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present "your business" on msnbc. hi, there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to giving you tips and advice to help your business grow. once upon a time, getting a manicure was a big luxury. then, the next thing you know, go to any big city and there are manicure places everywhere. they are pretty darn cheap with a little consumer education and a lot of opportunity, suddenly, a new market was born. today, we have the story of two women taking a page out of that trajectory and trying to do it themselves. ♪ >> allison conrad and stephanie more ran, founders of the los angeles based company,

blushington had a big hurdle to overcome when they launched their company. >> a lot of people thought of makeup just as once or twice in their lifetime, their wedding and prom. >> we are trying to change the way people think about makeup and everyday makeup application. >> blushington is a makeup and beauty lounge where you can go last minute and for not a lot of money to get your makeup done. >> i love it. it's amazing. >> ali webb, owner of dry bar where people can go to get their hair blown out dealt with this same type of attitude adjustment. while most people get their hair done only when it gets cut or for a very special education, ali had a different idea. >> i wanted to change that and made it an affordable luxury and make it something you could do once a week. >> these three women are turning luxuries into necessities for their businesses to work. they have had to create a market. let people know that good makeup and hair isn't something that you want. it is something you need.

both companies are growing. so how have they done it? >> well, first and foremost, it starts with price. from their research and because they are personally the target, steffi and allison knew that women loved getting beauty services but they aren't really willing to pay the steep price to do it often. >> when we were looking at the market, we did notice that there were ways that you could get your makeup done but it was really costly. having somebody come to your home is a couple hundred dollars at least, a minimum. going to a department store, you feel the pressure and you are really supposed to buy at least three products. >> they did the math and came up with a price point they thought would bring people in. >> we start at $35. >> today, the price has gone up by $5. even with that increase, something that seems so out of reach was suddenly not such a luxury after all. >> we are definitely seeing more people coming in before business meetings, people coming in before charity events, for

dates. >> when they conceived of the idea, they were optimistic. dry bar had already opened and was seeing great success. >> we also looked and noticed that dry bar was such a success, because they had this really affordable luxury of getting your hair blown out. ♪ >> so when a location right next to dry bar opened up, they thought it was meant to be. >> sar indip pa does. a sign. >> when alli webb started dry bar, first person she had to educate on the potential demand was her brother. >> my brother. he is my business partner and now our ceo. i said, if we open up a place and just did blow-outs, that would be amazing. >> unlike the women of blushington, alli had started getting people to think of a blow-dry as something they needed to do. she was a stay-at-home mom with two kids and a desire to get out of the house and talk to grown-ups. i started this little mobile

blow-dry business where i was ru running around town doing blowouts for friends. i thought, i think i'm on to something. >> both a lchl li and steffi are clear while the price point makes these luxuries affordable, the experience is clear to bringing these people back and bring people back they must as their businesses survive on volume. at dry bar, you do not have the typical salon experience. for one, you don't have to sit in front of a mirror. >> you walk in, the music is loud and fun. there is a fun movie playing. >> the whole process is not marketed as a big deal, more like an everyday appointment. >> it is fast to get your makeup done here. it takes, full face, 30-45 minutes when normally it takes over an hour. >> for both blushington and dry bar, growth has been word of mao. >> more women are trying it and they try it and love it and they get addicted and love it. >> it is really good to see familiar faces a lot of the

time. what's great, they tell their friends about it. >> alli, steffi and allison are all clear in the en, they are not simply selling a makeup application or a blow-dry, they are selling a feeling that was once reserved for the rich. >> we kind of internally joke that we are not selling blow-outs. we areal selling happiness and confidence. convincing consumers to buy into something that isn't a necessity can take finesse and marketing savvy. let's go to two people that have an abundance of both of those. adam rich is the co-founder and editor and chief of thrill list, of men's digital lifestyle publication. >> alexa is the founder of a lifestyle website for women. great to see you. >> good to see you. >> what i found most interesting is, yes, there is the luxury as a necessity, which we talked about but it is really, how do you educate your consumers?

you have a new company and you have something they know they need and they don't know it. >> the thing that is great is you have an entrepreneur who herself is the target demographic. she knows that this is something she wants, she is able to speak the language of the people she is ultimately going after. >> in both of these cases, we were just talking to the experience is so important. once you get them in the door, you have to keep them in the door. >> i think the experience is critical, particularly for businesses like this. there is really not a lot of barrier to entry. getting your hair blown out, your makeup done, those types of businesses are very common place. i think it is critical to hone in on the experience so that your customer has a fabulous time, a better time than they could anywhere else so they will talk about it and spread it. >> important with the experience is because she is creating her own category, she is not beholden to any expectation, as far as the experience. having the movies and music, it is something she could start with a fresh slate and not have

huge of what people expect of a salon or a more discount operation. >> the women from blushington when i talked to them, they said, we are getting there. it is word of mouth and we are growing but it has been a challenge to get people to think of makeup as something you do all of the time. so what kind of ideas do you have for them to get more people in the door? >> i think they could do a lot of things. i think first creating a some sort of incentive to get their community to share it. one of the thing i like about dry bar, you can buy a pass or get an unlimited or a srn amount of blowouts per month. i think that sort of repeat behavior is important. nothing is better than incentivizing your own customer to share and spread. >> this is the kind of thing, you look beautiful today and you get to say where you went. >> i know in high school and prom was happening, girls were getting their makeup done and it was costly. you are not only offering them a

cheaper alternative but a young customer that has their entire lifetime to use your service. >> the other thing is, you are forming a habit. that's the holy grail for any business. how do you create a habit? >> every single woman that has to get dressed for something they care about, we all go through the same rigamarole of what are we going to do. i think they have created a habit, you can easily get your hair blown out. you don't need a new outfit. it goes really far. that's a powerful habit to create. >> i think the attention they pay to their pricing. you can't form a habit if you can't afford it. >> that's how they bring people in. that's the core of this. get people in because of low prices. keep them in because of the experience. >> yep. >> thanks, guys. >> thank you. developing a strong network of people is one crucial key to success. here now are five ways you can start strengthening your business relationships, courtesy

of allbusiness.com. >> one, treat vendors like honorary employees. the package delivery guy and the material supplier aren't necessarily working for you on a daily basis but they can have a big impact on the quality of your service and prod duck. two, make start-up loan payments on time no matter what. you don't want to gain a reputation with your bank at someone who doesn't meet deadlines. >> three, recognize a job well done. give your employees the praise they deserve. four, have one-on-one conversations with customers. usually, unsatisfied clients don't tell you what to fix. they just jump ship. ask them about what you can do better before there is even a problem. and, number five, contact your mentors frequently. think of those people you turn to for valuable advice. nurturing that connection will mean extra hands on deck to help you build your business. contrary to what many people

think, the sba does not loan money directly to small business owners. the loan actually comes from a bank and it is backed by the sba allowing the bank to take a little morris can than they otherwise may do. today's guest has tips if you are applying for a loan at the bank. brand brandon hinkle, a free match maker between banks and those looking for a loan. >> a lot of people assume when they get an sba loan, the check is coming from the government. that's not the case. they are actually working with the bank. so, basically, what happens is the bank will rely on the guarantee from the sba but you still have to get a loan decision from the bank. they have to look at credit criteria and the cash flow. it is designed to help the people that have a good amount of cash to repay the debt but don't have the collateral or years in business. >> when you go to the bank,

would you go and say, hey, i'm looking for an sba-backed loan or would they steer you in that direction? >> if you go to the sba, the sba will say, you have to go talk to an sba lender and talk to u.s. bank or some other banks out there that do usba loans. the most appropriate deal for you, certain products they recommend. they will literally tell you to go to a bank. >> that's the other thing. all kinds of products. not just one kind of sba loan. >> do you do that ahead of time or should you rely on the bank to steer you in the right direction. >> do some research ahead of time and rely on the banks to steer you in the right direction. >> there are the 504 loans that are meant for real estate and fixed assets an the working capital that helps with lease hold improvements. you want to make sure you are getting the right product. >> if i could go through this process and get a nonsba or an sba loan, is there a benefit?

sometimes you have no choice. is there a benefit. >> the sba 504, if you are buying commercial real estate, you can put 10% down, because there is less risk for the bank because the government is basically co-signing the loan. they are willing to go further, so the amortization will be farther out and you can put less equity down. the 504 is much better if that's important to you. people have the misconception that the rates are cheaper with 504 but that's not necessarily true. it's a great product if you are eligible. >> are there any down sides, more paperwork? >> there is a lot more paperwork. sometimes the rates can be higher. with an sba loan it is generally a floating. there are some down sides but a lot more up side. >> when you go in, the banks can take a little bit morris can on you but you are still going and you are applying for a loan from the bank. so some things you need to look the a. you say, first, make sure you are in good standing with the

state. >> a lot of people don't realize before a clothes they forgot to pay a bill to the state or their taxes. things like credit records, background checks, in good standing with the state are all things you need to have in line before getting approved by the bank. >> just like any other time of going into a bank, you need to have some sort of business plan and show some sort of tracks. >> that's right, especially for start-ups. they don't have financial history to go off of. all the bank can use is your industry experience and future plans. you want to make sure you have a business plan in place, have three years financial projections, a monthly balance and income statement. you have to make sure you demonstrate that you know the industry. you have studied the competitors and sources and uses. what i mean by that is basically a chart that shows what you are going to do with the proceeds from the bank. >> finally, fill out all of the application. people forget to fill out one section or think it is not important. >> the banker's single pet peeve is incompetent information. they have so many deals they are working on.

if you have an incompetent application, they will put your deal in the penalty box and work on the deals that are complete. they don't want to waste their time. you want to complete the loan application before submitting. >> brandon hinkle, thank you. so many people think they are getting an sba loan and they forget you are getting a bank loan backed by the sba. appreciate it. >> thanks for having me. whether we con we come back talk about what you want to do when you develop a smart phone app. the ceo of chobani says a business owner needs to wear many hats. on every one of our cards there's a date. a reminder... that before this date, we have to exceed expectations. we have to find new ways to help make life easier,

more convenient and more rewarding. it's the reason why we don't have costumers. we have members. american express. welcome in. >> in 2005, he came across a classified ad for an old yogurt plant. he seized the opportunity to create chobani. today, the brand is the number one selling greek yogurt in america. we caught up with the founder and ceo to get his insight on the importance of wearing many hats and investing in the heart of your company. in this, learning from the pros.

in the early days, i was the cheese maker, the salesperson, the manufacturer. you become a manufacturer, a sales guy, a finance guy, a marketing guy, whatever you call it. you do every one of them. you have a taste of every bit, every angle of this business and then you grow your business later on. you do have knowledge in every aspect of that business. this product is not something new. it has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. it was available for us a couple of years but it was only in specialty stores. i didn't understand j a simple product like yogurt, why would it be a specialty. we went to these stores and said, we don't want our product to be in a specialty section of

your store. we want this product to be in the main dairy i'll where all the other yogurts are. it was a challenge. some of them didn't think it was a good business. the success is, if you could make somebody say, oh, what is this and let me try and the yogurt inside will make them to come back again, then job done well. when they put this product in the regular aisle without any marketing or tv ads or anything like that, in a couple of weeks, you blow everybody's mind. ♪ >> i always felt that this company's heart is the plant, because we are making this product to be proud of. make sure they know what the strength of the plant is so you can invest more and make more products out of it. we kept investing back to the plant, back to the plant. we just put it back in and make the machines better, the walls are better, more technology.

be real. that's as simple as you can be but today's world, how we are connected so much. can the fake come out? very quickly in our daily life or tv or whoever you are, wherever you are. people know who you are. when we do our communications in marketing, they will be our real people that are doing this communication. we are not going to hire other people pretending chobani. it was real consumers. we won't use actors. at the same time, whatever is good that is happening. whatever is bad is happening, which is accepted and we talk simple and real about it. you compare what you have in the supermarkets and you say, i'm not going to settle just for that prod duck. i am just going to make the best. that's why i spent almost two years in the plant just keep

making it, just keep making it. the time comes and some of your people says, this is okay, this is great, this is good. i would say, no. no, that's not good yet. i think if we are going to challenge the big guys or anybody out there, we have to make sure we make it better than anybody. when i knew i had it, basically, i will go in my fridge and eat it every day. i said, this is a good product. then, i'm done. it's time to answer some of your business questions. adam and alexa are back with us. the first question is from anthony. he writes, i have several ideas for smart phone applications. do you know of any application developers who would be interested in reviewing them and perhaps forming a partnership? >> i get this question a lot. where do you find somebody? >> that's the $1 million question. my advice, because it is very hard to find talented mobile developers and their time is

expensive. if you can find someone that has already built an app in that category and it is a good one, they are going to understand the value of what you are offering better than someone that you are just pitching who may not necessarily be specialized in the area you are looking to develop. that's going to be an easier conversation than just kind of going and talking to a generic developer. >> my question also is about partnering. do you want to partner with someone or would he be better off trying to hire someone to develop this? >> first, mobile developers are extremely expensive. in the last year, the heat on mobile development has just really turned up. you are going to spend a lot of money if you just pay. be apaware of that. before i would caution somebody to come out and build a mobile app, before you spend a lot of money, partner or pay, figure out what is this going to do, how is it going to make money before you end up spending a lot of money to get an app out.

>> this is from andy who wants to know about starting another venture. he writes, we are successful, high-volume photographer. we will photograph around 100,000 kids this year and about 30,000 u.s. marines. how do you add a new product and service to a successful business? >> both of you guys have done this. start with you. you were a content site and you added commerce. >> i think my advice to anthony would be similar to what we've done, an all in one place play. just way he explained that, it was like he wasn't talking about the trophies being anything particularly different. it was a question of it being a synergy with his ex is stent business. bundling, packaging and putting those things out there in one place i think is where he is going to be able to communicate the value. >> alexa, you started as content and have added products. >> now, we have financial planers off our content base to answer your question. go to your users. we have a vip set of learned

best customers, about 3,000, that give us feedback on a leg basis. ask your customers, what do you want us to build? what would you be excited to build? they are the most likely user base to like what you build. >> so tell them, this vip list of users, how would you use them? >> they were writing in to us on a regular basis. i love your products. i love what you are doing. you are changing my life. we said, we would love to talk to you on a regular basis and give you the inside scoop on what you are triihinking or developing. when they are excited, they give us clear guidance on what they would be excited to potentially buy. >> is this via e-mail or phone? >> and often focus groups, talking to customers in real life. that's the best way to go about it. ask those customers. they are also likely your loyal customers that are going to buy your new products. >> moving on to the next one. a question about best practices for running your businesses. >> for those of us in small

business who are so often so busy doing business that we neglect taking care of business. if you had one piece of advice as it relates to solidifying the operations of a small business, what would it be and why? >> how do you get out of the trees to see the forest? >> two things. as the owner of the ceo of the company, it is so important that you want to hire extremely smart, amazing people who are talented and let them do the job. you should never be the bottle neck. i think that's really important. if anything is sitting on your desk before it gets signed, you are the problem. it is really important to make sure everyone knows what they are doing and stay out of their way. i schedule my calendar down to 15-30 minute segments, schedule time to go through my e-mails to make sure i know what i am doing. you only get 12-14 hours a day to work. you need to sleep nd aeat. it is important to maximize those hours. >> i think those sort of productivity tools, whether it

is your calendar or setting reminders. with your g mail account. you have a whole suite of calendars. those sort of produck difficutis can be the difference. >> the next e-mail is from danielle. she writes, i put on quick book seminars and i am trying to set up a product list of unlimited e-mail and phone support. however, i am having trouble figuring out what to charge for this kind of service. how do i do that? >> this is a really simple question. go to a set of users. ask them what they would be willing to pay. don't give them any indication of what you are thinking. ask them what would you be willing to pay for a service like this? it is already better to start low. don't have someone spend a lot of money as you are still figuring things out. make it less expensive. as the product gets better, you can add bells and whistles and features and raise the price.

>> my thought would be to start with something capped and then for the people that are hitting their cap, go to them and see if this is a service that they have an appetite for. >> finally, here is a question about thinking and acting big. >> small business is all the buzz. how do you have the cache of a small business and provide the confidence of a large or larger entity? >> in some ways, i feel like that's not even an issue anymore. so many people like working with small businesses. >> i think that for most people that have been frustrated working with a small business, it can really be traced back to a couple of things. i think organization and communication. you get an e-mail that isn't proofread mixing up your and you're, it very quickly makes the small business seem like a small business. if you make your deadlines, you communicate when you say you are going to and you seem professional, that's a really easy way to instill confidence and allow someone to enjoy the pluses of dealing with a small

business rather than it feeling amateurish. >> what i would add is i always think about the users. to are small business, if there is an issue, you get on the phone with the founder. that is something that is really important to hang on to as you grow into a larger business. incredible customer service so it feels like a little store on main street where if there is an issue, you can talk to the owner even as it gross. that's a great way to project as you grow and become a bigger business. >> and to get testimonials. if there is some fear you are not going to be able to deliver. put them in touch with someone h whom you have delivered. >> thank you so much for all of your advice today with these questions. much appreciated. 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/your business. hit the ask the show to submit a question. the website is openforum.com/yourbusiness. if you would rather, e-mail your

question to yourbusine yourbusiness@msnbc.com. with many of your customers constantly on the move knowing where they are going is your business. if you want to harness the power of location-based marketing, check out our wb site of the week. geotoko.com helps businesses find out who has checked in at their location. you can build and launch location based locations across multiple platforms like foursquare, facebook and twitter. real time annal lcan help you b reach your target demographic. to learn more, click on our website. it is openforum.com/your business. you will find all of today's segments and web exclusive information to help your business grow. follow us on twitter @msnbc.yourbis. >> next week, two entrepreneurs

in need of cash have to find funding after being turned down by a bank they had already been working with. >> frustration with, you know, all right, i did everything you wanted me to do. i put this dress on, walked down main street and then you still told me i was not even second place in the beauty contest. it is just sad. >> we will tell you why the owners of this small business were denied and how they were able to bounce back from their funding fiasco. until then, i'm j.j. ramberg. remember, we make your business our business. we make a simple thing. a thing that helps you buy other things. but plenty of companies do that. so we make something else. we help make life a little easier,