hows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. good morning. coming up on "your business" a former navy seal turns his training program into a booming business and then has to face the copycats trying to capitalize on his invention. how jennifer took a $2,000 investment and turned california baby into a multimillion dollar skin caroline. and the owner of a wreath business deals with the challenges of running a holiday business. that's all coming up next on "your business".

hi there, everyone. welcome to "your business", the show dedicated to helping your growing business. for anyone fa nat cal about fitness, you have probably heard about trx. it's the training system that consists of a single strap, two handles, and hundreds of workout options. it is hard. former navy seal randy hetric is at the helm, but it has been copycatted.

randy faced battles he never imagined possible. randy is the man behind trx, one of the most buzzed about brands in the fitness industry. his explosive success stems from a simple concept. one strop, two handles. but the trx experience is anything but basic. trk's success didn't happen overnight. for over a decade, randy poured every last dime into building a pristine product and a standout brand experience, and then just when trx started to take off, he was blind sided. copycat and counterfeit products started to flood the digital marketplace. >> they multiply like cockroaches and pretty soon you've got a sea of them. you have to figure out a strategy that's going to allow you to kind of put this bad genie back into the bottle. >> when he dreamed up the concept, a business venture was

the last thing on his mind. he was serving in the u.s. military as a navy seal facing ongoing missions that demanded a serious amount of physical strength. >> when we would deploy abroad, there's no gym. >> a natural problem solver, randy came up with a solution. >> i had scooped up my jujitsu belt and came up with the idea to tie a knot in the end of it, throw it over a door, lean back and try to copy the motion of climbing a ladder. and to do it just using my body weight against gravity. it worked. i can also do curls, flies, and i ended up starting to make them for guys in the squadron. >> after 14 years of service, randy enrolled in stanford business school and people on campus started noticing his workout. >> just about every coach walked over and said i've got to know, tell me what this is.

ten minutes later they'd asked me to make some. >> he realized it might become a lucrative business. >> i had about $50,000 to my name. i spent that and bought a 40-year-old sewing someone. >> trx launched with a product that delivered undeniable results and limitless workout options, but getting the masses hooked took years. counter fa counterfeit products were everywhere. >> counterfeit has to not only be copying your product but usi using infringement trade part. knock off is a subtle twist. it's no less insidious. they copy your product, but they don't put your trademark on it. >> randy needed to take immediate steps to fight back if he wanted to keep his company afloat. >> you've got to get a lawyer and that's expensive. >> randy had to vote much of his

cash flow and manpower towards the battle. >> it sounds like a game of whack a mole. get this one down and another one comes up. >> it is whack a mole. >> trx's brand equity was in jeopardy as people around the world using systems they assumed were trx were getting injured. broken bones, head injuries, even one death in germany. the serial numbers embedded in authentic trx saved the company from lawsuits filed against them. customer service complaints and horrible online reviews kept coming. >> our strategy ultimately was to form a partnership with amazon and explain that this was not tolerable, that they were, in fact, contributing toward infringement. they took action pretty aggressively on counterfeiters to try to put in place some machine learning mechanisms so that once someone has been proven to be a bad actor, it gets increasingly harder for them to get back up on what is

otherwise an automated platform. >> randy also knew he had to make a bold and very public statement to scare off the copycats. he targeted one of the companies doing the most material damage to the trx brand and filed suit against them in court. >> how hard was that to win? >> it was a painful trail. >> he spent three years and $2.5 million. and despite a $7 million damage award, trx never saw a dime. >> the infringers just go out of business, so you better have a strategy for how you're going to leverage that verdict before you file a suit. now we have a cease and desist letter. >> the other thing i notice you did was put out a big press release. >> it very was was intended to be a don't let this be you message to all the other knock off folks. >> randy's strategy has worked. today the business is thriving. with headquarters based in san francisco, he currently employs

more than 100 people. >> these offices are so amaze. >> it's pretty cool having your headquarters over top of your gym. >> trx systems are in more than 40,000 gyms worldwide with trained professionals teaching the trx method. >> we bill the company and the brand literally one trainer at a time and we tried to give them a great tool and then knowledge to deliver results to their clients. >> when trainer jason opened his pilates studio in los angeles, he decided to invest in trx equipment for every station. >> it was just something new. i love trx. you get in 100 different positions within three minutes into the warm up. you're already sweating, your heart is racing. it gets your legs, your core, your arm. you leave drenched. >> the world of black and yellow became an instant obsession for many. now randy's main focus is on trx

anytime anywhere. a home system, along with a trx app, it allows fans to bring the experience into their house and on the road. >> how big is the company right now? >> we'll be somewhere in the i have -- vicinity of $60 million in revenue. i feel so fortunate to have this astonishing community. the black and yellow is a big deal. people from all around the world tell us stories about how we change their lives. that's really powerful. you can't knock that off. >> how do you get customers to purchase more at your e-commerce site? this is the general manager and head of north american small business at paypal. if anyone knows thou get people to shop, it should be you. >> we definitely have some tips. >> all right. so let's start. i used to work for an e-commerce site back in the old days.

the problem we had is that we get people to come to the site and then we'd see abandoned cards, come to the site and leave. there are just these little things you can do that get people to actually purchase. let's start with that. number one. >> so i think it starts with finding customers. the number one thing is as we talk to millions and millions of merchants, the biggest thing they struggle with is the world is evolving. where are the customers going? everyone is used to paying for key words. consumers say 30% of their time is spent on social, the facebook, the pinterest. start advertising in those channels. a couple key things we advertise, one is obviously make sure that your site is mobile ready. 40% -- last year mobile grew at 40%, far faster than what's happening on the desk topside.

it continues. if you have a site that's not mobile optimized but also mobile ready to accept customers shopping on their 5 inch screens and make sure things are simple, those are critical things. >> that's a big one for you. one click check out. you're not go to the next screen, go to the next screen. >> we launched a product a little while ago called one touch. it's our fastest adopted product. we have over 100 million consumers. the idea is no credit card exchange. one click, you're in, you're checked out, you're done. imagine in you're in a railway station and i want to buy thris you don't have to time to do that. >> basically what shoppers want is for it to be easy. >> well, one, they want it to be easy, of course. that's where things like one touch comes in. but the other big thing we see is make sure that once you get into the cart, you know, the cart rate is at 70%. a lot of it is recoverable.

what we talk about is make sure you offer all methods of payment, whether it's credit card, paypal, apple pay, even other thing a customer wants and is able to check out with. consumer credit is a huge one. a lot of people see a watch. it's $500, i really want it but maybe i want time to pay it off. that gets you over the hurdle. it lets merchants get paid up front. >> where do you do that? at checkout, you have a little button -- >> yeah. you can get a paypal credit button or a banner throughout the shopping experience that says hey, you love this dress or this watch or whatever it is you're buying, click here and in ten seconds you're approved for a consumer credit. the merchant gets paid up front. >> is this widely available right now? >> it is massively widely available. it's a simple plug-in. >> got it. and then this is an oldie but goodie. provide offers and coupons after checkout. that's to get people back. >> remember the part about 70% of your carts are left

abandoned? this is a key thing. a lot of people will say i'm looking for a couple things, i may come back later. make sure they come back later. reach out with e-mails. do reminders and say we've got this product, maybe i'll give you another 10%. the other big thing we see is offer free return shipping. >> people expect free shipping both ways right now. >> one is it's expected. the other big thing is if you're a smaller merchant without a large brand behind you, this actually takes away the fear. if i buy something and i don't like it, what happens? the answer is return it to me for free and you can come back and shop again. that actually gets a lot of consumers over the hurdle of shopping at small businesses. >> i've been in the coupon business with my company for 12 years now. coupons get people to shop. >> that is exactly right. >> so it changes everything when people feel like they're getting something as does free shipping.

>> that is right. >> thank you so much. this is incredibly helpful. small businesses need to know how do they make it easy to people will shop there. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you. when california baby founder jessica launched her organic skin care brand for kids in 1995, she started with a single product. a shampoo body wash. now more than two decades later her company sells nearly 100 products and is worth more than $250 million. we sat down with jessica at california baby headquarters in the heart of los angeles where she shared her tips. >> when i first started california baby, my goal was to change skin care for the american child. my goal was to replace the synthetic fragrance.

did that. the last six years it was all about creating a 100% natural preservative. how do you do that? it's about saying yes, we can. i don't know exactly how, but i know we're going to do it. fake it until you make it, right? i've got to get people on board with me. they're, like, if she thinks we can do it, i guess we can do it. you also have to get a few wins under your belt. one time i had a large supplier and i was talking about something innovative and they said to me we'll do whatever you want because you have proven that you can build a successful company. and so that was great. it was, like, i like that. but i had to have that win under my belt. you have to have some wins under your belt. i develop a product and it's a minimum of six years of just development. first it's an idea. okay, i want to do a hair gel, but i don't want to use those

silicones. what should i use? that didn't work, that didn't work. i created a hair gel made out of starch. basically you can use it to chicken your gravy at thanksgiving. it's tapioca starch and corn starch. that's where the editing proces didn't work. let me take this one little thing that works. sometimes not every idea is a good idea. you need to write your ideas down. you need to let them live a little bit, and then you come back. i think that's the essence of california baby. there are no shortcuts. you learn as you go. you take your time. you make the very best decision. i really haven't made too many mistakes, but the reason is i take my time in making a decision. so when the decision come, i've looked at every single angle. what about this, what about that? i'll go back and do it again. i'll do it until my brain is

satisfied, okay, i've checked everything out, did i talk to everybody? let me talk to this person and see what she thinks or he thinks. then i'll make the decision because i know i've got all the information. i think sometimes people make mistakes when they rush. i've got to get this done. i've got this order to fill. i don't do that. we've never had a recall. i'd rather hold it and miss a sale than rush something to market. that's not right. we own 100% of our business. we don't have any outside investors. my advice to people who are going to take funding is make sure you know what you're getting into. don't be afraid to ask questions. it's your business. it's your idea. you're the founder. you're the captain of the ship. make sure that's the case and put in a clause to make sure you that are the one who is actually signing off. also make sure you read that contract. understand why you're taking that money, what are you going to do with it? sometimes especially in today's

market people think they're successful because they got funding. i think that people don't understand that funding is actually debt that you have to payback. and so just pay attention. especially in you're innovating, don't follow somebody else's timeline. let's say you get a big order and the buyer needs it by a certain date. if everything isn't falling into place, don't be afraid to say no. don't be afraid to say it's not ready. because who's going to lose, right? the big box places an order for 10,000 pieces, but they need it in six weeks. now everybody's running around with their heads cut off. that's what i say slow down. your emergency is not my emergency. because i need a perfect product. i don't ship product out of here unless it's perfect. i always say this. is it a brand builder or is it a brand killer? that's how you answer all the difficult questions.

>> still to come, how do you navigate the conflicts that come up in a family-owned business? and how the owner of a christmas breathe business capitalized on the home trend. 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 make christmas wreaths and decorate them and ship them all over the country. once you've received one, it becomes a family tradition. that's the other piece that i really like to be a part of. >> it's the most wonderful time of year in catherine's workshop. the smell instantly reminds you of christmas. >> when i open the box, that smell it transports you to a different time. and i've gotten a lot of comments about that, that the fragrance reminds them childhood or a special time in their life. >> the company's tag line sums

it up perfectly, the scent of vermont sent everywhere. >> i make each one. >> all the wreaths made from brush from local trees take shape in a very short period of time. what started out as a hobby for catherine turned into a seasonal operation after her friend who already had a mail order business died from cancer. >> her husband couldn't -- couldn't want to take and continue it on so i bought the mailing list, and it was a solid business decision because it was a list specifically designed for me almost. >> my vermont wreaths launched with 700 clients on that list along with names catherine had collected on her own. now customers from across the country like in florida, oklahoma and california hang her creations. >> i've had her mailing list for

nine years now, so it's blossomed into a whole other direction i could have never planned. >> the business is split into two parts, the wholesale and the retail. >> i'm in the shop making wreaths and that's gearing up for the wholesale part of the business, which all that product has to be done and completed by thanksgiving. >> early orders months in advance get production going. once those wreaths are picked up catherine shifts her focus to more personalized displays. >> i make the mail order to december 21st and i've even shipped after christmas. >> this process requires some guesswork. the mail orders are unpliktable. >> what i do is i make what i know i'm going to sell. i know i'll sell 300 to 400, so i make that. and then orders keep coming in,

that can be very difficult but i'm a smart girl, i figure it out. >> her team can pick up any work necessary. >> i make the bows for the wreaths so they stay fresh. i handle the office work, process the shipping and sometimes clip the brush. >> i train and i have my staff and you saw today people coming in and out. i have a support group with people i can collin at any time. >> if there really is an issue with the wreath, catherine's take on customer service is straightforward. if there's a problem, it's replaced, no questions asked. >> i've had the occasional wreath where its shed or something happens and it's a natural product, and i immediately send another wreath. >> clear signs to catherine she's on the right path. >> dealing directly with people from all over the country it's lovely to have them call, and especially when they call year

after year, it's everything. it tells me exactly how my business is doing. >> her goal of spreading joy and good cheer every holiday season is all the inspiration she needs to continue to grow. there is an art to asking for help. just think about your own life. there are some people who make it really easy for you and you are on top of whatever they need or there's just something about them that makes you want to get involved. and there are other people while you may have good intentions you never get through. her latest book is called "reinforcements, how to get people to help you." >> everybody loves this topic. we're not all eager to ask for help as we should be. and i think in this day and age when we talk about how important it is to have a network, have

allies we need to know how to tap into that. >> or we're asking the wrong way. even know though we know there are people out there who want to, we're just going about it wrong. the first thing you say here is just ask a favor. >> and that's a really great technique. especially if you don't know someone well and they might not have a particular reason to help you personally, if you preface with what you want by saying, hey, if you want to do me a favor, and then you have to wait for them to say yes, and then you ask for what you want, and that's called precommitment and almost doubles the rate of helping. it's not a technique you really want to use but people you have a relationship with like a colleague, but if you need help from a stranger or random person, asking for help is very

effective. >> not can i ask for a favor, i need your help. but can i ask you a favor can you please connect me with blah blah-blah because it's important i connect with them. >> it also helps them to know they can be effective, right? i want to know what you want me to do so i can tell whether or not i'm doing a good job. nobody wants to give bad help. >> and it makes it easy. so you may come to me i'm starting something new, i need your help but it just falls down my to-do list because i know it's going to take a lot of time. the thing you might want is can you simply proofread this for me? >> absolutely. and being explicit about exactly what you want really does help people to actually figure out

can i fit this into my day. we're already busy. it's not a reason not to ask for help but be reasonable what you're asking for and specific. >> and again i believe people really do want to help. it's sort of like help you help me help you. so make it easier for me to help you. and then always follow up. >> absolutely. one of the things people neglect to realize about helping is first of all it is inherently satisfying. most human beings are wired to want to help each other. it's one of the strongest sources of self-esteem and well-being we have is when we're helpful to other people. but the moment you really feel that is when you know your help landed. and so many times we ask someone for help, they agree to help us, and we never follow up and let them know what affect that had. there's research that the warm glow they're feeling is when

they've had an impact. >> i impose upon you the first time to ask for this and now i don't want to write you back again, but that is the important part. >> if you care about the person who's actually helping, if you want to make it a win win where you're getting something and they're getting something, you really need to follow back up again. >> it's so good to see you. thank you. this week's your biz selfie comes from jim fitzgerald. they've been around for 20 years cleaning roofs, gutters, pools and even when needed removing graffiti. it is a dirty job but someone has to do it so thank you, jim. thank you so much for joining us. just a quick programming note for some of you who missed the show last week. your biz will air its last new show next week.

we've been having a great time behind the scenes. if you have any you'd like to share with us, please send us an e-mail. we'd love to hear what inspired you or what you learned from the segments we aired. if you missed us head over to our website. msnbc.com/yourbusiness. one last thing, remember check out our podcast. it's called been there, built that. we look forward to seeing you one last time next week. until then, 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. this is up, everybody. i'm david gura. this morning brand new reporting in "the washington post" about the fall outs in the major developments from robert mueller's investigation. >> do you think the reason the president wasn't indicted is because he's president and that's it? >> i happen to believe the president could be indicted. >> just released what former fbi director james comey told lawmakers about special counsel behind closed doors. >> the most important indication is you don't know