customers get ready to support their communities on small business saturday. how the buy local movement has texas farmers and suppliers working together. in vermont, a neighborhood general store competes against retailers. getting customers to think small is coming up next on "your business." small businesses are revitalizing the economy. american express open is here to help. that's why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc.

hi think, everyone. i'm j.j. rackberg. welcome to your business. we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. november 26th, tucked between black friday and cyber monday. it's a day dedicated to shopping and supporting local small businesses. it's being spearheaded by american express, which underwrites this program. it was officially kicked off by a shop small pop-up mall in new york city where 21 local businesses gathered to launch the holiday shopping season. >> it is the most exciting day of the year for my business, actually. i have a small website where i sell handbags and personal accessories. i have been spreading the word about small business saturday

since last year. >> it's like having someone in your corner. small business owners are overwhelmed with everything we have to do. >> people in the community are looking for ways to support small business saturday. a lot of local stores are having sales and special offers and encouraging people to come shop that day. >> more than 50 elected officials have given their approval. kasim reed joins us from washington. hi. thank you for joining us to talk about this. >> what are you doing in atlanta to get them to take part in small business saturday? >> councilwoman in atlanta is moving forward with a resolution. we are talking about it all over atlanta. it's why i wanted to be here with you today. we are doing business with small businesses. we had $2 billion in

procurements during the time i have been mayor. we have done 20% of those with small businesses. we are trying to live it in atlanta. >> there are a lot of resources available around the small business saturday movement. materials you can crank out. ways to put things on youtube and facebook. do you find small businesses are taking advantage of it? >> we are. we have a roll to play in educating people. we co-led a white house initiative that focused almost exclusively on entrepreneurship. we are starting a woman's entrepreneurship center in atlanta that is going to incubate 20 women owned businesses. we think we have a role to play in getting the word out. our programs and conversations like the one we are having now is so important. that's why i want to be a part of it. >> what do you think small businesses in your area and around the country can do to

capitalize on small business saturday? >> they can advertise, advertise and use every means available. this really is a significant public-private initiative. we are getting our local stations involved to spread the word so this important shopping period doesn't just focus on large retailers. we need folk to focus on main street and small stores. to the extent we get that message out locally on the local news stations and nationally on networks like msnbc, we think we are making a difference. but people have to know that in the midst of all the spending we are going to do this holiday season, small business needs to be supportive and to focus on small businesses as well. >> let's give people a reason why. i'm a consumer out there. tell me why i need to shop at a small business?

>> one, i think you have an intimate relationship with the customer. you meet the owner of the business. it makes a difference. they stand behind their product. in a broader context, it's where the nation's future is. the future growth and employment sector is going to be in the small business space. it's not going to be on the large corporate side. more than 55% of our job creation really is substantially more than that. it's occurring in the small business sector. we are adding five jobs, ten jobs, 15 jobs. it's how we are going to get our economy moving again. it's how we are going to see a reduction in employment. at the end of the day, it's going to help retailers across the board. >> mayor, thanks so much for joining us. good luck with all the work you are doing with small businesses. >> thank you, j.j. >> people really appreciate it. i hope a lot of people buy atlanta and everywhere.

>> shop, shop, shop small businesses. >> thank you so much. small business saturday is all about getting customers to support their home grown businesses. nowhere is the buy local movement greater than in austin, texas. it's there that local farmers and suppliers are working with distributors to supply residents the opportunity to stock up with items from their own backyard. >> here piggy, wiggies. >> it doesn't get more local than this. green gate farms located on the outskirts of austin, texas raise rare breed hogs in a wide range of organically grown vegetables. >> heavy up front cost. it takes a long time before you see a profit. >> we just finished our taxes. we broke even. we have been farming in the worst drought in history here this past year.

>> this is a very small, very local business. it provides food for about 100 families a year. at the same time, provides income to a fair number of local businesses and suppliers. >> we are growing rare breed guinea hogs. we need fencing that supports is supply stores. there's a butcher i need to hire that is going to make fine sausages who will sell it to a restaurant. >> more and more they are discovering spending their money within the economy brings a boost to the local economy. >> the buy local movement is when you buy local, the money stays in the commune. it's better for the local community to shop with small, independent vendors. >> he was born and raised in austin, texas. his 6-year-old company buys produce from green gate farms along with other organic farms

in the region. they distribute this produce to homes in the area. >> it's a home delivery service of groceries. we focus on local and organic food. what they have done is create a new distribution system for local farms and local food. >> looks like i got some spring onions and broccoli. what are these? there's always something i don't know. per simmons, maybe. greenling offers familiar and exotic new produce to customers like annette of austin, texas. >> it challenges me to make something i never would buy in the store. >> in this way, they introducing new product to customers from local suppliers. >> we can work with people that bring us five or ten of the product or 5,000 of the product. the way the website works, we can put it up. when it gets sold out, it

disappears from the sight. >> one of those is lisa, owner of little blue stem. >> three sour dough. >> we work with companies like little blue stem, they are small, artisan producers. the role we play is a flexible, consistent demand that allows them to ramp up production using commerce rather than going out to obtain a bunch of debt. >> so many businesses percolating and ready to explode. they are ready to take off. what's missing is the investment. >> farming. come on, if it doesn't rain, you don't have a crop. if you are a banker loaning to someone making software 365 days a year or chips versus a farmer which are you going to lend to? >> that's a former venture capitalist. he understands why investors shun local small businesses like

green gates, greenling and little blue stem. >> if you use financial speak, most of the things we want to preserve in our communities don't make the grade. >> that's why he started an organization called slow money. it makes our communities better places to live through agriculture. >> it's investors and entrepreneurs committed to rebuilding local food systems. >> this is a local angel investor. he puts some of his money behind greenling and a few other slow money businesses. >> investing in a local farm, say that's just struggling to get a few thousand dollars in the door to get another piece of equipment to allow them to feed more people in their community. it's not going to ipo anytime soon. >> he's pulling some of his money out of wall street and on to main street. >> put all the businesses together. it's not investing in the farm, it's the infrastructure of the

food and making sure it stays in your community. we provide jobs. we provide healthy jobs. it's not just how much okra are you going to get this week. are you looking to optimize your home turf advantage? here are five ways to market your business locally. number five, offer promotions. partner with a complimentary business and give their customers samples of your products. donate to local charities providing auction items is a great way to get exposure and build loyalty with the members of the organization. leave your cards and brochures everywhere. two, join everything. actively participate in community groups, even if they don't relate to your business. number one, turn your customers

into billboards. give away shirts or other items with your logo on it. get creative so it's something customers want to wear and will create buzz. >> so we just gave you ideas for local marketing. what do you do when you really want to dominate the scene? by that, we mean how do you maximize your web presence. john jantsch is part of the duct tape marketing network and author of the book "the referral engine." great to see you, john. >> great to be here. >> this is particularly interesting on the web. on the web, it doesn't really matter, as a consumer, necessarily to get your product if you are shopping local or not local. but people do care about shopping local and they want to. what can you do to get people to know to shop with you? >> it's not only that people care, their behavior changed. if they know they are going to

find something or try to find something around the block, they turn to the web to find those businesses or do research first. statistics are dramatic these days. something like 90% to 95% of people start their shopping online. they are going to go in 20 minutes and purchase in the store. it's become an absolutely foundational part of marketing a small, local business. >> what do you do? on your web page do you say we are a local business? >> you can say all that all you want. the search engines are going to drive all that. people don't type in find my cool, local business. they type in shoes. so you have to come up for the searches. there's a lot of things you have to do to your website that make it much more local feeling. you know, when we create b brochur brochures, they know the

address. a search engine has to find great local content. all the addresses, maps and directs. you want to start talking about the suburbs or neighborhoods where you serve and where customers come from. you want to put as much geographical information on there or have pages for specific neighborhoods or communities. >> so the search engines find you and recognize you as local business. now you are saying participate in the ratings and review game. what do you mean by that? >> not only do we search, we say i wonder what other people say. google places. we now, there's certain categories like restaurants and hotels we wouldn't stay in if they were getting two-star ratings or we wouldn't eat there. it's extremely important since everybody has the ability to rate your business or up your game. also, we have these great loyal

customers that, you know, come to us and say we love it. they send testimonials. let's show them how to participate in that, usher them to yelp. would you write those lovely words here? it's become a fact of life that people are using those tools. get proactive. i'm not talking spamming. >> a lot of people want to help you. if they have a good experience. update your listings. >> this is more under the hood. it's technical. the search engines also use services for, like if you haven't gone and created a google places page, you are already in the listings, the director. >> you have to claim it. >> right. you have to claim it and you have the opportunity to enhance it. make sure there are lots of directories pointing back to your sight that list your phone number, your address. this is all -- there's rhythms that all the search engines use.

if you have a lot of directory listings with your information. >> how do you do that? >> go to getlisted.org and pay them $40 a year to -- actually, that one is free. it will help show you where to get listed and citations. there's another one called universallistings.org. i think it's $40 a year. the best investment you can make. you are listed in several hundred directories. they point back to your local website. >> this is fantastic advice, thanks so much. when we come back, we'll answer some of your business questions. one wants to know how to rise above the rest this hectic holiday season. business owners ban together to rally customers to buy local.

smal l bu sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. absolutely crucial. vital. they make it unique and they make you happy to live where you live. brings a little flair to the towns that we have. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase... one purchase is all it takes. pledge to shop small on small business saturday, it will help support your community. and that is a big deal. it's pretty big. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. at juno baby store... allen's boots... samy's camera... tag's hardware. you don't have to buy the whole store. make the pledge to shop small. please. on small business saturday.

independence is practically in the blood of every native vermonter. nonindependent chain stores forced a group of business people to bind together for survival. they are working to get those together to celebrate small business saturday every day. they are a piece of amare kana. >> they are all fun to walk into and explore. >> the vermont country store. most were built in the 1800s when industry made its way up to the mountains. they sold all the necessities to

those living in the country. >> when this store was built, there were no cars. >> because it's a rural place, this store is the heart of the town. it's where people come together. >> today, their numbers are dwindling. >> two or three within miles of me have shut down. they are lost. they are gone. it's too late to try to reopen them. they have become something else. >> they are facing competition from minimarts and box stores that have the purchasing power to demand lower prices. the country stores with small sales volume don't have that. >> profitibility is the biggest threat. we make our money a nickel at a time. we make a nickel on a gallon of gas and a lottery ticket. the nickels are getting squeezed tighter and tighter. >> they aren't in it to make millions. they do their jobs to preserve history and provide a service to

people living in the rural areas around them. they are determined to not get pushed out. in 2002, as a matter of survival, they formed a coalition. >> it goes back to a conversation i had with another store owner years ago. we were talking about the difficulties of running your own country store. he said, geez, we should have an organization where we all get together and help each other out. i said that's a great idea. >> with a grant from the state, the connecticut alliance of independent country stores was formed. they hold meetings every few months. >> it's an interest to get people to come to your store. >> they come up with ideas to stay in business, like a passport program for tourists to get stamped in each location. or a private label that is only sold at their stores. >> one thing is sharing information.

something we found that did well. other stores should try it. >> for me, the biggest part of it was to build the organization and get other store owners to join so we can market ourselves better, get ourselves out there more and work together as small business owners to build all of our businesses, not just work individually. >> ha they stay away from is becoming cookie cutter themselves. they share information and also understand what makes the country stores so special is that they are each so different. >> i have a jam from phyllis potter. she makes this jam right on her stove. i never know what flavor she's going to have. >> there is such a history and tradition here the store needs to keep its character. when i bought the store, the first thing people asked was what was i going to change? when they found i was willing to put work and money into it but not change the character, people

were really happy about that. >> with dues at just $50 a year, the alliance has struggled on its own. >> we all understand we can't ask for $250 dues each year. they can't afford it. we are never going to have the money we need to pay for part time director. we need to find other creative ways of generating a revenue. >> these store owners carved a shop for themselves they hope will capture the attention of other organizations which can help. >> i would like to see the alliance get to the point where it's powerful voice and state with local chambers of commerce. >> with this potential power behind him, charlie wilson says he won't have to think about his store going the way of so many others. >> there have been times i wonder, is this one of those stores because of the location or whatever, it is destined to not make it.

then i kick myself and say don't think that. of course it's going to make it. we'll find a way to make it. it's time to answer some of your business questions. john jantsch is here with teri evans. the first question is about getting new customers. >> my business is actually preparing for the new years which is a great time for customer acquisition. how do you rise above the noise at that time and really get yourself noticed in a busy season? >> it's important to note, he does something in the exercise world. this is a great time for all those people to get new customers. how does he rise above? >> have a whole different message. everybody in his industry -- >> new year, new you? >> exactly. you need something that does differentiate you. the first step is he needs to find that. it's not enough to say we are cheaper, we are better.

they have to find, what is it that the customers that come there, stay there, love that place. what is it that they truly get. that's the first step, make that everything about your message. is that unique point of d differentiation. >> some people have cheap deals come january 1 stz. is that the way to go? >> to differentiate yourself and rise above the noise, think about a different approach. when everyone is doing mailers and e-mail blasts, maybe go on social media and create a fun, interesting interactive contest or quiz that tells folks what is different about your business. maybe you want to use gameification and create an interesting, fun game that will explore fitness and what you do to kind of tell your story in a different way and add excitement.

>> let's move on to the next one. this is from tracie. she posted this on facebook. i sell cosmetics on my website. i'm wondering if i should buy a mailing list or pay a company to direct traffic to my site. interesting. what do you think? >> start from the beginning and understanding, you know, there are a lot of cosmetic products sold on the web. again, going back to what is different about your company. before you go to your mailing list or anything like that, you know, with limited dollars, focus on social media. you have facebook, you have twitter. expand your message that way without necessarily directly selling them. >> i think what you are forgetting, once you buy the mailing list you have to create something to send out there. it's expensive. >> i would tell her to look into, as well, a lot of people don't understand the power of facebook advertising. it's a tool, of course, like ad

words that advertise on facebook. you can target to narrowly to age groups and demographics. even things people are interested in. let's say their make up is organic, target people interested in that by the fact they are interested in other things similar to it. you can get to the point for very low cost you are really getting in front of an audience interested in what you have that's already there in that marketplace. >> great idea. also, if she's going to do something by paying someone to direct traffic, do it on a cost proposition. give them a share so she's not paying for people not buying things. >> have the site converting before you start paying for it. >> right. finally, let's get to the next one. this is from sue. i have a niche service business heavy equipment industry. what are ways i can get my company and services to people

when they need it? i don't have capital. >> what you need to do is have something that is appealing to them. it's not your product necessarily. information is. sharing is. community is. those are all things interesting. one of the first things i would look at, is there a way to create a community around those customers, allow them to get together, share information as piers, their challenges. that is really -- then provide education around that. that's really how you start getting in front of people before they realize you are trying to sell them something. >> thank you for all the advice. it was great. >> if any of you have a question for our experts go to our website. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. hit the ask the show link to submit a question for the panel.

openforum.com/yourbusiness. yourbusiness@msnbc.com. want to get local first time customers in the door for small business saturday? check out our website of the week. independentwestand.org has information about buying local. one featured resource is a directory of locally owned businesses. consumers search for businesses in their area by zip code or map. small business owners can register on the site for free. to learn more about today's show click on our website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find all the segments and content to help your business grow. become a fan of the show on facebook. we love getting your feedback. you can follow us on twitter. next time, finding a factory to help you manufacture your product may not be as easy as it seems. >> a lot of the factories that

are here are not what they were 20 years ago. a lot of the technology that's here is, in some ways, behind the technology i encountered . her products should be made in the usa. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. we make "your business" our business. smal l bu sinesses are the smal lifeblood of our communities. on november 26th you can make a huge impact by shopping small on small business saturday. one purchase. one purchase is all it takes. so, pick your favorite local business... and join the movement. i pledge to shop small at big top candy shop. allen's boots... at juno baby store. make the pledge to shop small. please.