treasury secretary timny geithner is grilled by members of the house small business committee on what the administration is going to help struggling companies. and licensing the image of 50s racing pinup betty page helps a clothing designer get a leg up on the computation. that and more coming up next on "your business."on the computat. that and more coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy. and american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to

present "your business" on msnbc. hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to your business where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. treasury secretary timothy geithner talked about a decline? consumer spending and a drop in small business optimism during an appearance before the house small business committee this week. the focus of the hearing was the difficulties small businesses are having getting funding. geithner blamed the recession, specifically citing the impact on construction businesses and community banks. the secretary said the administration is trying to help pass things like tax breaks and regulatory reform. he urged congress to help give owners more access to credit. >> we've already approved ten states for the state credit initiative including the announcement today that kansas

will receive funding to spur more than $132 million in small business lending. these capital programs are one of the most cost effective ways we know that congress can help encourage small business lending. every dollar of capital tal that congress provides can be leveraged to support lending that's many multiples of the government's investment. >> republican congressman sam graves from missouri is the chairman of the house small business committee. welcome back to the show, congressman. >> thank you, j.j. >> what was your impression of the hearing? >> we were trying to get some information. the secretary came in and talked about his impressions of some of the programs that congress has passed and whether or not they're work and an overview of the state of the economy as it pertains to small business. >> what programs do you think are working? >> it's hard to tell because there's so much apprehension out there in terms of small business. they're concerned about what their taxes are going to be when

the extensions expired, they are concerned about health care. they're concerned about regulation and the things the agencies arismenting. they're concerned about all those things. a lot of small businesses are holding back. they're keeping a lot of capital in reserve and they're not expanding. there's a lot of apprehension out there. >> we read a lot about access to funding. when i talk to bankers is say we're not getting good applicants. there's an issue on the regulatory side. but what they're saying to me is we're not getting good applicants. when i talk to small businesses some of them say i'm afraid to take out a loan, i'm not sure if i can repay that loan. >> it's not so much that. what they're seeing is a lot of banks are acquiring, that's because the regulators are pushing them hard. they're requiring more equity for the same line of credit or lowering the line of credit for the same amount of equity. these are small businesses in

many cases that have never missed -- never missed a payment. there's a huge divide there. you have banks saying they have money to lend, and they're willing and ready to lend. you have small businesses saying that they can't get -- can't get the capital that they need. that was one of the questions i had for secretary geithner. he egsz pressed the same sort of concern that he has seen. there's still a huge divide. in particular when it comes to new business startups. we're still dealing with an age old problem that is a small business doesn't necessarily have the equity built up to be able to get the funding that they need and they end up depending a lot of times on themselves or their family members to come up with that funding. a lot of existing businesses simply aren't looking to expand right now because of the uncertainty. that's what it keeps coming back to. they don't want to do much in the way of expansion and go out on a limb very far because they don't know what the future holds. >> exactly. what about just the idea of

customers? people are -- people can't get customers right now. if you are a small business, if you're looking to the government for help because of that problem, what do you do? how can you help them? >> again, customers that's consumer confidence. and whether or not customers or those individuals out there are look for goods and service that are being provided a lot oof them are pulling back also. they're holding their cash in reserve waiting to see what's going to happen. they do don't know what health care is going to cost. they don't know what their taxes are going to do. they don't know what the future of the economy holds. that's part of the problem is the consumer confidence out from. again, until we start to see this economy grow, i think you're going to have a hard time see consumers go out and spending a lot of money on things they don't need. if we don't need that right now, let's do without it for a while and try to be very frugal. >> all right. congressman, we appreciate you coming on the show and taking the time to let us know what's going on overthere and gives us

your thoughts. >> thank you very much. bettie paige was the quint essential 1950s pin up girl. with her dark hair and iconic bangs she had a look that was unforgettable. today more than half a century later her name lives on thanks to two las vegas-based entrepreneurs. what makes bettie paige the convince essential pinup is the fact that she's very naughty and very innocent. and has that girl next door appeal. >> she was almost like a meteor. she came on the scene in the early '50s and disappeared in the late 50s. >> bettie paige was an iconic 1950s pin up model. how did she get connected to a pair of entrepreneurs, a mid western lawyer and the founder of playboy?

our story begins four years ago when jan glasser and his wife wanted to set up their clothing store in a placed filled with tourists. >> in las vegas if you're going to open a store it has to be on the strip. i approached miracle mile mall and inquired about the ability to get a store. they said, well, we would be interested except that to open a store anywhere on the strip you have to be an experienced retailer. you need at least one other store. >> typical of many entrepreneurs their lack of experience wasn't going to deflate their dream. so they went back to the mall operator and asked if branding their retro clothing line with a celebrity would compensate for their lack of retail experience. >> they said, maybe. we did some research on 50s inspired fashions. and several names kept coming up one of them of course was marilyn monroe. but another was bettie paige. she was scandalous. she was edgy. and i'm thinking, okay, that's

las vegas. >> tatiana, a native of russia and the creative force behind designing and manufacturering the 1950s era clothes hadn't even heard of bettie paige. >> we found lots of interesting information and i really fall in love. that is the perfect name. >> reporter: her name was made famous by hugh hefner when he published a topless photo of her in his fledgely magazine in 1955. soon after she disappeared into a life of obscurity. she died in 2008. >> she was not well at the end physically. we were there to help her in every kind of way. with business representation and legal representation and medical help when she needed it. >> while she was still alive, hugh hefner introduced bettie to celebrity intellectual property and his company in indianapolis.

mark is responsible for licensing thousands of products bearing betty's name and likeness worth several million dollars in revenue a year. >> when you're dealing with a james dean, a bettie paige, someone of that stature that's remembered and adored for generation after generation, you're able to establish trademark protection. we've developed her into a brand. and a name bettie paige is trademarked and it's valuable. >> for jan and tatyana, branding their clothing line after the fact, was a new twist in their quickly evolving business plan. >> i inquired through the bettypage.com website with cmg worldwide as to whether or not that name would be available to open a retail store? almost instantly got back an email directly from mark rossler saying, yes, we would be interested. so we sat down. we talked and inside of ten minutes we got a deal.

>> he said that he thought that he could develop the first store. if it went like he thought it would go, that he could roll out a chain of these stores across the country. with. >> with the bettie paige branding secure, miracle mile was ready to seen the lease. >> without the name we probably wouldn't be able to open a store at the miracle mile. >> business at the store was brisk. tourists shopping at the miracle mile mall flocked to the unique store. >> i all knew about bettie paige searched on the internet for her and the store came up. i was attracted to it instantly because of the clothing. a nice fit as well. >> bettie paige has six stores. two in las vegas, one in san diego's gaslight districts. one in satisfaction and another in hollywood by the walk of fame. >> together with our mall of

america store, all of these have in common that they are tourist magnets. >> licensing the name has created a symbiotic relationship where mark and cmg connect the stores to other products with the bettie paige branding like shoes and lingerie. the relationship has led to a new spokes model for the brand who channels the look and vibe of bettie paige. >> our current spokes model is play mate of the year. part of the reason for that is because we have the bettie paige brand. >> it was the perfect marriage to become their spokes model. i've always had a fascination for pin ups. i've loved bettie paige forever. >> four years later, jan and tatyana are keeping a memory arrive as well as their business. >> the business is growing. it's putting out a lot of cash flow. there's a lot of demand for our product. we're growing because it seems like the natural thing do do.

sometimes when you don't have a clear branding image you can do what these folks did by licensing one. but there are a lot of ways to accomplish that goal. let's turn to this week's panel. great to see both of you guys. >> great to be here. >> i think claire did a much better job of channels bettie paige than i did. i do love the clothes. she looks better in them than i do. this is really smart of them. they have clothes. they attached a name to it and suddenly their company became bigger than it was before. >> love it. smart move. a brand is a code for translating the experience and the merchandise and what you're really trying to sell. they associated it with an icon who really means everything that their merchandise is trying to

accomplish. so they essential libor rowed all that equity that she's built up and they immediately have a way to talk to consumers and guarantee a type of experience and a type of product that they're looking for. >> i couldn't agree with that more. i think what they're selling is an experience. you can be bettie paige, so can you. >> i tried. >> when you think about vegas, sin, sex, all that stuff, sass, all that stuff works together. these guys were really smart. now they've got a major chain that they could keep growing probably even internationally. >> the one thing i would say is when you were going through this and thinking i'm going to probably gain a lot. i'm assuming i'm going to gain a lot and it costs you something. at its core this is clothing company. they designed clothes that they that you would were great. now they're having to pay some of that money out to get this name. >> it's like any business you have a promotional budget. there's always going to be costs. and this one really enabled them to get to the mall and get real

estate that they needed. i think it's a worthwhile investment. it depends licensing fees are different depending on who you're licensing. i think what's great about bettie paige is she's an icon frozen in time. if you look at someone who's living you don't know what's going to happen with their reputation in. this way she's really lasted through the generations and it's a wise investment. >> these guys were really smart because the company that they reached out to do to the licensing deal has lots of other bettie paige products. i think they probably got a better licensing deal than most people do because they help move a lot of other products in the portfolio. i think these guys are smart all the way around. i think both people at the table are good business people. >> did you guys know who bet tay page was? >> i did. >> there's a generation that don't know. i knew who she was also. i bet a lot of people who go to vegas don't know who she is see the look. >> they get it quickly.

>> thanks so much, you guys. >> thanks. >> well, big businesses can absorb the occasional unpaid bill, late payments are a bigger threat to smaller companies. here now are five ways to help your small business get paid on time courtesy of the nfib. consider giving discounts to customers who pay in advance. it's a way to reward good customers and you'll save in administration cost. penalties. have a clear policy stating late payments lin kur a penalty. let customers know a small interest amount will incur if payment isn't rev received. contracts include dispute resolution language to discourage clients from withholding payment over frivolous complaints. up front payment, deposits, downpayments and retainers can help protect your business and ensure customers will follow through with payment. and have your sales staff form good relationships with your

customers. the personal attention will make customers more likely to pay their bills on time. stilt to come, we answer your small business questions, including one about how consultants can market their services to other companies. . and the bet tay page folks capitalized on that slightly naughty sensiblity. how does a business like tattooing overcome its bad boy image and go mainstream. this is my band from the 80's, looker. hair and mascara, a lethal combo. i'm jon haber of alto music. my business is all about getting music into people's hands. and the plum card from american express open helps me do that. you name it, i can buy it. and the savings that we get from the early pay discount has given us money to reinvest back into our business and help quadruple our floor space. how can the plum card's trade terms

get your business booming? booming is putting more music in more people's hands. as the bettie page clothing people found out, image is everything when trying to make an impression with potential customers. if there's one business that historically has had an image problem it's tattooing. but there's one enterprising entrepreneur who's taken on this rebellious industry and against all odds he's tamed it and taken it mainstream. this probably isn't the image you have of the neighborhood tattoo parlor. it's most likely more like this.

>> people get a tattoo, it stays for the rest of their days. they're going to forget their wife's name and their future girlfriend's name, but not mine. >> enter mario bart, celebrated tattoo artist and a man on the mission to change your preconceptions about his industry. you'll hear anything from easy listening to hard rock at his tattoo shops. who do you atrial court to these stores? >> anybody and everybody. we attract the 18-year-old who watches pop videos all day and we attract an 81-year-old grandma who wants to have a tattoo for the grandchild. finally it's not the biker area anymore. >> but it's what he's doing as an entrepreneur that's setting him apart from his contemporaries. when was the point that you decided i don't want just want to be the guy that's a tattoo artist, i want to be a

businessman. >> i started realizing there's a need out there that people want something different. they don't want a hard core tattoo studio where they walk in and [ muted ]ic's blowing their ears out and people don't want to talk to them. >> he left miami for new jersey in 1997. eventually opening up four shops. but knowing the often hard knocked life of a tattoo artist, he realized the only way to secure future for him and his employees was to create a strong business plan. a foreign concept to the industry. in a historically track amateured industry where artists are paid on commission, he offered stability with a steady paycheck, 401 k and health benefits. he has struck that difficult balance between business and art which not only helped his business strive, but kept his street kred in tact. what you're doing here is count tore the traditional lifestyle

of the tattoo artist. do you get push back from other people in your field? >> absolutely. >> what do they say? >> most people say why do you do this? there's tattoo artists out there with 77 years old still tattooing living in a little one bedroom apartment. >> while pack making the work environment more inviting for his employees, he hasn't forgotten about the clientele, he's used starbucks founder oz his inspiration. you say you'll like to be the starbucks of tattoo parlors. >> he took a a simple habit of human nature and made it chic and elegant. >> he's intent on growing his brand. he teamed up with house of blues in las vegas and a few years later opened king inc. at the mirage. >> i settled on las vegas because i thought it was the

biggest corporate group. they go by strict rules. let's break them a little bit. that's why i'm here. not yet. it would be an honor to be called that. >> really? >> it doesn't mean that it's bad to be called a suit. i would like to see it. somebody could call me a suit. yeah, i am. >> it's time now to answer some of your business questions. melinda and stella are with us once again. the first one is -- i am a highly qualified engineer with nearly three decades of industrial experience. i recently started my own consulting business. i want to know how to market my services and proper management in corporations abconvince them to hire you. this is what you do. >> social media is really the answer to his question. this gentleman really needs to

start blogging right away in demonstrating his expertise. if he's looking for people in the c suite to pitch himself to, linked in. 75% of all professionals in the united states have a linked in profile. that's where he can demonstrate his expertise, exec people out, see who in his network may have relationships with his target customer. that's the best way to reach out to c suite executives. >> how have you gotten into companies? >> i use social media. i consider myself a twitter black belt. i have just really -- you can do an open tweet to anybody. you don't have to get through their gate keeper. >> you tweeted somebody in the c suite and got in their business? >> absolutely. if people are into social media most of the time people tweet themselves. they don't have someone else tweeting for them. i've communicated with mc hammer, with na vehicle code jan. people who can't believe they tweet themselves. it's amazing how you can reach out to people.

it's amazing the opportunities you can build for your business that way. >> great advice. i love that. just to build on that, first of all, this is a great question. one in three americans is a freelance or independent consultant. it's really important. now what happens when you transfer from work for someone to working on your own is you're not used to selling yourself. what i hear so afternoon is people fumble with talking about what they actually do. the first thing you want to do is be really clear on the services you're offering and for who and create packages so you can articulate that to someone and sell your services. they don't know what it is that you do. the second thing you want to do is make sure you have a website to lean on that social media to a place. people google you. that's the first thing they're going to do. you can go to square space, you can go to word press even flavors to set up a clean one pager with your information. in that website you want to talk about your services, you want to

talk about past clients, you want to talk about testimonials and put it out there. >> the next question, this is about protecting your business. >> what additional steps can entrepreneurs take to protect their intellectual property in conjunction with noncompete agreements. >> we get this all of the time? a lot of people don't sign it if you give it to them. >> here's my thing, one of my mentors told me this a long time ago. a nondisclosure agreement is only as good as the money you have to chase someone down if they infringe on your copyright. it's important to have noncompetes with people that work for you. honestly the most pont thing you can do with your business is build your brand to make someone afraid to steal your product or idea. >> what if it's in the beginning and you need partners and give it to them? >> absolutely. i think you should. just understand unless you have the money to chase them down,

you'll be out of business before you're able to stop them. >> really what it is it's about a message that you're sending that you are serious about your confidentiality and you're confident in your business. a lot of times entrepreneurs are shaky and they come off that way. this is a commonly accepted practice. you want to do it as standard procedure. if you seasoned it to someone who's really a business person, they understand. >> i agree with you. absolutely you should have noncompetes for everyone who works for you. >> and confidentiality agreements as well. >> it can be in the offer letter so they sign it right away. >> absolutely. >> you have a question about customers misunderstanding your services. >> when customers find my products say african-american, they find they think it's only for african-americans. does he have a big banner on the site that says for everyone? >> if you want to sell your

products and services to a general market customer you need to make sure all of your materials particularly your website speaks to general market customers and you have testimonials and before and afters that show all types of people using your product. i suspect that his product doesn't do that. i think he probably has a lot of people who look just like him on his site and that's a problem. you need to make sure that your website is customer focused and not a brand of personality. i think that's a lot that happens when people develop their own product and it's theirs. you don't need to slap your picture on everything. you just need to be careful about the message you're sending. >> if you go to his website and you just see his picture, you think this is the audience. >> exactly. >> my question is why do you want to go to general market? maybe you want to focus on the african-american market and build a niche out there. if you want to do something general market then maybe you do a second line with a different name, get your own image out of the way and develop that for general market. if you have a niche and a

following, i'd really continue to pay attention to them. >> i agree with that advice, too. >> this is fantastic advice. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> if any of you out there have a question or our experts, go oour website. small business owners are no strangers to paperwork. if you need a template for a contract or have one you'd like to share, check out our website of the week. it's a site that gives users access to a variety of documents. you'll find everything from career development plans to legal documents to financial planning forms. some testimony plates are free while others will cost you. small business owners are allowed to sell their own

documents will you the site as well. to learn more about today's show click on our website. you'll find all of today's segments plus web exclusive content with more information to help your business grow. and don't forget to become a fan of the show on facebook. we love getting your feed back. you can also follow us on twitter if you'd like. . next time, finding the right way to market your product can mean the difference between success and failure.way to mark mean the difference between success and failure. we don't do advertising. we think the way to build a business is word of mouth. it's robust. you don't define what your market is, they do. we meet one entrepreneur who has found a way to inspire his customers and keep them coming customers and keep them coming back for more.

this is my band from the 80's, looker. hair and mascara, a lethal combo. i'm jon haber of alto music. i've been around music my entire life. this is the first alto music i opened when i was 24. my business is all about getting music into people's hands. letting someone discover how great music is, is just an awesome thing. and the plum card from american express open helps me do that. i use it for as much inventory as i possibly can. from picks...to maracas... to drums... to dj equipment... you name it, i can buy it. and the savings that we get from the early pay discount on those purchases has given us money to reinvest back into our business and help quadruple the size of our floor space. and the more we expand, the more space we have for instruments and musicians to come play them.