my name is mike, i m in product development at comcast. we re working to make things simple, easy and awesome. good morning. coming up on msnbc s your business. the owner of a toy store becomes a city councilman. a brooklyn-based author fights against amazon by opening a neighborhood bookstore. that plus in-store techniques that attract customers during the holiday season. when it comes to growing your companies, we have your backs. that s all coming up next on your business. announcer: msnbc your
business is sponsored by american express. don t do business without it. hi there everyone. i m jj ramberg. welcome to your business. the show dedicated to helping your growing companies. small business saturday is coming up. in los angeles, celine ba shea the owner of a children s boutique wanted to take an active role in getting her community to support small businesses. when a position opened up on the neighborhood council, celine jumped at the chance to become a true advo
celine and her co-owner credits the original owner and founder for inspiring them both as leaders and business owners starting in their late teens. we learned so much from her. just the relationship she built with people. i think what was beneficial to us was how much trust she instilled in us. we learned a lot from feeling like our opinions were valid and worth sharing. and she gave us a lot of freedom in the store as sales girls. ling was head of her time when she opened the doors to the whimsical world of this store in 2004. she set out to create a one top shop for cool moms on the hunt for edgy clothing, vibrant art and toys with a sense of humor. she also experimented with interactive experiences for her customers during their retail journey. we had music classes in the back. at one point there was an art class.
Business is sponsored by american express. don t do business without it. hi there everyone. i m jj ramberg. welcome to your business. the show dedicated to helping your growing companies. small business saturday is coming up. in los angeles, celine ba shea the owner of a children s boutique wanted to take an active role in getting her community to support small businesses. when a position opened up on the neighborhood council, celine jumped at the chance to become a true advocate by running for office. soes co-owner of louisiana ling.
Risks and open your eyes and expose things to other people. i think that s a big reason why we felt confident to even consider buying the store. because she had allowed us to run things the way we saw fit. cara approached celine to see if she was on board with the bold idea. i called celine and asked her if she wanted to buy it with me. she said no. and i said think about it. i thought she was insane. because i was 23. i had never considered owning a business. i didn t feel qualified. i didn t go to college and thought i was going to be a singer. so the idea of owning a business at first did not ring true to my vision. after two days of fear and doubt swirling in her mind, celine was in. so when ling finally sat her team down for the dreaded tough talk, she had no idea the surprise cara and celine had in store for her. we literally stopped her in
Her tracks and said, well, how would you feel if we took over? i burst into tears. because to me, it s the best thing because it s sort of like handing over a family business to two of my daughters in some ways. for them to take over ownership was a dream come true. they had such great ideas and new energy. the surrounding community of small businesses and loyal following of la la ling customers immediately embraced celine and cara as the new owners. it s really close-knit. people are loyal to this neighborhood. there s a real sense of identity. our neon sign that says meet me in lass fee liz is an acknowledgment that this is a space for the neighborhood to come hang out with us. celine s passionate and welcome coming spirit played a big part in her getting elected to the neighborhood council. celine grew up here. she cares about the neighborhood and small businesses. becoming a powerful voice for