e-mail. to yourbusiness@msnbc.com, tell us what your company does, how much money you're trying to raise andwhat you're going to do with that. never know, somebody out there watching the show might be interested in helping you. >>> it's time to answer some of your business questions. taunia and nisa are here. the first one from al, he writes we're planning on expanding to meet a new market and catering to existing clientel. interesting question. >> when you talk about the soul of your company you talk about the culture and what you stand for when it comes to dealing with clients. i would say three tips going through this growth. the first is to really get clear on what your values are as a company. how do you treat your company, how do you treat each other and really what does the customer stand for. you make sure going through growth to hire people who believe what you do and share those values so they are going to treat your customer in the same way even as you are experiencing growth. and lastly, i would say please keep checking in. because you would be surprised how quickly these values

if you have questions or comments about today's show, send us e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com, you canalso go to our website. it's openforum.com/your business. we posted all of the segments from today plus a lot more. connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms as well. next week, the story of a survivor who has beaten the odds and kept his family business going in an industry that's been ravaged by the internet. >> if i can get every customer within ten miles to buy their camera here, have their pictures printed here, take a photo class with us, that's enough for me. i'm not greedy. >> his secret is simple and it works. till then, i'm jj ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials. amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders.

if you have any questions or comments about today's show send us an e-mail to yo yourbusiness@msnbc.c yourbusiness@msnbc.com you can also go to our website, openforum.com/your business. we posted all of the segments from today's show, plus a lot more. and don't forget to connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms, too. next week, the creator got it wrong when he thought he knew who was going to buy his wooden swing. >> when i originally came out with this product my intention was to go into the surf and skate board for older kids. >> we'll tell you why sales are on the upswing now that he knows how and where to sell his product. till then, i'm j.j. ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials. amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like t

to pitch them send us an e-mail. the address is yourbusine yourbusiness@msnbc.com. look forward to seeing some of you here on the show. up next,000 keep changes in software and technology from upending your company. and the danger of over hieyping with an aggressive sales approach. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials. amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like that. another step on the journey. will you be ready when growth presents itself? realize your buying power at open.com >>> at what point do you know you need and how do you transition from software systems that worked when you were smaller to the larger software system? >> so, we want to talk about moving your software system to an enterprise system. there are two big things you want to make sure you do always. number one sue have to have an administrator in front of your system. you have to have somebody that

any of you out there are interested in coming in to pitch your company here in the elevator, send us an e-mail. you can just send it to yourbusiness@msnbc.com experts will tell us if they think you have a chance of scoring some funding. in your e-mail, include a short description what have your company does, how much money you're looking for and what you plan on doing with that money. we look forward to seeing some of you here in thele vator. >>> time for the top two tips you need to know to help your small business grow. amos and monica are back with us to help us out. we've had our new year resolutions. think about how we'll make our companies grow. >> my tip is for people looking to raise money, new year, new needs for money, trying to meet with investors, i think the big thing to think about is to focus on making a connection. it's a rookie mistake for investors to just jump right into the details of their business without really trying to make that connection, and they should start by telling a story and it's really about skipping the jargon and focusing on the big vision, and it's really that ability to make a connection that will mak

so, if you'd like a chance to pitch them, send us an e-mail. yourbusiness @msnbc.com. include a short summary of what your company does, how much money you're raising and what you're going to do with the money. we look forward to reading about your companies and seeing you here on the show. >>> up next, how to keep changes in software and tech following upending your company. and the danger of overhyping with an aggressive sales approach. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american express to help me buy those building materials. amex helped me buy the inventory i needed. our amex helped us fill the orders. just like that. another step on the journey. will you be ready when growth presents itself? realize your buying power at open.com >>> you have to have somebody that you're investing in that is going to take ownership of of this product. this is not a small little sys

e-mail it to yourbusiness@msn yourbusiness@msnbc.com. >>> it's time now to answer some of your businessions. let's get our board of directors in here to help us out. leo arussi, founder and president of a global customer service experience research and consulting firm, and he's also author of the new book "exceptionalize it! stop boring. start exciting your customers, your employees and yourself" and casandra dougan, founder and president of pisces, makes overboots to protect women's shoes from the element. i love how the book says excite yourself. >> absolutely. >> it's so important because a bunch of years in and your eyes start to roll back and you need to keep that excitement. >> absolutely. >> let's get to the first question. it is about hiring. >> i have a question about staffing. does one focus on skills or customer service? >> it's a great question. we'll start with you. >> for me it's an amazing one. you can train a potato to become a carrot. for me, attitude comes first. customer service comes first. there's a story about an online bank in the uk that focused on hiring social

e-mail. the address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com. do not forget totell us what your company does, how much money you're going to raise and what you're going to do with that money. we look forward to reading your pitches and seeing some of you here on the show. >>> now time to answer some of your business questions. we have elisha and carol back with us here. the first is about making a name for yourself. >> what are the top three tips on building a brand and making people really remember your name and your brand's ethos. >> start with you, carol. >> i think a lot of people confuse a brand with a name. when i think about a brand, i think about your customer promise. so are you delivering an exceptional product and service? a great customer service experience. are you having them buy into something bigger? maybe it's a mission or an affinity group, making them feel cared for. i think if you deliver on those fronts, people will remember your name, they'll remember your brand, they'll talk about you, they'll get their friends to buy from you. and to me,

to hear from you. if you have any questions or comments about today's show e-mail us at yourbusines yourbusiness @msnbc.com we posted all of the segments from today's show plus lots more. don't forget to connect with us on all of our digital and social media platforms, too. >> next week, the owners of an egg company create a niche in a crowded space and take on big brands while maintaining small company values. >> to the customer the product isn't going to change, it's still from small family farms, the same size flocks, nothing in terms of how we raise the chickens changes and i think that's the beauty of the model we've developed in terms of scale ability. >> we will tell you how these entrepreneurs have ruffled some feathers and why retailers have put them high on the pecking order. until then i'm j.j. ramberg and remember, we make your business our business. our cosmetics line was a hit. the orders were rushing in. i could feel our deadlines racing towards us. we didn't need a loan. we needed short-term funding fast. building 18 homes in 4 ½ months? that was a leap. but i knew i could rely on american