good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc "your business" avoiding family feuds. how owners of the million dollar baby crib company passed the reins on to their children. andrew rosen founder of fashion brand theory on how collaborating with other businesses can help your business. that, plus highly effective ways for business leaders to engender trust. that's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business." >> "your business" is sponsored by american express open.

hi, everyone. i'm jj ramberg welcome to "your business." it's no secret that in the world of family-owned businesses, survival can be hard. when the torch passes from one generation to the next, families could face big challenges. the chance for success is less than 40%. those are not good odds. the fong family who have built an empire of cribs defied those odds. their company, million dollar baby, has become one of the largest manufacturers of cribs in the world. but that success has come despite the family facing some really hard moments. when this pair of music moguls and an iron man splurge on a $3,500 striking acrylic crib, it makes headlines. the l.a.-based million dollar baby is the family-run business behind this innovative design and over the past 27 years, the powerhouse company has delivered

millions of cribs worldwide. soon after the they feared for the future of china, so they moved their family to the u.s. daniel had a background in venture capital and he wanted in on a happy industry. >> most people that shop baby furniture are usually quite happy. >> the pair started with just one product. the classic jenni-lyn. a traditional spindle design, but their crib was half the price of their competitors. >> i imported the parts from asia, but i used american hardware and then we assembled them in the united states because safety was the defining thing, i think, in baby furniture. >> retailers were intrigued and daniel sweetened the pot by adding some highly enticing terms, unheard of at the time. >> no minimum order quantity and it would be delivered to you because we had it in stock. so, our longest wait time would

be 30 days. that was his first game changer into baby industry. >> daniel always had a steady supply of stock and had warehouses across the country so retailers could pick up their orders whenever they wanted. >> use my warehouse as your warehouse was my tag line. >> the fong children were young when their parents' company started to soar. daniel and mary ann never had any expectation for their kids to come work in the family business. >> i told them, you are free to do anything you want. explore the world. as much as you can. >> we felt that they should do something on their own, but in 2004 i got sick. >> mary ann's sudden illness was the catalyst for tracy who was only 23 at the time, to jump right in. two years later, teddy did the same thing. >> when you graduate you mosey in to the company and now vp automatically. >> but in spite of their family connections, they did not come in at the top. >> we were packing hardware and

driving the forklift and placing orders. >> you have to work your way up and earn the respect of the people in the company who have been here and dedicated their lives to the company for so long already. >> you have to be very honest. i think about their abilities. if they do not have the ability to take on a certain higher role, then they shouldn't. >> it didn't take long to notice that both children possessed undeniable talent and game-changing ideas like their parents. in 2004 when tracy started the dotcom world was not a furniture friendly space. >> luckily my first call was the buyer of amazon. no one else would answer her call. none of the other furniture call because they thought, amazon, you sell books. i go in and pitch that all of our products are fedexable and she goes, this is amazing. we can't find anyone who can fedex furniture like you guys. >> drop shipping to big box stores soon followed.

>> cybermonday and we shipped a thousand packages within a matter of six hours. he was like great, do you want to stay? >> teddy realized design inoovation was only happening on the high-end side. so they launched a more affordable brand, but despite all the success by the second generation, both children struggled with the family dynamic on the work front. challenging their father was something they both tried to avoid. >> in the beginning it was very tough. i was very agreeable. i think we were avoiding conversations. a lot of resentment that was building. >> they also realized the perfect alignment when the family faced their employees. >> behind the scenes we're very good at giving each other feedback. >> you get rid of all the bs. >> the most important thing was not to do it in front of other employees. >> behind the scenes the brother/sister conversations didn't always go smoothly and wasn't always a sibling dynamic

at play, her husband an architect and his wife joined the team and their aunt and uncle were also part of the clan. in 2014, daniel sparked a conversation on the way to a family dinner wondering who should he pass the ceo reins to when he was ready. let teddy go first. immediately two words came out which was john and julia. he's not ready. >> feeling teddy needed more time to evolve into an effective leader he established a transition period where he and teddy would function as co-ceos a decision in hindsight that both father and son regret. as co-ceo daniel would at times make decisions without ever consulting his son. >> i can see where that can be a problem with teddy. >> everybody is kind of lost. am i supposed to listen to him or listen to teddy, who has a different idea. >> daniel also became known for

his segeling effect. >> my dad had a tendency to come in and then flying away. >> the fong family decided to enlist the help of leadership and mentor, he smoothed out all the transitional kinks and help with overall communication strategy. >> these family forums. it's really an intense feedback session. >> we have to have feelings and cry if someone hurt my feelings and be very direct about it. >> we have really great results. i'm surprised by how really strong emotions i didn't even know that exist get flushed out. >> despite the expected multi-generational struggles that come with many family-run ventures, the fong family has turned million dollar baby into a booming $70 million business. currently with eight brands under their umbrella. and through it all, the fongs continue to learn some invaluable lessons. >> you can be the bridge between

the employees and your father or mother. you have a special relationship with the ceo. you have his or her ear. how do you bridge this gap? what conversations have been missing. what has not been talked about that needs to be talked about. >> i told him that you just need to build your team. i think that is also very crucial in terms of family transition. the older generation to be willing, willing to let the generation actually start hiring his own people and start taking on these senior positions. rather than the old people just occupying the space. >> it has been a wild ride. who knew baby furniture would be this exciting. he's a third generation and a true visionary in the world of contemporary fashion. andrew rosen is the unstoppable force behind the billion dollar

brand theory, which is known for its wardrobe essentials. he's been running the company for the past two decades and we recently visited their new york headquarters where he shared his designs for enduring success. >> one of the things that i think is critically important today about a brand like ours is to be much more curated. i just don't want to make a lot of clothes to fill up racks in stores. i want to make the perfect pieces. it allows us to really consider each piece and make each piece as best we can. and the companies that are really winning are those companies that have really made a discerning decision, this is what we stand for. i am curious by nature and i think that being open minded to listening and observing and

learning is an important ingredient of continuing to be successful. our company has been around 20 years and i don't want the company's way of operating to get stuck in any old paradigm of thinking or business. i bring lots of people in from the outside to coach us on the digital age and the methodology and structure of modern companies and i want to work hard at raising the digital iq of our company. our manufacturing and design and merchandising iq is very high. but our digital iq is something we have to really work on. i think it's very important to collaborate with companies outside of our own. two companies coming together and collaborating on a product idea or a concept can be very innovative and we can develop unusual things that way. we collaborate with shoe companies and we collaborate

with jean companies. i think that combination of like-minded brands and working together can create exciting opportunities for companies. is that fabric good? this is nice. when i came up with this concept of theory 2.0. i wanted to take people that were three and four layers down that didn't really have a voice in the company and give them an opportunity to have a voice. so, i put together a group of 15 people that we called innovators working group. what i asked them to do was think about what kind of initiatives would they like to be part of and start. one of them was a collection geared towards younger people, millennials and in addition to that, we put together a women's entrepreneurship program. and, you know, our company is all about entrepreneurial spirit

and we want to support women entrepreneurs and put together a whole series of talks around that. educate people inside our company, as well as our customers. we started something called theory for good. where we allowed customers to bring back to the store old theory clothes and we would take the old theory clothes and give them to an organization that supported people in the workplace that needed clothes but couldn't afford them. this is our new good wool program. it's sustainable from the farm where the sheep were raised, woven into fabric and the factory where the garments were cut and sewn. when i started theory, it was a phenomenon from day one and now we do close to a billion dollars in global sales. you never know what things are going to happen in meeting a

company. there are all sorts of twists and turns that you're faced with. my dad taught me not to look back, keep looking forward. when we turned 20, everyone said to me, well, we have to celebrate 20 years of theory and i said, i don't want to celebrate 20 years of theory. what i want to do is think about how we're going to prepare our selves for the next 20 years and how we're going to do things that really set ourselves up to be able to be successful 20 years from now. according to our next guest, the one thing that all great leaders and all great organizations have in common is trust. trusted leaders are followed. as trust increases, costs, problems and skepticism go down and morale, productivity and innovation go up. ultimately if things go right, that leads to higher revenue. the ceo of the trust edge leadership. i was so impress would the talk he gave recently i invited him

on the show to talk. i get to ask you some questions myself. you talk about, let's focus on the trust of your employees. it sounds, of course, it's important for your employees to trust you. but how important is it? >> this year, in the trust outlook, our global study, 6,000 people, 10 countries. number one ahead of being, you know, getting a pay raise, ahead of more atonomy and ahead of more benefits and a fun environment, employees wanted to trust their senior leaders more than anything else. i'll follow you. >> so, tell me. i am, let's say i am leading a team here. i think i'm trustworthy, right? but somehow i've created an environment where people aren't that happy. right. they got good benefits and i'm giving them raises and somehow it feels like people don't trust me. what am i doing wrong? i'm not being deceitful.

>> but the eight traits came out of the research. the eight components of the most trusted leaders in the organization. clarity. all over the world, i see organizations and leaders that think they're clear when they're not. people trust the clear. and they mistrust or distrust the ambiguous. they also, yesterday i was working with one of the biggest companies in the world, they mistrust the overly complex. that company is not trusted because they might have a breath of arrogance where we have to overly complexify something. we lose trust immediately. so, people trust the clear. they trust the high character, they trust the compassion. those who have intent beyond themselves. we trust those that are consistent. >> i'm going to write these down. charity, not complex, compassionate, consistent and three more? >> there's committed. we trust those -- can you think of anybody in history or in your life that has left a legacy. your mom, mandela, martin luther

king, joan of arc, they were trusted because of their commitment to something beyond themselves often to death. commitment is a component. connect and collaborate. when general motors and ford fierce competitors built that new high performance engine together when chrysler is on their own. they saved some hundred million dollars doing it because they're willing to connect and collaboration. connection and collaboration. the competency is a big one. that came out of the study, by the way. willingness and desire to stay fresh and relevant and capable. we want leaders that put us in a place where we can stay fresh, relevant and capable. in fact, 76% of those respondents said we would trust our company more if they just trained us more and gave us development opportunities like leadership. they wanted leadership and personal development way over technical. >>ch unfortunately, we

have to end here. if we really sat there with all those terms. really, really, am i that compassionate? am i that clear? whatever it is. this is a good start to help us start to think about it it's clearly, clearly very important. thank you so much. when we come back, how do you combat negative and false information that is online about your company? plus, why you may want to consider creating so-called talk spaces in your office. and the people who put on the mardi gras parade in mobile, alabama, with good advice on how to meet pressing deadlines. 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. >> we represent a lot of different vendors and products. and oftentimes we find that there is false information on the internet and i want to know how we can go about combatting that and getting the right information back to the customer. >> so, what i say is, be the expert. establish yourself as the expert. one thing you can do is just launch an enewsletter in which

you create all sorts of links, tips, strategy, content for the customer. that does two things. one, it helps them and, two, it establishes you as the kind of business that really helps him. if you do that or create a resource center on your website that does that, as well. what you will find, they will look to you as the expert and love the great independent information you're going to give them. i would give one caveat. as you give this information out remember our old friend 80/20 rule. 80% needs to be about them and helping them. if you do that, the 20% about you they'll be far more interested in hearing about. when most people think of mardi gras here in the u.s., i think they think of new orleans. but i somewhat recently learned that there is a huge mardi gras festival in alabama. we went down there to see what it takes to put these festivities together. it is a lot of pressure. and a lot of crazy deadlines. something i think probably a lot of you deal with, as well.

>> it's show time. >> it is so show time. >> everyone here is feeling the pressure because they know if we don't make a deadline. what is that going to mean? we lose a contract? >> there is always a deadline, nothing but a deadline. >> they are used to high-pressure deadlines. >> i'm working seven days a week, 10, 12 hours a day. trying to get some sleep. it's a good time to lose weight. >> steve is the owner of the mirth company. he builds these huge mardi gras floats in mobile, alabama. >> when you're under the gun, you cut all the extraneous stuff out and get to the heart of the matter. that works the best sometimes. >> and barrett greer is owned by ron. he was responsible for 31 grand balls like this one set to kick

off in just a few hours. >> i have a dress rehearsal in two hours. then the event starts in about three. >> how many people are you expecting? >> out here in the audience? >> uh-huh. >> oh, they will have 3,000 people. 2,800, 3,000. >> we hung out the two business owners right before their big events. the pressure was on. their clients expected a lot. there was no wiggle room on the deadlines. right through the most moments, steve and ron seemed incredibly at ease. >> you seem amazingly calm to me. >> well, if i was real high strong, i would not do mardi gras balls. >> why no nail-biting, screaming, drama? how do steve and ron manage these deadlines with such calm? each of them has their own style. but both include making sure their employees know they're part of a team. >> what is the secret to you getting people to get stuff done

on time? >> i give them the opportunity to be part of a crazy, wonderful art group. and they have the opportunity -- it's like being in a fraternity in college. they fit in. they found their niche. they see something huge going on. and they feel like they're part of on it. >> both ron and steve use timelines to deal with intermediate deadlines along the way. but we all know even the best of plans could get derailed. >> then you have sickness, injury. you lose people. and the schedule -- they work for the first two or three months and then you just throw them out the window. >> the deadline itself finally gets the staff moving as they start to see things coming together. on the other hand, it's trickier, they say is, to get their employees jazzed about meeting the less exciting mid-project goals. ron says it's all about attitude. >> you can put a little excitement into it. you can absolutely make them part of the excitement on any

level at any time, and it does work. >> steve and ron also both credit part of their confidence to hiring people who understand their style. >> the only way to get it done is having people who know what they're doing. >> while they both saying screaming never works, they each have their own quieter way of letting employees know they need to step it up. >> what i've learned is if something is really going to hell or employees are having a hard time, i get very quiet and methodic and then they listen to me. >> when you get quiet, does everyone get a little bit nervous? they know this is your version of yelling at them? >> you're correct. bingo. >> they keep their eyes on the big picture. they each become an island of clarity at the center of the big storm because they're surrounded by people they trust. and they don't let the chaos distract them from the end product. >> and you can't get too caught up in it or you will really just drive yourself crazy.

>> we now have the top two tips you need to know to help grow your business. financial expert carol roth is an angel investor, best-selling author and creator of future file, and denise is the s3 agency in public relations and social media firm. good to see you both. >> you always have a new business i feel like. >> i am the conscious mat entrepreneur. >> this has been in the works for a while. so congratulations >> thank you. >> what is your tip for growing the business? >> the top tip is if you want to create a really amazing competitive advantage for yourself but do it on the cheap, all you need to do is to be helpful. and i know this sounds very woo woo, i feel like all business owners are really doing the minimum they can to get by these days. if you can just go out of your way a little bit, do the right thing, make sure it is not

taking away from something that would be good for you, just by doing the right thing, you can create this huge competitive advantage. say you have an opportunity to present at a trade show or a client that is not a good fit. not just turn it down, but actually create that referral to somebody you know. so you are providing value to the person who asked you and you're providing value is to somebody in your network. >> you talk about some people have connections, some don't. connections, all it is people who like su and who you like. when you're doing business, you're doing business with people. >> exactly. >> the more i like doing business with denise, the more she will do business. >> you create the authentic relationship. it doesn't cost you anything other than a little bit of your time. >> all right, denise. >> so every time i say to none how are you doing? all i hear is busy.

a year ago i banned it from my own. everyone is busy. >> you're starting a business. you don't have enough people, too many people. trying to get new business. productivity is an issue. we have to have a work/life balance. we have created a way for people to talk and be productive. we have dedicated talk spaces. if you are going to have a conversation with anyone more than five minutes long, you can't do it at their desk, in a common area, at their desk because it will distract everyone else. everyone starts jumping in. it becomes fun. we want to talk. we don't take that away. but we don't want to be distracted. if it's more than five minutes, you ask them to go to a dedicated talk space. you're away from your work space. but also five minutes can be distracting. if you're in the middle of an aoe pitch any and this is going to change my rfp to be the winner, hey, denise, what was

that thing you needed? that could derail you and go back to the drawing board. if you're in a serious mode of concentration, we created do not disturb tags. you hang these on your computer, your door, your work station. if they see this hanging they know unless it is an emergency, and there are very few true emergencies, stay away. it's a half hour, an hour, whatever it is that you really need to get done what you need to get done. super simple. and make sure you don't disturb yourself. it is hard to honor it yourself. turn off your devices. say this is what i'm going to accomplish. write it down. and do that in the half hour or hour. >> i am in public whether it's in an airport, i do not want you to disturb me. this is genius. >> i love that. you never want to sit next to me on a plane. i'm always going, hi. >> there you go.

grit advice. thanks both of you. >> thank you. have a good one. >> this week's your biz selfie from kasan moorehead with care solutions home services. incredibly important service. thank you for sending that, kasan. pick up your smartphone, take a selfie and your business. 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. if you want to get in touch, send us an e-mail to yourbusiness @msnbc.com. also, if you like the show, head over to openforum.com/yourbusiness where we posted all of today's segments from our show, plus a

lot more. and we put new conversations and content up on your 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 that witnessed the passing of a truly giant figure of the 20th century, the reverend billy graham, agony, grieving and very ugly debate after the slaughter of on 17 in parkland, florida. on wednesday, the very day of his death, president trump convened a first of its kind listening session at the white house to hear firsthand from many of the victims of gun violence from parkland as well as sandy hook. the airwaves generally in cnn's