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hi, there, everyone. i am j.j. ram burg. welcome to "your business," where we give you tips and advice to help your business grow. huh ray for hollywood. what you may not know is that many of the people who deliver those great hollywood dreams are small business owners. there are quite a few small-time independent theater owners that make sure that hollywood's most famous faces are coming to a theater near you. ♪ >> everybody's talking about the academy awards, so i love it. it's just generating so much interests. >> i am in front taking tickets.

they tell me, this one is good and this one stinks, so i know what everybody wants to see. >> want the real scoop on the hottest movies? >> i am the backup parent, the under study. ♪ >> then you need to go to the frontlines where independent theater owners like these hear it directly from the fans, and welcome to the small business side of the big-time hollywood glamor machine. >> it's an expensive business. nothing is cheap. nothing is cheap in this business. >> the problem of being independent, you have to spend a lot of money to keep up with the big chains. >> these two brothers operate the one-screen theater, it's one of the few remaining independents in new york city. >> it's a dying breed, you know. the old guys are looking to move

on and there's not too much new blood coming in there. >> with only one location in a major market, they see themselves as small fish struggling to survive in a tank full of whales. >> what you want to know how does a small business, a family-oriented business function in the land of the giants, among the big chains? >> he's right. and part of the secret of surviving along the big guys is they study and imitate from the big chains. >> make sure the seats are new and up-to-date seats. we changed the sound equipment and movie equipment all the time. we renovate the lobby and have to do everything. go there yourself and take a look around, and say this is a good idea and follow and take their lead, you know. >> keeping up like this can result in some confusion for customers, which is exactly what

they want, because ticket buyers are thinking of their theater in the same league as the big chains. >> it's not necessarily one of these old time independent theaters, you know, it's current. and hence they think we're part of the chains. >> we're not a regal theater. >> a lot of people come here with the coupons for regal and amc, and we have to explain we're an independent. i think it's the appearance we give off. >> maintaining state of the art appearances like this is not easy. for one thing, it takes a lot of money. >> you have to go out and get rid of all your old equipments, which could be hundreds of thousands of old equipment and throw it away and put a new projector for more hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of dollars. >> we're constantly changing things. >> some of the smaller guys just can't afford it.

it's not cost-effective for them. >> this is how these two got into the movie business in the first place. the previous theater owner could not keep up after a big chain opened a complex nearby. >> when regal came and opened up it took away probably 50% of his business. he struggled, he was an old operator. he was not a young guy. >> the previous owners threat to abandon would have been a disaster for the landlord. >> once it's time to leave, it's just, you know, turn in the key and that's it, and that's eventually what he did. >> that's where greg and jesse did, they thought the problem with the theater was not the market, but the rundown facility. >> they wanted to go to the new place. you have to keep upgrading

everything. >> staten island is densely populated. that's a pretty good amount of people that want to go and see movies. >> jesse saw what the business used to do, and he said let's not give up yet. >> they have been running things for seven years and have been upgrading slowly as they could afford it. >> we had to come to in do an overhaul, and everything spotless, screens, and then as we went along and the theater would provide us with income, we would just reinvest that back into the business. >> like many small business owners, they say upgrades are one of the many things that lead to success. >> put back, and that's the secret. >> and the other key is their own hard work and attention. >> we do everything.

i take tickets, and work the candy stand and clean the theaters. whatever needs to be done. greg made the right connections with the movie companies, and it took time and they knew it was a good location, and that's the thing, and it pretty much worked out pretty good. >> all sorts of small businesses play behind the scenes roles in the business like many big industries. let's turn to the president of the box office division of hollywood.com. he is a long-time movie industry analyst. jennifer hill is a venture attorney, and he represents emerging growth companies, and scott is the founder and ceo of a group of develops products and services for companies. good to see you guys. >> great to be here. thank you. >> thank you, paul. i want to ask you, because you have been following the industry

for so long. is there room in the industry for independents, like the one we just saw? >> after watching the piece about these operators, i think they are doing everything right, and it comes down to customer service and all the things they talked about, about staying current and honoring what the customer needs and wants, and look at what they said, that people mistake them for a regal or amc or bigger chain because they are presenting that way, and i think they are really smart. like they said, it's a very expensive proposition to run a movie theater. there are so many expenses associated with it, not to mention keeping up with the jones so to speak in terms of digital projection and state of the art sound and all of that and getting the right signed of movies in there to attract a bigger audience. in this economy, customer service is key. they can keep their prices stable. i think they will continue to

grow. i think they will do very well. >> scott, watching this and i know you have the same opinion, it becomes tricky because of what they are doing is keeping up with the jones, and how how long can you keep up with the joness, when they have such deeper pockets than you, and what can you do so you have your own thing? >> i get the desire to have the latest technology and that's great. >> and you probably need it. >> yeah, and they are playing down the fact that they are different, instead of playing up the fact that they are local. these are people you know. they could tune into local in a way that none of the other chains can do. you have to wonder, should they be playing up their competitive advantage as being an independent and doing things perhaps slightly differently to maintain an edge. >> there are some of the local

chains, but they are generally bigger than this. what has happened in the recent years, pretty soon it's already happening, and theaters won't be able to get the film prints, and you have to go digital. so this is very rare in today's day and age, and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and they were saying in the piece millions to upgrade. and there are some small art houses, however, that continue to do well. there's the new art here in los angeles, and other small chains, but to have a theater, you have to have deep pockets to have a theater like that this that looks and presents like a traditional chain and not an art house theater and keep up in the marketplace, but i think what has been said here is absolutely correct, play up the local -- you know, that niche that they have and play to the strength of being a local movie theater.

that's a good idea. >> yeah, because they are watching this and it seems hard. i don't want to say the lesson to take away from it is is don't go into an industry where the big guys dominate, because that's not an answer. what could they do? >> some of it breaks down to innovation. yes, they need to keep up. but there are so many ways to be small and flixable. these two brothers, it's their business. they can do whatever they want. they can hold special corporate events and market the whole experience of going to the movies to the community and change-up the food. there's a lot of movie theaters experimenting with food and liquor license, and they are can set themselves apart from the pack. >> and what is so unique, they have the advantage of looking like a regal and add on to it. >> what are some of the

interests things you can see people doing with their space? >> i would allow local film makers to say we want to actually see our film on the big screen at this atrium theater. that would be a great way to build interest within the community, and that would, i think, really separate them. and also make people really want to go to that theater and show that they are vested in the local economy, and the local creative community as well, because it's a movie theater. i also think unique in theater marketing works for the big changes and can work for these guys, too, doing events for moms with their kids on like a tuesday morning. this is stuff that is done in other chains, but they can do it to and put their unique spin on it. they're in a great position, and they oent business so they can do whatever they want. >> yeah, exactly, the beauty of owning your own business, can you do whatever you want. thank you forgiving your many

years of insight. appreciate it. you guys stick around because we need you more. are you wondering how to capitalize on the social commerce trend? we wanted to see how connecting the web and the commerce works. so we went to the summit in new york city to talk about the experts of harnessing the fast-moving business. ♪ >> consumers really wanted a personal experience. to me that's what social is. >> some are using it for a new sales channel over twitter and facebook and the fan pages, and others are using it as a customer service channel and listening to the customers and responding to them, and others are using it for advertising, but basically we have seen a huge wave of innovation in commerce in the last couple

years, so those are engaging in social commerce. >> social commerce is the new buzzword using the traditional trends of social media and e commerce. and small business owners and industry experts recently gathered in new york city to discuss the emerging market at business insider social commerce summit. >> the way engage in twitter and google plus, people are creating content. it's no longer a page sen trick word. it's giving us the ability to start to create relationships between the users and these brands. >> for john, creator and ceo of open sky, a celebrity kerr rated shopping website. >> it's that it's boutique-like shopping in a facebook-like environment. >> if you think about who martha

stewart is, or bobby flay is, these are not people following any one, they are leading the conversation. so those leaders are discovering the best goods and bringsing them to you. >> a cofounder of a beauty subscription service, describes how they are using social media to build the community. >> when you are a social commerce company, it's incredible because you have the power to connect with a customer, and what surprises them is to hear that we are listening. youtube is actually a huge platform for us. and so when i say we are everywhere that we feel like our consumers are. >> the director of marketer at fab.com providing the element of discovery has been key. >> it's a place where people go to discover things. it's not a place where you go to search for a specific product, but it's a place where you go to

browse, and you may not need one of those items but you see it and you are inspired by it and you say i need to have that. >> the biggest key to maximizing on social commerce is learning how to adapt to the times. >> we are going from sites like amazon, but sites like fab.com and others are merchandising products, and they are creating demand by the way they present them and they have a good selection criteria. it's a new wave of growth and i think we will see a lot of innovation in the next couple years. if it feels like your composition is in every newspaper and magazine and blog that you read, then you may want to look at upping your own profile. here are five ways you can increase your small business exposure courtesy of the new york enterprise report. one, develop a media list. take notice of the reporters and

bloggers that cover your market and let them know when exsigt things are happening at your company. two, get social. it gives you a great chance to be with key media contacts. and three, give your two cents. commenting is a great way to interact. four, add video. incorporate videos of yourself in blogs and social media, and showing you are comfortable in front of the camera can open the door to broadcast opportunities, and number five participate. be part of the panel discussions. the podium provides a way to present yourself as an expert. still to come, why big companies like your product but won't necessarily invest in it. and today's elevator pitcher has a brand-new bag. it's reusable and also holds your grocery list.

shazi: seven years ago, i had this idea. to make baby food the way moms would. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business. many grocery shoppers have gone from paper or plastic to reusable bags. today's elevator pitcher has

come up with a way to make those bags more pragmatic. >> do you guys forget your reusable bags? >> i do. >> two-thirds remember their shopping list, and i am the inventor of the shopping list bags. they incorporate the shopping list, pin, and coupon clippings are in a bag. we launched in september, and we are projecting our first years of sales at $300,000,. plan on using that money to continue to build the b to b relationships and the custom bag program. around the globe, single bag uses are being outlawed. we have three guarantees in life, and they are death, taxes and the use of reusable bags.

>> dan, i appreciate that enthusiasm. and i think what is so smart is how you can put it on your refrigerator and list. now let's get to the experts. scott, how was the pitch? >> i thought the pitch was great. it was funny, it was engaging. one of my preferences is to always start a pitch with a problem you're trying to solve. you're trying to solve the forgetfulness on an individual level and the global issue around wasted bags and the global cause we need to rally around. but you got that in there and i thought you finished well. >> jen? >> i think it was a great pitch. very good enthusiasm. i completely agree with scott in the sense that you brought up the key problems that you're trying to solve. what i didn't understand is is, if your revenues are $300,000, why you're asking for $250,000. you didn't tell me what the proceeds are going to be used for. that seems like a very high amount based on what your revenues are so far. why is that amount key and what are you going to do with it. >> half of when you're pitching is showing your personality and a lot of people aren't quite adept at doing that yet, and you

did a really good job. to put in my two cents. >> scott, would you take another meeting? >> absolutely. >> jen? >> for the investments i work on, i probably wouldn't, but i would spend time with you to learn more about how you're going to grow your business. >> thanks so much, guys. >> good luck with everything. thanks so much for coming on the program and pitching this. thank you, guys. and if any of you have a product or a service and want feedback from our elevator pitch panel and your chances of getting interested investors, send us an e-mail, the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. you never know, somebody out there watching the show may be interested in helping you. it's time now to answer some of your business questions. scott and jen are with us once again. the first one is from timothy and he writes, "why do some corporations who express a passionate interest in your

product seem unwilling to front the company the seed money?" you're asking someone to be an investor versus being a customer. >> i think it's a good question. i think that in very large companies, that amount of money for them is really like a rounding error, if that. and i think sometimes companies are afraid they'll fund and then ignore something. and also sometimes it's more risk than they're willing to take. if they go into a similar business or work with someone else or deal with someone else, they don't want to have a conflict of interest in the future, so sometimes their best choice is to say, no thank you. >> jen, what advice do you have for someone? >> there are certain corporations that do actually have seed funds, but they're few and far between. instead, think about the corporation as a beta customer. would they pay to have early access to your product? will they get it in the marketplace faster? a lot of this comes down to

positioning. if you're a product company, you're asking them to take a big gamble to have them help you build it. >> let's move on to the next one. this is about time management. >> as an attorney, i often have times delegating work, trying to control too much, and i was wondering, do you have any best practices for actually delegating work so i can actually get more done? >> this is the problem that so many entrepreneurs have, right? and then we get so into doing our work, we don't have time to do anything else. but the idea of delegating it often seems very time consuming. how do you do? >> you grew a company. >> i'll let jen speak specifically about attorneys. but this notion of voluntary staffing model, when you let people know what tasks need to be done, you'll be surprised how people will volunteer to do the one that intersects with their general interest, and if there's one last thing hanging on the table, usually the person who can do it most efficiently will volunteer to do it. and have weekly chats with the

people that you manage. saying, here's what i'm focused on this week, how can we divide and conquer this. but the litmus test for effective delegation is knowing that you as the manager are doing things that only you can do, and other things that people can be doing, make sure you're delegating. >> you have to trust your team. and align the things you're delegating with to the person at hand. break the projects into parts. set very clear expectations for what the deliverable is, a time frame, but also ask for progress reports. and try not to be a micromanager. one of the most demotivating things for teams is to have someone checking up on them all the time. as long as you set some constraints and expectations around it, you'll get an amazing number. >> your number said every morning she wakes up and makes a list of things she has to do and highlighting the ones only she can do and everyone else she delegates out to people. >> it's a really important thing

to do. >> let's move on to the next one. this is from david who writes, what are some ideas for increasing visibility and business for a psychology practice? we do the standard contracts with physicians, a series of typical flyers, a website, a facebook page, and some newspaper exposure. this is interesting. i'll ask you since your wife is in this industry. how do you get the word out? it's different than getting the word out about any other kind of business. >> sure. obviously, the patient confidentiality is really important. you can never talk about your patients publicly. but you can think of yourself as a thought leader. going out there and answering questions. there are a lot of these q&a sites now like springform and others where you can allow anyone to post questions and you can answer them with the necessary disclaimers you need legally, but you can engage as a thought leader on your topic. and everyone should see themselves as curators these days, whether it's through twitter or blogging or otherwise, cue rate the

interesting things that are interesting to you. >> networking is key. what is this viewer doing in terms of reaching out to physicians or other health professionals? that practice touches on so many other areas of health and wellness that are not just limited to the medical profession, and everyone appreciates a great referral. most people would with would want to find their doctor through word of mouth or through another trusted physician. i would spend time getting to know more people in your industry. there are some great online tools to help improve your visibility. one is zocdoc, an online site where medical professionals can list themselves and you can search by area or insurance provider. >> this is great advice. appreciate it. and if any of you out there have a question for our experts, all you have to do is go to our website. the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. hit the ask the show link to submit a question for our panel. the link is

openforum.com/yourbusiness, or e-mail your questions or comments to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. as always, jen and scott had some really helpful advice about how to improve your business. now let's get some great ideas from small business owners like you. >> so my tip to my fellow entrepreneurs is now is not the time to cut back on quality to save money. you need to continue to the drive the quality, be the best you can be, and set yourself apart from the competition. >> when the inevitable catastrophe of the day occurs, either at home or overseas, you don't instantly blame others and get crazy. you assume the goodwill. secondly, you then go and find out what the real point is all about. you go to source. so often, you have misinformation and you try to make your decisions based on that. once you've assumed the the goodwill and you go to source,

you then have the three-way conversation with the protagonists and the antagonists. do you want to stay connected to your business even while you're on the go, then check out our website of the week. youroffice.com is a cloud-based website where people can chat and share calendars anywhere. services are available for a flat rate of $10 a month. to learn more about today's show, just click on our website, it's openforum.com/yourbusiness. 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 feedback. you can also follow us on twitter. it's @msnbcyourbiz. next week, the founder of a high-end pet resort says she had

to do plenty of homework before she decided to expand and pamper more pooches. >> we did zip code studies, we break down as much information as possible. we fine out as much as we can about every customer, why they chose the location and where they live. >> it's a story about cats, dogs, and how to make sure you don't become your own competition. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. and remember, we make your business our business. sam: i'm sam chernin. owner of sammy's fish box. i opened the first sammy's back in 1966. my employees are like family. and, i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. so we can accumulate as many points as possible. i pass on these points to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy.