Hi, everyone. Im j. J. Ramburg. Welcome to your business, the program dedicated to helping your business grow. Thrive. It is that time again and National Small business week begins today. From april 30th through may 6th, the u. S. Small Business Administration will recognize the achievements of the nations top Small Businesses, rurs, Small Business advocates and champions. And we get the chance here to kick it off with the newly appointed head of the u. S. Small Business Administration, administrator linda mcmahon. Shell be traveling around this week. Very nice to see you, administrator. Thank you very much, j. J. Its good to be with you. We are thrilled to have you. And this is your first time as the head of the sba for Small Business week. What do you hope to get out of the next week . The next week is really the opportunity for our country to salute our nations 28 million Small Businesses. We are recognizing the Small Business person of the year from each state and from the u. S. Territories. Theyll all be in washington for a big kickoff dinner sunday night. And then on monday, when we actually do kick off the week, april 30th, we will have probably maybe a couple of folks from the white house who are going to come over and address our group and we will announce the winner of the u. S. Business small person of the year and the three runners up and thats always a very exciting time for us. And well announce winners in other categories, as well, for their innovation, for their volunteer, for their mentorship. So its really a terrific week for us to be able to celebrate this. And ill have the opportunity to not only be this washington, but then to go to new york, then to go to indianapolis, dallas ft. Worth and winding up in fresno. So ill get to visit our district offices in those areas and also our Disaster Relief center in dallas ft. Worth. So im really looking forward to visiting all these districts. And we are looking forward to seeing who the winners are. You come to the sba with a interestg background because you were at one time sma Business Owner and then the owner of l a veryarge business. Youve had discusses, youve had failures, so you can relate to to a lot of what some Small Business owners go through. With that background coming to the sba, what do you think are the Biggest Challenges for the administration and for you moving forward and being successful at this job . Well, i think that the administration is already addressing some of the Biggest Challenges. One is the cost of health care. Were looking at that coming down. Hopefully the new bill will get passed because i do hear from so many of our Small Businesses the cost of health care is really tough for them. But the biggest issues that Small Business really bring to my attention is lack of access to capital and also, you know, the fact that they need mentoring, they need counseling, and that the Regulatory Environment is so burdensome its tough for them to get their head above water. So president obama has started by reducing impacts to Small Businesses. What weve seen in this reduction for Regulatory Reform and the hope of the new tax reform package going through is a spirit of optimism for entrepreneurship in the country that we havent seen in a long tile. Were seeing many more startups in businesses and thats you know, its really encouraging, you know, to see that in the marketplace. This optimism, greater confidence level, and i think were going to see some great things as our Small Businesses continue to grow and we have more startups. Okay. I want to part out a few things that you said. So if we start with Regulatory Reform, yes, theres concentration on it on the federal level, but a lot, as you probably know, for Small Businesses. Its the local and state level. Is there anything that you can do in this position to have any influence over that . Well, we cant really legislate, obviously. But we can certainly talk to city and state officials. In fact, i was in order on monday and i had convened a business round table of hispanic businesses, all Small Businesses. And they talked to me about some of the conversations that they were having with their local and state regulators and i think on that level, when we have counseling, when we have advocates for Small Business who are having those conversations, that is going to be very, very helpful because often i have found it is our lawmakers and the regulators dont really understand the impact of the regulations that theyre prom l promulgating and how they affect businesses. Its more the opportunity to explain this is the impact and this will be the positive impact the you can lift those regulations, reduce some of those fees, reduce this volume of paperwork that all of our Small Businesses have to go through just to try to do business or to start a business. Well, its interesting. I had a conversation with congresswoman yvette clark who is on the Small Business committee. And what she told the audience, i was on a panel with her is, look, a lot of people in congress and in the senate, they have not been Small Business people. And so it is incumbent upon you to go and you, as the head of the Small Business administration, to explain to people this is what it takes to be a Small Business person. Lets get to the news of the week, which is tax reform. 15 , interesting for Small Business people directly is a 15 tax on pass through entities. Is there a chance that that could happen . I certainly hope so. I know that President Trump has been a strong advocate of this from the very beginning. Its one of the things that he and i talked about when he asked me to take on this job was reduction in taxes for our Small Business fess, reduction in regulations and hes delivering on that. So hes certainly putting it forth. And i think i have found that the Small Business agency that im so proud, you know, to represent and be the administrator is probably the least partisan agency in government because Everyone Wants the economy to grow, Everyone Wants businesses to thrive, because a rising tide will on both sides of the aisle, we want to see more businesses have the opportunity to start, to grow, to scale. Ive had the opportunity to live the american dream, starting small, surviving bankruptcy, losing everything, coming back. So i can walk the walk and talk the talk with our Small Businesses and i can be their advocate. And thats really what i think my primary job is. And so im going to be continue to go be their advocate for tax reduction and Regulatory Reform. So i want to challenge you with one thing. So its easy for you to understand as most Small Businesses pass through entity, your tax rate goes down from 15 from the top people, 39. 5 . The Small Business majority put something out yesterday which said Small Businesses arent asking for a lower tax rate in a vacuum. Todays proposal makes no attempt to close any of the loopholes large firms exploit therefore it does nothing to put all of americas businesses on even footing. Whats your reaction to that . The Small Businesses that i have spoken to permanently and trektly are thrilled with the prospect of having taxes you know, their business income taxed at 15 . Its the pass through income that youre talking about. And they havent had that opportunity before. So they are penalized, they feel that they have been penalized compared to big businesses who get more tax cuts through loopholes that theyre not able to have. And i think part of this tax reform will eliminate a lot of the loopholes that exist today. Got it. We just havent heard about that yet. Thats coming soon . I hope so. All right. Well, administrator, it is so nice to have you on the show. Thank you so much. Were so happy to kick off Small Business week with you. We wish you the best of luck over the next week and over the next four years and we hope we get a chance to check in with you a lot to see what youve been able to accomplish. Thank you. And stay tuned to see who our winner is for the Small Business person of the year. We absolutely will. Thanks so much. Thank you, j. J. Consumers want authenticity. Its been proven time and time again that people like to buy from brands they feel they can trust. And that has only been heightened by social media. I went to the offices of the Cosmetics Company make yum geek to meet the founder, Marlene Estelle. She built an entire company around herself. She is real. Shes relatable and people have responded by buying her products. California native Marlene Estelle is one of the most recognizable faces at the forefront of the new beauty landscape. Its all about the nittygritty education of makeup. Her glossy and glam video is are followed by millions. Marlenes 6yearold company, make yum geek, has more than 250,000 products and last year the Company Brought in over 2 million in sales. Marlene built her thriving beauty brand by blending her Makeup Artistry and social savvy with the tools she learned as a High School Band teacher. I loved teacheing, but the music wasnt where my heart was. I started doing videos on the side. That was 2008. I would turn on a camera and say, i love makeup. I think im going to teach makeup for a bit. Marlena had no intention of becoming a digital sensation and her videos were far from perfect and far from polished. I wanted to sit down and do a fiveminute makeup routine. If you had seen my first setup, you would laugh. One camera in my second bedroom. So total investment was . Maybe 200, if that. For marlena, it was simply about sharing her passion and sensibility. Then it was hard not to notice the demand for her content was multiplying by the day. So take your brush. Your. Lip color. What do you think it is about you that got you so many views early on . I think because i was real, i wasnt afraid the to be myself. You know, ive always been a curvy girl. Im not always the most press teen with my speaking. This is me. Take it or leave it. At what point did you say maybe i make a business out of it . I think it was to when i got over 100,000 views. What . 100,000 people are watching my videos . I think i can do this. So i quit teaching and opened up my site, makeup geek. Hopefully this helps you guys figure out why your face looks orange. At the core of makeup Geek Foundation was education, driven by marlenas magnetic personality and knowhow. But what made her unique was her unfiltered journey through h life. Marlena has always organically woven personal stories throughout the fabric of her makeup day. Her authenticity and creativeness created an audience that wasnt only loyal, they were engaged. Hi, tori. Hi, lindsay. Good question, miranda. And it didnt take long for marlena to see how leveraging that could pay off big time. Becoming a player in the oversaturated highly competitive world of cosmetics would be daunting for most, but marlena honed in on a gap that she believed existed between the industry giants and consumers. People dont have that personal connection. They dont know what the hobbies are or what they love. People feel a little disconnected. The brand loyalty that came with her authentic connection immediately boosted sales. How did you know what you were doing . Lots of trial ask error. Learn as you go. Yeah, we had 589 a lot of mess ups. I was honest. This eye shadow, this does suck. Im really sorry, you device, but i will fix it, i roms. So ive always been very transparent with them and they appreciate that because they know im not going to sell them something or the sake of a dollar. All of you watching snapchat, youre like, we know marlena loves this color. Its her favorite. Despite her rise to fame, marlena remains committed. We do handwritten notes that go in their packages. Customer Service Always try to be personal with them. Theyre loyal because they know its human beings behind that screen. Its another day at make yum geek in michigan. She uses snapchat to give her fans insider and in the moment access to makeup geek world. Ill turn it around and say guess what im filming today, guys, or give me your feedback on what you want to hear for the next video. They get to build that oneonone connection with me. We do polls on facebook and ask them,hat product would you guys like to see, what are you missing . And that gives us feedback on what to creative for them to make them happy. That happiness and support thrived even more when she revealed more about herself. I used to weigh almost 300 pounds. I would get a lot of questions from people, im struggling with weight. What did you do . So i thought, im just going to show my whole body. So i posted a couple pictures on instagram, i did some outfits on curvy girls. They loved it. I took off than makeup. So the more layers you shed, the more people love you. Yes. Instead of what some people may fear is that if i show who i am, people might move away from me. Yes. But tore me, thats been what connects them. The power of connection has made makeup geek a force to be reckoned with the in the cosmetics industry and marlena is just getting started. I want to sell a lifestyle. I want people to feel beautiful. Confident each if it is a swipe of a lipstick. So i feel thats how were different from some of the Big Companies is that its all about the confidence. Its not just a product. For generations, cubans have been dousing their babies with this violet scented cologne. Behind that is one Business Owner who brought their tradition and company stateside. Taliana reports on how this business is building up a celebrity following and taking stru to its cuban roots. If youve ever been around a baby of cuban descent, youve lookedly noticed a small of violets in the air. You want to learn for about six months. And with that, he you know, with his own knowledge, created a formula that few people have ever been able to replicate. His name is also Agustin Reyes ask hes the Third Generation owner of the company which he runs. He continues to create the agrance called royal violets using the origil formula his grandfather invented years ago. Very few fragrances are that timeless. You can count them on one hand, how many 1920s fragrances are still around. In 1960, shortly after the castro regime took over, the reyes family took over, carrying the formula for the mixture that brought them success. Once established in miami, they continued creating the fragrance this time in the exiled community and beyond. Whats this . What do you use it tore . Perfume for babies . The product is a staple in most hispanic American Homes regardless of age or economic status. Reyes says gloria and Amelio Esteban purchase it by the case. It leaves us wonder fg ryan gosling uses it, too. What do you think your grandfather would say . I think he would be extremely proud that what he did is still around. Facebook, twitter and instagram now offer live video streaming. It is an easy way for you to give your customers a realtime look into your world. This week, we have five practical tips for going live on social media courtesy of entrepreneur. Com. One, head outdoors. Try filming outside the office to keep your content fresh. Two, peel back the curtain. People want to feel connected to the brands they consume. Show them how your product is made and introduce them to your employees. Three, check the comments. Try to answer questions you get from social media or email during your live videos. Four, mind your analytics. In the digital aiming, it is especially important for you the to Pay Attention to your stats. Not all of the live platforms offer analytics on live videos, but you can use the information you get from facebook to tailor your content. And five, call out your viewers. With live video, you can see who is watching. Give them a shout out to make the video feel person equal. Personal. Personal. Personal. 6 . Hi. Im monica ferguson, this is becca brown. Were the cofounders and inventor of solemates. We invented the patented sole protector that keeps heeles from singing into the grouped. We have distribution in thousands of stores around the world. A bit about our background webs monica and i met while working we both got mbas from columbia. Sole mate is between three major industries. The 30 billion global women accessories market. The 100 billion Market Global footwear market. Sole mates is expanding. We expect to increase to 1,000 locations next year and exceed 3 million operating at 65 profit. To that end, we seek 500,000 of Growth Capital for 5 equity to build infrastructure and meet increasing demand for the b