good morning. coming up on your business, we focus on women entrepreneurs. she went from providing handyman service toss selling storage units. the secret applying to a product oriented one. the dynamic entrepreneur took a screening company clear out of bankruptcy. that plus how the #me her movement against bias in women in media and advertising. when this comes to running a business, we have your back. that's up next on this special edition of your business.

msnbc your business sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. > ♪ >> hi everyone. i'm jj ramberg. welcome to your business. the show dedicated to helping your growing business. when we first started this program 12 years ago, there was not a lot of attention paid to female founders. fact is, there are many less of them than male founders. but women have built extraordinary businesses and they are start to go get the attention that they, we all deserve. today we're dedicating the whole program to women in business. we kick it off with one owner here in new york. she started a service business

and thend decided to spin off a second product-based company. she was shocked to discover how different running the two were but figured out a way to make it all work. ♪ >> the handyman fear -- in a healthy way. she's not a tyrant. she has the mind of an entrepreneur. more dreamy, more planning. >> brooklyn-based liz wright and tasha couldn't have more different styles. but together they have the perfect chemistry to build a successful service business. >> old check out of her purse that was about a-year-old. like oh, i just found this. i was just like really? >> i can't fathom being ten cents off on my reconciliation let alone losing a check for entire year. >> they founded checklist services. a handyman home repair business.

tasha owe farrell is her part-time bookkeeper. >> citi bin sells a trash can storage product she developed at checklists. >> have a lot of clients that needed custom carpentry projects and they were increasing asking for trash enclosures. >> liz saw an opportunity in all those trash can enclosure requests. after careful market research, she founded citi bin to make and sell these high end storage products. >> we decided to make it its own business. we had a lot of experience. >> nevertheless, switching from an hourly home repair service to a manufactured product business turned out to be a way bigger leap than either of them anticipated. >> i did not anticipate how the difference in cash flow would just impact the business. >> with the service business, the cash flow was simple and

predictable. and there were low startup costs and easy financials. >> the cost related to running the business got covered as the business runs. >> whereas the hardware store purchase maybe cost $50, the inventory purchase can be six figures easily. >> just to start up citi bin, she had to pay for factory tooling, stock up inventory before earning a single penny. this required a ten-year, six-figure fda backed loan. >> i needed to put my house on the line to get that loan. if my business fails, my house is on the line. that probably means my marriage would be on the line. >> liz was initially blind sided by the cash flow. on the other hand, she was happily surprised by the simplicity of the logistics. >> when someone purchases a product, you take it out of inventory, you put it in the truck and you deliver it. >> back at checklists, each client and each job represented

its own logistical mine field. >> when a client says something as simple as i need plaster repairs, i want to know the area of that repair, do you have the paint, do we have to provide that, do we need a ladder. what size ladder, what tools do we need to bring, what materials do we need to bring. >> if you don't get the logistics right, it could end up being unprofitable. >> liz credits tasha's tactical mind-set for much of that success? >> she's amazing at that. she was a part-time bookkeeper and then able to run the whole operation. >> moving over to the product-based business, liz made a happy unexpected discovery about herself. >> for my temperament, the product business is better for me. i'm good at product development and strategy. but i'm actually not good at logistics. now i don't have to do a whole lot of it anymore.

>> while that's two key areas of difference, liz also says they scale differently, too. because service is largely confined to the local market and product is not. >> it's much more difficult to scale a service business. there's a lot more human beings involved. there's a lot more variability involved. but it primarily is a local business. >> she says this means that growth in a product-based business can have fewer limitations than with a service-based business. she likes that. >> not only can i scale the business in terms of geography, but i can scale it in terms of product. we can expand and we can do add-ones and add other var indications. >> using her creative juices add and the modular design of products, she made a few tweaks and created a new product for what she sees as a rapidly growing market, outdoor lockers to receive packages. >> this is the latest product. this is a porch locker that

helps reduce porch piracy and keep packages safe u. >> by moving into product development and marketing, liz discovered her strong suit and she's running with it. >> we're in high broe mode. we've launched two products this year and we'll be focusing on marketing and scaling the business. >> speeding through airport security is a reality thanks to karen sizeman becker and the clear lanes you see at the local airport. it almost didn't happen. becker is a big believer in biometrics, the sci-fi movie like technology between iris scans. she saw an opportunity where others didn't. she took a big gamble when she bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2010. now she's got several years of smoothly operating the complicated private sector under her belt and on a mission to change the way we think about security. we sat down with karen at clear

headquarters in new york to talk about a future where your wallet may be obsolete. >> it uses biometrics. fingerprints, iris-based. we hope one day voice to create secure frictionless experiences. our view is you enroll once and once your identity or your health insurance or credit card are connected to you, you are your wallet and you can use them in so many different places for a more secure frictionless experience. i think that this is the most awesome opportunity in my view. this is where the world is going. there's no way that you're going to have a wallet full of cards in a decade. that makes no sense. >> i didn't think it was -- i think ignorance is bliss. i felt it was my calling. i'm a neurotic person about security. but it just felt like such a no brainer. when you believe in something so much, you go for it.

and so the failure didn't scare us off. it was an opportunity to learn. so digging in and understanding why it failed made us more confident that it could be successful. restarting clear was hard but if it was easy, everybody would be doing it. we had an idea and vision where we were ultimately going to be and we're still not there. we're getting there. if you do the right things, you dellight -- the technology was ahead of its time to the credit of the company who came before us. biometrics were not then what they are now. we went to airports who were angry they hadn't seen clear since it shut down. the reception was quite negative by some people. now those people are our best partners. we've done what we said we're going to do. some people said why did you keep the name? it's an amazing name, clear the

way. i always saw biometrics bringing you safer, easier experiences if so many verticals. airports were the best way to start for a few reasons. they are hardware identity and security and customer experience converge. if you can conquer airports and air travel, then you can bring clear to so many locations. about 50% of the fans were using it to get into a baseball game are people who enrolled at the airport and use it for travel. the more value you can add, the better it is for customers and the more value we're creating. people using it at baseball stadiums are learning about it and some are upgrading to the airport. we love that. i think there is a lot of crossover. i do envision a world over the next decade where you are leaving home without your wallet and being able to transact in so many places. you are your health care card, frequent flyer card. we have the patent for the biometric boarding pass. you get stuck in a foreign

country. you are your passport. what do you mean? i'm me. you should be using biometrics. protecting privacy and securing data is our job. we've been very -- one of the things when with you buy a bankrupt company is to rebuild the integrity. we've been out in front of this since day one for eight years. we do not sell or share people's data. we sell experiences by securing your data and protecting your privacy. 100% opt-in. transparent on a privacy policy. i think that was crucial to rebuilding this company and crucial to our future. and so it is the foundation of everything that we do. >> we're in the middle of a cultural -- the association of national advertisers along with a group of major brands are trying to eliminate bias in ads. it's called #see her. it calls for an increase in the accurate portrayal of women and

girls by 2020. the centennial of women's suffrage in the united states. jennifer did he silva is here to falk more about this. 20 years of experience and working on fortune 500 brands. comcast is also one of their clients. good to see you. >> good to see you. thank you for having me. >> this is so interesting what's happening now. i remember when dove came out with the real women campaign, it was such a big deal and a lot of great brands have followed. ultimately, brands are only going to keep doing this if it increases their sales. >> right. >> right? because i don't care how much you care about social responsibility, et cetera, if your company goes under because you're not selling anything because your advertising is not work, it's irrelevant. >> right. >> i want to put up one of the companies that you've worked with, the ad that they have. this is pro mat, is it? >> pro mat is a swimmer brand. traditionally when you go to the pool, you feel uncomfortable in

your swimsuit. they wanted to get rid of the preconceived notions of what beauty typically is at the pool. we cast a guard in -- they were policing the types. we redefined the pool rules to be about, instead of about running at the pool or no horseplay, it was about all abilities accepted. cellulite allowed. intolerance not tolerated. it worked. we saw a tremendous reception to the ad with the crow mat community. they loved it. they saw an increase of following of 15%. of 25% increase in sales for the brand from the campaign. >> wow. >> and this campaign was picked up in over 50 publications globally and got 90 million impressions with no paid media at all. >> interesting. but the 25% increase in sales is the key number here. >> absolutely. >> what is it? do you think consumers -- say i

am a brand and i'm thinking about launching a campaign. in the past i would take the most kind of a stunning man, stunning woman, handsome man, put them in a situation that probably most of us would not be in. >> uh-huh. >> is is that not resonating anymore as the aspirational advertising? >> not as good as the -- hey, here's the reality. >> no, i don't think so it's resonating anymore. there was a study on this. 85% of women were offended of how women are depicted in advertising, which is just shocking. people are dying to see realness and authenticity in advertising. you talk about the see her movement. there's another part of that movement, if you see her, you can be her. people feel that and want to feel themselves in the ad. be connected to that. >> let's show the other example from olay. put that up here too. this is the if you see her, you can be here, right?

there are all different kinds of women in this ad. >> absolutely. they did a tremendous job in cast thg ad. the whole notion of this campaign is that women are to this, you're too confident, you're too different, too vulnerable. they wanted to eliminate that. they had a very simple device in their advertising. this is one where you see all of them. in the ones where there's the individual, it crosses out the two. there's no such thing as too vulnerable or too different in this ad. it's incredible. because what they're saying to women is own it. you can face anything. be your bold self. be shamelessly you. that's pretty wonderful. >> it feels like it makes perfect sense in this moment of social media where actually what we really want to hear from our friends, right, i like this product and that's what's working the best for companies. companies that have grown on instagram and didn't pay anything for advertising. >> right. >> but i saw my friend who is not perfect looking, right, and

has all their flaws and i know her for their flaws, but i see that she's wearing this lipstick and i really like it on her. >> absolutely. you want to connect to something you see yourself doing or wearing or being. advertising is shifting to that. we see that why gen z. i talked to a bunch of girls in a group i'm a part of and they speak about this realness and this authenticity. that's the companies they want to buy from and they're going to support and put their money ind behind. >> great fish initiative. i don't have to be so perfect. >> nice to see you. nice to see you too. the association of national advertisers launched the #see her campaign to eliminate bias against women in ads and media. in celebration of women entrepreneurs, here are five programs to help women start their businesses. >> one, bumble fund. you probably heard of the dating app bumble. now they're launching bumble

fund, committed to invest more than a million dollars into companies that primarily help women with a focus on female founders from diverse backgrounds. two, fite. it's available through -- it offers loans, vocational training, education and other benefits for any woman who has yet to start her business. three, female founders fund. this venture capital firm has $27 million to invest into new tech-related companies created by women. four, the tory burch foundation about women helping women. it offers up to $100,000 to help get your business launched. and five, boss. bringing out the sisters. a networking platform for primarily african american women and professionals. they promote professional development of multicultural women. i am here with this week's

elevator pitcher. susan. she's here to talk about cucina safe lit. >> how do you feel? >> you know your business. have you gotten any money? have you raised any money for it yet? >> no, i'm self-funded. >> which means, where did the money come from? >> line of credit and lot of shaky days. >> right. it's nerve racking. here's your chance to see how the pitch goes you'll be fantastic. let me tell you who you're talking to. two people. the first one is alicia the founder and -- she invests in people like you. first money in. she'll be great at giving advice. >> the second person is jennifer young, the co-founder and cmo of the company called outdoorsy. she was where you were, started a company, saw a problem, solved it and has grown it tremendously the past few years. these women will be great. let's see what they think. >> all right. >> hi. i'm susan cast row at that, i'm a breast cancer survivor.

while i was undergoing cancer treatment, my daughter suggested that maybe all the plastics i had used in the microwave could be harmful. so i decided i'm going to switch to all glass. what i found were glass bowls with the plastic top. so i invented and patented the vented glass lid. not only are they splatter shields, but they're steamers. when you steam your food, you useless watt toer retain the valuable nutrients. ecofriendly and doesn't harbor bacteria. i'm looking for $500,000 to take me above my current online sales of amazon, grommet, hsn and qvc. it's tough to get into big box stores and grow my social media. if you want to see the cue shin a safe lid. go to cue shin a safe.com. >> that was -- i love how you --

you sound storytelling when you tell the story. >> i'm going to give you guys this. here's a pen. >> two numbers. one is what do you think of the product and the second is what product, and the second is what do you think of the pitch, 1 to 10. you can tell you've been on television pitching your product before, the theatrics of throwing that back. you're shaking a little. the product. >> i like what i heard. you're clearly on trend with being eco-friendly and health conscious. what i want to know about is because it's glass, there is a product liability angle. i want to know it doesn't crack and i would want to feel it and use it to make sure it's good for elderly users, too. so i'm with you there, but i want to know more about the product.

on the pitch front, i gave mauer points because you are an old hat at public speaking, and i can tell. i loved hearing your personal story, i loved hearing about the patents, i loved hearing about the distribution and you were very clear with your funding ask. i think the only reason i was a little unsure is because i'm not clear yet whether this is kind of a one-woman business that's lifestyle, or whether you have a big vision and there is a big market ask lond lots of revenue you're gunning toward. so i'd love to hear more, but overall i was very positively inclined. >> thank you. >> i thought you also did a fantastic job. i gave you a 9 on product and a 9 on pitch and for many of the same reasons, so i hope it's not too repetitive. on the product side, i thought that was great. i thought you did a fantastic job starting with the brand story which was such a moment of truth in your life and what a fabulous endorsement for why the product would be so successful. so maybe pausing a little more and making that a punctuation

point when you started. i also thought you could spend maybe just a little bit more time bringing forth the customer, like the woman and all the sizes. i know you do a couple different sizes or shapes so maybe talking about the use for them, whether it's popcorn or quick meals -- >> i can put that to life just by going to my microwave and seeing the splatters. >> it helps to address the total market here. on the pitch side, i thought you did a great job. was upbeat, very personable, i felt like you could really connect with your customers and kbro your audience, which i think is important for all entrepreneurs. it has to be authentic and feel that way and that was consistent all the way through. i thought you did a very good job. >> i would agree with all the

recommendations. congratulations. thank you both for your advice. we can't wait to see where this goes. >> thank you very much. when we come back, alyssa has advice on why you need to do your homework on the business and the person you're pitching. and some sacrifices personal entrepreneurs have to make. don't forget that the past can speak to the future. ♪ ♪ i'm going to be your substitute teacher. don't assume the substitute teacher has nothing to offer... same goes for a neighborhood. don't forget that friendships last longer than any broadway run. mr. president. (laughing) don't settle for your first draft. or your 10th draft. ♪ ♪ you get to create the room where it happens. ♪ ♪ just don't think you have to do it alone. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't live life without it.

for the last 10 years, i have devoted so much time, energy and so much of my family's time on building and growing my business. i've had to sacrifice a lot. so what are the things you have had to sacrifice that you regret? >> so this is a great question, but i tend to look at the world in a different way. i tend to not have those regrets because i think if you make a decision and it's right for you at the time, then it's the right decision. if you're making a tradeoff for your business and you really love your business, then that's the tradeoff. however, where i have failed horribly at times is prioritizing certain things. for example, for me, i love to exercise. it's really important for me mentally and physically, and there are sometimes where people said, well, you sacrificed

exercise for your business. really, i didn't sacrifice, i just did a poor job prioritizing it. so don't have regrets, but do focus on that art and that science of making priorities really important to you and getting those done and not worrying about things that are sacrifices. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow your business. alyssa and jennifer are back with us once again. i'm going to start with you, a lea -- alicia, because you have been helping people with getting advisers, mentors, perhaps funding. so thank you for everything you're doing, but give ace tip. >> sure. my top tip is to make sure you do your homework on both the business that you're pitching and the person that you're pitching. what i mean by that is all too on we go into business pitches and we're consumed with how do we get them to buy the product, what are the pros and cons, how

do i get that message across, and we forget to do the research on the people we're pitching. i call it people diligence. by that i mean go to the web, find out what you have in common, where did they go to school, what are they really proud of? because at the end of the day, ree relationships matter. if you get to know the person first and make a connection with them, business is that much easier. >> right, even if you go in cold, quickly scan their office. they might have a diploma up and you went to the same school, or they might have a baseball picture up and you love baseball. if you can connect on anything, it makes it easier. you started your company with nothing. exceptionally successful with outdoor renters. congratulations with what you've done. what did you learn along the way?

>> the most important thing i learned along the way is know who your customers are. we figured out how to build the best rv rental we had to figure out what was important to renters whether it was the travel van, the big class a, so my partner and i spent eight months living in an rv. we lived eight and a half months and went to all the rv parks. >> this is while you were launching it or after you launched it? >> this is while we were launching it. sort of like building an airplane and starting off the grand canyon. nobody will tell you anything more important than the person you're trying to market the products to, so we spent thousands of hours listening to the stakeholders, the renters and the owners, and that really informed what would make a great customer user for us on line and off line. >> that's in the beginning, right, but once you have an

established company and you're launching the product, you don't have to seek those people, you have them right there in your database. congratulations on both of you for your success and what you've done as a role model for women. >> you, too. thank you. this week's selfie is from roxanne smith who ownsalfa custom clothers in chesapeake, virginia. i love that picture. it looks like someone lost their head. she has a business of custom suits and shirts. send us your biz selfie at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. don't forget to include the business and where you are. we love hearing from you. if you want to just say hi or

ask some questions, e-mail us at yourbusiness@msnbc.com. don't forget to connect with us on all our business and social platforms, too. check out our podcast. it's called been there. build that. you can find it on your podcasts or wherever you download your podcasts. we look forward to seeing you next time and remember, we make your business our business. don't forget that the past can speak to the future. ♪ ♪ i'm going to be your substitute teacher. don't assume the substitute teacher has nothing to offer... same goes for a neighborhood. don't forget that friendships last longer than any broadway run. mr. president. (laughing)

don't settle for your first draft. or your 10th draft. ♪ ♪ you get to create the room where it happens. ♪ ♪ just don't think you have to do it alone. ♪ ♪ the powerful backing of american express. don't live life without it. welcome to "politics nation." this morning we're following two developing stories, both with no clear sign of where or how they will end. first a bombshell report by the "new york times" claims that the number two official at the justice department suggested wearing a wire to take the president of the united states. and the president is now