small businesses are revitalizing the economy. and american express open is here to help. that is why we are proud to present "your business" on msnbc. hi, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" where we give you tips and advice to hp you business grow. when you go to a place like the gap or walmart, you pretty much know what to expect. when you go to one store in new york's chelsea neighborhood you have no idea what you'll find. do you think that's confusing? it's exactly what the owner wants. when rachel talks about her new york retail store which she named story, the last word she uses to describe it is, well, store. >> it has the point of view of a magazine, changes every four to eight weeks like a gallery and

sells things like a store. >> this if this sounds confusing you're not alone. story has an editorial theme like a magazine and every eight weeks rachel changes it and that means she changes everything. ♪ a change a change will do you good ♪ >> reporter: the products, the look, everything but the location. >> having aphysicing a physical. >> rather than knowing what to expect as you do in most stores you would visit story precisely because you don't know what to expect. >> i just feel like it can just be so -- especially if you shop a lot like i do, it can be very routine like doing the same kind of shopping all the time. and it's nice to be able to get excited something changing. >> in may, the story was color. everything was arranged by blue, red, brown, you get the picture.

♪ i see your true colors shining through ♪ >> it's really about using color and merchandising the store all around color. we're in our blue moment right now and using color as the backdrop and product as kind of the focal con ten. >> the products range from jewelry to scarves to head phones. the thing that tied them all together is that they were colorful. >> one thing that was important to me in creating this model was having something that a 9-year-old would buy or a 70-year-old would buy or something for $5 or something for $500. >> in february the theme was love. >> it was no accident that we were a love story but it wasn't about pink and red and valentine's day. it was about a broader conversation about love. >> the conversation is one of the tenets of his model. she's adamant about her store being more than just a place to buy things which is why story frequently hosts events. >> events are important because

i think retail just shouldn't be about buying things and consumption but about beauty and entertainment and having fun. >> she's planned things from wine tastings to author readings to a day where you could get free mother's day portraits. >> i came in to check out color, then i brought walker back for our portrait. >> how can a small retail store completely revamp its product line every eight weeks and have it work for the bottom line? that's where story becomes even more creative than the themes. ♪ it's the color of success >> first, the majority of products come from online retailers who are given the chance to test out what it's like to sell their stof in the offline world. danielle started bobble.com. >> the opportunity to have brick and mortar space on a fun corner in new york city and see how we could get the brand out and the word out about who we are has

been fun and exciting. >> christina is tmakes these sh >> even as our site is up, it's great exposure. >> we're providing a complimentary experience. i really like those shoes but i've never seen this brand before. you come in the store and try them on and experience them. >> the second source of revenue. >> sponsor. >> i think retail is an untapped frontier for advertising. >> just as magazines have ads in their pages, rachel sells ads in her store. ray gomez is the director of color marketing at benjamin moore. >> this was different. i knew we'd generate a lot of buzz. >> sponsorships cost anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000. but for rachel, they bring more than just money.

>> it also gives us authority. so it's not just about a transaction. you know, you wouldn't see, you know, color story brought to you by taco bell. >> rachel wouldn't divulge what the next theme will be the reveal is part of the fun. >> it's a surprise. you have to sign up to find out. >> now it's likely most of you watching aren't going to change your whole store around every eight weeks but what can you incorporate from story into your own business? let's turn to jennifer hill, an attorney and best-selling author carol ross is a business strategist. >> great to be here. >> the one thing that rachel said in the piece that i found interesting, she repeated it a couple of times was content and community. which are generally things we hear about online retailers or online ventures, not offlien ventures. does it make sense, though?

>> it does. just as we are trying to create and connect our online world in our offline world, there are ways to do that. having that in a retail space is something different. giving people another excuse to get together, that's actually really nice. people find they make connections they wouldn't otherwise make. >> i sort of thought you can buy anything online. there's no real reason to go to a store anymore. especially if you don't have time. this gives someone a reason to go to the store. >> it does give people a reason to go to the student and having the events and the community aspect will get them there once, twice, maybe a third time. if you don't have a clear brand promise about what you're delivering, what are they coming back for the fourth and fifth time after that novelty wears off? the challenge here is how do you incorporate the community aspect but still have whether it's customer service or some other aspect that you have that brand

promise. you're not coming back for the same product over and over again. there has to be something skin the for you to keep going back to the same store or story over and over again. >> which also brings me to the comparison online. again, because a lot of what people talk about online is curation. right? we follow people to see what they're buying and what they like. so that we copy. in essence, isn't that just a curator, in the same way i'd go, what's carol roth buying online? we'll see what store is thinking is cool this week. >> there are brands and tastemakers you really do follow. people are always looking to find new and interesting things. if you're giving them some reason to trust you as a tastemaker, whether it's because the concept of your store is interesting or you as a person is interesting with be that may be enough. we know how to get the basic day-to-d day-to-day things we need. this is probably for things we

really don need. it's creating a community way to buy things we didn't know we needed to buy. >> you don't have to change your things around every eight weeks. >> it's difficult to scale. it's interesting in the small context. how do you then roll this out? it flies very well in new york city, the question is is it portable to kansas city. i don't know that it is, j.j. >> the other thing, we were talking about this in break, the idea of advertising. retail is the untapped market for advertising. which was fascinating that somebody spent all of this money to advertise in her store. >> yes. clearly a brilliant strategy. i've got to think she had fantastic relationships to leverage, because not everybody out of the gate will convince someone to come in for a $75,000 sponsorship or more. it's all about -- if it's eye balls online or print, it's traffic. how did she know she was going to get that traffic in the store to sustain that level of

advertising? if you can do it, definitely do it. she's incredibly creative. >> i think it works in major cities. new york has 7 million or 10 million people. you have a focused market. l.a., london, paris, you might be able to do that. one thing i would think about for places that are not as highly populous, are there ways you can incorporate sponsors? there are lessons you can't take from this and apply on a smaller scale. >> not only that, it sounds like she probably had next to no cost of inventory. she has all of these different retailers coming in bringing the inventory. in terms of the capital she's required to put in, very savvy on this front as well. >> this was innovative on so many different levels. good conversation. thanks, guys. what to buy, where to eat, when to travel and how to get things done. mobile apps are becoming more and more influential. as the app market grows, it is

the right time for small business owners to jump in and create one. the best part is our guest says you don't have to be a technical genius to make a successful one. we have empire apps. he's the author ever "app empire" make money, have a life and let technology work for you. >> i feel like i said the word app 39 times in that intro for you. for people who have not jumped into this space right now, if you have any online presence do you need to have an app as well in order to reach people going forward? >> yes, yes. the old way of doing business is changing. it's evolving. business owners need to evolve with the changes. they need to understand thr consumers, their customers are carrying around these smart phones and they need to understand that and bring their products, their services to them. >> you know what i found, too, we have this example of taxi

magic. the designs are so simple. you can learn a lot from looking at other people's designs. it's simpler than a web page. >> exactly. >> it's complimenting apple. it's intuitive, easy to understand. it's not that difficult. you can emulate and learn again from these successful companies that have made it easy for the customers to grab. >> what are the things you need to be looking for when you're looking at somebody's app? what are the little things that i might miss because i'm not so well versed in this space? >> first of all the reviews. make sure people like the app and find out the reasons why they like the app and look for what the actual functionality is. what is the value of this app? if i'm buying something or if i'm using the app as a customer, what are the one or two things that i can get out of the app that makes my life easier and able to connect with this business more.

>> got it. icons, titles, are there particular things we should pay attention to this there? >> make sure the icon pops, as soon as someone sees it or the screen shot or title that it intrigues the person and tells them exactly what it is so they don't have to guess. because people move on so quickly, they want to see it immediately and understand it. >> most people who watching the show are not skilled innive to make their own app. when you hire an ap pxapp deve what are the questions you need to ask. >> find out how experienced they are. the industry is pretty new. download their apps and test them out. you want to make sure first of all they can do what you want to do and also that you can talk to a couple people they've developed for. that's important. >> are these people involved in marketing your app as well. >> no. >> >> reporter: do they just develop it? >> they develop it. they give it to you and you do

the marketing. >> let's talk about marketing. you can develop something great but if nobody knows it's there it may not exist anymore. we look at the analytics here and they were doing well and then they just shot up. what did they do to go from okay to great. >> good question. they have the components down to the whole process, making the icon good, the screen shots good and stuff like that. a lot of people, they have a network of other apps. they might have a free app they use because there's no bear to entry. i'm a customer, i look at the app store, i see that app and download it. if it's good, they push me on to their wade version or other features inside of the app. >> that's a great idea. thank you so much. i think this say great reminder for people, look at what your business does and see how that can translate to an app. that's the first step. >> definitely. thank you. >> thank you, chad.

we ask small business owners if they're hiring. and we'll talk about the fastest way to get business credit. and we have a diabolical idea. it's called evil genius beer. it's also our crew's favorite pitch. you know, those farmers, those foragers, those fishermen.... for me, it's really about building this extraordinary community. american express is passionate about the same thing. they're one of those partners that i would really rely on whether it's finding new customers, or, a new location for my next restaurant. when we all come together, my restaurants, my partners, and the community amazing things happen. to me, that's the membership effect.

it's good news/bad news on the small business hiring front. a new survey from intuit shows small businesses added 40,000 jobs in may. unfortunately that's down from 60,000 the month before. well, the ongoing efforts in washington to help small businesses hire have any impact? we recently went down to the floor of the new york expot and asked small business attendees if they planned on increasing their work force this year. >> i was originally going to hire 100 people this year but the business is not there. i am still trying to get the business off the ground. i will not be able to hire any great numbers until the business gets off the ground. >> we're in a war for talent. we're looking for the best and the brightest people always. if we come across those people that we can't say no to we're

going to look to bring them on board. that's true here in the u.s. as much as it is in asia. >> the problem is, we're under budget restraints like every other small business. taxes, high health benefits. it's getting increasingly difficult to al coit those funds to hire people. do i expect to hire in the next six months? no. i'm confident within a year i will be hiring. >> we do plan on hiring some new employees, full and part time in the next six months. it will be on an as-needed basis. i find a lot of employees are looking for that as an accommodation to their schedule. >> in our business model we learned that growth is really important. we plan on hiring a few salesmen over the next three months that will help us promote our business, grow our business and drive more profitable results to the bottom line. >> what we're planning on doing instead of having employees we're going to do independent contractors. that way they're more responsible for taking care of their insurances and those kind

of things. that's what i found with when we had the employees before, that the workers' comp, all those kind of things took money out of our corporation. >> i have complete faith in the marketplace and in the economy right now. i do have a small staff and totally intend on adding additional staff by the end of the year. market is turning around. the economy is getting better. so i would really encourage entrepreneurs to consider adding additional employees by the end of the year. things are getting better. your website is often the first place potential customers stop to get information about your business. if you're looking to build a well-designed an easy-to-use site, check out our website of the week. the company one pager that you can find at onepagerapp.com offers a free do it yourself

platform. you can customize one of the predesigned themes to fit your needs or design your own from scratch. the designs are con figured to work well on mobile devices. it's time to answer some of your business questions. jennifer and carol are with us once again. he asks what is the easiest and fastest way to obtain business credit? >> jen? there are a couple of things you can do. >> there's always a business credit card. you'll use your own business guarantees. establishes credit is pretty much the same as establishing it for yourself. you'll have to go through steps of providing a lot of financial information, having limited credit lines and proving you can work your way up. >> no secret tricks? >> no. >> pay in full, pay quickly.

>> this is from ronique. >> what are the major differences in marketing a tangible product versus conceptual services? >> it's always what's in it for me. that doesn't change regardless of whether it's a product or service. it's much easier to get someone to do that. also, though, sample. even if you're a service company, have a free assessment or offer to give a few hours of consulting away, it's a great way to kind of get over that risk hump and get people to check out what you do without having to worry about am i taking on too much risk here? >> interesting idea. any ideas? >> establish yourself as an expert. are you writing, publishing, speaking at events?

are there certain areas of expertise or a way of thinking that you are known for? and make that easy for potential clients to understand. so, for example, put up a website. use your whole network to really build relationships. you know, attempt to go to customers and say here's what i can do for you. if you see a problem, start talking about it. >> like they both talked about relationships also. it's really important, pord of mauj m mouth may be important. >> they can make that recommendation especially for a service provider. you're not going to hire a lawyer or banker because you did a google search for them. it's because somebody said this is a good person that provides quality advice. >> let's move on to the next one. this is from laura. she asks what should be in a packet to attract investors? jen, you must look at a lot of these in your job. >> i do.

>> you need an executive summary. that's a one to two-page document that gives the high points of your business, for example, your business model, what your business is, the value proposition, how you're different. it's something you should be able to leave in paper or electronic form. the idea is you're creating enough of a taste so you're having a second meeting or conversation with you. >> basically that's the most important thing, right, because that's hooking them in? >> it gets them interested then you get the opportunity to sell yourself. no matter what you have on a packet or piece of paper, the investor will invest in you. do they have confidence in you? you have to have all of these things put down. the packet doesn't attract the investors. you and the opportunity does. >> do you need to create a whole 50-page business plan? >> no, no, no. >> it depends on the industry. in technology, absolutely not. there are certain industries --

certainly not 50 pages anymore but 20-page plan, depending on who your audience is may be required. you have to know that friends and family, is all incredibly different. know who your customer is. >> having a business plan or powerpoint presentation is for you, the entrepreneur. it's rare that an investor is going to sit down and read it. realize you're probably not going to pull that out at every cocktail party. >> but you do not have have an investor subscription package if you're going out and raise around with friends and family. they'll want to see the paperwork. the less sophisticated the investor is, probably the more information they'll want to see. >> regardless, i think your point is, you have to know this information. even if somebody doesn't read it all they might ask you. it's good research for yourself. >> always good to be prepared.

let's move on to the next one. this is an e-mail from spencer. i'd like to know what is a good at-home business i may start? spencer. >> come on, spencer. >> this is the wrong question to start with. this is like building a house and worrying about what kind of carpeting you're going to get before you build the foundation. a great business happens when you see an opportunity and you are the best person to execute on that opportunity. start with that and find a way to bring that model into your home. if working from home is your top criteria, get a job, don start a business. >> it really comes down to why am i doing this? do you want to start a business or just work at home? those are two very different things. do you want to be in front of a computer, do you want to travel, talk to clients? make a list of your criteria and what your financial needs are and skills are. should you be starting a business or trying to get a job

where you're working remotely. >> you can work at home for a lot of things. the your book is all about this, figuring out if you should be an entrepreneur or not. spencer, maybe you should read carol's book. >> and everything else. thanks for the plug. >> we'll see you later in the show for the elevator pitch. if any of you out there have a question for our experts, go to our website, the address is openforum.com/yourbusiness. click the ask the show link. business isple booing in the craft beer sector. today's elevator pitcher came up with an idea while at villanova university, maybe at a keg party and brewed up a great-tasting product with a center name.

>> walk into your local bar. >> here at evil genius we produce full-flavored craft beers that appeal to the beer connoisseur. of the capital wil to fixed assets, ingredients and packaging. investors should expect a two to three times return on their investment in five years. to find out out more about us, go to our website, evilgeniusbeer.com.

>> my favorite line of the whole thing is the entry-level craft beer drinker. that's fantastic. i think you did an amazing job. but obviously i don't count, it's up to you guys. carol, did he get everything in the pitch? >> no, he did not get everything in the pitch, but that's okay. he came across very confident as a good storyteller. the thing that's missingor me is distribution and marketing. anyway can start a craft beer company, but the distribution makes the difference. >> i love the passion, it's clear that you love this product and that is so critical for an entrepreneur, especially when you're pitching to an investor. i want to know about your customers, you told me about the segment, but who is buying and do you have customers already. if you already have customers, i don't know that, it may be possible that you've got something set up and you're just teeming to produce more beer. so tell me the hard numbers

about your company and the customer base and that number will make more sense to me. >> the one thing we talked about more is showing your traction. one of the most well-spoken pixes that we've had. thank you so much. good luck with your business and your business and you guys, thank you so much for everything today as always. and if any of you out there have a product or service and you want feedback from our elevator pitch panel on your chances of getting interested investors, just send us an email, the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. in the email, include a short summary of what your company does, how much money you're trying to raise and what you spend to do with the money. somebody watching the show may be interested in helping you. to learn more, click on our website, openforum.com/yourbusiness. you can also follow us on twitter, it's @msnbcyourbiz. and don't forget to become fan

of the show on facebook. next week, more beer as the owner of a minnesota brewery faces plenty of regulations to try to change the law to expand his company. >> a lot of people that didn't want to see that change happen. just that's the way politics works, is usually when the laws are there, there's someone that wants to keep them that way. >> we'll tell you how the brew master took his fight to the state capital and won, despite facing influential opposition. until then, i'm jj ramberg and remake your business our business. they have names like idle time books and smash records and on small business saturday they remind a nation of the benefits of shopping small. on just one day, 100 million of us joined a movement...

and main street found its might again. and main streefound its fit again. and we, the locals, found delight again. that's the power of all of us. that's the power of all of us. that's the membership effect of american express. good morning, from new york, i'm chris hayes, george zimmman, the florida man charged with shooting unarmed teenager, trayvon martin has not yet turned himself in after a judge found he misled the court in his bond hearing. zimmerman has until this afternoon to show up. in egypt, thousands of protesters clashed with police and each other, reacting to sentences handed down for the killing of 800 protesters last year. former president, whoseny mubarak was sentenc