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'Your Business' engages viewers in unique way

Scott Leon,  "Your Business" executive producer blogs: "These vehicles — customized cars or ‘dragsters’ — are to their builders, owners, and drivers! They are freedom, ambition, sex, power, smarts, color and style. As a group, these folks occupy a social world fueled by adrenaline and driven by competitive pride … entirely focused on the speed of the cars.
/ Source: msnbc.com

Nov. 22, 2006 | 5:30 p.m.

Executive producer Scott Leon blogs about his TV show's focus and the unique experience he wants to provide viewers.

(Scott Leon, "Your Business" executive producer)

When we created "Your Business" our intention was simple: to provide stories, information and advice to help entrepreneurs grow their business. One of the ways we do that each week is to take an in-depth look at a business owner who faced unique challenges and issues that others can learn from. We're often pitched profile stories from people who are interested in gaining press for their endeavors, but that's a disservice to our viewers.

An examination of some of our recent stories gives a good idea of what we look for: Former Enron employees who lost everything and went on to start their own companies; a spa owner who learns to work with city government to rectify parking problems and a small bookstore owner fighting to survive in the age of big chains and Amazon.

If you have a story of overcoming business and personal obstacles, we'd love to hear from you. There are lessons for our viewers to learn from these stories, even if the end result was failure. Our address is yourbusiness@msnbc.com

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Watch 'Your Business' Sundays at 7:30 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

Nov. 9, 2006 | 5:30 p.m.

Producer Frank Silverstein blogs about customized cars and how they symbolize almost everything to their builders, owners and drivers — freedom, ambition, sex, power, smarts, color and style.

(Frank Silverstein, producer "Your Business" )

The expression: “Souped-up” hardly does justice to the process of customizing an automobile engine. These babies have been so expertly recalibrated, remilled, repainted and refined that a race driver can push these engines way beyond their original specifications to speeds well above the speed limit anywhere. The guys who build these exult in the fact that the mass-market-machinists who originally built them would never recognize these pumped-up-puppies that now tear down the track at 170 mph

These vehicles —customized cars or ‘dragsters’ — are almost everything to their builders, owners, and drivers! They are freedom, ambition, sex, power, smarts, color and style. As a group, these folks occupy a social world fueled by adrenaline and driven by competitive pride … entirely focused on the speed of the cars.

What these vehicles are not … are ‘grocery getters’ — a derisive term used by these same engine-addicts to describe the off-the-assembly-line, speed-limit-respecting, grease-gushing, automatic shifters that the rest of us mortals use for the mundane tasks of everyday life. We humble ‘grocery seekers’ do not have engines with pistons which are annually removed, scoured, weighed, shaved, smoothed, fondled and returned to their housings.

JJ and I flew out to Grand Rapids a couple of weeks ago to meet Kathy (Weed) Huizinga, her son, Nick, and Bill and Mike and Don and the rest of her crew at Performance Engineering. And we got an earful of growling, howling, whining, humming, throbbing high-performance engine noise. I was surprised to see Kathy’s jaw suddenly grow slack, her eyes widen and her head cock a bit to the side as she listened raptly to the chug-a-la, chug-a-la, sound of a CAT diesel engine with dual turbos recently completed V.L. Watkins Trucking, by the guys in her shop. 

“Its all about the sound,” she told me….“and in fact,” she continued, “Its pretty common for customers to walk in off the street and put down well over $2,000 just to make their engines sound more intimidating.” I have to say, I’ve never thought of a car engine as a form of musical instrument.

Of course, if you’re a race-car driver, it’s not the sizzle but the steak… and for Kathy, engine ‘muscle’ has its own perfect pitch. Like the mother of a newborn, who is on constant alert for each gurgle, burp and cry of her baby, Kathy’s ears are constantly tuned to the piercing drone of a perfectly hopped-up engine.

When we headed out to Michigan, I came with all the baggage of any reporter on deadline. I had my list of sound bites which I intended to collect for a story about a woman in a so-called “man’s business” — the ‘brave front she had to put on to hide the tears inside,’ ‘her scornful triumph over chauvinistic customers and employees,’ ‘the painful moments of self-doubt which are now gone after years of learning to master the rules of working in a man’s world,’ …the list can go on.

Well, guess what? Boy, did I have it wrong — and she let me know it! She’s a hard worker in a highly competitive field, plain and simple, get it?

And she’s had some very dark moments, like when her 40-something husband died of cancer, leaving her with two small kids to feed and a garage full of employees depending on her for their wages.

But as she so thoughtfully put it, “It was sink or swim, and I’m a swimmer, not a sinker!” She remembered that her husband Mike had always stressed that the shop’s work was a group effort and it was her job to keep that group spirit going and she did what was needed to keep the business afloat and her workers employed and bread on the table for herself and her kids.

She had to rely on a team of highly skilled workers to produce a product that cannot afford to have even the tiniest flaw. She immediately recognized that her own survival depended upon the team she’d assembled and that meant putting their interests at the top of her priority list.

“Take care of those who are loyal (employees and customers) and trust that they will take care of you!” Fie! on the female-in-a-man’s-world clichés! And, for her, it worked.

The only fault one of her long-time customers could find is that she’s hasn’t grown the business any bigger than it was when she took over 14 years ago. Mike Blackmer, co-owner of neighboring Boyne Machines claims Huizinga could have easily doubled her business, but he says she’s operating in a ‘comfort zone’ that works for her.

What’s that ‘comfort zone’ like? Well, its not the timid, quiet, cloistered world that phrase usually suggests. At the end of her day, Kathy Huizinga climbs into her delicate-looking classic rebuilt 1934 Ford 3-window coupe with its anything-but-timid 502 horsepower engine. And when the light changes she hits the gas … zips out… and ‘frosts’ everything else on wheels surrounding her…and she can’t quite help herself from chuckling at gaping stares of everyone left behind.

And at this point, JJ was definitely ready to sign on to the great-American-custom-car-romance.

Girlz!

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Watch 'Your Business' Sundays at 7:30 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

Nov. 2, 2006 |

Blog by Adam Berk, co-founder of neighBORROW.com, and recent elevator pitch participant on "Your Business" TV show.

(Adam Berk, co-founder of neighBORROW.com)

A few weeks ago, I learned of an opportunity to pitch our young business, neighBORROW.com, to potential investors on a mock 60 second elevator ride. Needing capital and exposure as all new businesses do, we submitted our ideas to "Your Business" hoping to accomplish both (ultimately, we actually accomplished much more than we hoped).  After a little phone tag (a game at which I'm trying to get worse or quit playing altogether, especially in situations like these) we realized that we might get the chance.  It's a good thing, too, because I wasn't quite prepared to tell my partner how I blew the opportunity by failing to check my voicemail for two straight days.  We explained our idea and our business to a few producers and to the host of the show.  Before long, we were penciled in or "soft booked" (I even learned a few industry terms) and not long after that we were confirmed for taping on Oct. 26.

Mark Twain once said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead."  This seemingly contradictory idea couldn't have been more relevant.  I have been thinking, speaking, writing, and living neighBORROW ideas for more than a year.  I could have easily filled 60 minutes with descriptions, plans, ideas and answers. 60 seconds, however, was a challenge.  I was already prepared to speak about neighBORROW at length —to speak about it briefly —was going to take some preparation.

We honed the pitch, scrambled to get parts of the site look and function better and even picked out a TV shirt.  The earliest bedtime in years and a goodnight sleep and already it was filming day!

Working long hours from home and bootstrapping (sort of), it wasn't a regular occurrence to have a black Suburban and a driver waiting for me outside the door of my building.  After a traffic-free reverse commute into Jersey, we arrived at MSNBC's studio promptly at 10 a.m.  I finally got to meet Danielle, the associate producer who arranged everything so well.  I spent some time in the green room where I had the opportunity to chat with the host, J.J. Ramberg and with senior producer, Bob Males.  I also had a few minutes to check stock quotes, email, goodsearch.com (Editor's note: for the sake of full disclosure, goodsearch.com is JJ's company) and to grab a handful of strawberries for good luck.

Downstairs for makeup (don't tell anyone) and a microphone and we were nearly ready. I met the other panelists briefly and on the way in I offered them each a boatload of equity for a positive review.  We entered the studio and it's pretty much as I expected: Lights cameras and action; people and fancy equipment too.  We got right to it and I was ready to step in on the ground floor.  The words came out alright, but apparently my excited body language and movements were enough to make even the most seasoned sailor a little queasy.  Had we been on the radio we would have had a rap.  Instead it was take two, three and maybe even a couple more.  Everyone was super patient and helpful.  I took a moment to deal with the irrational bug in my brain that was causing the glitch.  I told it to get lost and finally, it complied.

A few days between filming and airing your nationally televised debut can give anyone a little anxiety. We continued to work hard on the site in preparation for the big debut.  7:42am Sunday morning and the cell phone rings. Then the apartment line. The the distinct click of a new email resonates from the computer, and again, and again.  I log in to the database and even find a few new neigh-BORROW-ers already.  Success!  We're famous!  Back to bed for a few hours and then the emails and phone calls and registrations resume and continue to trickle in throughout the day.  The first two are undoubtedly a result of the DVR age in which we live.  Only those who really like you are going to watch you live, when they know they can just watch you later.  I must admit that even I entertained the idea!

What an opportunity!  No one was writing checks right on the spot but we met some great people, motivated ourselves to perfect our pitch and finish certain things ahead of schedule, examined and answered key questions about our business.

We got the exposure we wanted and had a blast!

Comments? Email
Watch 'Your Business' Sundays at 7:30 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

Oct. 19, 2006 |

Producer Frank Silverstein blogs about entrepreneurs who have made their love of scaring other people into a profitable business.

(Frank Silverstein, producer "Your Business" )

As a business reporter, I often hear B-school advisors vigorously warn new grads against entering a business they know nothing about…  “If you’re picking a business,” they say, “pick something you know and  love.”  The reason?  Since you’re going to be spending most of your waking hours fussing, worrying about, and promoting it… you darn well better love it! 

In the story I’m currently working on, the problem is not that too many enter a world they know nothing about… but the opposite… it’s a world they love far too much — haunted houses. 

The customers and employees alike call themselves “haunters” and that includes theatrical make-up artists, mural painters, building contractors, robotics engineers, costume designers, pyrotechnic experts, actors and musicians and more.  The owners call themselves “Hauntrepreneurs”!  What they all have in common is they love to scare the stuffing out of other people. 

The ‘startle’ vs. ‘true’ fear
Ask Leonard Pickel how he got into this, and he’ll answer:  “cause scaring people is sooo much fun!”  Ask Ben Armstrong, owner of Atlanta’s “Netherworld” attraction, and he’ll give you a more scientific answer… “there’s a difference between a ‘startle’ and a ‘scare’.  “A startle is an unexpected surprise that causes your adrenaline to spike until you realize everything’s okay then the adrenaline recedes and you’re ready for the next surprise… then it all falls off and you feel this enormous relief and you laugh out loud.”  He says, that’s what haunters really aim for.  “Real fear is something else completely, much more serious …and we try to avoid that.”  But when you push him to say why he does this, a dark sinister voice from deep-within croaks out the words:  “Because I love it!”

And when it comes to reaching their target audience of young men and women in the age group of 15 to 35… these guys are masters.  It’s a consumer group that many marketers covet and spend a fortune to reach, but for “haunters” like Pikel and Armstrong it’s a demographic that they  manage to grab on a fairly modest budget. 

What’s the secret?  According to Ben Armstrong there’s no secret at all,  “… the audience finds us…” he says,  we just put the information out of where to go, make sure they hear about it and the lines just get longer and longer.

Comments? Email
Watch 'Your Business' Sundays at 7:30 a.m. ET on MSNBC.

Oct. 5, 2006 | 5:30 p.m.

Marketing 'outside the box': Untraditional marketing techniques can pay off big-time

(Bob Males, senior producer)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard about a couple of companies taking chances with untraditional marketing techniques that paid off big-time for them.

After using Craig’s List for its initial marketing, Zen Home Cleaning in NYC was reviewed by Daily Candy.  Zen is a 5-star residential cleaning service using non-toxic cleaners.  After they were written-up on the very popular Daily Candy Web site, the number of phone inquiries they got exploded from several a week to five hundred on the very next day!  Months later, the calls keep coming.  Zen’s cleaning staff mushroomed from 3 to 15 (and they need more like 20).  Now, the owner is fielding requests for franchises from other cities.  Daily Candy may not work like that for every business.  For instance, the guys at Dirtbag Clothing had to find their own way.

Dirtbag Clothing, which we’re preparing a story on, went backstage at music events and hung out with the bands’ road crews.  They gave away free clothes to the crew, which exposed musicians to their fashion.  When the bands asked for clothes, Dirtbag “comped” them.  The company also emailed 4,000 music groups and offered to supply stage clothes. Dirtbag’s revenues grew when audiences saw their designs at hundreds (maybe thousands) of music performances.  It’s another guerrilla campaign you’ll never find in a traditional marketing textbook.

Paraphrasing marketing guru Andy Cohen (author of "Follow the Other Hand"): innovate and challenge the assumptions about your business.

Comments? Email YourBusiness@msnbc.com
Watch 'Your Business' Sundays at 7:30 a.m. ET on MSNBC.