good morninging coming up on msnbc's "your business," a halloween expo in the middle of winter? why you shouldn't be scared of going to conventions and trade shows, they can help you network and find new customers. boyd your photography is not just for valentine's day and not just for the risque. photographers are finding it's a niche bringing in customers year round. that plus how the new tax laws are affecting your business, and what you need to do to capitalize on the changes. 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 jj ramberg. and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. trade shows are often expensive and for anyone who has been to one, you know they are exhausting. but if you do it right, they can land you new customers, new contacts and new ideas. that's why just a few weeks ago, months before the ghosts and goblins come out of hiding, thousands of vendors and buyers gathered in new orleans for haunt con to see what's new in the industry of halloween. across the country, it's the dead of winter. but in new orleans, the dead are dancing. ♪

>> our model is wearing garnet red, hooded pink with wings. item number 38203. >> that's because at the annual halloween and party expo, hundreds of manufacturers, buyers and haunted house operators are getting a very early start on the business of halloween. >> my name is danvers, i'm the horror host of demented features. check us dementedfeatures.com. >> don't wiggle it around to readjust it. you don't have to press hard. just very lightly hold it and lean back in the chair and take a load off. the hardest part is waiting. >> reporter: greg runs this event as the ceo of connecticut-based urban expositions, he produces 40 trade shows like this a year. follow him walking through the show and he'll tell you what

makes a trade show tick. >> why do people come? and i said, the number one thing is new, i want to see what's new. this adds a lot of new. so how has today gone? >> it's been amazing. >> have you been meeting a lot of buyers? >> a lot of buyers today. >> one thing new this year is haunt con. greg purchased this formally independent event from the founder and owner leonard pickle. >> this stuff looks great. >> thank you. >> he's a guy who has been around the haunt industry for a long time, so he's a founding father of the business. >> for more than 40 years, leonard has been all-in when it comes to haunted houses. he runs hauntrepreneurs. a haunted house design company. he founded a haunted house trade magazine and created the haunt trade show. all to help grow the industry and promote his business. >> right now we just covered a wig and then we'll wrap shroud around it. >> this is about sharing information, networking for people. we have had people get married at haunt con. >> leonard never expected haunt

con to get so big. it was only supposed to be a sideline. >> i started a magazine without ever taking a journalism class. i started a convention without ever really even thinking about what that entailed. >> i'm so impressed someone like that just decided an industry needs a show and i'm going to create it, right? and figures it out along the way and does a great job doing it. >> in fact, you may say he did too great of a job. because the demands of managing it took over all of his time. >> it got to the point where it was beyond what we could do by ourselves and really needed the help. it's a great price, too. now 15 years after its founding, haunt con is something of a monster. but selling it was not an easy decision. >> i mean, haunt con is kind of my baby. and now she's moving on. so that's always a parent's difficulty is wondering whether the husband is going to be good to her. so, of course, it's difficult. that's an incredible skull.

>> last year leonard finally made the decision to let it go. >> you know, i wasn't a convention guy, i was a haunted house guy trying to figure out how to make a living. >> greg's company bought him out and he took on the role of limited consultant. >> a lot of booths and vendors, so yeah, we're excited. >> with a bigger audience, a splashier costume ball and a staff of more than 100 people to manage things, it is easy to see that leonard made a good choice. but what made greg decide to add haunt con onto expo? >> we didn't do this in isolation. lots of surveys went out. the inclusion of new categories ultimately ends up valuable for everybody. >> among the addition of buyers and vendors, greg says the key to any trade show rests on the direct face-to-face relationships fostered here. >> just realizing, we are of like mind. we can get along.

we're thinking the same way about this business. you know, we enjoy each other's company. i think we are both more excited now to say we're going to go into business together, right? >> and when you get that human chemistry going, greg says business relationships can blossom. >> there's one company here that i just heard yesterday got a massive order. they are a small company in one single booth and got a life-changing order yesterday. on their product. >> he's talking about this person jay woodley. owner of woodley's special effects from jacksonville, florida. this was jay's first time at haunt con and it has paid off. he told us one of the big box stores placed an order for 100,000 units. >> that's the stuff we absolutely love to hear about. >> and that is what a happy ending looks like for the creeppy, the kooky and the

cadavers. well those who buy and sell halloween merchandise are focused on october, the rest of us are paying attention to the holidays closer in. and right now that's valentine's day. there is a whole industry cropping up around what to give your sweetheart. an album created from a boudoir photo shoot of you. jumping on the boudoir band wagon has resulted in more work than she can handle. ♪ >> are you nervous? >> i'm nervous, yes. >> what are you nervous about? >> posing. you know in lingerie. >> revealing. not used to it. >> i often call myself a photographer therapist. instead of a photographer. there's a therapeutic aspect to what i do. turn your head to the window, beautiful. >> when jen started generations photography in new york, she had no idea her boutique boudoir

photography business would go into more than taking sexy pictures. >> i think people assume it's about sex, women taking off their clothes and being looked at as an object. for me it is about women exploring their femininity and their unique femininity, shamelessly. >> jen was a stay-at-home mom in 2008 dabbling with wedding photography when she discovered she had a knack for making women feel comfortable in their own skin. when a friend suggested she tag along on a boudoir shoot, she found her calling. she wasted no time getting started. taking glamorous pictures of women in a makeshift studio she set up in her own bedroom. >> there were a lot of naysayers at that point that said to me, you can't do that. it's not safe. it's not smart. it's stupid. why would you want people in your bed? what are you doing? i tuned everything out and said it doesn't matter, this is what i want and nothing is going to stop me. >> her can-do attitude translated into a savvy grassroots marketing campaign

aimed at the influencers of her target market. newly-engaged women planning their weddings. tell me about the cool girls. >> i went online at a wedding board that i knew because i was on there when i was getting married. >> a message board. >> yes. this is before facebook so during that time i ran a contest, and it didn't really matter who entered the contest, i'm not going to lie, because i already knew the two cool girls were going to win. those are the girls that everybody looks up to. they want to be like they emulate. so those girls won. and part of the idea of the contest was to take pictures of you for free, but you have to post them and talk about me and tell everybody what a wonderful experience they had, which is the truth. they went on and did it. before i knew it, it was a snowball effect. >> business was booming. just three years after starting, generations, she had more clients than she could handle. she'd outgrown her bedroom and rented a studio to do her shoots in. but her schedule was gruelling. and this was not the business she wanted to run. she decided the time had come to dramatically restructure and raise prices.

it was a scary time, but she was determined to stick it out in order to carve out the work balance to allow her to spend more time with her kids. after a few months of nail-biting, things slowly started to pick up again. >> it was definitely a pivotal moment for me. and i had to keep saying, this separates the men from the boys, so to speak, or the women from the girls. this separates true entrepreneurs and people that struggle through the tough times. this is what is going to make your business better. >> the price change and extra time in her schedule allowed her to tackle one of the biggest issues with her business. she didn't want to hire other photographers, so her ability to make money taking pictures was limited. if she really wanted to grow revenue, she had to pursue other ideas. she expanded her business just beyond taking pictures to teaching boudoir workshops. creating how-to guides that people could purchase on her website, and eventually it also led to sponsorships in the photo industry. how is this in your business now

revenuewise from taking pictures to all the other stuff you do the seminars and workshops and sponsorships? >> sure, it's about half and half right now. it's important to do this because i can't teach other people how to do it if i'm not doing it. so that's number one. number two, i enjoy it and it is why i got into the business in the first place. i enjoy connecting with the clients and doing that work. but the other side of it and the other income and some of it is passive income, is important to me, because it allows me to have work/life balance. and take a day off. and play hookymy kids. >> with her schedule in check, her singular focus on all things related to boudoir photography has paid off making her the go-to person on the subject. >> it certainly was not by design to become ap expert in this field. i think because i specialized so early on i was really one of very few photographers doing that. i was starting to gain my recognition and notice from the photography industry, not just for my photography, but for my message and for the fact that it was all that i was doing. in case you haven't been

paying attention, tax policy has changed. as someone making big decisions about your business there are some surprises there for you. some are good and some you may not be as happy about. mark culler is a cpa and tax legal adviser and author of several books. the latest one is "the business owner's guide to financial freedom. so good to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> you're going to break this down for us. >> i'll do my best. it's complex. >> let's get high level, at least the things we should go and talk to our accountants about. >> the biggest deduction for business owners, and this is a big deal, because the media is really focusing on the individual side, and business owners think oh, it's just going to follow the bottom, it is what it is. but there's some strategy. >> what kind of business owners? >> medium to small business owners. the pastor, the pastor, 90% of the small to medium business owners are s-corporations or llcs. and the legislation didn't leave main street alone. this is good, we won something. so we get a 20% pass-through deduction.

the bottom line, you get to deduct 20% of your profit as an expense. so if you made a million dollars, you get a $200,000 deduction. sounds amazing. you're saving taxes. now, for the average business that is maybe product or service based or restaurant construction company, you're loving it. good stuff. but then it takes a turn for the worst, because if you're a personal service business, it's limited. >> it's like dentist, what is a personal service? >> dentist, doctors, engineers, accountants, actors, actresses. you know what? >> ark ekts? >> it's funny you bring that architects dodged the bullet. i don't know what it was. but engineers get sucked in. so it is personal service, a broad definition of personal service. it phases out. if you're single and starting to make more than $150,000, gone. married and filing joint, make $300,000 or more, gone. that deduction we were hoping for, you're missing out. >> so the 20% deduction benefits some people, some people it's a wash. at a certain point. >> yeah.

>> at a certain point. okay, then let's talk about the things that have disappeared. so entertainment expenses. tell me where they were and now where they are. >> i feel like debbie downer today because it is so frustrating. this entertainment expense is taking people out. that's an important part of business. you know, talk business over some golf, a spa, a theater, a show, something like that. baseball game. no longer a write-off. at all. entertainment expense is gone. some argue it's going to have an effect on the entertainment industry itself. but the cost of business just went up. i'm going to entertain. i need to schmooze my clients and now i don't get to write off any of that. >> i'm guessing part of our audience is thinking on their own side, i am kind of schmoo schmoozing clients, right, i'm taking them out places and now i'm not going to be able to write that off. >> right. >> on the other half there's probably people saying, i am a client, and i have been schmoozed. >> yes. >> and so i've been taken to these great shows, and these sporting events, and no one's

going to do that for me now. >> what is vegas going to do? this is a big deal. so entertainment expense is gone. so business owners need to anticipate this. think about the year, what is my budget going to be for this type of stuff? do i need to rein in the corporate spending accounts for certain stuff. >> and this includes everything, so yes, the sporting events, whatever the shows, but also i'm taking you for dinner? >> yes, now that brings in meals. because technically, meals were part of this entertainment expense. now, all the accounts across the country are looking for loopholes and we'll see how this plays out. because isn't dining really a marketing expense in a lot of ways, too? so we'll see. right now dining, taking someone out to eat, is also no longer a write-off, prospects, clients, employees going out to dinner, not a write-off. >> can't you consider the others as marketing expenses as well? >> well, you would think. that's where we're going to see this play out. >> this is where it gets complicated as well. >> the devil is in the details. the code is really -- excludes

that expense now. now, there's a second piece to this. meals, and food in the office. is still a write-off. it used to be 100%, though. you know, doughnuts on friday. the cafeteria, the -- >> which a lot of modern companies are trying to do because it's a benefit for their employees to get to hang out with each other, talk with each other. >> yeah, yeah. it's a good one. >> now it's 50%. so that all used to be 100%. now it's 50%. >> we used to get lunch and now we're going to be getting doughnuts. >> you'll get half a doughnut. it's a 50% cut. >> got it. okay so these are just simply all things that we need to think about as we are budgeting throughout the year. of what are we going to spend for entertainment, for meals, et cetera. >> yes and there's a lot of strategy involved. not only are you going to look at the entertainment and meals expense but on this pass thru. historically this s-corporation, has been a great strategy of dividing your w-2 wages from your k-1 or pass through income. it just got better. because we really want to

maximize that pass-through income. and save on the fica on the payroll. s-corporations are still as popular as ever. you want to meet with your accountant. look at my strategy for the year. what do i want to see and where is this deduction going to fall for me? >> you've given us a lot to go to our accountants with. that's what we're here for. to just get the questions that you go in to. all right. well, thank you so much. >> thank you so much. >> a lot to digest here. appreciate you coming in. >> thanks for having me. a cluttered space can create a cluttered mind. i know that i have a really hard time getting things done if my desk is messy or my office is messy. you need a clear head in order to focus on what's really important for your business. so here are five ways to declutter your office. one, get control of your cables. stores like ikea, staples, the container store, and many others have solutions for keeping your wires from becoming a mess. search for cable management solutions online. two, digitize everything you

can. paper piles up. think of that stack of business cards on your desk. use an app like evernote to capture, organize and save all your essential papers to the cloud. three, use multiuse furniture and appliances. when shopping for something new, look for items that also have hidden storage. four, drop off donations immediately. don't let bags of conference freebies sit around for months. drop them off at your nearest donation center asap. and five, make time for decluttering. keeping your office clutter free is not a one-time activity. you need to schedule time for your team to talk about your plans for cleaning up, and taking action, and then, of course, do it. i'm here with this week's elevator pitcher, maria lourd who is going to tell our panelists about her stegsery line at her company maria lourd designs. >> nice to see you.

>> you've brought your goddaughter casey. you're the model today. you design these yourself? >> yes, i do. i have a background in design and most of my cards have textile and print, it's just a lot. >> have you pitched to investors yet before? >> never. >> are you nervous? >> this is my first time. very. i'm excited. >> you're going to be great. you know you make beautiful cards. >> thank you. >> and i know this because i'm about to buy one for my daughter for her birthday. >> okay. >> so both of you guys come in and let me tell you who you're going to be talking to. two people today, one, cat cohen, she's the founder of ivy she started 20 years ago. she now works with people in 43 countries around the world. and then neil vogel the ceo of dot dash and under his leadership that company grew to 100 million users a year. these guys know what they're talking about. i'm excited to see what they think. >> hello. my name is maria. this is my god daughter casey. i'm the creator and founder of

maria laurd designs. we create unique greeting cards. we use patterns and prints. we incorporate multicultural characters in our designs. we believe in the beauty of desy the use of patterns and prints. we believe in the beauty of diversity. this is reflected in our work. ever since i was a child i loved creating things with hi hands, with paper, incorporating different colors. and this inspired me to start my own business. there is nothing more personal than a handwritten card. we are looking for an investment in exchange for 50% of my company. this will help us in our manufacturing capabilities and allow us to increase our sales in marketing and participate in respectable trade shows. thank you. >> maria, that was amazing. spot on.

it matters what these guys think. i want to get two numbers from you guys. 1 through 10. what did you think of the product, first, and what did you think of the pitch? >> neil, let's start with you. >> so actually love it. i think it's great. i think it's very of the moment. i think it is super relevant. i give the product a 7. i'll tell you why i give it a 7. it has nothing to do with the product. i think this is a product that other people could make. hallmark would make this. anyone could make this. the pitch i'm giving an 8 because i feel like it was personal. it came from you. i think that's how this whole thing is going to work. the best brands today have a story. why did it happen? why is it important to me? that's how you will build the brand. it becomes about you and your family and the people like you and why you made this. i think this could be something.

>> all right. cat? >> i gave the product a 5 and the pitch an 8. and i'll go into it. the product i gave a 5 mainly because i think that in terms of growth, there's two issues you're going to face. number one, you're making a paper product. and i think we're in a digital world. and i don't know how long the paper product is going to last. the reason why i didn't give it lower than a 5 is because i love the concept behind it, though, for people who are still using paper cards. i think there is a need for diversity and diverse, you know -- to represent diverse people on the cards. i like that vision behind it. i also think in terms of the product you named it after yourself. and you're not thinking globally. you're not thinking beyond yourself. so i think there is a lot more you can do in terms of expanding with the actual name. the pitch i thought was excellent. you were very clear. and as neil said, it was very

personal. and i understand why you're putting this out there. so i thought you did a great job with your pitch. >> thank you. >> thanks both of you. that was great advice. maria, congratulations. three years in, beautiful cards best of luck going forward. and thank you for being a fantastic model. >> thank you. >> to all of you elevator pitchers out there, listen up. we are offering five people a chance to come on the program and give a pitch in front of two buyers from hsn. they will judge the pitches and they will pitch their product on monday night's show, "american dreams." that means you could get your product in front of the hsn audience. this is a big opportunity. send it to yourbusiness@yourbu @

yourbusiness@msnbc.com. when we come back, how to combat complacency. and why experts say success is dependent on long-term planning and not chasing after the shiny new ideas. so that's the idea. what do you think? i don't like it. oh. nuh uh. yeah. ahhhhh. mm-mm. oh. yeah. ah. agh. d-d-d... no. hmmm. uh... huh. yeah. uh... huh. in business, 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. we help all types of businesses with money, tools and know-how to get business done. american express open. ♪

>> so, one of the first questions i have is what do you do with complacency in the workplace? >> complacency is a direct correlation to disillusionment. it is your responsibility as a leader to do three things. vision, time, encouragement. when people have don't have vision, they perish. you have to tie it into the company. second, people need time, informal time and formal time. informal is just shooting the breeze. formal time is meetings with them. the last is encouragement. they need specific encouragement, not generic. people want to grow. if they are disillusion said or complacent it's a direct correlation to the vision they have, the time you're giving them and the specific encouragement to help them get to the next level.

>> we now have the top two tips you need to know to help grow your business. cat and neil are back with us. you started your company 20 years ago. it's grown tremendously. it's just such a success. what is the one thing you have learned along the way. >> think big. make your 20-year plan. and keep reinventing that 20-year plan. so when i started i was just by myself as an independent consultant. i personally didn't name my company kat cohen, llc. how do i create a global brand. i'm thinking big, even though it was just me at the time. that's why i chose the name ivy wise. i wanted to think of the market beyond my own borders. >> how do you do that today when the world is changing so quickly? it's hard to think of a two-year plan let alone a 20-year plan.

>> what do you aspire to do? and you have to keep up with the changes going on in the world. that's why i say constantly reinvent the plan. don't get complacent with where you are. >> neil, you have had many, many ventures. you founded companies. you're running companies now under your leadership. dot dash has grown. 100 million users. that's so impressive. >> i think there's one truism whether i've been on teams that started things and have been fortunate to have good outcomes or now i'm running something large. the one truism is don't chase shiny things. figure out what you're good at and do that. and sometimes it might not feel sexy and boring and you're like i'm doing the same thing over and over again. but if you can find the two things you're great at, you can build everything from there. it is super easy to get distracted. you can have great ideas around what your thing is.

ideas can be your enemy. you need to focus one thing, get great at it, and everything will work itself out. >> how do you stop yourself? if you are focused on this one thing and maybe 80s not going great. >> we're focused on doing one thing and doing one thing really well. >> great advice today. so good to see you both. this week's your biz selfie comes from heather and roy aguillon who own barnwood basics in san antonio, texas. they have reclaimed wood and turn it into tables, chairs, and chests. now we want to see your picture. here's what you have to do. take a selfie of you and your business. no professional shots please. send it to us at your biz at msnbc.com or #yourbiz. give us your name, and the name of your business. do not forget to tell us where you are and use the

#yourbizselfie. thank you, everyone, for joining us. we would love to hear from you. send us an e-mail to yourbusine yourbusiness @msnbc.com. head over to openforum.com/yourbusiness where we posted all of today's segments from our show, plus a lot more. and connect with us on our social and digital media platforms as well. one last thing. we now have a podcast. been there. built that. take a listen and let us know what you think. we look forward to seeing you next time. until next time, i'm jj 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! we help all types of businesses with money, tools and know-how to get business done. american express open. ♪ morning glory, america. i'm hugh hewitt. in a week shattered by another school mass murder and in congress the collapse of the debate centered on the 1.8 young men and women living in the country illegally but having done so for so long they really think of nothing else as home.