see how you could save $400 or more a year. and get $200 back when you sign up for xfinity mobile and add a new line of unlimited. xfinity mobile. it's a new kind of network designed to save you money. click, call or visit an xfinity store today. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business." steve jobs had one, so does president obama and albert einstein. how creating a work uniform could give you more time at work. a kentucky-based interior designer acquires the key to customers is interviewing them. and will this firemen convince hsn networks to let them sell his coffee on their network? we have your back. so let's work and grow smart. that's all coming up next on "your business." >> msnbc "your business" is

sponsored by american express, don't do business without it. "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without out. hello, everyone. i'm jj ramberg. and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping you grow your business. in junior high and high school i wore a uniform to school, and simply taking out that decision of what to wear probably spent me hundreds of hours a year spent sifting through my closet. as i was looking through old photos, i was thinking, wouldn't it be great to have a work uniform? we have some ceos who adopted this idea, but would it make sense for everyone? would we all get more work done if we didn't have to think about clothes? or does that take away part of who we are? and it seems easy for men, but what about women? i set out to find out what a

work uniform is all about. what do steve jobs, the former president barack obama, mark zuckerberg and albert einstein have in common? they all embraced the idea of a work uniform. with so many daily decisions to make, they all took one big one, what to wear out of the mix. best-selling author samantha ettis, known for her expertise and daily tips thinks they are on to something. how can the decision of what to wear derail your day? >> well, we are forced to make so many decisions every day. it is like death by a thousand cuts. with our clothing and wardrobe, we tend to constantly rethink it. we're trying on four things and throwing things across our closet, so it becomes this decision cycle of pain before we get to work in the morning. >> choosing an outfit every day uses up energy and time.

and many people believe that kind of brain power and those precious minutes are better spent on the more important decisions throughout the day. >> we can eliminate one decision to give you energy for things that matter. >> take the famous founder of apple and his trademark look. a black turtleneck, blue jeans and new balance shoes. according to his buy yiographer walter isakson, steve jobs liked this for the daily convenience and the ability to convey a signature style. the former leader of the free world also switched between gray and blue suits to free up his mind and mornings for more pressing matters obama told "vanity fair," i am trying to pair down decisions. because i have too many other decisions to make. and to say that the founder of facebook likes gray t-shirts would be an understatement. mark zuckerberg says he owns about 20 identical tees. he once said, quote, i feel like i'm not going any job if i spend

any of my energy on thing that is are silly or frivolous about my life. it is clear it can work for men, but what about women? don't we have the pressure to look different every day? i went to meet with the co-founder of cuyana, a company that focuses on fewer, better things. >> that whole movement of being intentional with your choices is something that cu yurks yana wa. to me it feels like that would clear out half of my morning. >> i think women know if they wear that, they will feel great. a woman who is confident is unstoppable. and she knows exactly what she's going to do that day. and can plan effectively and strategically. >> as someone who doesn't like shopping, this sounded perfect for me. for my uniform, she focused on

this top. >> the silk tee dresses up and down so seamlessly. we think color is part of expression. so we make this in other beautiful shades. and we'll have some for you to try on. and then just a very nice beautiful wrap skirt. a wrap skirt we love because it fits many different body types. it is very easy and fluid throughout day. we have an extra tie to keep this closed. if you are going out at night to loosen the bottom, you can. it gives the same versatility. >> let's give it a shot. my uniform. >> it looks beautiful. >> i mean, what i love about this uniform is it is pretty and not in your face. so you can wear it every day. >> exactly. >> but it has a little something to it. >> personality. >> it feels totally appropriate for work. it feels appropriate to go out for drinks with somebody in afterwards. >> do you feel like it would be less complicated in the morning if you were to get ready? >> a thousand times. this is exactly what i think of

for a work uniform for a woman. this is exactly what i think of. is this my look? are you going to be seeing me in some version of this outfit on the show every week for the next year? we'll see. but if i am, know that it's because i'm spending all that extra brain power on something much more important. i'm here in florida at the campus of hsn, the original television shopping network. and i'm here for our elevator pitch segment. and this is a big deal because the stakes are huge. and our pitcher is going to show their product to two executives from hsn. one runs the american dreams program which finds entrepreneurs from all over the country and brings them onto the show. and the second one is the head of qc quality control. if there's something wrong with the product, he's going to know about it. if they get the on-air sign from the executives, that means they get to pitch their product on hsn to the 91 million

households. this could be life-changing. mike. >> jj, how are you? >> hi. >> nice to see you. >> nice to see you. >> the paramedic coffee guy. what is the name of the product? >> firehouse coffee. >> let's go walk to see how you do in the pitch. but don't thank me, how many years have you been in the business? >> we have been in the coffee business for 11 years. you have the chance to pitch to two people who will decide if you will be on hsn to have the chance to sell to millions of people. they are going to hear what you have to say. i know you're going to do great, okay? >> thank you. hi, how are you? >> we're fine. >> i'm mike adams from allentown, pennsylvania. >> nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. i got you some firehouse coffee

to have and enjoy. please help yourself. >> okay. >> i got flavor. >> i hope you like it. that's the wild rum coffee. >> wild rum. one for me. >> no alcohol, it's all flavors. >> go ahead. we're ready when you are. >> as a paramedic, i work long nights and challenging days drinking dpeanding on a lot of bad coffee. bridging my passion for emergency services and love for coffee, i created firehouse coffee, a gourmet brand of coffee centered around firefighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses and police officers. firehouse coffee offers great-tasting coffee with a unique firehouse theme. here are some of the coffees that we offer. cpr, columbian premium roast, trauma mama, wild rum and coffee, backdraft, maple and bacon syrup, and 911 house is the medium roast. we have day i go to work and

help people at their time of need. today you, the buyers, have a chance to help a paramedic resuscitate his small brand and turn it into a huge reality. thank you for the consideration. >> wow. >> all right, mike. right before you went on, the last thing you said to me was -- i hope i don't mess up. and you did not mess up. congratulations, you did a great job. >> thank you so much. >> all right. i want to hear feedback from you guys. what did you think of the pitch? >> so, first of all. fantastic pitch. you nailed it and talked about your benefits, you talked about the features. love the names. extremely creative brand. so really like that. what about you, matt? >> it smells really good, too. >> coffee, good, right? i love coffee. and dara is right, really creative with your names. it's true, off strong commitment to first responders. and that really comes through in your product. you're in a highly competitive market in terms of premium coffee, so really being able to standout from the pack is

critically important. and how do you get that infinity with your future customers and. >> i'm just smelling it. it smells so good. did you have one more thing to say? >> i actually just want to ask, what are your retails? >> retail, it averages on the size of the bag. so anywhere from $11.95 to $12.95 a bag, depending on the size. a 12-ounce bag may be $8.75 to $9.50. >> all right. i'm going to let you two talk for a little bit. they are going to decide if you get the chance to go on hsn and sell your product to millions of people. you guys chat, and i have to say, while they're talking, thank you because you're providing two things people really need, right? their lives as a paramedic and coffee. and coffee, and you have been working on this for how long? >> about 11 years. >> all right. okay. here's the moment. we can look to see, will you have a chance to sell on hsn? >> unfortunately, not.

i think it's a great product. it's a highly competitive market, but i'm just not sure it is right for hsn. for our audience, but i really think you have the right start within the market that you're working. i think about growing from that, organically expand, no pun on the coffee, but open up the market for yourself and continue to grow. and maybe then we'll see you in the local supermarkets. >> i want to know from two people who have tasted this, how did it taste? >> i love the taste. i will tell you, i will be a consumer. i just think right now, our space on air is very crowded with coffee. we have a lot of locally grown. and we have some national brands. so from a price point and fitting into our mix right now, probably not right. but i'm just going to say, probably not right right now. >> well, thank you for the consideration. what an opportunity. thank you.

>> wonderful, thank you. >> pleasure. so a good product, a great product. >> thank you, i appreciate it. >> but not the right fit for this, which does not mean not the right fit anywhere. well, thank you for coming on to the show and sharing this with us. it's so awesome. i'm going to take one of these to go. >> absolutely. it is yours. all right, come on out. all right. how do you feel? >> i feel good. disappointed, obviously, but you know what? what an opportunity. and i think i'm hopeful that maybe one day something will come along and blow it up. >> and i think, really, it all comes down to what is in there? what is in the cup? and do people like the coffee? and it sounds like so far you have gotten great feedback on that. >> we have a lot of customers and will keep plugging. >> i wish you the best of luck with everything. thank you. >> thank you so much. as a business owner, you're answering questions all the time trying to make sure that your

customers and staff get the information they need. well, one kentucky-based interior designer is more than happy to answer any questions our customers have as long as they are willing to answer her's as well. it's an approach to business that has a colorful effect. ♪ >> liz really listened to what i believe we had to say and did exactly what we needed. >> i could tell from the first time we met that we were a good match. i think she has a great way of the matching her clients to the product that they want. >> love it. >> dawn stratton and robin miller know they need to ask a lot of questions. the owner of polka dots & rose buds decided that early on she needed to dig deeper to learn about her clients' wants and needs. >> i didn't think i needed a psychology degree to second rate someone's home. but you do, you do have to

understand somebody. >> after a few rough business decisions, she came to the realization that every conversation is crucial when it comes to connecting with the right customer for her company. >> as a young business opener, you want to help anyone. but after a couple times of experiencing, you know, someone who really wasn't a great fit and that was the point where it was like, okay, we need to have some questions and get a little bit deeper in the beginning and not be halfway through the process before we realized maybe this is not going to work. >> which is why liz started interviewing her clients about the homes, store fronts and offices they wanted to decorate or renovate. >> they may catch on it is a little bit of an interview process, but it is not an interrogation, it is just very conversational in the natural questions that per tape to the product. >> liz knows how to get customers custome customers customer talking. she has a list of questions to use? >> who is using the space? what is the time line? and we need to know about the

budget, what are they wanting to spend? >> a simple phone call is usually the first step. in some cases, it's the last one as well. >> not everyone that calls is a good fit. we may not be able to service them the way that they want. and so we have to figure that out before we go ahead and go out and meet with them. >> if liz thinks there's potential, she will schedule a time to chat in person. remember, her questions are fairly routine. but the answers can make or break the relationship. as liz sees it, there isn't only one right answer to her question. she knows everyone's style is different. but the response has set the tone and timing for the rest of the project. >> usually from seeing the space and coming one a plan, that's maybe two to three weeks' time. so it is very important that we're clicking and that we understand each other fully in the beginning. and we know what we're getting ourselves into. >> from that point forward, the questions get more detailed so liz can come up with a game plan to create a look. >> we have to ask them specific questions like colors they like,

patterns they like. more importantly, the colors and patterns they don't like, because that can be more telling. >> her primary concern is giving clients what they want and not what she thinks they might want. liz also trying to identify the decision maker in her client interviews. there's nothing worse than dealing with people who can't agree. >> sometimes it is a tug-of-war in a balancing act between a husband and wife to say, she really likes this, i don't like that. so who's opinion is going to win out? what do we have to do to balance that? >> it doesn't happen often, but liz will turn out jobs based on the outcome of the job. >> just as customers know themselves, you need to know yourself as a consumer. and there's a bit of a gut feeling, and if i get that, we don't do it. >> this has made liz a better listener. >> in the beginning when you immediate somebody new and you have ideas in your head, and you

want others to try to understand, i still remember when they came to the office to show us what they had learned from us. and it was exactly on. >> she, i think, has listened to me take it in the most basic level and translate that into something pretty phenomenal for the decor in my home. >> liz will continue to ask, listen and learn from her customers. she believes it's the best way to give her clients top-notch service that they won't forget. >> i want to be able to help the client and leave them with a good feeling based on our experience. i work very hard to be able to do that with clients, so the communication doesn't stop after the first interview process. it keeps going. and that was just the foundation for it. ten years ago my next guest did away with the human resources department of the company that he had founded ten years before that. he had a mock funeral and everything.

bruce punetip has been named one of the top ten employers for young people. so good to see you. >> thank you. >> i'm fascinated by this, particularly because you have 2,000 people working for you, not including contractors. >> yeah, all around the world. >> so you need someone who is thinking about human resources, but you guys do it in a different way. tell me what you put in place instead of the hr department? >> hr was not working for us in a company that wants to focus on people. so the managerers are looking into how you manage your culture. so we decided that we wanted those two elements to be the main parts of our -- what used to be hr, so we formed the talent agency and managed that culture. >> i think it is interesting that you divided those two

things up. because the person who has the ability to find the stars is not necessarily the team that is in charm of culture. if they are put together under hr, it is truly two different skills. so we'll talk about first what this star agency does. what does star mapping mean? >> star mapping is how we manage all our people. managing the top 10% and the bottom 10%. it's a very hard thing to do when you're a new company and you're trying to create a great culture. >> forget a new company, when you're an existing company it is even harder to do, i think. >> top people want to work with other stars. every company's goal is a star in every seat. >> how does talent agency do this differently than the typical hr department?

>> they manage people differently. we look at how we recruit, retain and attract the best talent. how do we react to ads? we are looking for a certain type of people to fit our culture. >> but every hr department . >> i think they are trying to find people with the best skills. we believe we can teach anybody anything. people are to fit within our team and our teams are to develop high performing teams that demand excellence. it is a lasting interview process. you have been decided and you're interviewed by three random people that don't know what level you're applying for and you are being interviewed.

>> that is fascinating. >> everyone ls is brought in by the c the concept cht zbli love if you have a strong enough culture they should be able to be interviewed by anyone in that company. so good. another thing you talked about the the talent agency, get rid of brilliant jerks. some times brilliant jerks come from companies and you might want thoese skills. it's not worth it if they don't

fit into your organization. >> and this is where the final interview comes in. >> yes. >> here is this guy that comes from my competitor. he has done a killer job. i want him more than anyone. he goes to three people not in the dp. >> it happens all of the time. >> i think it's such a neat tip. so smart. >> thank you. thanks for having me. >> we have launched is second season of our pod cast. we are talking to the founder. she told us when he doctor told her she was prediabetic. i hope you all get a chance to listen to it. if you do please give us your feed back. check it out. it is called been there built that. you can find it where ever you find your pod cast. >> is there a downside?

they tell us why you may not want to do everything yourself. ♪ ♪ (baby crying) ♪ ♪ don't juggle your home life and work life without it. ♪ ♪ and don't forget who you're really working for without it. ♪ ♪ funding to help grow your business... ♪ ♪ another way we have your back. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it.

>> welcome back. he is here with us. congratulations to you. you started and have seen companies through. what is one thing people need to know about? >> i think a founder of a really small company i think we learn early on on bringing on people two are smarter than you and have skill sets and things that you don't.

>> was it complicated to say okay. you do that. >> the hardest part is allowing others to make decisions. you seek out people that are aligned with your culture and your vision. you have to trust them. they don't always make decisions you might have made but in order to grow you want to give them the opportunity to -- >> it's not easy. all right, josh. >> my thing is not to do everything on your point. some of those hats like the taxes, filings are not worth

doing. so find a trusted partner. it was the help make all of these things much much easier. >> i always say you do not have to reinvent the wheel, find someone who has done it before and you concentrate. >> yes. we have had that conversation so much. you want people to have experience in things you don't know how to do you should work together to make sure everything stays in tact it. >> could be anything.

you don't have to spend all of your time researching it. >> thank you guys so much. it's great for people. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> this is susan stone, owner hoof higher hands massage. pick up our smart foep and send us a picture. we love seeing the photos. thank you so much for joining us. we love hearing from you.

send an e-mail to yourbusiness at msnbc.com. head over to msnbc.com/yourbusiness. we have even more for you on all of our digital and social media platforms as well. check out the pod cast been there built that. remember, we make your business our business.

>> welcome to politics nation. with all eyes this week on the attacks in syria and the ever evolving russia investigation i was honored to sit with joe biden for an exclusive interview. i wanted to hear his thoughts on civil lights