hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. hram bergen, welcome t "your business." we give you advice to help your business grow. hurray to hollywood, home to the academy awards and movie industry. what you may not know is many of the people who deliver those great hollywood dreams are small business owners. there are quite a few small-time independent theater owners who make sure 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 interest. >> i'm right in the front taking tickets. they tell me, this one's good, this one stinks. so i know pretty much what everybody wants to see.

>> reporter: want the real scoop on the hottest movies? >> i'd like to write something prosecu from the point of view of the help. >> i'm the backup parent, the understudy. ♪ >> reporter: then you need to go to the front lines where independent theater owners like these hear it directly from the fans like these. >> you have a lot of the same customers week after week. >> reporter: welcome to the small business side of the big-time hollywood glamor machine. >> it's an expensive business, you know. nothing is cheap, nothing is cheap in this business. >> the problem with being independent is that you have to spend a lot of money to keep up with the chains. >> reporter: jesse and greg scarola are brothers who own and operate one 12-screen movie theater called the atrium on staten island, one of the few remaining independents in new york city. >> the independents, it's a dying breed, you know, the old guys are looking to move on and there isn't too much new blood coming out. the big chains really put a dent

in them. >> reporter: with only one location in a major market, they see themselves as smul fish struggling to survive in a tank full of whales. >> i believe what you really want to know is, how does a small business, a family-oriented business, function in the land of the giants, amongst the big changes, the regales, amcs. >> reporter: he's right. and according to greg, part of their secret for survival is that they study and imitate the upgrades done by the big chains. >> so you watch and see what they're doing and keep up. don't fall behind. >> make sure the seats are new, up-to-date seats, we change the sound equipment, movie equipment all the time. we renovate the lobby. you've got to do everything. go there yourself and take a look around. say, this is a great idea, maybe we can make this work at the atrium. just take their lead, follow them. >> reporter: keeping up like this can result in some confusion for customers, which is exactly what the scarolas 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. it's current. and hence they think we're part of the chains. >> we're not a regal theater. we only take atrium. >> a lot of people come here with the coupons for reigal and amc. they say, can you take that? we have to explain we're independent independent. >> reporter: it tykes a lot of money. >> you've got to go out and get rid of all your old equipment which is hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars worth of equipment, throw it away and put in a new digital projector for more hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars. >> we constantly change things. after we finish one project we start another. >> some of the smaller guys just can't afford it, you know, which it's not cost-effective for them. >> reporter: that's how these two got into the movie business

in the first place. >> "ghost rider" played well us last time. >> reporter: the previous theater owner couldn't keep up when a big chain opened a complex nearby. >> when regal came and opened up, it took about 50% of his business. he struggled. he was an old operator. he wasn't a young guy. >> reporter: the previous theater owner's threat to abandon the business would have been a disaster for the landlord. >> he just fret much threw in the towel thinking, i'll ride this out as long as i can, i won't reinvest into the operation anymore, and once it's time to leave, it's -- i'll just turn in the key and that was it. that's essentially what he did. >> reporter: that's where greg and jesse came in. they thought the problem with the theater wasn't the competitive market but the rundown condition of the facility, which was turning off customers. >> they don't want to go to the old price that's rundown chblt they want a new place. it's the same thing here. you have to keep upgrading everything. >> staten island is densely popula

populated. there's roughly 450,000 to 500,000 people here on this island. that's a pretty good amount of people who want to go see movies. jesse saw what the business used to do and said, let's not give up yet. >> reporter: they've been running things now for about seven years and they've been upgrading slowly as they can afford it. >> we had to really come in here and just do a major overhaul, cleaning up to begin with, you know, paint, clean the carpets up, clean the bathrooms up, everything spotless, you know, screens. then as we went along and the theater would provide us with some income, we'd just reinvest that back into the business. >> reporter: like many small business owners, they say upgreats are one of the keys to their success. >> give back. give back, put back into the business. that's the secret. >> reporter: but that's not all. the other key to their success is their own hard work and attention. >> we do everything, take tickets most of the time, i clean the theaters, work the candy stand. whatever has to get done we do.

greg made the right connections with the movie companies. it took some time and they knew it was a good location. that's the whole thing. we just started doing it ourselves. pretty much it worked out pretty good. ♪ all sorts of small businesses play behind the scenes role in the movie business, just like in many big industries. let's turn to this week's board of directors, we have the president of the box office division of hollywood.com. he is a longtime movie industry analyst. jennifer hill is a venture attorney at gunderson debt mer. and scott bellski is the founder and ceo of a group that develops products and services for creative companies. great to see you guys. >> great to be here. >> great to be here. thank you. >> paul, thank you. i want to ask you because you've been following this industry for so long, is there room in this industry for independents like the one we just saw?

>> well, after watching the piece about these operators, i think they're doing everything right, and i think it comes down to customer service. it comes down to all the things they talked about, about staying current, about really honoring what the customer needs and wants. and look at what they said, that people mistake them for a regal or an amc or a bigger chain because they are presenting that way. and i think they're really smart. like they said, it's a very expensive proposition to run a movie theater. i mean, there are so many expenses associated with it, not to mention keeping up with the jon joneses, in terms of digital projection, stadium seating, state-of-the-art sound and all that and then also getting the right kind of movies in there to attract a big audience. but they're doing it right. i think in this economy, you know, customer service is key. they can keep their prices, you know, stable. i think they'll continue to grow. i think they'll do very well. >> you know, scott, watching this and i know you have the

same opinion, it becomes tricky because what they are doing is keeping up with the joneses and how long can you keep up with the joneses when the joneses have such deeper pockets than you? whoo can you do so you have your own thing? >> i totally get the desire to have the latest seats and latest technology. i think that's great. >> and you probably need it. >> absolutely. but i just can't help wondering, they're always playing down the fact they're different rather than necessarily playing up the fact they're local, these are people that you know. they could even patronize local events, they could tune into local in the way no 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. >> paul, have you seen any examples of an independent theater doing something like what scott was just explaining? >> there are some of the local chains but they're generally bigger than this. you know what's happened in recent years because of the

switch to digital projection, which, you know, pretty soon it's already happening theaters won't be able to get film prints. you know the old physical film can and film prints. you have to go digital. so this is very rare in today's day and age. it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars they were saying in the piece sometimes millions of dollars to upgrade. that's virtually eliminated anyone from doing this on this scale. there are some small arthouses, however, that continue to do others, the new art here in los angeles, there's other small chains. but to have a theater, you've got to have deep pockets, like this that presents and looks like a big traditional chain, not a little art house theater, and keep up in the marketplace. but i think what has been said here is absolutely correct, play up that local -- you know, that niche that they have and really play to that strength of being a local movie theater. i think that's a great idea. >> yeah, jen. because they're watching this and it just -- it seems hard.

i don't want to say the lesson to take away from it is, don't go into an industry where the big guys dominate because that clearly is not the answer. we've seen that proven wrong many, many times. but what could they zmo. >> well, some of this breaks down to innovation. yes, they need to keep up but there's so many ways of being flexible and small and they can do things the bigger guys can't. these brothers, it's their business, they can do whatever they want, hold special corporate events, they could change up the food. there's a lot of movie theaters that are experimenting with gourmet food, reserved seats, in some cases with liquor licenses. they can try a lot of new and different things to set themselves apart from the pack. >> and what's so neat about them in this position is they already have the cache of looking like a regal so they can add onto it. >> exactly. >> paul, what are some interesting things you see people doing with their space? >> well, i think one of the things i would suggest is to do a local film festival and allow local filmmakers to say, hey,

we're in staten island, we're filmmakers and we want to actually see our film on the big screen at this atrium theater. i think 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 sort of show that they're vested in the local d economy and local creative community as well because it is a movie theater. but i also think unique in-theater nashmarketing works the big chains, can work for them, too. special promotions, things for moms and kids on tuesday mornings. this is done in other chains but they can do it too and put their own unique spin on it. i think they're in a great position and they own the business. they can do whatever they want. >> exactly. the beauty of owning your own business. do whatever you want. thank you, paul, for your many, many years of insight on this. really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> you guys, stick around. we need you some more.

are you wondering how to capitalize on the social commerce trend? we wanted to learn how the emerging market connecting social media, the web, mobile and e-commerce works. so we went to the social commerce sunlimmit in new york y to talk about harnessing the power of this fast-moving and noisy business. ♪ >> consumers really wanted a personal experience. to me, that's what social really is. you at the center of your own discovery. >> we're using it for a new sales channel over twitter and facebook and their web sites and fan pages. others of us are using it as a customer service channel, listening to their customers, responding to them. others are using it for advertising. but basically we've just seen a huge wave of innovation in e-commerce in the last five years. and so all of those companies are engaging in social commerce of some sort. >> reporter: social commerce is the new buzzword, fusing the

digital trends of social media and e-commerce. fortune 500 companies, small business owners and industry experts recently gathered in new york city to discuss this emerging market at business insider social commerce summit. >> the way we engage in facebook and twitter and linkedin and foursquare and google plus, people are creating convict tenl -- content. it's no longer page sent rick but people centrick world. it help had s us create relationships. >> for john kaplan, creator and ceo of open sky, personalizing the consumer's experience has been the foundation of his business. >> it's boutique-like shopping in a facebook-like environment. if you think about who martha stewart is or bobby flay is,

these aren't people who are following anyone. they're leading the conversation and so those leaders are z discovering the best goods and bringing them to you. >> a beauty sample prescription business is talking about how they're using face book. >> it's incredible because you have so much more of a power to connect with customers. what i think really surprises them is to hear we're listening. twitter and facebook, obviously -- youtube is a huge platts form for us. i mean, when i say we are -- we're everywhere that we feel like our consumers are. >> for the director of marketing at the world's fastest growing e-commerce site, fab.com, providing the element of discovery is key. >> fab is where people go to discover things. it's not a place where you go to search for a specific product necessarily, a place you go to browse and you might not necessarily need one of those items but you see it and you're

just inspired by it and say, i need to have that. >> reporter: the biggest key to maximizing on social commerce has been learning to adoopt to the times. >> we're going from sites like amazon that have been tremendously successful and are great companies but sites like fab.com and others are now merchandising products effectively out of thin air. they're creating demand for them merely by the way they're presented. they have good selection criteria and so forth. e-commerce is definitely maturing. this is a new wave of growth. i think we'll see a lot of this innovation over the next couple of years. in it feels like your competition is in every newspaper and magazine and blog you read, then you may want to look at upping your own profile. here are five ways you can increase your small business's exposure courtesy of the new york enterprise report. one, develop a media list. take notice of the reporters and bloggers who cover your market and let them know when exciting things are happening at your

company. two, get social. twitter linkedin, facebook and google plus give you a great chance to engage with key media contacts. three, give your two cents. all reporters and bloggers love feedback so commenting on their articles an blogs is a great way to interact. four, add video. incorporate videos of yourself in your blogs and social media. showing you're comfortable in front of the camera can open the door to broadcast opportunities. and, number five, participate. be a part of panel discussions at industry events, conferences and meet-ups. the podium provides a platform for you to connect with key influencers and present yourself as an expert. still to come -- why big companies like your product but won't necessarily invest in it. and a psychologist wants to know how to market his services. and today's elevator picture has a brand new bag. it's reusable and it 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 shop er zhave gone from paper or plastic to reusable bags. today's elevator pitcher has come up with a way to make those bags even more pragmatic.

>> hi. do you guys ever forget your reusable bags? >> i do. >> all the time. >> up to 90% of shoppers forget them, however, two-thirds remember their shopping list. i'm dan russo, inventor of this bag. it incorporates your shopping list, pen, coupon clip, with a bag that lives on your fridge with its built-in magnets. we launch in september to an overwhelming response. we projecting our first year of sales at $300,000, currently seeking a $250,000 investment with an expected five year investment. around the globe single use bags are being outlawed which as you know our industry is growing by law. soon we'll have three guarantees in life. death, taxes and reusable bags. available at shopping bag.com and retailers nationwide. >> thank you very much. >> dan, i appreciate that enthusiasm. you know what i think is so

smart? how you can put it on your refrigerator, with your list. let's get to the expert. scott, how was the pitch? >> i thought it was great, funny, engaging. one of my preferences is always to start the pitch with a problem you're trying to solve. in this case i feel like you're solving two problems, the forgetfulness and sort of the global issue around wasted bags and sort of the global cause we need to rally around. 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 you brought out the key problems that you're trying to solve. what i didn't understand, if your revenue is 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 high amount based on your revenues so far. i'd want more information, why is that amount key and what are you going to do with it? >> half of what you're pitching is showing your personality. a lot of people aren't quite adept at doing that yet and you did a really good job. >> thank you very much. >> my two soefrcents.

scott, would you take another meeting? >> absolutely. i'd want to learn about partnerships, distribution deals that you could use. >> 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 and learn what i could do to help. >> good luck with everything. thank you for coming on the program and pitching this. and if any of you out there have a product or service and want feedback from our elevator pitch panel on your choons of getting interested investors, all you do is send us an e-mail, yourbusiness@msnbc.com. pleas include a short summary of what your company does, how much money you are trying to raise and what you intend to do with that money. you never know, somebody out there watching the show may be interested in helping you. time now to answer? of your business questions. scott and jen are with us once again. the first one is from timothy. he writes, why do some corporations who express a passionate interest in your

product seem unwilling to front your company the $100,000 or 200 ushgs$,000 in seed money? >> that's a completely different thing to ask, right? you're asking someone to be an investor versus being a customer. >> i think it's a good question. very large companies, that amount of money for them is really like a rounding error, if that. sometimes companies are afraid they'll fund and then ignore something. also sometimes it's more risk than they're willing to take. if they go into a similar business or fund someone else, they don't want to deal with any conflicts of interest in the future. sometimes the best choice is no thank you. >> jen, you've worked a lot with funding for companies. what advice do you have for someone to go into a corporation and say, help fund this. >> there are certain corporations that have seed funds but they really are few and far between. instead, think about the corporation as a beta customer. would they pay to have early access to your product or more money to take the product and perhaps customize it. 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 for a big gamble

to help build it. let's move on to the next one. this is about time management. >> as an attorney i often have problems delegating work, trying to control too much, and i was wondering if you have any best practices for actually delegating work so i can get more done. >> this is the problem that so many entrepreneurs have, right? then we get so into doing our worry work we don't have time to do anything else. the idea of delegating also seems time-consumer. >> i'll let jen speak specifically about attorneys, but a few things 0 to think about, this notion of voluntary staffing model, when you let people know what needs to be done, you'll be surprised people volunteer with the one that intersects with their genuine interest, which you know it will be done well. if there's one thing hanging out there, the one most efficient will volunteer. also having weekly chats with people you manage. this is what i'm focusing on.

the litmus test for effective delegating is you are doing what you only can do. you make sure you're delegating. >> you have to trust your team. align the abilities with the person you're dealing with the project at hand. one way to get over the problem of delegating is break the projects into parts. talk about the deliverables, the time dls frame and ask for progress reports and try not to be a micromanager. one of the most demote vaiting things is not having faith in the group. as long as you set expectations around it, you'll get an amazing result. >> every morning marlena says she makes a list of things she has to do and she highlights the ones only she can do and everything else she delegates out to people. >> it's a really important thing for mem to do because you can spend all day on your to-do list when you don't have to. it can make you more effective.

let's move on, this is from david -- what are some ideas for increasing visibility and business for a psychology practice? we do the standard contracts with physicians, a series of topical flyers, a web site, facebook page and 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. i mean, obviously the patient confidentiality is really important. you can never really talk about your patients publicly. but what you can do is think of yourself as a thought leader, answering questions, a lot of these q&a sites where you can just allow anyone to pose questions and then you can answer them, of course with the necessary disclaimers that you need legally. you can just engage the thought leader on your topic. everyone should see themselves as as kurt aeors these days. curate the facts and studies interesting to you. people will start to look up to you in that field. that of course translates into opportunity. >> networking is key.

what is this particularer doing reaching out to physicians or other health professionals. that practice touches on health and wellness not just limited to the medical professional. everybody wants a great referral. people want to find a doctor through a trusted flend or another fphysician. another thing there are great online tools to help improve your visibility. one is zocdoc, potential physicians can list themselves, people can search by specialty or insurance provider. great advice. appreciate it. if you have a question for our experts, just go to our web site, openforum.com/yourbusiness. there just hit the "does x the show" link to talk to our panel.

or y or e-mail us your questions. 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 drive the quality to 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 good will. 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 goodwill and you go to source, you then have the three-way conversations with the protagonists and the

antagonists. >> do you want to stay connected to your business even when you're on the go? check out our web site of the week, your office anywhere.com is a cloud-based collaboration site where users can share documents, web conference, chat, and organize calendars all in the same place. you can access the site from any smartphone or tablet. services are available for a flat rate of $10 a month. to learn more about today's show, just click on our web site. 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. 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 find of find 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. ss on these ts to my employees to go on trips with their families. when my employees are happy, my customers are happy. vo: earn points for the things you're already buying.