this letter recently landed on my desk. i am a 35-year-old female. who purchased my inn a few years ago. my occupancy is 20%. i drive a car and work seven days a week and never get away. help! we decided this connecticut inn is in need of a business makeover. that's coming up next on "your business."

hi there, everybody. i'm j.j. ramberg. welcome to "your business." the show dedicated to giving you tips and advice to help your small business grow. recently we received an e-mail from a woman entrepreneur in trouble. when she heard about our makeover series she sent aus plea for help. we called her up and after talking to her about her situation we knew our team of experts just might be able to bail her out and that's how we decided to give this inkeeper a "your business" makeover.

the "your business" makeover team is on the road again. just passing through the historic mystic connecticuts. >> we must be getting close. we're passing foxwood resorts, a huge tourist destination. it looks like we've arrived. let's get to work. let's help this business. you must be erica. >> i am. >> i am the author of "the pumpkin plants." >> i heard you called msnbc and you need help. >> i do. >> 36-year-old erica hall runs >> >> 36-year-old erica hall runs the seven-room bed and breakfast for eight years until she bought it in 2011. >> guests often sit around here at night and have a camp fire. >> it's absolutely beautiful and secluded. >> in her letter she told us she is so trapped by daily chores and outdated technology that she has absolutely no time to build her business. >> what frustrates you most about your business? >> sometimes i feel like i am a

hamster in a cage and running in place but not getting anywhere, just spinning the wheel, you know, just stuck. >> from where she sits it may seem like she is stuck, but that's not how we see it. what she needs right now is a makeover. >> you're doing marketing, interior decorating, gardening, repairs. accounting. >> you're a chef. >> yes, cooking. reservations all the time. fielding all the phone calls. >> as she went through this long list of jobs, the problem with the way she runs her business became incredibly clear. >> so your inn is the classic hub and spoke model, and many businesses that struggle in growing to the next level of struck like this. the owner, that's you, are in the middle. what i want to do is transition this into a traditional organizational chart. until we start pushing you up the work chart you're never going to be running the business.

you'll be mastering the minutia. >> while mastering the daily details is necessary, the owner needs to understand the big picture, and that's where mike's questions revealed important gaps. >> how many people do you need? >> i have not, like, done a specific accounting, but my guesstimate is that i need to sellout weekends year round to cover my expenses. >> a lot of entrepreneurs let the accounting slide. the same often goes for keeping up with current technology. >> so you take reservation phone calls -- >> we don't have online booking. >> you are taking the reservations yourself? >> yes, all of them. >> not only was the style out of date, but the pictures were old and even some of the rooms themselves looked in need of a makeover. ♪ get ready because here i come ♪ >> that's when we called in the "your business" s.w.a.t. team. first up, andrew is an expert decorater from pennsylvania that

specializes in inns and hotels and we asked him to look at the website and pick the one room most in need. >> i wanted you to meet andrew. >> nice to meet you. >> the room they decided to makeover is here in the cottage. it is called chateau eve. >> a lot of colors are heavy. not outdated, just heavy. not outdated but heavy. it's personal. we can't take personality. this is not your home anymore. this is your business. >> what is your feelings about what andrew is saying? >> well, i didn't like the thing about the dark colors. i get huge rave reviews about the color scheme in there. >> it's not a putdown. it's a personal thing for you. like an artist you need to step away from where you live, where you work, go out and come back and look at it with a fresh eye.

>> i also don't want to look like every other single b & b out there. >> you want to make more money. >> he has a lot of work to do. we have to get out of here. >> i want to get to the brass tacks. honestly, first impression? >> oh, my god. >> really? >> yes. the website is bad and the picture is bad and this is proof of the pudding. >> what are your thoughts of erica and how she's listening to you? >> erica is stubborn. >> i'm slightly skeptical about what he's going to actually produce. but willing to give him a shot and see what he can do. >> on a scale of 1 to 10 what's the room right now? >> zero. >> the jury is definitely still out on what he's saying. >> we gave andrew a modest budget is 24 hours to show his stuff. when he's done, we'll see if erica can be convinced. meanwhile, mike wasted no time introducing erica to the next mesh of the team. dawn is a local accountant that specializes in quick books financial software. >> give dawn a sense of how

you're doing your accounting now. >> i'm not really. >> how do you track stuff? >> i don't. i have money coming in and i pay my bills and see what's in my business checking account. that's about it. >> now you're starting to blow my mind. >> how do you track your taxes. >> i pay my sales tax but for my 2011 taxes, i just guessed. >> you guessed? >> guestimated an amount. >> i think i guessed high. >> that's a technical foul, we call it. >> let's go look at the books. >> show us where they are. literally. i want to see it. >> this is the office? >> yes. >> this is where it all happens. i'm glad to see you have accounting records. >> those aren't mine. that's the previous business owner. >> okay. >> these are mine right here. >> all right. it looks like you followed their

system. >> they headed back upstairs where dawn got erica started on a quickbooks account. >> hit finish. >> all right. >> now we've created the bank account. >> be brutally honest with me. erica is upstairs. >> sure. >> what's your first impression? >> hot mess. first interpretation of what i've seen here. not, again, not abnormal but frightening. >> can a business operate like this? >> well, they can for not very long. they won't be in business very long like this. >> okay. you feel confident we can fix it, get her on track. >> we can always fix it. >> andrew was working on the chateu, there was new photos being taken for the website. >> he is a photograph specifically for bed and breakfasts and inns in the flags. >> pleasure to meet you. >> pleasure to meet you.

>> he's donated his time to help us out here. tell us what you have going on. >> i'm setting up the lights. interior photography, a lot of it has to do with creating your own light. >> erica was so eager to see the new photography she persuaded christian to give her a preview. >> wow, that's amazing. that looks so nice. that's the patio. wow. oh, my god, it looks incredible. >> so far, erica loves christian's photos. she's got a new accounting system that she didn't even know she needed and a room makeover that she's not quite sure she even wants. but she is still so busy working in her business, doing all these daily chores. and hasn't yet figured out a way to get on top of it to guide her business. so when we come back, some more surprises and a plan. if you're looking to land a big breakthrough or even meeting with investors, a well crafted pitch is one of the most important things a small

business owner should have. yet so many people get it completely wrong. our guest is here to share tips on how build an elevator pitch that will increase your chans for success. terry is the principle and founder of showdine communications. she's author of the new book "small message, big impact." great to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> you have a big idea. how do you get it down to something. >> define your intention. what i do want to have happen as a result of this message. we're all selling something, whether it's a product, philosophy, idea. everybody sells something. so what do you want to have happen as a result of that message? what's the next outcome? do you want the next appointment time, the referral? do you want to meet the next person who can increase the opportunity? what do you want to have happen? you design your message around

that intention. >> and what's important about that, too, you're going to have a different message when you're talking to a potential investor or potential partner or customer. >> absolutely. by using small messages with big impact, what you can do, it keeps you nimble. one response for one listener could be different from a response to another listener. >> build your case. >> absolutely. >> what do you need to tell them? >> why do they need you. woo do they need you, your company, why do they need it now. you have to answer that so what question. a lot of people say, you should use it because we have great customer service. that's night, really, so what? what is it about your customer service that separates you from the competition and serves a specific need they have? how can you save them time? how can you save them money? how can you save them mental sanity? how can you give them greater security or make something fun? those are all need-focused issues for building your case. >> get scrappy.

what do you mean by that? >> ultimately, it's very difficult to capture someone's attention in today's marketplace. we have to get a little bit more creative to capture their attention. what unique way can you open a conversation so that people will say, that was clever. from that clever opening, you can move into your kind of core messaging of your case. >> this i think is incredibly important. speak in your own voice. if somebody writes something for you, it's never going to sound authentic. >> right. same thing when you go to a comedy show and see a great comedian. you can retell the joke but it never lands in the same way because it's their joke. >> right. >> you have to give yourself permission to engage in a conversational, warm, natural style. give yourself permission to be yourself. just like you're having a conversation like we are. >> and the clothes. >> there's the classic line from the movie where alec baldwin says always be closing.

we done the have to be hard sell or aggressive when we're closing but we have to ask somebody to do something as a result of the message. so what do you want them to do? do you want them to set up the next appointment time or close the deal or set up an introduction? what do you want to have happen? when you ask somebody to do something as a result of the message, the higher the probability you'll get the outcome you're looking for. >> thanks a lot for all of this advice. we do a big elevator pitch on this show. >> love it. excellent episode. >> it's one of the most important things for people to get good at. >> absolutely. thanks for having me. when we come back, a tip from our new book, "it's your business." why you should never say no. and we travel back to connecticut to make sure potential customers have no reservations about staying at erica's bed and breakfast. 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. a few years ago i was here at pilates on fifth in new york city. a woman walked in and asked the receptionist, do you have yoga here? we have pilates and cardio-lates. the fact is they don't have yoga here and she didn't say that.

the woman ended up signing up for a cardio-lates class. later that afternoon i asked the owners about this. they said, oh, yeah, that is completely by design. we tell our employees never say no. because if you can get around saying no, you can recruit a potential client. so "it's your business" tip number 109, never say no to a potential customer. as we saw earlier, erica hall may be getting more help than she expected and a new decor she's worried she may regr regret. watch now as the your business team of experts gives her the tools she needs to take control of her business. >> it's morning in connecticut at abby's lantern hill inn and the owner, erica hall is showing mike the secret ingredients to her delicious french toast breakfast. >> your world famous french toast takes you about two minutes? >> yes. it's all in the ingredients.

just using high quality ingredients, the french baguette is a secret. i have this bottle of vanilla i made myself. i take vanilla beans, chop them up and put them in vodka. >> what? >> yes. >> that is good! >> erica's in luck today. because we called trip adviser's brian. >> beautiful property. >> thank you. >> when he looked at her site, he had lots of suggestions. one of erica's big concerns was filling her weekday vacancies. >> trying to figure out how to bring them in in the middle of the week. is something that most properties like this, sort of struggle with. >> brian recommended that erica put an ad on his site, giving people a special offer, like a discount if they stay more than two nights instead of just the weekend. >> the kind of offers that extend the weekend. you know, give them a reason to stay a little bit longer and fill the rooms. >> brian gave erica a year's

worth of extra services designed to increase her traffic. >> yes, definitely great suggestions. not too difficult to implement. >> i have a sneaking suspicion you have one surprise. >> we do. i thought about one of the best experiences i had at a b & b and it was the warm bread in the morning. i think we have a little surprise for you out in the car. >> wow! looks awesome. >> it's a breadmaker. awesome. >> load it up at night and have fresh bread in the morning. everyone wakes up to the smell. >> then a skype call came in. his company makes one of the top systems for online bookings for hotels. >> erica, i want to introduce you to jeff bryce of resnexus. he does reservation systems specifically for businesses like this. >> good to meet you. >> good to meet you, too, jeff. >> we will watch up our

reservation page to your website and show case the experience you offer with your rooms and allow guests to book right online. >> sounds great. >> what's your thoughts, fears, changing over? >> i'm a little nervous. i'm used to making that personal contact, getting a sense of the person that's going to be coming in. >> what kind of time savings? we'll cut two hours down to what per day? >> i can see you cutting that time in half initially and over time, the majority of that time spent will be spent in other areas. >> i'm hearing an hour a daytimes a full year, 365 hours. that sounds like a vacation maybe. >> it sure does. >> online booking has pretty much become the industry standard and erica says without it she's sure she's lost out on a lot of reservations. >> the footsteps i wanted to hear. denise. >> denise, owner of the s-3 agency in new jersey offered to redo erica's website, incorporating all these new elements. >> this really has more of a modern flare to it.

we call this modern rustic because it shows you, again, big picture up front which would rotate and show you a few aspects on the home page. people want to have the easy, quick, book now. >> first impression. >> my right off the bat impression is i like this one a lot better. it's more exciting, more hip, modern. >> with a new web design chosen and photo and online reservation system in place, filling the rooms should take less effort but what about that cottage makeover? what will erica think? >> okay. let's get her in position. okay. you ready? >> three, two, one. >> wow! wow! really cool. yes, definitely. it's very cool. very different. is it the same bed? >> yes. it's a new headboard. >> so cool! that is neat.

wow! you guys made that. >> yes. >> that's amazing. oh, my gosh, you took the mirror and painted it. it looks so much better. >> scale one to ten. what's the room now. >> put me on spot. i would definitely say compared to where we came from, i would give it a nine for sure. >> okay. >> and customers will give it a -- >> i think you've got a good nine to ten. >> i think so, too. >> you have more income coming from it now. >> definitely. >> i think there's a lot of positive things we've created besides putting new sheets on a bed. >> they were happy with it -- they seemed fairly happy before. now they'll be blown away. >> it's looking like erica may have found a way to get beyond the details and at last get on top of her business. >> this has been a whirlwind of two days. what's your thoughts. >> i'm flabbergasted by how far

i've gone forward with the business through you guys in two days. it's been pretty amazing. new website, photos, online booking system. >> when everyone is running around like a wild person, yourself included. s was sitting down making this chart. i documented every role you play. these 25 positions are played by you. before you spent about zero hours a day actually running the entire business and overseeing it. now i think you're about four hours a day freed up to run and control this business. >> absolutely. >> good. >> it was an absolute pleasure hanging out. >> you too, mike. thanks so much. was this makeover successful? well, let's see if there's room at the inn for this week's board of directors. peter sherman is the co-founder of the b & b team where he's been an inn consultant and broker since 1993. stella is the founder of woopa, a company that creates team

building experiences and vanessa o'connell is the small business editor at "the wall street journal." peter, thanks you so much for your help with this makeover. >> my pleasure. >> you went over there to visit erica. what do you think. >> i was surprised to see the property look as nice as it did. from herrion line presence i had a different impression. >> isn't that amazing? how important is that online presence? >> it's critical. you have three seconds to get people's attention when they come to your website. if you haven't got them in three seconds they'll hit the back button. >> a lot of business owners are intimidated about their websites. they don't quite know how toing tole it. and look what a huge difference that could make for her, especially in terms of the online reservations. for retailers, what we've seen, they can use the web to cut out the middleman and sell direct to consumers. the web can transform all kinds of businesses now. >> what do you think it is?

what's holding people back from doing something that's really hard to signing up for a service that makes it easy? >> it's a lack of knowledge of where to go. you have to shop those services. there are services that can shop whether you're a tailor, a b & b or a winemaker. it can be intimidating to get to the bottom line of what the price will be. >> the thing that mike responded to, that dawn, so amazing in that piece responded to and all of us did were the finances. >> oh, my god, indeed. that was very scary. i think what happens is, you know, it's important to pay attention to what you do so well. she was glowing when it came to her french toast. she loves that part. so if you're not good at something, don't just ignore it and don't do anything. find someone who can help you. and, again, that just took a few hours of setup.

you can go to sites like taskrabbit, e-lance and hire 134u someone for a few hours. >> the inns sort of forget about the finances. >> you go in and it's important for innkeepers like any business person, to know what money is coming in, what's generating that income and what are they spending their money on? if they done know where they're spending their money, they have no idea whether they're profitable at all and certainly they done know how to make their business more efficient so that they can be more profitable. >> right. >> whether they have 3 rooms or 30 rooms or running a retail business, you have to know what your cost of doing business is or you're going to end up spending more than you should. >> the key to this is it took two days. thank for for your help with this. it was a fun makeover. i'm so happy that things are working out for her. >> that was a good story, very good story. >> thanks, guys.

time now to answer some of your business questions. vanessa and stella are with us once again. the first one is about getting out of your business. >> here i am 16 years into it, i'm ready to sell my business. i need a place to go in order to find out how to make it happen. >> where do you start? a lot of people get in this situation. they're good at running their business. don't know how to sell it. >> congrats for 16 years in. i would go to bizbuysell.com or bizquest.com. you can research your asking price and even post your business or find a broker to help you make that sale. the one thing you want to do before you post is figure out your seller's -- you want to figure out how much earnings your company makes and go three years back into your records and have your numbers ready. once you understand your true earnings, you watch the to understand what's the multiple you can sell your business at. technology companies can sell at

a multiple, sometimes up to ten times what their business is earning or as a manufacturing company, they might sell at a multiple of four times. so you really want to understand and not undersell your business. >> how likely is it for anyone out there who has a business who's doing okay, they're not going gang busters, it's not a fast-growing technology company, is it like lie they'll be able to sell your business. >> we actually just looked at this at "the wall street journal" a couple weeks ago. i don't mean to be a huge downer but it's unfortunate that a lot of business owners are struggling to sell their businesses and are feeling stuck. so valuations for businesses are down and sales prices are down. still. so what we have found is that a lot of business owners are having to postpone retirement five years or longer or agree to earn-out deals where they stick around, even though they may be feeling to wash their hands and move on to something new, where they have to stick around and the business has to meet certain

performance targets for them to get payments. this is a common problem for baby boomer business owners who maybe started their businesses at a time when things were going well and there was this american dream that they were after. here we are, we're out of a recession but the economy is st stagnant. >> the next question, when to ask for funding. >> is it ai good idea to ask for money from the bank before the savings are depleted or should we continue to burn through those until there's zero left. >> you never want to hit zero. >> yes. >> to answer this question, i guess the first thing that comes to mind is, you really have to think about the likelihood of failure. and failure two years out, failure three years out or four years out. you have to think about who's going to get hurt the most in this. what's very hard for people who start businesses that don't get outside investors into their

businesses is that it's -- you know, it's their savings. they feel the failure more than if they had a venture capital backer, ference. if you start borrowing money from your friends and family they may suffer when your business fails. >> you should always be talking to people about getting money even if you don't need it. you don't want to be down to the wire and think, who's going to give me money? >> i say that business is like dating and you never want to be desperate. so you -- not only -- if you have the chance now while you're still ahead to get some padding room in there, you're not only creating a cushion for yourself but you're also developing a relationship with your lender which is really big. because when it comes time for you to really need some cash you have a credit history established. >> all right. stella and vanessa, thank you so much for all of your help. really appreciate it. >> thanks. to learn more about today's show, click on our website, it's openforum.com/yo

openforum.com/yourbusiness. you'll find more information to help your business grow. also follow us on twitte twitter @msnbcyourbiz. become a fan of the show on facebook. we love getting your feedback. next week, meet andrew whose family has been maintaining new york city's iconic water towers for 100 years. and will andrew's son, henry, carry the family business into the fifth? 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,