leave no room behind with xfi pods. simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," we'll show you how chris and heidi powell hit an empire. and the founder of this company says her pillowcase improve hair and skin while you sleep. we have your back with information and advice to run your company. that's all coming up next on "your business."

hi, there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. chris and heidi powell have been in the business of transforming lives for a long time. the health and fitness experts gained notoriety on their hit television show "extreme weight loss" where they helped a select few lose weight every season. when the show finally ended they had a chance to turn their attention to the rest of us. they've developed a format where you can try out their workouts

and coaching one on one. the partnership between chris and heidi powell is not for the faint of powell. between their four kids, multiple businesses, and working out, this dynamic duo never seems to sleep. the personal trainers and diet and fitness experts became personal trainers of nbc's show "extreme weight loss." >> you are a champ. but the scope of that show limited them to helping a few each year.

>> when they air thad episode around the world, we were getting tens of thousands of letters, which is really overwhelming. who are we to say no. >> since the show finished, the pair have written books, but they've taken the ethos and shared it with the masses. >> thank goodness for technology. >> heidi organized the project by defining smart goals. >> always make smart goals. no matter if it's a goal you're

making, you know, physically to run a marathon or whatever or if it's a goal to lose ex-number of pounds or a goal to start up your business and achieve this much growth revenue by this point in time, smart is necessary. smart is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and ti time-bound. your chances of achieving it are higher. we don't say make a smart goal. make a smart goal and declare it to someone in your life so they can make you accountable. >> they keep crazy hours and spending more time behind the desk than ever before. the transformation would have never happened without the tough love of heidi. >> if it was up to chris,

nothing would be released. nothing would have been done because it never would have been good enough. he's like, i want to add this, i want to add this, i want to add this to the point where he needs people to say, okay, that's 2.0. 1.0, this is all we're delivering. >> it's hard because i know what i want to create for the masses. i nknow what i want to relate fr the world. at the same time, we talk about the minimal viable product. they have to tear it out of my hands. they're like give them what you've got because it's amazing. i'm like whoa, whoa, whoa. and then call it 2.1 and it's back to the verp. we all fall into the roles where we excel. it's been amazing. you almost reach this point in business where you boot strap it for so long. then all of a sudden it starts

to take form. >> but before there was the trance format there was stax, the business that chris launched before he met high d they never quite got off the ground, drained it is bank account and put him into debt. >> you'll see a version of stax and a few other items on the market and there are ties between all of those and many. there are people i pitched it to early on, and in about a year and a half to two years, it hit the market. >> what a great learning lesson in so many ways. there were ways that his contracts were structured at the time, if those were still in existence, we never would have been free to do what we're able to do. truly you have to know when you've got to cut something off. >> it was a lesson that taught them a lot about business and

how to approach everything they did moving forward. >> well, i'm the dreamer, but she's the doer. it's so amazing because we've been able to position ourselves to focus on doing what i do well, continuing dream. as the doer, she rallies the team. we knew where we wanted to go early on, but it's taken ten years now. when the show came to an end, it created the opportunity for us to build the machine to take people through that journey of transformation. tony was a young successful entreprene entrepreneur. he lived life hard. he went from great heights to rock bottom and with a whole new attitude has grown his current

company hamate -- hammitt. it's a thriving handbag company based in hermosa beach, california. but eight years ago his story was anything but a success. tony was homeless, in a financial cry circumstance and trying to save his business. >> i ran out of money, lost my house, couldn't make the payments. >> ham mitt was hit venture. >> what motivated you in those days? >> money. >> tony indulged in all things

fast and furious. >> i bought a ferrari, boat, a trailer to haul it, all in red. >> while he was a fantastic salesman, his company was not focused providing the best product or service and that came back to bite him when things began to falter. but instead of facing hard times, tony walked. >> why did you walk away instead of fixing it? >> i wasn't happy. i lost my motivation. i was done. >> were you depressed? >> oh, yeah. i was. >> he did a lot of soul searching. he went to a tony robbins event, burning man. he tried to think of what was really important to him and tony decided to start fresh. >> i went into the residential finance business before the early boom, early 2000s, and things started to take off again. that was a nice ruchbl everything started flowing. i got married. it was a good period in my life.

>> tony stopped doing the work on himself as a person, the actual thing that turned his life around before. >> when the money started flowing, i stopped. >> my marriage struggled and my son and i. i have a shirt that says "seeker" now. working on yourself has to be a continuous process. >> so just like the last time when things tony did some more exploration. he turned his love for creativity into hammitt. >> i love architecture, design. i thought i could build that into a handbag brand. >> he partnered with an existing designer and eventually took over the whole company. >> when i came into this business, i thought i had enough money to build it.

>> but he didn't. >> i ran out of all of my money in a couple of years. >> the situation was bad. he lost his home and spent nearly two years sleeping on friends' couches. >> does it feel shameful at all? >> well, yeah. there was a lot of shameful ps early in life, but also don't look backward. i had great things every day i could focus on, and that's what kept me going. >> losing his foundation didn't deter tony from saving hammitt and becoming an effective leader he worked so hard to be. >> even as a leader in a company in the worlt of times, you have to assure people going forward. >> was it easy to talk about sth. >> not in the beginning. then all of a sudden the light bulb went off and then i didn't give a [ bleep ]. i started sharing with people. i was homeless. it was cathartic. >> he learned to embrace tough times instead of running from

them. he was able to cut major expenses in two key areas. one on the sales front. he stopped using pricey showrooms and reps to drum up business, omtding instead for one salesperson in addition to himself. and in the design department he saved a fortune by building a small in-house team of creatives instead of high-priced artists. he's become a go-to for the everyday woman and a-listers. >> you think the bag is what attracted people it to. >> tony himself has turned into a leader who values employees and believes in the power of mentorship. >> three or four interns are now leaders in my company. they're smart. they're inspired. >> this time around you've done so much thinking and exploring about your motivations. >> yeah. >> do you think it's here to stay? >> i've asked people to really

hold me account snoobl tony's changes have not only happened at work. his big-time approach to his personal life looks nothing like it used to. >> when someone walks up to me with their new hammitt and says i love it, it's the new shiny ferra ferrari, the new shiny boat. >> what have you done with all the money? >> it's gone right back in. it's an opportunity to build something that will last way beyond my lifetime. >> no matter what kind of business you're in, i can promise you one thing. you're going to deal with tough times. and a lot of times it might be something that's completely out of your kroechlt spencer is the chief operating officer of zillo. he was one of the co-founders of hotwire.com. you're on the other sierkd at least for now. >> knock on wood.

>> first of all, thank you for stopping by. >> thank you for having me. >> so the audience knows, you started hotwire and 9/11 started and people stopped buying and then there was the recession and people stopped buying homes. both companies survived. >> maybe i'm unlucky. >> or lucky because you're on the other side of both of them. >> you're right. these exogenous cases happened in both. what we did with hotwire in 2001, zillow in 2008 is, first of all, make sure the company is right-size. in both cases we cut the company from 350 to 200. >> at hotwire? >> at both, almost the same size. >> when you do thatting how do you keep the morale up?

>> you have to make sure the cut is deep enough there won't be a second cut. a lot of companies make that mistake where they cut a little bit and then they're forced to do it again. what we did is return to the company. we said w we'-- we're going to k arms. we became more effective and redoubled their effort post-adversity. in the case of zillow in 2008, it forced us to focus much more on revenue than product. so we were a startup a couple of years in. we were focused shipping product and 2008 happened and we had to figure out how to become profitable. >> in some ways many times these are blessings in disguise,

right? because when things are good, it masks a lot of the problems. >> is it the warren buffett quote that it's not until the tide goes out that you know who's swimming naked. it's true. when things are going well, it masks all sorts of inefficiencies, issues that are masked over. >> how do you deal with the personal fear? everything is going gr and then suddenly the bottom falls out, and how you do work with that? >> as a ceo, it's one thing i deal with all the time. so employees want their ceo to see them confident and capable and know what direction the ship should be steered. but obviously we all have doubts. i'm careful about what i say where. things i discuss with my leadership team is different. >> yet, still being honest with

everyone, right? not painting a rosy picture when it's not rosy. >> absolutely. >> congratulations. you took both of those or one and then the other through hard times and good ones. zillow is doing great. >> thank you. >> good to see you. for today's elevator pitch, we have done something special. we've partnered with shopify. they work with more than 600,000 mo merchants. we're here in l.a. where they've opened all permanent space where they're going to help people grow their pitches. our elevator pitcher if she wins is going to get two things, the first, it will be placed there and then she'll get information from experts. let's go meet our pitcher. today's elevator pitcher is camela hurley.

it's so good to see you. >> i'm so grateful to be here. i've been committed since day one to shopify and this is such an honor. thank you so much. >> your company is? >> madison & white. we're a company where we believes beauty starts in bed. >> you met one of the judges. >> i did. u i'm so sorry. i saw her sitting outside and i'm running up and i'm like, okay, i knnoknow you started li and could i take a picture with you. >> now you get to pitch in front of her. >> michelle and the second is harley finkelstein. i'm guessing this is another one

of your heroes. >> i'm going to enjoy the journey and know that i'm going to get my beauty sleep tonight. >> good for you. fingers crossed all the way. >> thank you. >> hi, my name is camela hurley and i'm the founder of a company called madison & white, a company that believes beauty actually starts in bed. our beauty pillowcases are designed to enhance hair and face atz you sleep so when you wake up in the morning you can get ready and conquer the day with style. it's the fabric. it's different than anything else on the market. the fabric is made of a material that stops bed head. you get two pillowcases in one box for $79. as a single mom and small business owner, i can't handle anything uncomplicated.

it's the reason since day one i had the company work with shopify because it makes my life easier. one of the amazing things is it's allowed me asking you, ple, join the slumber party and help build dreams for madison. >> have good. i like how you're building up shopify in your pitch, too. >> i wouldn't be here without shopify. truly. an amazing platform. >> a question. who do you compete with? >> with satin pillowcases and also silk pillowcases's one of the amazing differentiating factors, this is easy to take care of, vegan and cruelty-free and you get the same benefits. and it doesn't feel like a cheap halloween costumes like most satin pillowcases do. this is a luxury bedding experience, because it's meant to change your beauty game and not your home decor. >> what's the price point? >> $79 for two pillowcases. absolutely.

>> thank you. >> you two, go deliberate. >> where you got me, when you said it takes out tangles. >> yes. >> maybe me for beauty but my daughter -- for the number of hours i spend combing her hair. >> trust me. my children sleep on them. i sleep on them. makes my morning flawless. to cake up and have comb-out hair and be ready to go. when i look good i dream big and i'm ready to conquer all the goals i have in a day. >> how old is the company? >> the company just launched in november 2017, but the idea started on the kitchen table in 2015. >> it's funded how? >> you know what? i've actually diligently pulled the money together myself and i have an angel investor helping. >> good for you. bring you back in. we get to turn around the poster and, will you be on shopify? >> yeah! i'm so excited. i'll scream! oh, my god. yeah! >> one thing we talked about, this is a busy person's dream. right? >> yeah.

>> most busy people, men or women, don't have time to take care of themselves. the fact you can sleep and also have some beauty done to you and have some really great stuff happen to your hair and skin is kind of amazing. it's kind of the perfect thing for any entrepreneur. you should emphasize that a little more, not just a health product, almost an efficiency product. >> i will. absolutely. >> as an entrepreneur, lean into the idea of self-care. it's a hot topic. join that conversation. that's what this product really is. >> yes. >> so once you really unlock that and create content around that, i think sky's the limit. >> by the way, i think you would be amazing. right? >> one slumber party. >> i would love that, yes. absolutely. >> all right. congratulations. so excited. >> thank you. thanks to all of you who have gone ahead and listened to the beginning of our third season of the podcast been there, built that. we love getting feedback. this week we launch a new one with jen rubio. co-founder of the luggage brand away. just to give you a sense of who

jen is, she is such an early adopter of new things that he twitter handle is @jennifer. something i should have gotten. that's my real name. anyway, she talks how she's grown the company which started with an uh-huh moment with a piece of broken luggage and turned luggage into something people want to talk about as cocktail parties. check it out. called been there, built that. find it wherever you get your podcasts. if you listen to it, leave feedback. e were uv will hearing what you think. when we come back, we've got advice on how government contracts can help with scaling your business, and as we continue to celebrate women's small business month, we address how women of color in the tech industry can navigate obstacles to success. the meeting of the executive finance committee

is now in session. and... adjourned. business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. we have this e-mail from one of our viewers who writes, being a ceo of a tech company and being a woman especially a woman of color, how am i supposed to navigate paths many haven't done before? >> so that is a great question, and you're right. there are not that many of us who have navigated these paths but there are some of us. i would definitely look for mentors to help you along the way. i certainly have had great mentors, and the other thing that i would just say to you is that what's really important is that you are authentic, because

as you are trying to navigate, trying to get customers and investors and people to trust you, you have to present as yourself. you cannot try to be anyone other than yourself. and so you need to know your numbers. you need to know your business inside and out, but present that in a way that is authentic to you, and the right people, the right customers, the right investors will find you, i promise you. we now have the top two tips you need to know to help you grow onbusiness. introduce or panel and get their advice. alexander stanton, co-founder and ceo of empire global ventures, dedicated to helping businesses identify and close on revenue generating deals. and michael carys, chairman and ceo of juice press. a health food provider. good to see you both. tell me something the audience can learn from? >> the biggest thing would be that you need to have a balance

between having conviction in what you're doing and being humble enough and care enough ultimately about winning to be able to step back, look, see what the consumer, what do they really want from you and how a trend is changing. >> i like how you put that. it's interesting. right? have conviction in what you're doing, but care enough about winning. you put those as opposites. >> yes. >> a lot of times people would put those on the same side. >> we all know we have egos and pride. we sometimes dig our heels in too often and forget what our true mission is. >> do you have someone in your company or in your family or friend group who sort of slaps you in the face and reminds you, hey, you know, step back a second. you're doing this wrong? >> i think i have reality of having 85 stores and 750 people working at juice press and just forcing myself to look at ultimately the metrics. do they validate what i'm doing, and when they're not validating it, don't delude myself mess

trimess -- that the metrics don't mean anything. and step back, be humble enough to recognize what ultimately my mission is, the school of hard knocks taught me to be that way. >> got it. thanks. alexandra, you basically swoop into businesses, find them revenue, generating opportunities, partnerships, what have you, and make it happen. >> we do. >> so you have seen lots of companies go from here to there with your help. and what's one thing you've learned? >> so while often overlooked we think businesses should explore doing business with government. government can be a terrific customer and a great partner for companies looking to scale. >> but a hard one to work with and a hard one to get in with from the get-go. hoe do you deal with that? >> that's part of our specialty. we think you have to in a gran ye yew -- granular way figure out

to scale. government is very invested in finding good technologies and good businesses to work with, but don't know what they don't know. so i suggest businesses raise their hand and say, pick me. look at me. >> all right. great to see you both. congratulations on both of your companies. it's really very impressiveto hear how you've both grown. >> thanks for having us. this week's your biz selfie comes from owner of shelton management solutions in washington, d.c., and someone with some very stylish glasses. love those, iris! got a consulting firm that helps businesses develop strategies nor marketing, customer service and productive pi. now pick up your smartphone like iris did. take a selfie of you and your company and send it to "your business" @msnbc.com or tweet it to us. use it's hash tagging

yourbizselfie. we love hearing from you, if you have questions or just want to say hi, send us an e-mail. also, if you have a chance, please, go to our website. msnbc.com/yourbusiness. we put up everything from the show today plus a lot more. don't forget to connect on all of our digital and media platforms. remember to check out the podcast called been there, built that. just launched our third season. download it free from tunein or from wherever you get your podcasts. we look forward to seeing you next time. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg and remember, we make your business our business.

you're in the business of helping people. we're in the business of helping you. business loans for eligible card members up to fifty thousand dollars, decided in as little as 60 seconds. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. snow . welcome to "up." i'm david gura. we are three, count them, three days a way from midterm elections and for the very first time president trump is acknowledging the possibility his party may not come out on top. >> the democrats, and it could happen, could happen -- i'll just figure it out. >> the president is crisscrossing the country in a last-ditch effort to boost turnout calling the democrats the party of crime. >> a blue wave would equal a crime wave.