and you sit. >> it feels great. the quality feels great. i think it is great innovation. >> definitely. we just recently talked about our new target member and i feel like this fits that really well.

>> so let me ask, do they have a ticket to bentonville? >> it is a yes for us. we'd love to have you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you guys. >> skcongratulationcongratulati. the end of the year is a perfect time to give your business a checkup. so here are five end of the year house cleaning tips to ensure that your business has a clean bill of health for the new year. one, review your supplier relationships. do your suppliers meet their dead lines, are their rates competitive? there this is a good time to think about nurturing relationships that are working well or renegotiate contracts. two, go over your disaster pr h preparedness plan. you can never be too prepared. make sure your business can weather the storm if something unexpected and out of your control happens. three, review and update your

digital assets. if you haven't already done so recently, go through all of your social media accounts, websites and customer review pages. and make sure that the content on them is fresh and accurate. four, check the health of your equipment and then talk to your accountant. because there are tax implications. it may be more cost effective for you to replace your company's mission critical equipment sooner than later. and five, bring your team together. get their feedback on the things that went well and the things that could be improved in the next year. share your visions for growth with them so that you get everyone on board. over the years, we have met many business owners whose stories have inspired us. nolan stillwell has shown the world how young adults with special needs can transition from being a student to a successful entrepreneur. jole jo ling kent has his story. >> reporter: to make the perfect

jam, he knows you have to pick the perfect pepper. and it helps to have a pepper patch in your backyard. >> organization nolan, how whabt if you pour. >> reporter: well can to the headquarters of sweet heat jam. this kitchen provided free of charge by a texas church is the bustling center of nolan's jam empire. >> they saw early on that nolan really gravitating toward food, like he liked to cook in the kitchen. he'd be throwing his towel over the shoulder and saying bam. >> reporter: christine stillwell worried about whether her son nolan who has down syndrome would be able to find a meaningful job. so in sweet heat jam, the stillwells created their own opportunity. >> i think that every parent of a special needs child should never underestimate what their young so what is your favorite t about making the jam?

>> i like it here. >> you like it here? >> yeah. >> in kitchen? you did this. >> yes. >> with 13 flavors, most a mix of fruit and spicy peppers, business is good. sweet heat jam is selling thousands of jars a year. and nolan has hired a team. four employees and four rotating interns, all young adults with disabilities. >> how does it make you feel? >> really happy. they understand our disability. >> let's load her up. >> nolan's dad helps with deliveries. >> so there is our invoice sheet. >> to heb in texas. nolan's jam is available in six heb stores. lucky shoppers can sometimes get a sample from the jam man position. >> so good. >> enjoying the spicy sweet taste that carries an poornimpo

messa message. jo ling kent, nbc news. we've been doing this show for 12 years, and i love it, but one thing i always regretted is that they have these fascinating people and we get about three or four minutes to talk to them. but not anymore. because we just launched a brand new podcast called been there built that. first of all, that think you to all of you who listen toed over the past week. it just launched last week. i'd love to hear your feedback. but for the rest of you, this is what we do. we interview people longer. this is our chance to go deeper with our guests to find out how they glue therew their business worked and what i always find more interesting is what didn't work and then how did they deal with it. the pod cast is free. and this week we're rolling out two new episodes. the first one is with jamie lema, a former tv anchor who founded it and recently sold to l'oreal for more than a billion dollars. this is a longer conversation with her. and the second one is with will

dean, would be evone of my favo co-founders of tough mudder, a course i completed a bunch of years ago. they call it the toughest event on the planet. so check it out, it is called your business been there built that. you can find that. you can find it wherever you get your podcast. when we come back, we answer your questions on how to get media coverage for your company, and you may want to ignore them, but why you should be seeking out the whiners and complainers among your kplienclients and em ees. 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! "we got a 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. as a growing business, what can we do to gain more pr in media? we already do reachout to journalists, we do pr press releases. >> pr is interesting where you have to understand your audience. is audience is not the people you want to reach, it's a reporter or journalist or tv newsperson. you have to understand that person's job and what they need to do every day. so it's not about you and how to promote yourself, it's about how to provide value for that person. if you can give them a good story, a good angle, a larger

context for something, they'll be happy to talk to you because you're making your job easier. if you're calling them to promote yourself, it's somewhat offputting. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help your business grow. let's introduce our panel and get their advice. serial entrepreneur larry bratton is the founder and ceo of bratton hotels and author of "victory, seven revolutionary strategies for entrepreneurs to launch your business, elevate your impact, and transform your life." and gene marks is founder of a company that sells software and is a columnist for "the washington post." >> thanks for joining us, everyone. see you later. >> too accomplished. good to see you both. gene, let's start with you. >> we talk about our top tip. so we have a lot of clients in my business and i go out and visit a lot of them, small, medium-size companies and i've noticed over the past year or so

more and more are buying into and subscribing to project management applications. like there's been this undercurrent. i have to tell you something, i'm like buying into project management applications for small businesses as we head into 2018 and for the next couple years. i don't know if -- >> we use them, absolutely. they have been a life saver. >> trello, basecamp. oh, we don't have any project managers, only three people in our company, but every company has project. it's customer acquisition, you need to build out this room. >> can you just explain for people who this sounds like jibberish to them, what is project management software? >> absolutely. they're generally cloud-based applications, right. so they're easy to get connected to online. and frankly, j.j., they manage tasks. so listen, we want to hire a new sales guy. okay, there's 16 things we need to do. we need to place an ad, we need to write the ad, so you can assign those tasks to different

people in your company or to yourself and then everything has got reminders and alerts to make sure they don't fall through the cracks. >> everyone sees what they're done and what the deadlines are. >> just my advice to you if you're going to do a project management application. first of all, the owner of the company, if that's you, you've got to buy into it and adopt it as a culture. put one person in charge of it so that somebody owns it and drive a lot of reports out of it as well. where do we stand on these reports and these projects. >> here's the problem or the issue. if you get it, you have to use it. because if some people are using it and some people aren't, then it's a mess. >> you get out of it what you put into it. >> all right, larry, you're up. >> listen, i give tons of tips to business owners and entrepreneurs all the time. although this is probably the most powerful tip, it's the one that i think scares entrepreneurs most and that is that we have to actively listen to our customers and our clients and intentionally seek out feedback from our whiners, complainers and even our haters out there. when we do this and we kind of

embrace this learning mindset and when we set up systems in our organizations to actively learn and listen, an learn from our failures and from our flaws and from our weaknesses, it presents an opportunity for us to improve our product and to build loyalty among those people that were once haters. now, we've got to weed out the nonsense from the trolls that are out there. however, i think that when we do this, though, then it creates an environment where we're constantly improving and allows us to start with a minimum viable product and grow from there. >> talk to me, you say build systems. >> surveys? >> i think any organization needs to, whether you're in a restaurant, a hotel, a manufacturing organization, we all have cost mez austomers and right? so what i think we need to do is get to the consumer, the complainer, the whiner, before they get to the internet and start reviewing you. any time you do a transaction,

there is an opportunity to ask for feedback. >> and be clear that we want your honest feedback and respond to the people that say something that makes sense and you did wrong. >> and we need to create an environment for our team members to actively seek -- too often in organizations, i'm staying at a hotel right now here in town and it's not the great environment. when i offer feedback to them, you can see them shrinking, like oh, my gosh, they're going to get beat up because i'm going to have to share this bad news with someone. if we create an environment, no, we want this information because we're going to improve by it, that's a win-win for everybody. >> there's some companies that you give them feedback and you just get the impression that they could care less. >> and some are saying thank you to you. >> absolutely. >> great advice. thanks both of you. >> thank you. i have some favorites that i love. one of them is haystack. it helps me to file and scan business cards on the go and

it's a free app. >> one tool we use is log in. it allows our team to manage operations remotely while still with our customers. >> i use an app called hourstracker. it's a phone app. so a lot of companies come to me, they don't know what they want so it's more hourly based so i do hourly and i have this thing called hours tracker where i tap a button to clock in and tap out and it syncs to the internet so you never lose your data. >> i use something really unique called sirus. it links g-mail to salesforce. we do all of our e-mail in g-mail through a variety of servers and that allows us to go back and forth from salesforce and g-mail.

so it works wunderlee for us. this week's your biz selfly comes from erika estes. she's a professional realtor and relocation expert. we gives real estate investing seminars and gives back to the community as the founder of the organization teens in crisis. good for you, erika. now, why don't you pick your up your smartphone, take a picture of you and your business and send it to #you yourbusiness@msnbc.com. with that company we showed you early on, they opened a running store with none of the brands that people were walking in expecting to find even though they like to have those brands. but those guys didn't let that stop them from growing their business and creating something people love.

it's just a part of growing a business. we'd love to hear from you. if you have any questions or comments about today's show e-mail us at yo yourbusiness@msnbc.com. we put up all the segments from today's show plus a whole lot more. you can find even more on all of our digital and social media platforms and our podcast which i told you about. we'll see 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." with a crucial election in alabama this coming tuesday, we ask where do the state's black voters fit in and come down on a deep south senate race that has enthralled the country and exposed even deeper cracks in the republican party. we'll discuss that in a moment. and later, the nfl struggles to