good morning. coming up on "your business," we all love our moms, but when customers told the owner of this glassware company that their mothers loved her product, she knew it was the time to change things up. and she created an all natural skan care product. will hsn executives let her sell her product on their network? that's all coming up next on your business.

hi, rchb. welcome to "your business." when 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 what she was being told even though her company was doing pretty well. she decided to take a hard look at her products after figuring out her business wasn't attracting customers she wanted and would inevitably need.

>> she said, you know, oh, my mom loves your work, loves your stuff. and the gracious person that annie is said thank you. >> nathan honestly thought he was paying business owner annie morehouser a compliment. >> i was excited to meet annie of annie glass, right? and by no means did i realize what i had said. in the back of her head, apparently, she was thinking than just thank you very much. >> i was like, oh. oh. and then quickly covered up it with thank you, thank you, i'm so glad to hear that. >> little did nathan know that he had 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. i thought, ooh, oh, i need to work on that. >> over and over again, the refrain was the same.

finally, when annie went to advice some students and heard the same thing yet again, it was the draw that broke the camel's back. annie did not want her glassware to be something other mothers loved. i thought, i need to do something to make sure they love it, too, and maybe refresh the brand. >> annie could have ignored what she was hearing. the company was doing fine. but the original ohman antique line and items that had been added weren't resinating with new clients. >> we still have customers from day one, even. neiman marcus, burgdorf goodman. they're still selling those pieces. i think that, you know, 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 soon 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 this were before. >> addny sought advice from her customers all along, but when the time came, she realized she haven't been getting honest feedback. >> if i asked them, do you like this? they'll of course would say yes. i stupidly would keep asking and they would say yes, we love it because they 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 asking for as much constructive criticism, she went to a unique approach. >> she took a piece of bubble wrap and put it over my shoulders and she said, okay, guys, do your best. say what you need to say. >> annie promised to listen,

though it was no 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 millennial explained why art for the table was a turnoff. >> art is very expensive. we aspire to that but we know we can't afford art and we don't have tables. that was a mind blower for me because, of course, i'm an artist. whoa. >> annie also heard that she needed to tell more of her company's story and update her logo. >> so much of what we do is the handcrafted part of it. the cutting, painting, the firing, the loading of the kilns, the engraving on the back. >> it didn't happen overnight, but annie took the feedback to heart adding more contemporary designs.

one is called edgy and the other is called elements. >> we don't make just the pieceses we've been making 30 years ago. we make killer new mod pieces. >> annie's daughter, who manages the company's store, says there's now dinner wear people can buy for themselves or things like cheeseboards that they can give as a gift. >> my generation, we're used to seeing fine china, older pieces that we may not identify with. >> a new tag line sustainablely hand crafted in california speaks to 90% of the work that is done by hand. and annie introduced a new logo. >> the fact that these are handmade here in california, not parts coming from other places and assembled here. all of those things. we were not telling that story. >> getting a team to accept any change is a challenge. not everyone wanted to be part

of the evolution. >> actually, we lost an employee over this who did not agree with what we were doing. and someone who had been here a long time and who was pretty integral to everything. for annie, ava, the overhaul has helped energize sales at the company. >> and i think, too, it's given more pride to all of us who work here. there's a lot of pride to being an american artisan. working on this ancient craft of glass making still. >> for several weeks now, we've been doing our elevator pitch from here, hsn network. today, we're going to find out again if our elevator pitcher makes the cut. they're going to pitch to two

executives from hsn to see if they're going to get the chance to 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, g.g., it is j.j. >> hi there. >> how are you? >> good to see you. >> good to see you. >> and your product? >> is meet the crock and my company is green tea lee. >> you're going to be pitching to two people from hs. have you ever been on tv before and pitched your product on camera? >> i have never done that. >> have you been practicing? >> i have been practicing. >> you have the perfect voice for this. >> thank you. >> you feel like a performer to me. >> i performed about i was younger. >> channel that. >> channel. >> you got it. i think rur going to do fantastic. >> i hope so. >> okay.

>> hi. before i start, i need to do some cleaning up. >> oh, okay. my purse is over there. >> yep. and yeah, that is better. so this is basically the chemicals that you find in skin care products today so i had to get rid of them because i created a 100% natural anti-ageing serum that uses beets, green tea extract and it exfoliates skin at the epidemic level. free radicals create wrinkles at the dermis level. so i used anti-oxidants, the green tea and the beet extract and using the suggested power of lactic acid to remove wrinkles at the dermis level. i think it would be a great fit

at hsn because people are looking for natural products and that's why i created it. i have a scientific chemistry background and two science degrees, so i researched it because i myself, i had a birthday two weeks ago and i was, like, looking for something. >> i've got to stop you right there. >> i was just about to sing happy birthday. >> i'm looking for something to get rid of wrinkles. >> i'm just coming back in here. good job. i love the beginning. i love the theatrics at the beginning of that pitch. >> scared me. >> give some feedback, you guys. >> okay. well, i will tell you, i mean, i like it. i think it's a very sleek design. i think that there are some things that we'll have to talk about here really quickly, just on the design of it and the chemistry, the makeup of it. >> okay. >> and what we may need to have in order to make sure that it's regulated for our air waves. >> i got it. >> what do you think, matt? >> so you think about highly

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

own money i'm really invested in it. >> and you have jumped into this feet first. i'm going to stop you chatties over there. >> time to cross my fingers. >> i'll cross mine, also. so, you two, will gigi have the chance to sell her product on hsn? >> come on over. >> unfortunately not. so i really appreciate you coming on to present the product. it's such a challenging market with so much out there. i think probably some refinements, even in the packaging, maybe refining the labelling of your product, think about the look, the feel of lux ru you want to bring in. and i think you've got a natural story here. how do you build on that? i think you'll have a great product here. i just think from an hsn

perspective, i think it's not going to be the right fit at this point in time. >> okay. >> yeah. and i think it's really crowded in this space. so i really want you to hype up the point of differentiation for the product. your demonstration was spot on, fantastic. but i find it so interesting that there's nothing about the bottle or the packaging that reminds me that it's organic and nothing that makes me feel like i'm getting something that's 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 don't see this. it looks and feels more like it's pumpkin as opposed to a raw beet. so i would almost say conceal that and then it gives space to articulate that it's organic and

natural and you can do that with your design. >> such good advice, both of you. it feels amazing. >> thank you. >> its feels amazing. >> smells wonderful, as well. >> and just because it is not right for hsn does not money it's not a great product. >> the theatrics of that, spot on. >> thank you so much. >> good job. >> thank you. >> i'm so sorry that it didn't work. >> and i'm telling you, you do not have a wrinkle on you. and it felt so good. >> thank you. >> i think you have something there, right? and so you just keep selling the way you're selling. >> i will, yeah. >> you've been doing this for 18 years. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, too. over the years, we have covered a lot of fitness

companies, ones that teach rock climbing, pole dancing and so many more. what makes the ones that get tracked and worked while so many others fall by the wayside. to find out, we met up with the owner of 35 fitness. ♪ >> walk into a 305 fitness studio class and you might think you've arrived at the wrong place. >> there's mystery, style, cool, nightclub experience, music festival experience. that fun party with your friends. >> this miami dance club fitness concept was created by sadie, a recent graduate brown university now living in new york city. >> at first, her budget was so

tight she couldn't even afford to rent a permanent location. >> i was renting from gyms and dance studios for an hour at a time. filling the customers in the room was a challenge. >> please, please, come and let's make this look like a cool thing. >> then a mention in a popularer newsletter changed everything. >> overnight, it seems like every 20-year-old in new york was calling saying, i heard about this. >> that filled her classes. in a highly competitive industry, how do you do that? >> most markets are saturated, to be honest with you. it's hard to find a category that isn't filled with a lot of competent brands delivering something special to their audience. >> jim joseph is the ceo of global relations. he says differentiating a business today comes down to one

thing, branding. >> brand identity is so important. that is how consumers choose one brand over the other. it's what the brand delivers and makes you feel that you built your decision on. >> katie stopped trying to do everything herself. >> it was just me and i was physically exhausted teaching a 6:00 a.m. class, a 7:00 a.m. class. i would answer all the customer service e-mails, do our marketing and it became way too much physically and everything else that i was doing and that's when i realized, i think i have to hire other people to do this. >> it used to be that sadie would be involved in every single thing. this is her passion. i think that inspired each of us. >> hannah 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. it was going to be $200,000 and i thought, okay, i think i can raise this from, from friends and family. it's a leap, but i can do it. >> to raise the funds, she turned to her exercise class clients. >> sadie brought a presentation, walked us through the financials for the company, talked about her vision and we were really impressed, actually. >> jaselle was one of those clients who became an investor. sadie is a young, impressive woman as i'm sure you've learned. >> today, the company has expanded. but navigating between overwhelming enthusiasm and underwhelming resources is the struggle sadie has to face every day. >> being brutallien honest about how much money we have, being

able to balance those two, being honest, being practical, really looking at the money in the bank account and prioritizing what we can spend and how much get with it while having this dieing, burn, neverending thought this will be the real thing. >> if she succeeds, it may be due to the passion of her vision and the customers. the business landscape changes so quickly that it can be hard to know what to really pay attention to. so here with 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 embracing the benefits of green energy than ever three,

e-commerce. amazon's acquisition of whole with foods last year showed us how online retailers are going to continue to disrupt many industries. four, sign security. following the data the world aro triple 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. this week we are talking to carl carlie. she tells us how a job early in the days of uber helped her prepare the launching of this company and tells us about her chop shop in brooklyn where working on motorcycles helps her get thinking done. please give us feedback. we love hearing from you. we have interesting e-mails back. thanks to those of you who have

listened in. when we come back, how can he make the transition from employee to business owner? and why you may want to reconsider outsourcing customer service. the line between work and life hasn't just blurred. it's gone. that's why you need someone behind you. not just a card. an entire support system. whether visiting the airport lounge to catch up on what's really important. or even using those hard-earned points to squeeze in a little family time. no one has your back like american express. so no matter where you're going... we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it.

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

employees that you will be in the trenches with them. >> we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. julie is ceo of lifeway foods, the company behind keefer brand of products. and pink ceiling, women-led or women-focused businesses. i feel like we didn't do you two interest. now that we have that on the table, let's get your tip. start with you, julie. >> one of mine comes from an experience i had with my daughters. they walked into a room where they felt a little uncomfortable. and i said you are rock stars. welcome 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.

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

you're not going to see this. watch this. >> you kill with confidence. i think i'm watching female founders sort of shift that and walk in and surprise people. >> isn't that the story behind the pink? >> the pink was a lot about the shift for me from underestimated to unapologetically pink. because i had the little pink pill. >> female viagra. >> people would say that's cute. and i recognized in that the underestimatation or the dismissiveness of it. i thought this is the conversation we need to have. so i showed up in blazing pink and forced it. maybe it's just my personality. but it worked. in terms of just pushing back from that reaction, actually moving toward it. >> and what is your tip? >> my tip is less sexy maybe. but my idea is never outsource any function in your business

that is customer facing, never. and i thing from my perspective, i built a business. a lot of considerations are your biggest build is your feet on the street or sales organization. many times the fastest path is a contract sayles organization. don't do it. don't you want your brand, your permit, our company and what you stand for to be something that you directly own. >> but it is so expensive. >> but it's worth it. be deliberate and build it for your own people. similarly, 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 do that too. >> a by-the-minute pulse of the company. we outsource them. it is our greatest insight to be nimble, to be responsive to customer needs and frankly to build the best business. >> all right. good to talk to both of you. thank you.

>> thank you. this week's your biz selfie is a special one for mother's day. it comes from victoria goodwin from philadelphia, owner of sleep'n feed. i could have used something like that about eight years ago. why not pick up your cell phone, take a selfie of you in your business. no professional photos, please. send it to us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com or tweet it on@msnbc your biz with the hashtag your biz selfie. include your name, the name of your business and your location. thank you so much for joining us. here's something that i learned this week. the research arm of the economist did a pretty interesting study underwritten by american express. they compared what executives believed to be business obstacles versus what data shows really are. i'll give you an example here. only 23% of those surveyed said

talent management was a big challenge. market data says it is actually 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 just looking at it all wrong? vice versa. am i not paying attention to things that are challenging because i have not faced them yet but i am going to. it is an interesting study. we will post a link to our social media if you want to take a look. we would love to hear from you. if you have any questions, comments, just want to say hi, send us an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. or go to msnbc.com/yourbusiness. we put up all of today's segments, plus a whole lot more. connect with us on our digital and social media platforms too. remember to check out our podcast, been there, built that. you can find it on tune in or wherever you get your podcasts.

we look forward to seeing you next time. i'm jj ramberg. and remember, we make your business our business. it's pretty amazing out there. the world is full of more possibilities than ever before. and american express has your back every step of the way- whether it's the comfort of knowing help is just a call away with global assist. or getting financing to fund your business.

no one has your back like american express. so where ever you go. we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it. ♪ morning, glory, america. i'm hugh hewitt. coming up after the break, the man many favor to be the next speaker of the house of representatives, the current house majority leader kevin mccarthy. three of the beltway's best to review what just happened this week. political.com, al weaver of washington examiner and eugene scott of the "washington post". welcome all three. anna, what's your big story of the week? i will sit here and complain about the cavs getting screwed on thursday night's game. >> tough loss. but russia, russia, russia.