'cause i just dreamt that you gave $60,000 - for a rat-dog outfit. - [ laughter ] do you know what episode we're gonna do? let me give you a hint. lemonis: it's 240 sweet. of every episode we've ever done, i always ask people on social media, what's the one episode you want an inside look of? more than any other episode, it's this one. amber: why do you think that is? lemonis: because i think people really want to understand if this really could have been this crazy. they may have been crazy, but their marshmallows were good. well, those look like you guys bought them, and then they sat is somebody's car. amber: you don't want to eat any? lemonis: you just stick with those, and i'll just... amber: what do you want me to do with them? just hold them? lemonis: this is the only one not melted. amber: tonight on "the profit"... lemonis: in the last seven years of doing "the profit," i've visited nearly 100 businesses... let's go make some money! ...i've traveled the country trying to fix the people...

and you do $1 million a year? you should be proud of that. man: but we don't know how to keep any of it. lemonis: ...fix the process... you see? it is flimsy. don't ever make these again. you don't sell them. ...and create a few products. juli: it reduces anxiety and depression. lemonis: i kind of like it. i spent countless days working on these companies. how much money did you burn through? parker: $650,000. lemonis: but we can't always fit everything i'm thinking into the show. so tonight i'm giving you an inside look at an episode from season 3... alexa: hey! lemonis: ...240 sweet. over the next hour, i'm gonna take you behind the scenes to find out how a sweet marshmallow company in indiana... alexa: good morning! have you had our marshmallows before? lemonis: you seem friendly now! ...with headstrong owners... sam: cindy, do you need a job? lemonis: sam, this is a good example of aggressiveness. my radar was already up on sam. ...ended on a very sour note. you said it. everybody is not perfect.

sam: i don't want to dig down deep and find that person inside of me that could rage up and just eat you alive. lemonis: i think i already met that person. my name is marcus lemonis, and this is an inside look at "the profit." man #2: "a" rolling. and then look up at that monitor. done. lemonis: literally what's interesting about this episode is it normally takes us five days to shoot an episode. amber: i remember that it took so long to shoot this one. lemonis: how long did it take? amber: about eight months. it started off sweet, and you like marshmallows. lemonis: no, it didn't. amber: and you like sweet food. lemonis: i like the idea of the novelty sweet business that is small in size and light in weight. amber: why? lemonis: because it's the easiest thing to do online business with. i thought it was maybe one of the not sweetest episodes to make. amber: it started out sweet. lemonis: alright. let's watch. in 2008, award-winning chef alexa lemley and her wife, samantha aulick, started 240 sweet...

how many times did alex change her hair color on the show? amber: oh, a lot. lemonis: we'll do, like, a marshmallow game. every time she changes her hair color... amber: you're gonna...okay. lemonis: ...a handcrafted marshmallow business just outside of indianapolis, indiana. alexa: good morning! have you had our marshmallows before? lemonis: pause. okay. hold on. i've seen one hair change already. amber: it's like... lemonis: but i've seen -- i said every time. you've got to eat one. amber: i'm not playing this game with you. lemonis: their gourmet marshmallows with artisanal flavors soon earned them a loyal following, but a questionable rental agreement has affected all aspects of their business, including profitability. sam: jesus christ. what are we gonna do? we have bills to pay. lemonis: artisan marshmallows are only growing more popular. alexa: awesome. lemonis: as long as 240 sweet's product lives up to its reputation, i'm confident i can get the company back on track and roast the competition.

when the girls at 240 reached out, i was intrigued because i already have a bunch of other sweet options. this would be a great addition, so i'm excited to try the product. alexa: hey! look! lemonis: how are you? alexa: hi, alexa lemley. lemonis: alexa, nice to meet you. alexa: nice to meet you. sam: oh, hi. i'm sam, marcus. it's wonderful to meet you. lemonis: you seem friendly now! amber: they seem really sweet. lemonis: don't worry. we're coming. alexa: so this is dede. dede: hi, i'm dede. lemonis: hey, how are you? nice to meet you. what is this up front? alexa: it is our retail area, shipping and order packing. lemonis: so what are the roles? you guys are partners? alexa: with us? sam: we're married. lemonis: oh, you are married. sam: yes. lemonis: oh, very cool. sam: thank you. alexa: i do production, and sam does marketing and office-y stuff with dede. lemonis: so this is sriracha lime? how many different flavors do you have? alexa: over 200. amber: they sent a bunch of flavors to the office. i do remember that. before we started shooting with them. there was one weird one. do you remember what it was? lemonis: there was dill pickle. amber: that's right. lemonis: dill pickle is good. have you ever had dill pickle chips?

amber: stop. no. lemonis: they're good! amber: i've never seen this. lemonis: who can go get some? amber: how much more could we talk about dill pickles? lemonis: until you get them. i think when you're over a certain amount of flavors, it becomes unmanageable. i mean, even baskin robbins thinks 31 flavors is enough. alexa: have you had our marshmallows before? i hope you like them. lemonis: it tastes good. i like the texture, but they had a funny smell to them. alexa: oh. sam: we've gotten e-mails. alexa: we've gotten a couple e-mails about it. lemonis: you can tell that they weren't totally oblivious to that idea. amber: right, no. lemonis: that there was a smell because when i said it -- if i told you, "oh, these smell bad," you'd be like, "what?" amber: right. lemonis: "what do you mean? they smell fine." amber: right. lemonis: they were like, "yeah. oh, you found out." it smells like spices in here. how come it doesn't smell sweet? alexa: max. lemonis: who is max? alexa: my father. lemonis: your father. alexa: m&d marketing. yes. lemonis: how many different businesses are functioning in this building? sam: the marshmallows, and then there's m&d marketing,

which is max's spice company. lemonis: who was here first? alexa: we were. lemonis: the fact that they're sharing space with a spice distributor seems like a really poor business decision. i mean, think about a marshmallow. it'd sort of absorb everything just like a sponge would. well, let's take a tour because i have a lot more questions, but i want to see what you're talking about. amber: how did you know that marshmallows would make money? lemonis: well, think about the product itself. what are the ingredients that go into marshmallows? they cost nothing. amber: right. lemonis: and remember that it's an easy product to ship. amber: why is it easy? lemonis: because it's light, and it's small, so the shipping costs aren't prohibitive. amber: cheap to make. cheap to send. lemonis: cheap to make. cheap to send, and not cheap to buy. it's, like, a $5.95, $6.95 retail, and i think we're probably making, net of shipping, 60% margins. amber: wow. lemonis: so where is your area? alexa: this is our production area. from here over is all max. lemonis: you're basically taking up 10% of the building? alexa: yes. sam: yeah. lemonis: and so he pays more than half the rent?

alexa: no. lemonis: what is this? alexa: mustard. lemonis: mustard seed? alexa: yes. lemonis: i mean, honestly, the smell is really strong in here of spices. max: is this marcus? lemonis: how are you doing, sir? max: i feel like i know you! lemonis: i liked him. are you max? max: i'm max. lemonis: what do you make here besides mustard? max: barbecue sauces. lemonis: okay. max: hot sauces. lemonis: when i walked in the building, i smelled the spices. max: yep. lemonis: how much business will you do a year? max: 30,000 cases. lemonis: so you're bigger than your daughter's business? max: yeah. yeah. lemonis: the problem was that i don't think max understood that a marshmallow is very porous, and so if i just pour a bunch of cayenne in the air, it's gonna get in there. amber: i get it. lemonis: no, smell it. amber: oh, god. lemonis: [ sneezes ] amber: bless you. lemonis: excuse me. play. max is strangling this business from several different angles. he's taken over most of their space, which ultimately slows down production. also, he's using more lights, more water,

and he's also affected their sales with his spices and his sauces seeping into the porous marshmallow. when you have quality problems, you get more returns, and you get less repeat sales, which is a recipe for disaster. max: i told alexa right up front we would split the rent. the girls got a little aggressive, especially sam, about that i was trying to hustle them, and i thought, "they're trying to hustle me." lemonis: i have a feeling, and i'm just guessing, that nobody is hustling you. your business is growing. you've got your stuff everywhere. max: it's a nice problem to have. sam: i think it's a frustrating problem to have. you decide how much room you have. you decide how much rent you pay. it's not an even relationship. lemonis: this tension between this whole family is a bit of a surprise for me. i thought they would have worked that out before i came. sam: please help us. lemonis: how much does this frustrate you? sam: alexa and i, we don't even want to come to work a lot. lemonis: has it created stress between you two?

alexa: oh, yeah. it creates friction, of course. amber: and that must be frustrating to you, too, when you come in there for business and it ends up being the wife doesn't get along with the father, and then the father and the daughter have issues. lemonis: what makes it frustrating is, "please help us." it's like, "please kick him out, and let me have you, not me, run him out of dodge so that my wife doesn't get upset with me." it's like, "i'm not doing that." amber: well, they should tell him that if they want. lemonis: she should tell him. watch what happens. the reality of it is, is that someone's got to go. sam: i think that if i were the enforcer in the issue, it would ruin my marriage. lemonis: so you called me so that i could come be the bad guy? sam: no, but to have someone who is an expert... lemonis: in what? sam: in business. lemonis: telling her father that he's wrong? while i want to be helpful, sam and alexa, they're really the ones that have to deal with this situation with max. they should see me as a potential partner, not some freelance family mediator. walk me through how a marshmallow is made. so sugar, corn syrup and water. alexa: bring it to 240 degrees. lemonis: that's where you got the name 240 sweet from?

alexa: yes. lemonis: just spread it around? alexa: we are going to coat the top. man #3: then go very slowly. make sure you're cutting through the nuts on the other side of the marshmallows. lemonis: this is kind of a ridiculously slow process. as production cranked up, you would have a bottleneck right here. alexa: yes. lemonis: now, there's a machine that you can buy that will do it? alexa: 60 seconds. lemonis: how much does the machine cost? alexa: it would be right around $40,000. lemonis: what does it cost to make a sheet like that? alexa: $80. lemonis: how many does that sheet break down into? alexa: roughly 70 bags. sam: it comes to, on average, $1.43 a bag, including packaging with labor. lemonis: okay. what will you sell that bag for? sam: it comes to $6 a bag. lemonis: so the margins are good. sam: yes. we can't keep up with demands for the market. lemonis: and so where is the bulk of the... all these marshmallows that are getting made, where are they being sold? alexa: the internet. lemonis: the internet. amber: so how should people think about capital investment? lemonis: so capital investments are basically taking money out of your bank account and spending it on an asset.

so for example, in the case of 240, they would buy a piece of equipment that would help them improve the efficiency of cutting marshmallows. so they spend $40,000. it lowers my production cost per bag by 43 cents. i'd have to do 86 bags a day over 3 years to get my money back. amber: that's doable. lemonis: yeah. anytime you buy a piece of equipment, you have to really be realistic about what my return on capital is. so if it takes me 3 years, the return on capital is 33% a year. amber: mm-hmm. lemonis: if it takes me 4 years, it's 25% a year. if it takes me 5 years, it's 20% a year, which is fine, but that return on capital really matters. well, this is a fun place. dede: isn't it, though? lemonis: how much time do you spend here? dede: 70, 80 hours a week. lemonis: whoa. and do you do a lot of things outside of here, as well? dede: i raise money for the american cancer society. lemonis: oh, wow. dede: i was diagnosed with cancer when i turned 30, and i lost my eye.

that's why i wear my hair like this. lemonis: and are you cleared of cancer? are you a survivor? dede: i am a survivor. it's been 16 years. lemonis: awesome! dede: i know. lemonis: do you have financials for this business that i can look at? dede: i do. this is our business plan. lemonis: you wrote it? dede: mm-hmm. lemonis: this company did $439,000, and it made 80 grand. this loan, $60,000 to saps. what is that? dede: saps buffeteria is owned by max. we pay for a line of credit that he took out. lemonis: and so why do you pay its bills? dede: i don't know. lemonis: and max owes you guys money for rent? dede: right. lemonis: so almost $70,000 has left this business, and the company owes $18,000 for taxes. that $80,000 profit is deceiving because it doesn't take into account the fact that they're paying max's bills. they're servicing max's debt. that $80,000 is really more like zero. that seems crazy. dede was so awesome. i've stayed in contact with her, and in fact,

when we started doing these inside looks, she was one of the first people that reached out to me and said, "please, please do one on 240." amber: you're welcome. lemonis: you're welcome, dede. ♪ amber: her hair's different. lemonis: ....and she's got great ideas and fantastic recipes. but on the other hand, her father, well, he's screwing it all up. you have a nice business. the challenge is, is that you're being taken advantage of by a family member, and so that's not an easy solution. alexa: right. lemonis: and so i think the challenge that i'm having is why are you spending your money to pay for debt that belongs to somebody else? sam: it's frustrating. alexa: it is frustrating. lemonis: it's ridiculous. how do i deal with this situation with max? i do believe that you guys kind of called me hoping that i would do your dirty work. i just don't know.

sam: perhaps we could consider giving 1% to dede. she is an asset to us. lemonis: i totally agree. that was such a bull[bleep] move, and she knew that i liked to give equity to people that work there. i was already starting to be a little suspect of her.

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they're in the building. amber: oh, come on. if they're in the building, they would be up here. lemonis: i'm telling you, they're here. see? i knew they were here. amber: the dill-pickle chips. it smells tangy. here you go. try it together. that's so gross. ♪ these are pretty good. lemonis: what's the business lesson? amber: be more open-minded. lemonis: don't knock it till you try it. amber: you'll turn anything into a business lesson. lemonis: that's what i do. sam: what if we do sit down with max and tell him to move out? lemonis: it does have to be resolved, and you guys need to take care of it because i do not want to be in between you and your father.

alexa: that's understandable. lemonis: i came here because i think that the marshmallow idea is a great one, and so my offer is $100,000 for 51% of the business. and that $100,000 would go towards the right equipment and improve this building. sam: yes. lemonis: do we have a deal? sam: perhaps we could consider giving 1% to dede. she works like she's an owner. she is an asset to us. lemonis: i totally agree. that was such a bull[bleep] move in reflection. she's seen a lot of episodes, and she knew that i liked to give equity to people that work there, and she went to the playbook. amber: yeah. at this point, you didn't know that. at this point, you thought... lemonis: i was already starting to be a little suspect of her watching how she talked to max. my radar was already up on sam at this point, but when she pulled this, "oh, i want to really help somebody out"... play. i'm willing to throw 5% in, if you're willing to throw 5% in for her.

sam: i can live with that. lemonis: do we have a deal? sam: we have a deal. thank you. amber: why did you do that? lemonis: it seemed, i'm sure to most people, a little harsh that my offer was $100,000 for 51% of a business that did a half a million dollars in business and made 80 grand. amber: right. lemonis: but i didn't have a lot of confidence in what was gonna happen from this day forward. whether max was gonna leave or not. whether the thing was gonna spin out of control, and so sometimes when my offers are big, like in the case of, like, an automatch, where it's $3.5 million, there's all this inventory. i know that i have some sort of liquidation method where i can get my money back. so i needed to make sure that if i was gonna have a big risk, i was gonna have a big reward to go with it. amber: right. lemonis: the other night, sam and alexa and i made a deal for me to invest $100,000 into the business.

look how many people work there! dede: awesome. lemonis: and the purpose of that money is to innovate the product, and then we need to overhaul the process. the offer that i made to them was for 51% of the business. they didn't agree with my number. they said we really feel like dede has to be a part of our organization. and so, dede, you will be a 10% partner with all of us. dede: oh, my god. amber: how do you determine when and who you give equity to in a business? lemonis: i usually want to think about how viable i think they are to the company. in the case of dede, who put the business plan together... amber: right, so impressive. lemonis: the fact that i felt like she had a level of integrity, that mattered. and i'm giving them a reward for their efforts. amber: right. lemonis: you'll see. so what i'd like to do is get our recipe book, and i want to look through all 200, and i want to figure out how we're gonna narrow some of them down, and then i want to try some new ideas. clear this area so that we have production here.

we lost our table? how does this work? sam: it changes a little bit every day, but generally, we only have this amount. lemonis: max, is there a way to reconfigure, short-term, that that machine can somehow get out of this area? max: i could possibly move this whole thing and take that one back some. lemonis: oh, great. thanks. it's already packed. max: well, it could be rearranged. lemonis: you guys need to get this cleaned up. this needs to be our table. this is ridiculous. amber: and your issue here was what? that there's just, day-to-day, there's inconsistencies? like, sometimes there's a table to work. sometimes there's not. like, things are moving around all the time? lemonis: no. my issue was the cross-contamination of products. amber: right. lemonis: i want to go through all of your library. amber: the birthday cake was good. lemonis: birthday cake, whiskey, bourbon. and i want to get down to a library that we excel at. tomorrow we're gonna go to a farmer's market. you're having consumers give you feedback, right? alexa: right. sam: yes. lemonis: when they give you feedback, then that's what gives it a chance

to get into the library. we're only gonna have the top 20. we're not gonna end up with 300 different flavors. let me show you what else i want to do. these marshmallows, we know, are great. but they're boring. and so i want to have... amber: look at sam's face! lemonis: ...the exact same marshmallow different ways. i've always been a fan of cake pops. i want to have a marshmallow pop. i want to see three to four variations, but i want to see them today. alexa: okay. lemonis: okay? alexa: good. good. lemonis: i didn't do a good job explaining it to them. what was in my mind was how i think about taffy apples. amber: with like, what, caramel? caramel apples? lemonis: yeah, caramel apples. so let's say i took a basic marshmallow, and all of a sudden, i now dipped it in chocolate. it may cost me 11 cents to dip it in chocolate... amber: right. lemonis: ...but i'm getting at least 30 cents more for it. so i'm looking at ways to grow the average order, grow the price point and grow the margin by making a base product feel different. amber: right. and not doing too much work to make it different. lemonis: right. just dip and move on. woman: so this is our salted caramel,

which is our best seller. alexa: you don't like that one? lemonis: i'm waiting for the salted caramel. it tastes like a plain marshmallow. i thought the salted caramel marshmallow, while it may be your best seller, was unimpressive. alexa: it's pretty tasty. amber: why would it be their best seller? lemonis: because it's probably a product that online probably has the lowest resistance to trying. so just like your reaction to dill pickle, salted caramel is like, "oh, i know that flavor." amber: okay. lemonis: but i still want every individual product to be perfect. amber: right. lemonis: and so the fact that salted caramel was their highest-selling product doesn't mean that it can't get better. amber: and this was the first time i actually thought i saw alexa with an opinion. she was like... lemonis: because i was going after her... amber: "...you're challenging my..." lemonis: ...i was going after her product. amber: right.

lemonis: today we're at the farmer's market in downtown indianapolis, and we're gonna get feedback from real consumers. good morning! as opposed to fake consumers. how are you? the purpose of me bringing you here is part of the exercise to pare our flavors down. but rather than us just kind of making it up in our own mind, we'll let the customers tell us. now people will vote with colors. we'll go with girls are good and boys are bad. alexa: these are handmade marshmallows. we've got snickerlicious, turtle. dede: blue if you don't like it. pink if you do. lemonis: this is sriracha lime. woman #2: oh, whoa. lemonis: don't like it? girl: not necessarily. lemonis: i'd like you to try the salted caramel. do you taste the salt and the caramel? man #4: not so much the salt. woman #3: i would blue... lemonis: you would blue-ball it. okay. whoa. inappropriate thing to say. amber: did you mean blackball? woman #4: it just tastes like marshmallow.

lemonis: we had some feedback on the salted caramel. it either wasn't salty enough, or it didn't have enough caramel. sam: i wonder if the salted caramel trend is dead. lemonis: no. it's not. that's like saying chocolate is dead. it's not. yours just isn't good. but if it's our number-one seller, we have to get it right. i feel like your energy is a little off because your energy level changed when he came in. amber: she's just pissed. lemonis: her attitude sucks.

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if it's our number-one seller, we have to get it right. alright. so let's clean this stuff up, and then we'll bring out these new ideas. sam: come on up and have a sample! alexa: s'more, toasted coconut and just, like, the dry coconut. woman #5: okay. man #5: it's really good. woman #6: oh, it's really good. lemonis: what's your favorite part about it? man #5: it just seems easier to... woman #6: eat. yeah. man #5: ...like, handle. woman #7: i would perceive them as higher value just because of the sticks. lemonis: i feel like we understand that we have to pare down our flavors, which we're gonna do. the ones on the stick, you're gonna get more money for it. this stick costs 2 cents. we can get at least 50 cents more. if the stick costs 2 cents, and you've raised the price of the product by 50 cents, the incremental gross profit is 48 cents. over the course of the year, if we sold 25,000 of them,

we would make close to $12,000 in additional profit. amber: why does the stick make such a difference? lemonis: it's taking a basic marshmallow and finding different ways to deliver the product. in a box, in cellophane, on a stick, enrobed in something, flavored with something. if either of your kids were taking a valentine to their teacher, they're not gonna take a dozen roses, but they may take a really cute bouquet of marshmallows. amber: that's true. lemonis: based on the feedback that we got at the farmer's market about the salted caramel, i want to sort of take it to the next step. unfortunately sam and alexa haven't dealt with the max situation yet, so i have to rent a commercial kitchen, and i have a surprise for them. i wanted to bring someone here that i thought can kind of help us. someone that i thought would be able to help us think about creative ways to make food and who has a lot of chef experience, as well. alexa: what? sam: [ gasps ] pete: hi, everybody. sam: what? it's pete!

lemonis: pete behringer is a gentleman that i partnered with a couple of years ago. he owns sweet pete's candy, and so i wanted to bring him in so he could lend a helping hand. her marshmallow recipe i actually think is better than yours. pete: okay. lemonis: but i didn't love their caramel base. pete: i know a thing or two about caramel. amber: he looks so disgusted. pete: i don't love it. i'd like to take you through our recipe. lemonis: don't be annoyed! ♪ pete: we're gonna use sweetened condensed milk. alexa: i don't know. you know, you just get kind of used to doing it a certain way. pete: do you want to try it and see what it does? lemonis: alexa, can we talk? sam: for alexa? pete: yeah. here's what you do. lemonis: i feel like your energy is a little off. alexa: i usually just have to assess new situations. lemonis: because your energy level changed when he came in. the goal in our relationship is for me to not only help you guys financially, but it's also to provide you resources

that you can pull from. alexa: okay. lemonis: yeah, we're not interested in those. pete: now, i noticed on your... that you use beet sugar. alexa: we do. pete: is there a reason why? alexa: well, that was the sugar that we started with. lemonis: what do you use? pete: i use cane sugar. i've heard a lot of bakers complain of having used beet sugar. that it doesn't have the same level of performance. lemonis: her attitude sucks! where is the collaboration? where are the ideas? where is the, "let's make it better, everybody"? amber: because it is hard when people are coming in even if you're helping. lemonis: it's hard. i get it. i'm sympathetic to it. amber: i know you like these exercises for business, but we like them, too, as producers because this is where we start to see their character emerge, and we get the real person. lemonis: the real real. amber: yeah. the real real. pete: and so we're gonna cook all of this together. alexa: okay. pete: do you do that currently? alexa: no. pete: i think you might get better results. lemonis: i'm watching alexa continue to scowl at pete, and now i notice that i'm getting the evil eye from sam.

why are you looking at me like that? sam: please don't think we didn't think this was coming. we did. lemonis: are you upset? sam: no, not at all. i know that i am awesome, and i know that alexa is awesome. i think sometimes people think i'm angry, but i'm not an angry person. i'm determined, and i'm aggressive. lemonis: "i know i'm awesome." it's like, "nobody said you weren't awesome." "i know we're the best." "nobody said you weren't the best." "i knew this was coming." what was coming? i wanted to bring him in to make... amber: to help! lemonis: ...it better! amber: right. alexa: we hand-swirl the caramel. pete: what would happen if you streamed it? i mean, if it's a disaster, all we're out is a little bit of sugar. marshmallow, unfortunately, takes about six hours to set up. lemonis: uh-huh. pete: but you're gonna get an idea of how that would taste. ♪ dede: i really like it. pete: yes! lemonis: i love your marshmallow,

but i love his caramel. alexa: mm-hmm. lemonis: how about say thank you to him? alright, my man. thank you for coming, pete. pete: thank you. ♪ lemonis: i came in today to finalize the 20 flavors we're going to offer. and what i walked into was a [bleep] storm. alexa: there was a little bit of a water explosion. lemonis: what happened? alexa: max. the faucet outside, i had it capped off because the line had broken. lemonis: holy christopher and mary. max: i thought it was coming up from the ground water. lemonis: what is this, max? max: oh, that was my dust catcher for the machine. lemonis: oh, that was your... okay. well, let's get that out of our area. and so this mixer belongs to who? sam: that's max's mustard grinder. lemonis: okay, but it can't be over here next to our sugar. man #6: it's 8 [bleep] pounds. it's not a gallon. lemonis: what just happened?

sam: you're coming off like you're saying [bleep] to alexa, to your daughter, and i'm gonna lay it out. max: i'm not saying that. go to hell. lemonis: i wasn't going to pick a side here, but i felt like i needed to bring the two parties together because this thing was unraveling fast. if you're looking to take your business to the next level, log on to... (burke) we've seen almost everything, so we know how to cover almost anything. even a "gold medal grizzly." (sports announcer) what an unlikely field in this final heat.

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alexa: so that's one of max's main customers, and it sounds like something did not go well. lemonis: i'm beyond frustrated right now. max is still there. his stuff is all over the place, and now there's a flood in the building. this needs to be resolved, and the girls need to deal with this right now. money is leaving their business to take care of a business that is yours. they're paying more than half the rent, and they have 10% of the space. alexa: that's sort of where we're at, and... lemonis: no, that's not sort of where you're at. guys, stop sugarcoating it. he's a big man. he's a smart man. he knows. tell him. sam: max, i need to ask you to move out. max: yeah. i've been through this two or three times, and have apprehensions about the problems and the costs.

sam: max, you've got to help me here. you're not coming off well. you're coming off like you're saying [bleep] to alexa, to your daughter, and i'm gonna lay it out. max: i'm not saying that. you can say whatever you want to. sam: that's the way it sounded. max: go to hell. amber: you're doing exactly what you didn't want to be doing. lemonis: i know. i wasn't gonna pick a side here, but i felt like i needed to bring the two parties together because this thing was unraveling fast. and i was getting to the point where i was wondering why i was even still here. amber: right. sam: we're not calling a spade a spade. alexa: he understands. sam: and you are exhibiting some more magical thinking of thinking that max is gonna come out somehow and say, oh, the right thing. but he's not gonna say it unless he's made to. he's gonna be max. alexa: alright. lemonis: that frustration that she just had is either gonna come out now, or it's gonna come out on you. amber: seems so condescending, too. lemonis: they were rude to pete. it was, like, come on, ladies. do you know that their relationship is fractured because of you? max: no.

lemonis: is that a fair statement? sam: yes. alexa: it's affecting my marriage. sam: i know you would never want to hurt either of us because you love us, too. max: no, i don't. sam: so what we need to hear from you, max, will you move out? alexa: it's kind of the fair thing. max: i don't want to particularly move, but i would. lemonis: okay. alright. good news. sam: alright. amber: it is difficult a lot of times in business to, like, deliver hard information to somebody. lemonis: yeah. amber: so how do you do something like that with tact and get the point across and be stern? lemonis: you don't do it in the middle of a room with a bunch of people standing around listening. maybe write down some thoughts before you have a conversation of the points that you want to make. you go in with a level-headed understanding of what you want to deliver, and you have empathy to the person who's going to receive the message to make sure that you're not mean-spirited or hurtful or unnecessary. ♪

i had to leave town for a while to deal with some other stuff, and while i was gone, a lot happened. max moved out, and he found a new warehouse. sam and alexa reorganized the entire space. also equipment was delivered, including a marshmallow cutter, which helps them ramp up production. amber: did you buy that? lemonis: mm-hmm. i did because i felt like if it was gonna improve the efficiency and we were going to save 40, 30, whatever the amount of cents are per package, i felt like the return on capital was there. and while all the drama is happening, i still have to grow the business. amber: right. yeah. do you remember the other part of their business that we didn't focus on? lemonis: catering. amber: yeah. lemonis: yeah, i didn't care. amber: okay. lemonis: hey, buddy. max: marcus! lemonis: how are you doing, my friend? is this your new place? max: this is it. lemonis: feels bigger than what you used to have in terms of, like, how much space you had. max: i feel better here. lemonis: when i go into max's place, it looks like a totally different business. it's organized. things are on the shelf, and he seems happy.

max: let sam stay over there. it's a little loud. lemonis: she's what? max: loud. lemonis: you've seen her yell at other people, too? max: yeah. yep. she likes authority. lemonis: max is telling me that sam can be aggressive, and she has trouble working with others. normally i would sort of dismiss it and chalk it up to him just being bitter that he had to move out, but i've seen traces of that behavior with my own eyes. well, i'm happy for you. i'm happy that you're in a better place. max: yep. lemonis: alright, my man. thank you, sir. be good. max: be good. lemonis: see you soon. max: thank you! lemonis: bye-bye. he gave me some spices. he was like, "merry christmas!" he was a good dude. [cellphone ringing] hey, dede, it's marcus. i was just returning your call. today i got a missed call from dede. i'm sorry i missed your call. dede: something happened. sam yelled at me. she sent me ugly messages on my phone, so i told sam i wasn't coming back. lemonis: you're not working there anymore? you applied to the show for max to solve max's problem.

sam: i did, didn't i? lemonis: and you took my money. sam: and i wanted it to be good. lemonis: and you took my money. sam: i am the type of person that makes the world a better place. amber: [ laughs ] one marshmallow at a time.

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dede: life is too short, so i just decided to move on. lemonis: i'm really sorry to hear about this. would you be open to meeting with me just to sort of help me understand what happened so i can at least deal with it and talk to the girls about it? ♪ dede told me that she wanted to meet somewhere private, so i've arranged to meet her right outside of indianapolis. at her new job! i wanted to sort of hear from you what's kind of been happening. dede: i had already put in, like, 80 hours, and so i told sam that i needed to go home, and she told me to get back now, or she was firing me for job abandonment. i said, "it's not job abandonment when i've already put in my time. i've completed my work. i need to go home. i'm just done." well, then they came in and said that they talked

and since i couldn't make a financial commitment that they didn't want me to be an owner. amber: ugh. i totally forgot about that. lemonis: what do you think they ultimately wanted from me? dede: money and publicity. lemonis: that's about it. dede: and to get max out. they also said it would be a great angle, you know, with my cancer and everything, and it would make you sympathetic to it, so that would even make it more of a good angle. amber: that's so ugly. lemonis: yeah. if you really think about it, right? there are different ways that we've been manipulated over the years. we've seen... amber: right. lemonis: ...all of it. i don't think, in my entire business career, that i've ever seen somebody use someone else's illness to try to lure you in. amber: sick. lemonis: sick. although i believe dede, it would only be fair of me to get sam and alexa's side of the story, so i'm heading there today

so see what they have to say for themselves. how are you? sam: i'm fabulous, marcus. lemonis: what's new? sam: oh, lots of good stuff. lemonis: are you doing alright? sam: wonderful. lemonis: i thought it was strange that sam was acting pretty perky, as if nothing had changed or nothing at all had happened. it smells like a marshmallow factory now. i don't smell all the spices. what's happening? alexa: the smell! lemonis: your hair is different. oh, no! hold on. amber: her hair is different. oh, god. no, i'm not eating that. i'm not playing this game. lemonis: i would have thought that they would have said something like, "hey, do you remember your favorite employee, the one you decided to give equity to that we all loved? well, she's gone." i saw dede. she quit? sam: she quit. lemonis: okay. why did she quit? sam: not everyone is set out to be an entrepreneur. lemonis: i thought she was a great employee. alexa: she was a good employee. sam: she was a good employee. alexa: and then we were discussing going to take a loan. sam: it was our understanding that she wasn't comfortable with that. lemonis: did you ask her to sign the paperwork and she wouldn't? sam: no, we did not.

we actually still offered dede a percentage without signing. alexa: when we're willing to go sign the paper at the bank, if you're not willing to go to the bank and sign the paper... lemonis: she's an employee! you're gonna make her sign for a loan? just because she was offered equity, she now has to sign up to not get paid? sam: it's a risk, is being an owner. an entrepreneur, in my opinion, likes risk. lemonis: jesus, lady! you wouldn't all of a sudden void out her sort of being an employee and getting paid. what pisses me off about this situation is that there were never any conditions to dede having equity. there was no discussion about her signing documents or giving up her paycheck. they knew that she would cave under that sort of pressure. you knew she was keeping me posted on the company's finances. sam: okay. well, i was not aware of that. lemonis: yes, you were! amber: of course you were. lemonis: you were on the e-mails. i find that very hard to believe because you and i even talked about it. she was communicating with me on what my money was spent on

and what the current needs still were. sam: okay. so... lemonis: were you aware of that? sam: at that point, yes. lemonis: okay. you just said no a minute ago. sam: really? lemonis: yeah. sam: well, i was confused about the question. i know that we see things through our own lens. you'll have to excuse me. lemonis: i don't have a lens. i just see things through what actually happened. sam: now, no one is perfect, but i try really hard to make sure that when i get up in the morning, i am the type of person that makes the world a better place with every decision i make. now, that doesn't make me perfect. lemonis: i totally get it. amber: one marshmallow at a time. sam: i have been honest, and i have tried... lemonis: you haven't been honest at all. alright. i'm about to lay into you. here we go. come on. sam: we're gonna be honest. lemonis: okay. it's about time. amber: let's start. sam: i didn't think we were a good fit for you. i wanted you to come here and help max. thank you for helping with that. lemonis: you applied to the show for max to solve max's problem. sam: i did, didn't i? lemonis: and you took my money. sam: and i wanted it to be good. lemonis: and you took my money! sam: that is moot in this instance.

lemonis: yes or no? you're saying everybody is not perfect. sam: i don't want to dig down deep and find that person inside of me that could rage up and just eat you alive. lemonis: actually in this moment, having everybody in the world see the real person that she was, i wasn't regretting going back. finding the right words can be atough.n it comes to autism,at. finding understanding doesn't have to be. together, we can create a kinder, more inclusive world for the millions of people on the autism spectrum. go to autismspeaks.org

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you telegraph everything. you have, like, zero poker face. lemonis: sometimes i have zero control over my facial expression, and other times, i make the expression so that other people in the room can understand without me having to say something out loud. think about how our mothers used to talk to us without talking. they would do this.

amber: right. lemonis: you applied to the show for max to solve max's problem. sam: i did, didn't i? lemonis: and you took my money. sam: and i wanted it to be good. lemonis: and you took my money! sam: that is moot in this instance. lemonis: yes or no? sam: that is not what i'm explaining. lemonis: what's the answer? the answer is yes. you're saying everybody is not perfect. sam: i don't want to dig down deep and find that person inside of me that could rage up and just eat you alive. lemonis: is there somebody like that? because i think i already met that person. sam: i can act like an ass, yeah. lemonis: yeah. and so my question... sam: it's manifesting itself right now, so... lemonis: there's just got to be a less... less sort of toxic way to deal with it. sam: i don't attempt to be toxic. do you think i'm toxic when i deal with things, alexa? alexa: i don't believe you're toxic. sam: cindy, do you think i'm toxic when i try to deal with things? cindy, do you need a job? lemonis: sam, this is a good example of aggressiveness. just chill out. amber: what is going through your mind when she's looking like that, acting like that, talking like that? lemonis: what was going through my mind in that moment

was how bad i felt for dede. and at end of the day, i was calling them on the carpet for how they treated her. i was just thinking about dede. amber: and regretting that you came back, probably. lemonis: no. actually in this moment, watching sam show herself the way she did and having everybody in the world see the real person that she was, i wasn't regretting going back. today i feel like i got the real you. we should probably not be in business together. sam: i agree. lemonis: it was nice meeting you. i can't do business here. they were unwilling to make any changes. they were just using me to get rid of max. ultimately, i think sam wanted publicity. she wanted whatever cash i would bring to the table. she wanted whatever promotion i would bring to the table. she wanted whatever resources i would bring to the table, and she didn't want anything that went along with it. amber: someone is getting yelled at tonight. lemonis: that's the reality of it. ♪

240 sweets is out of business. ambethe episode?ened?s: dh amber: [ laughing ] i did, but... i wonder if they are still together. lemonis: they are. amber: how do you know? lemonis: because i know. amber: twitter went crazy during this. do you want me to read some? i have to. "watching that psychotic episode at 240 sweets. can't believe people like that exist." "getting steamed up all over again over 240 sweets. 240 sour." "i just watched 240 sweets episode. do they get to keep the money and new machines after the deal went bad?" lemonis: yep. amber: the money is already spent. equipment is bought. lemonis: gone. amber: wherever you spent money, gone. just gone. lemonis: yep. but there's also plenty of stories where it's gone right. for every one that goes bad, there's also one that goes very, very well. amber: right. lemonis: and it doesn't necessarily get the same credit. one of the things that i really want to do going into the future is to really make sure that we're highlighting the people that also do it right,

that have the right level of ethics, that are honorable, that i'll tell them they can cash the check, and they still don't. amber: yeah. lemonis: and that's what keeps me going because if i had to live my whole life with 240 sweets... amber: well, you wouldn't do it. lemonis: ...i wouldn't do it anymore. ♪ barb: go[ laughs ] it real hard. lemonis: tonight on "the profit," super sweet entrepreneur barb batiste... barb: barb. let me give you a hug. man #1: okay. lemonis: have you taught everybody to hug? barb: thank you. lemonis: ...is determined to parlay the success of her sweet shop into a beverage-and-food empire. it's really good. with the help of her overzealous partner, they've launched three distinct businesses. holy moses, look at all this. and now they've added a new one -- a canned tea-and-coffee company. you guys are busy. but despite the backbreaking grind... barb: i'm dying. i'm tired. lemonis: ...they have yet to taste success... what do you get paid there? kurt: nothing. lemonis: ...as the new businesses threaten to kill the old ones. if it costs you $1.83 to make it,