the signal reaches down here, too. so sophie, i have an xfi password, and it's "daditude". simple. easy. awesome. xfinity. the future of awesome. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business" we all love our moms, but when customers told the owner of this glassware company their mothers loved her product, she knew it was time to change things up. what the founder of 305 fitness had to do to standout in a crowded market. and she created an all natural anti-ageing skin care product. will these hsn executives let her sell it on their network? when it comes to making business decisions, we've got your back. so let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business."

msnbc's "your business" is sponsor by american express. don't do business without it. >> "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. hi, everyone. i'm jj ramberg. and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing company. will they want it or not, business owners get lots of feedback. of course, what you choose to do with that information is totally up to you. on this mother's day, we introduce you to the founder of a glassware brand who didn't ignore when she was being told, even though her company was doing pretty well. despite her success, she decided to take a hard look at her products after figuring out that her business wasn't attracting customers that she wanted and would inevitably need. ♪

>> i said, you know, oh, my mom loves your work, loves your stuff. and the gracious person that annie is said, thank you. >> nathan shedrock honestly thought he was paying the business owner annie morehouser a compliment. >> i was excited to meet annie morehouser. and by no means did i realize what i said. she was thinking more than thank you very much. >> i was like, oh. oh. then i quickly covered it up with, thank you, thank you. i'm so glad to hear that. >> little did nathan know she just tapped into one of annie's worst fears about her watsonville, california, business that she started in 1983. >> and then i heard it a couple more times, my mother loves your stuff. and i kept hearing that and thought, ooh, i need to work on that. >> over and over again, the refrain was the same. and then finally, when annie went advise some students and

heard the same thing yet again, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. she knew something had to be done. annie did not want her glassware to be something only people's mothers loved. >> i thought, hmm, i need to do something to make sure they love it, too, and make new designs and maybe refresh the brand. >> if you looked at the numbers, annie could have ignored what she was hearing. but the company was doing fine, but the original roman antique line and items annie added over the years were not resonating with younger shoppers. >> the business had been this one pattern that had lasted for 35 years. we still have customers from day one even. i mean, neiman marcus, bergdorf-goodman, they are still selling those pieces. i think you have to realize, nothing can last that long. >> she also understood that some of her long-time customers were changing spending habits and would so no longer be in the market for her bowls, platters and plates. >> the boomers that made the business were retiring or moving

into smaller homes and downsizing and getting rid of things or not buying and entertaining as much as they were before. >> annie had sought advice from customers all along, but when the time came to change, she realized she had not been getting honest feedback. >> for years i tried to improve the business and would ask customers, what would you like? if i asked them, do you like this? of course, they say yes. and stupidly, i would keep asking and they would say, yes, we love it. because they wisely didn't want to have an adversarial relationship. >> so she gathered a focus group of 12 people. some who owned annie glass and some who didn't. and in the spirit of encouraging as much constructive criticism as possible, the facilitator took an unusual approach. >> to go with a piece of bubble wrap and put it over my shoulders and said, okay, guys, you can talk. it's okay. give it your best. just pretend, she's got this on now, you can say what you need to say. >> annie promised to listen,

though it was not fun at all. >> it was a little uncomfortable. probably the most difficult thing to hear was not enough newness. >> she was taken to task over the company's original tag line, a millenial explained why the phrase "art for the table" was a turnoff. >> art implies it is very expensive and i'm not going to be able to afford that. i was told, we aspire to that but we can't afford saturday and don't have tables. so that was a mind-blower for me because, of course, i'm an artist, you know? whoa! >> annie also heard that she needed to tell more of her company's story. and update her logo. >> some of what we do is the hand crafted part of it. the cutting, the grinding, the decorating, the painting, the firing, the loading of the kilns, the engraving the signature on the back. there are many steps to making this thing. >> it didn't happen overnight, but annie took the feedback to heart and reimagined her designs. adding more contemporary collections that have caught the attention of younger customer. one is called edging and the other is called element, which

is made entirely of recycled glass. >> we don't make just the pieces we have been making 30 years ago. we make really killer new mod pieces, we make pieces inspired by nature. >> annie's daughter ava who manages the company's store say there's dinner ware people can buy for themselves or things like cheeseboards to give as a gift. >> my generation we are used to seeing fine china and older pieces we may not identify with. annie glass has something to identify with. >> a new tag line, sustainbly hand crafted in california speaks to the 90% of the work done by hand. and annie introduced a new logo. >> the fact that these are handmade completely here in california, not parts coming from other places and just assembled here. you know, all of those things, we were not telling that story. >> getting a team to accept any change is a challenge. and in this case, not everyone wanted to be a part of the evolution. >> actually, we lost an employee

over it, over this, who did not agree with what we were doing. and someone who had been here a long time and pretty i didnntri everything. >> this has helped reenerrize life at the factory. sales keep climbing and everyone is encouraged to innovate and create. >> i think it is giving a lot more pride to all of us who work here. there's a lot of pride to be an american artisan, still working on the ancient craft of glass making, still. for several weeks now, we have doing our elevator pitch here at hsn, we have made some dreams come true and had a few disappointmen disappointments. but today we'll find out if the el vapor pitcher makes the cut. they will pitch to two

executives from hsn to see if they can sell their product live here in a studio just like this one to 91 million households. we wish them, i wish them, the best of luck. hey, gigi, it is jj. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> and your product is -- >> green tea leaf. >> you're going to be pitching to two people from hsn. go ahead. have you ever been on tv before and pitched your product in front of a camera? >> i have never done that. >> all right. have you been practicing? >> i have been practicing a lot. >> you have the perfect voice for this kind of thing, i've got to say. >> thank you so much. >> you feel like a performer to me. >> i have performed when i was younger. >> you did? >> yeah, i did ballet. >> so channel that. you've got it. i think you are going to do fantastic. >> i hope so. >> let's see how you do. okay.

>> hi. >> hi. >> i'm gigi from green tea leaf. >> i'm dara. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you. before i start, i need to do some cleaning up. >> oh, okay. >> my purse is over there. >> that's better. okay, so this is basically the temperature calls that you find in skin care products today. so i have to get rid of them. because i created a 100% natural an to-ageing serum that uses beets, green tea extract and lactic acid to exfoliate wrinkles. skin has three different layers. it has the epidermis, the dermis and the hyperdermis. i used antioxidants and the beet extract to use the power of lactic acid to boost the two antioxidants to remove wrinkles at the dermis level.

i think it would be a great fit for hln because people are looking for natural products. i created it with a scientific and chemistry background and two science degrees. so i researched it. i had a birthday two weeks ago, and i was looking for something. so i was in the process of -- >> i've got to stop you there. >> i am looking for something to get road of wrinkles. >> that's why you came in. >> i'm coming back in here. i loved the beginning and the theatrics of your pitch. >> it scared me. >> tell me, give some feedback. >> give some beet feedback. >> okay. ly tell you, i like it, i think it is a sleek design. i think there are some things we'll have to talk about here really quickly, just on the design of it and the chemistry, the makeup of it and what we may need to have in order to make sure it is regulated for our air waves. >> i got it. >> matt, how dud she do on her

pitch? >> you think of the highly competitive skin care market. so to find the anti-ageing beauty product that works for her, i think what you need to do is find and hone, what is the story and really bring it to what are the benefits to the consumer? because when you think about, right, you're on air right now. how do you bring that to life to her before and afters? any type of clinical testing you have. show her how this is going to make her look so much better and younger. >> by her, he means me and dara. we are trying it out. >> we are the hers. >> or him, right? >> you two can confer for a moment while they decide whether you get the chance to be on hsn. so you guys chat. >> you have self-funded this, right? >> yes, i have. >> how much have you spent? >> so far $15,000 of my own money.

>> so you have really -- >> i'm really invested in it. >> you have jumped into this head-first. and i'm going to stop you two chatting over there. >> so do i cross my fingers? >> yes, cross your fingers. >> all right. so, you two, will gigi have the product to sell on hsn. come on over as we look at the on air sign. >> unfortunately not. >> i really appreciate you coming on to present the product. it's such a challenging market with so much out there. i think that probably some refinements, even in the packaging, because you're dealing with high-end products, maybe refining some of your labeling on the product. think about the nice look, the feel of luxury that you want to bring in. and i think you've got some great natural story here. it's like, how do you build on that? i think you'll have a great product here. it's just -- i think from the hsn perspective, i think it

won't be the right fit at this point in time. >> okay. >> and i think it's really crowded in this space. so i really want you to hype up the point of differentiation between the product. your demonstration was spot on and fantastic. but i find it so interesting there's nothing about the bottle or the packaging that reminds me that it is organic. and nothing that makes me feel like i'm getting something that is from the earth. the last piece of advice i would give is that most women, i don't want to see necessarily the ingredients mixed together. so i'm wondering if maybe you could do something very creative with the container to make sure that i i don't see this. it looks and feels more like it's pumpkin as opposed to a raw beet. so conceal that. and then it gives you space to articulate that it is organic and natural. and you can do some of that with some of your graphic and design.

>> okay. >> such good advice, both of you. and i will say, as someone who just tried it, it feels amazing. >> thank you. >> it feels amazing. >> and smells wonderful as well. >> and just because it is not right for hsn doesn't mean it's not right for us. you dud a great job pitching. >> so good. >> the theatrics of that, spot on. good job. >> thank you. >> oh, i am sorry. >> that's okay. i got great advice. >> i'm telling you, you do not have a wrinkle on you. and it felt so good. i think you have something there. >> thank you so much. >> right? so you just keep selling away. you've been doing this for 18 years, you know what you're doing. >> i love the opportunity, thank you so much. >> i want to give you a hug g d good-b good-bye. thank you. so nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. over the years we have covered a lot of fitness

companies. rock climbing, pole dancing, so much more, but what makes the ones that get traction work and so many others fall by the waist side? we met one the founder of 305 fitness to see how she's grown her company that offers exercise classes that incorporate all the fun of a miami dance club. ♪ walk into a 305 fitness studio class and you might think you have arrived at the wrong place. there's a deejay, disco lights, high liquor graphed dance moves and no yoga mats or barbells. >> there's mystery, style, cool, chic, nightclub experience, music festival experience, that kind of more party with your friends. >> this miami dance club fitness class concept was created by florida native is sadie who is now living in new york city. >> i entered a business competition my senior year and won $25,000. >> at first her budget was so

tight she couldn't afford to rent a permanent location. >> i was renting from gyms and dance studios for an hour at the time. >> filling the class with paying customers was also a challenge. so she turned to college friends for help. >> at first it was asking a lot of the people who graduated with me, even if you come for free, please, make this look like a cool thing. >> and then a mention in a popular online newsletter changed everything. >> and then overnight it felt like every 20-something-year-old in new york was cesaying, i rea about this and wanted to try it. >> she quickly filled her classes and this inspired sadie to plan for the next level, but in such a highly competitive industry, how do you do that? >> most markets are saturated, to be honest with you. it is very rare to find a category that isn't already filled with a lot of really competent brands that are delivering something really special to their audience. >> jim joseph is the ceo of citizen relations, a global marketing and pr firm. he says differentiating a business today comes down to one

thing. branding. >> brand identity is so important because that's how consumers choose one brand over another. so it's actually the brand identity and what the brand stands for and what the brand delivers and how it makes you fema feel that you base your decision on. >> how did sadie build and differentiate her brand? first up, she tried doing everything herself. >> it was just me. i was physically exhausted teaching a 6:00 a.m. class and a 7:00 p.m. class. i would do our marketing and answer the e-mails. it became too much physically and that's when i realized, i have to hire other people to do this. >> it used to be that sadie would be involved in every single thing. i mean, this is her passion. and i think with that set up is just inspiring each one of us as leaders. >> hannah hildruth was a trained dancer who understood the concept and now has become 305's lead instructor. >> let's go, let's go. >> next, she needed to find a

permanent location. and that was going to take a lot of money. >> it was so hard to get a landlord to take 305 seriously. we had no proven track record. there was going to be $200,000 and i thought, okay, i think i can raise this from clients, friends and family, $200,000, it's a leap but i can do it. >> she turned to her exercise class clients, the miami dance concept and the personal charm sealed the deal. >> sadie put together a perception, walked us through financials for the company, talked about her vision and we were really impressed, actually. >> reporter: gisele williams is one of the clients who became an investor. >> it looked like a massive growth opportunity there. and then sadie is an impressive woman as i'm sure you have learned. >> today the company's expanded to washington, d.c., boston and l.a. but navigating between overwhelming enthusiasm and underwellme underwelling resources is the struggle sadie faces every day. >> being brutally honest about the money, being able to be

honest, practical, looking at the money in the bank account and prioritizing what we can spend and how far to get with it while also having this dying, burning, never-ending belief this is the next big thing. >> if she succeeds, the secret could end up being in se dee's belief and vision and the passion of her customers. ♪ the business landscape changes so quickly that it can be hard to know what to really pay attention to. so here are five of the fastest growth industries to watch. one, home health care services. according to the u.s. bureau of labor statistics, home health care services is the fastest growing sector in the country right now. two, green energy. from residential solar panels to hybrid cars, more americans are gracing the benefits of green energy than ever before. three, e-commerce. amazon's acquisition of whole

foods last year just showed us how online retailers are going to continue to disrupt many industries. four, cyber security. following the data breaches of the last few years, companies around the world are expected te their cyber security spending through 2021. and five, construction. this sector has been growing steadily since at least 2014 and may not slow down. >> we have launched the second season of our podcast, been there built that and this week we're talking to carly the co-founder and ceo of bark, the company behind bark box. carly tells us how a job in the early days of uber helped prepare her for the challenges of launching this company and about her chop shop in brooklyn where working on motorcycles helps her get thinking done. i hope you get a chance to listen to it. if you do, please give us feedback, we love hearing from you and we've got really interesting e-mails back. thanks to those who have written in.

go listen for free, been there, built that, you can find it on apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast. >> when we come back, how can you make the transition from employee to business owner? and why you may want to reconsider outsourcing customer service. ♪ ♪ (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.

jason wrote, how do you handle the transition from worker to boss? how do take the tools and tactics that made you great at the one person shop and transform yourself to a 100 person company? ? when you're growing from 1 person to 100 people, it can be feel overwhelming and daunting but the best advice i can give and something i've done in my own business, showing your employees there's no job too small. that you will sweep the floors and clean the toilets whatever has to be done. i think when you instill that work ethic in people, that you just do whatever has to be done in order to be successful and make the company work. you get such a great workforce and people who really want to work hard for their boss and it really helps overall morale and keep everybody excited and engaged. i think it's about showing your

employees that you'll be in the trenches with them. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help grow your business. let's introduce our panel. the ceo of lifeway foods, behind the keifer brand of products and the pink ceiling, a group dedicated to working with women led or focused businesses. i feel we didn't do you two justice in that intro. you had a company you sold for a billion dollars and now that we have that out on the table, let's get your tip. >> one of mine comes from an experience i just had with my daughters who walked into a room they felt uncomfortable in. i said, you are rock stars. walk into every room with confidence and know that you belong. shoulders back, chin up, crown on and it doesn't matter what you look like actually.

and that -- goes from everything from how you're dressed to what your body shape is to your age. walk in with confidence. >> and you had to experience this yourself. you took over your father's company when he sadly passed away when you were 27. no one thought you could do it. >> i was usually in the youngest one in the room, usually the only female and yes, i had to walk in and conduct myself with confidence always. >> and you should remember too, half of the people in there aren't confident either, right? >> that's what i've learned. that actually everyone feels incredibly awkward all the time. we're all trying to make it. >> what i love about that tip too for your daughters and i talked to female founders about this all the time, this preparation actually to be underestimated and as opposed to making that cause you to have self-doubt or frustration that in fact you see it as an invy tags to surprise people, that you reframe it and think, yeah,

you're not going to see this coming. watch this. and you kill with confidence and i'm watching female founders sort of shift that and walk in and surprise people. >> isn't that kind of the story behind the pink, is that -- >> the pink was a lot about the shift for me from underestimated to what i now call unapologetic or unapologetically pink because i had the little pink pill. i knew -- >> the female viagra. >> people would say, oh, the little pink pill and they were -- it was like that's cute. and i recognized in that underestimation or the dismissiveness of it and i thought, all right, this is the conversation we actually need to have. i showed up in blazing pink and enforced it. maybe that's my personality. but it work actually in terms of -- instead of pushing back from that reaction, actually moving towards it. >> then what is your tip? >> my tip is less sexy maybe, but my understood is never outsource any function in your

business that is customer facing, never. i think from my perspective as i built a business. a lot of considerations are the biggest build on street or sales organization, many times the fastest path is a contract sales organization, don't do it. don't you want your brand, your personality and your company and what you stand for to be something that you directly own? >> it's so expensive -- >> but it's worth it. but move -- be deliberate and build it for your own people similarly i'll say not only from a sales perspective but even your customer support function, i used to every month spend a day sitting on our phones. >> i did that too. >> because what is a better source of the real like by the minute what's happening impulse of the company than to do that but we almost consider them necessary and we outsource them, which it is our greatest insight to be nimble and be responsive to customer needs and frankly to build the best business. >> good to talk to both of you,

thank you. >> this week your biz selfie is a special one from mother's day. victoria goodwin, owner and creator of sleep and feed, a nursing pillow and traveling bassinette. why don't you pick up your cell phone and take a selfie of you and your business. no professional photos and send it to us @msnbc.com or tweet it to @msnbc your biz. don't forget to include your name and name of your business and location. thank you so much for joining us. here's something that i learned this week. the economist intelligence unit, the research arm of the economist did an interesting study underwritten by our sponsor american express. they compared what executives believe to be business obstacles versus what data shows really are. for example, i'll give an example here, only 23% of those

surveyed said talent management was a big challenge but market data said it is one of the top barriers to doing business. looking at that study got me thinking, are there things i think are big external challenges to my company and are they truly hard or am i looking at it wrong? and am i not paying attention to things that are challenges because i have not faced them yet but am going to. we would love to hear from you, if you have questions or comments, want to say hi, send an e-mail to your business @msnbc.com and go to our website, msnbc.com/yourbusiness. and don't forget too connect with us on all of the digital and social media platforms too. one last thing, remember to check out our podcast, been there built that. you can find it on tune in or wherever you get your podcast.

i'm jj ramberg, remember, we make your business, our business. ♪ ♪ (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 to politics nation. artists and rapper meek mill came out of jail last month and he'll be here to talk about how the time he spent on the inside inspired him to act now that he's on the outside. talking to meek mill made me realize that maybe through his and other viral stories of police misconduct, spees suspicious arrest and excessive force and exc