it's time to run a business. cory: wahoo! lemonis: okay? lisa: thank you. thanks. ♪ we got an office ♪ we got an office, we got an office ♪ cory: oh. mom, look. headphones. ♪ lejerry: about a week.st time youlemonis: let's go!e? tonight on "the profit"... my god, i'm already dizzy. ...a family fun center located on 7 acres in las vegas has become one of the city's most popular destinations. taylor: whoo! we're the birthday party capital of the world. lemonis: this feels like it. after nearly 27 years in this industry, owners jerry and matisun barton are ready to hand over the keys to their son, taylor. jerry: you're doing good, buddy. lemonis: but taylor struggles to fit in, sometimes appearing totally out of control. taylor: we sell fun here, so if you're not smiling, i'm gonna send you home. lemonis: your attitude, i want to throw it in the trash. previously, taylor was a nascar driver,

but his career came to a screeching halt. announcer: barton goes around. taylor: it was my identity. it's the only thing i knew, so losing it, i didn't know who i was. lemonis: and tensions with his father have caused a rift among the family unit. matisun: only way for you guys to work out whatever it is that you're resentful of each other is to communicate, not to have a conflict. lemonis: if i can't prepare taylor to drive this business vehicle into the future... you can't just keep saying, "i don't know." you got to know this [bleep] ...this family's legacy may simply run out of gas. ♪ i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. i love investing in american businesses. woman: these people are here because they care. lemonis: it's not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. we have a deal? let's rock and roll. man: yeah! lemonis: this is "the profit." ♪

today, i'm at las vegas mini gran prix. now, i have to be honest. i love go-karting. i absolutely love it, and because i'm already a fan of nascar, the fact that i can potentially get involved in a family fun center that has karting, this looks like an amazing idea. it's unbelievable the size of this property. the first thing that appeals to me the minute i drive onto this property, it's the real estate itself, and any time you can get one track of land that's this big next to a major road, it looks like it could be a solid investment. ♪ after walking the parking lot, i see trash on the ground, old tires. flags are ripped. the parking lot looks unkempt. there's these old motors just laying in the grass. it just feels like nobody cares.

woman: yeah. that's wonderful. lemonis: how are you? [ indistinct conversations ] this is huge. it looks nice but really dated, really dated. i mean, it looks like a 10,000, 12,000-square-foot sea of tables with a fish tank in the middle. taylor: is that -- lemonis: what's up? how you doing, my man? taylor: oh, my god! lemonis: how you doing, buddy? taylor: mr. lemonis! lemonis: nice to meet you. taylor: oh! lemonis: marcus, marcus. taylor: mr. lemonis, oh, my god! lemonis: so what are you? you work in... what is your name? taylor: taylor barton. lemonis: nice to meet you, my man. this place is busy. taylor: well, it's saturday. that's what we do. lemonis: yeah. taylor: we're the birthday party capital of the world. lemonis: this feels like it. how long has this business been here? taylor: it'll be 27 years in september. my dad took over about a year and a half ago. he bought the business from his ex-partner. i think he paid, like, $2 million for the business, and to me, that is not good business. i would have never made that deal.

lemonis: do you report to him, or does he report to you? taylor: i like to think he reports to me, but i've never had any formal training. lemonis: is your dad here? taylor: he is. lemonis: let's meet him. jerry: hey! lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. jerry: who is this guy? lemonis: nice to meet you, sir. jerry: boy, i thought you were a hugger, man. lemonis: okay. i am a hugger. matisun: yeah. i know. lemonis: what is your name? jerry: jerry. lemonis: jerry? taylor: this is my mom, matisun. matisun: matisun. yeah. lemonis: matisun, how are you? nice to meet you. matisun: nice to meet you, too. jerry: she's the better half. lemonis: she... clearly. lemonis: are there other places like this in town that you have to compete with? jerry: no. taylor: i would disagree. we do have lots of competition. you got dave & buster's. you have indoor go-karting tracks. we want to tap into the 40 million tourists that come here. lemonis: right. taylor: how do we do that? lemonis: what would the business make in a year, decent money? jerry: actually, last year, we did about 2.4. lemonis: that's not bad. i want you to walk me through where that $2.4 million of revenue comes from, and i'd like to just walk the property and understand. jerry: sure. okay. cool. all right.

lemonis: so we'll start over at the front door. so how much revenue comes from karting? jerry: 60% would be karting revenue. lemonis: okay. how about the video games? how much is that a part of the revenue? jerry: 10%. lemonis: okay, and how much is the food? jerry: about another 5%. lemonis: okay, so right now, we're only at 75%. jerry: okay. now we got these other attractions right here, these kiddie rides, we call them. lemonis: okay. jerry: that would probably be the other 25%. lemonis: okay. i want to understand where the real money-making opportunity is here. how much comes from karting? how much comes from video games? how much comes from food, the rides, all of it? every time somebody walk through the door, how much money are they gonna spend, and how do i get another dollar out of their wallet? in order for the whole business to grow, you have to understand the parts and pieces that make it up. when's the last time you rode the fun slide? jerry: it's been probably about a week. lemonis: seriously? jerry: well, i test it out to make sure it's fast enough. lemonis: you rode it a week ago? jerry: yeah. lemonis: let's go. come on. jerry: okay. lemonis: all right. we're higher than i'd like to be.

hey! wait a second! you cheated! jerry: that's true. lemonis: no, no, no. ah, ah. jerry: oh! lemonis: that was fun! oh, my god. i'm already dizzy. jerry: are you? lemonis: oh, yeah. i'm gonna definitely throw up. oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. woman: okay, so make it squish on the... [ indistinct conversations ] lemonis: so do you own 100% of the business today? matisun: yes. jerry: yes, except for there is a note that when i bought my partner out... he's passed away now. lemonis: and you have a land lease... jerry: land lease. lemonis: ...on top of the land. what's your rent here? jerry: $18,000 a month. lemonis: and how much do you owe on the note? jerry: $2 million. lemonis: $2 million? jerry: yeah, dollars. it's a thousand a week. that's my interest. lemonis: so really, your rent turned into 22 grand. jerry: yeah. that's the big monkey. lemonis: so you had a partner. the partner kept ownership of the land and building. jerry: the partner owns the land, but the business owns the building. lemonis: who owns the property today? jerry: the trust, yeah. lemonis: and can you buy it? jerry: not yet, too high. matisun: yeah, too high. lemonis: so you have no working capital.

jerry: right. lemonis: so now that the bartons are dealing with an estate where they have two obligations, one to pay rent to the landlord of $18,000 a month and the second to pay $2 million loan back $1,000 a week. they should consolidate all this debt and these leases into one structure. they're better off owning the property instead of having $18,000 a month leave their operating entity and just go nowhere. ♪ taylor: who's supposed to clean these counters? whose party table is that right there? woman: mine! mine! taylor: well, can... why do we have the table dirty? woman: yeah! they just finished! i'm gonna clean it! taylor: no. no. still not done. woman: [ sighs ] lemonis: i'm standing here watching taylor just boss people around. taylor: we sell fun here, so if you're not smiling, i'm gonna send you home. lemonis: people don't respond well to being bossed around. they respond well to being motivated, to being coached, to being mentored.

taylor: look at this. it's dirty. come on. lemonis: one of the things that this family is struggling with is how this succession plan is gonna work, and in order for taylor to be effective as a leader, he has to integrate himself with the rest of the staff, but this isn't the way to do it. ♪ this kitchen is massive. taylor: it is massive. lemonis: do you know what your food costs are? taylor: i don't know. lemonis: why not? taylor: my dad, he doesn't... he hadn't shared those numbers with me. lemonis: have you asked him? taylor: he didn't really want me in the business for a while. i felt unwanted here. lemonis: do you think he doesn't want you to work here? taylor: i can be a little much sometimes. i used to be a nascar driver. lemonis: and it was awesome. taylor: i lost my sponsorship in 2011. an online poker site shut down. i went through a very dark period for 2 years because that's all i knew. i don't have anything else.

this is my baby now. lemonis: while i appreciate and understand how devastating it may have been to watch his racing dreams go by the wayside, losing his sponsor, it's clear to me what his motivation is, which is to make something of himself, to be part of his family's business, and i have a lot of respect for that. the key for you right now is going to be learning the business from the inside out, learning the business like you know racing. patience is essential in racing because if you try to pass too early, where do you end up? taylor: in the wall. lemonis: and if you don't pass at all, where do you end up? taylor: in the back. lemonis: right. business is the same thing. you want to go race? you want to go lose? taylor: [ laughs ] lemonis: are you ready to lose? taylor: [ laughs ] did you eat your wheaties or something? do you need help getting in? lemonis: no. i got it.

♪ man: ♪ hey ♪ ♪ hey matisun: [ speaks indistinctly ] whoo! man: ♪ hey ♪ ♪ hey matisun: oh, my god, you guys! marcus, you got to go a little faster, buddy! oh! whoo! go, taylor! taylor: you're better than i thought. lemonis: do you love it? taylor: it's my passion. lemonis: i mean, could you do it all day long? taylor: all day long. it was my identity. it's the only thing i knew, so losing it, i didn't know who i was. lemonis: and is that why you're back in the business? taylor: one of the reasons, yeah, because they dedicated their life to me. i screwed up a lot, and so i just wanted to try to repay. i want to be one of those sons that you guys can say

that i was actually there for you. lemonis: i don't think either of them feel like you have a debt. that's part of being a parent, okay? look, it's clear to me that this business has made it for 27 years, and i know there's things that we can fix to dramatically improve the profitability, but the real challenge here i can tell early on is going to be with taylor. in order for him to succeed, somebody's going to have to actually give him the road map to succeed. so i'm gonna see you guys again. matisun: yay! jerry: that a threat? lemonis: even after spending time with you, i'm still gonna come back. taylor: oh, my god. matisun: aw. lemonis: but i'm gonna want to do it probably off-site the next time we meet so we can get your financials together so we can go over them. matisun: thank you so much. lemonis: all right, guys. we'll see you. jerry: okay. taylor: all right. matisun: bye. taylor: thanks. ♪ announcer: [ speaks indistinctly ] lemonis: after spending a full day

at las vegas mini gran prix and being underimpressed by the facility, i invited the family to come to chicago to one of the world's largest and greatest family fun centers, which is the nascar track, to understand two things -- number one, how to create an environment that people are gonna be excited about and how all the revenue is made and to really tie taylor to his past and teach him things inside of an environment that i know he's comfortable in. what's happening? how are you, sir? jerry: good to see you. lemonis: you ready to have a little fun? matisun: yeah! lemonis: well, we got work to do today. matisun: we're grateful. yeah, we got work to do. lemonis: so it's time to move it forward. taylor: all right. look at this. lemonis: so when is the last time you were at a track like this? taylor: maybe 2011. lemonis: how are you, my man? richard: marcus, how you doing? lemonis: want you to meet some friends of mine. richard: sure. taylor: hi, richard. i'm taylor with las vegas mini gran prix. richard: oh, okay. lemonis: prior to coming to the track, i made a phone call to richard childress, who, in my opinion, is one of the most storied nascar owners in the history of nascar.

his two grandkids are actually racers for him, and one of the things that i like about him is he understands there's a difference between family and business. he struggles with being the owners' kid. richard: oh. let me tell you, we've done that with austin and ty both and my grandsons, so it's just a tough deal that you got to go out and bring yourself to do it. the main thing, treat people like you want to be treated, and you'll succeed. that's the advice i would give. matisun: that's great. lemonis: thank you, boss. i also wanted taylor to meet kyle busch. now, kyle busch is a multi-champion nascar driver who happened to be from las vegas. this is my friend, taylor. kyle: taylor barton. taylor: good to see you. kyle: what's up, man? how's it going? how are you? matisun: you guys know each other, right? kyle: we do know each other. lemonis: so they own las vegas speedway, the little karting place, right? kyle: yeah, the mini gran prix. lemonis: you know where it's at? kyle: i know where it's at. lemonis: okay. kyle: i spent many a birthdays there. lemonis: not only is kyle a racer, he's also a team owner. kyle: i mean, you guys know about how hard it is to be an owner, and the driver side is more decisions on the fly.

like, you don't even think about it, where on the business side, you've got to trust in those that you put around you and "coach" them to be able to go out there and do their job. see, i'm... lemonis: he's a little grizzly on people. kyle: i'm probably worse than he is. lemonis: you're better. you're better. these guys who are really aggressive champions have one principle that they live and die by, and that's, "be good to people," and i wanted taylor to understand that. kyle: all right. lemonis: we'll see you, brother. matisun: thanks, kyle. kyle: thank you. lemonis: thanks, kyle. taylor: thank you, sir. lemonis: i want to go sit down, and we'll go over the financials, and we'll talk about the business. okay, so total revenue in 2016, 2.7. it drops to 2.4, and it stays in 2018 to 2.4. in 2018, you made $44,000 on $2.4 million. jerry: this is the first... '18 is the first year that i owned the place outright. lemonis: it's clear to me after looking at the financials of this business that it's making a profit,

but it is odd to me that $44,000 on $2.5 million -- seems like something is a little off, so what this business sounds like it needs is ways to make additional money that they haven't thought of. your dad runs a reputable business. you're a part of that. your mom's a part of it, so why are we here? taylor: i have a very different opinion about the business than he does. jerry: okay. just relax for a second. let's look at this. everybody has a perception of how things should happen. taylor: well, maybe i lost my respect for my dad as a business owner when we started going down the wrong direction because i still think we can improve our business. jerry: well, that's how he sometimes feels, so i have my style. he has his. lemonis: all right. but do you expect me to be the mouthpiece for you, and you think i can communicate with your dad differently than me? taylor: no, that's not... jerry: he's emotional. taylor: he's passive. lemonis: i don't want to be brought into the family situation to tell you or him that one of you is wrong,

and i don't want to be used for that reason. that's not my role in life. matisun: yeah. lemonis: you guys have to figure it out. coming up... taylor: sometimes i don't feel like i have a day off. lemonis: taylor. whoa. taylor: i'm always thinking about this. lemonis: whoa, whoa. your attitude, i want to throw it in the trash. ...and we've upgraded her with a sonic shield and holographic-mapping drones.

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the family situation to tell you or him that one of you is wrong, and i don't want to be used for that reason. that's not my role in life. my role in this process is to help shepherd taylor's progress along, but what i don't want to do is be the judge and the jury on who's right and who's wrong. so i don't have any interests in being your partner in the business. and so where i think there's an opportunity is on the real estate side. matisun: mm-hmm. lemonis: for me, that's where it gets interesting. if you can get them to agree on a settlement for the property, i'll loan you the money. what i'm essentially encouraging jerry to do is to go back to the estate that owns the land and holds the loan with the business and try to negotiate one number that they can buy everything for. i want them to go in and know that they have an opportunity

to do a deal with that landowner using my money. and as long as there's a good operating business that sits on the property, then i know the cash flow will be there to give me a good return on my investment. my offer is to do business with you guys in an unconventional way, where i want to help you retire the $2 million loan you have and buy the real estate by going to the current landlord and lender, call them the same, and offering them $3 million to buy the property and get rid of the note, and so your payments would be less. jerry: that's true. that's a good scenario. lemonis: today, they pay $18,000 a month in rent to the landlord, and they also owe that landlord $2 million for all the improvements that are made. the benefit to the barton family is that they can consolidate all this debt and these leases into one payment and own the property. you're gonna make a rent payment, i'd rather you make a mortgage payment. and then you and i will form an entity.

we'll be partners in that real estate deal. jerry: okay. cool. lemonis: if they bought the property for $3 million, the bank is gonna want at least 20% down, $600,000. the company doesn't have the excess working capital, so doing a deal with me would either provide them the cash they needed for the down payment, or i would provide the financing. jerry: it'd be nice to have that piece of property paid for. lemonis: and we'll make sure that if that happens, that we improve the facility. i love the business that you have. i think your facility looks really tired. i think the karts need to be freshened up. i think the inside needs to be freshened up. i think the outside needs to be brightened. matisun: that's our weakness. lemonis: yeah, and i can help you do all that. jerry: i like it. lemonis: so are we... we got a good understanding? jerry: we do. we do. lemonis: okay. we good? matisun: great. yeah! ♪ ♪

lemonis: what's the good word? how you doing, my friend? jerry: good to see you. lemonis: everything good? even though i've decided not to invest in the actual business and just to look at investing in the real estate, i want to start working on the business and the real estate. the stronger the tenant, the better the facility, the more my property is worth. okay, so i want to have a dialogue about video game revenue. how much square footage is the building? jerry: 4,950. lemonis: for this half. jerry: yeah, and that one is 7,000. lemonis: so we'll call the building 12,000 square feet. jerry: right. lemonis: how much square footage is dedicated to the games? jerry: couple thousand feet. lemonis: and do you feel like you've put the right games in the right spot? jerry: you know, i'm not that big on manipulating the games around to be honest with you. there's not that many more games that you can put in here that do really well. lemonis: how do you know that? has somebody actually thought in and said, "you know what? we have too many tables, and if we got rid of one table, and we replaced it with one game, what are we gonna pick up in revenue?" jim: yeah. we have definitely never done that. lemonis: so how many tables in total?

jerry: i don't know. lemonis: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14... 172,000. i don't know? i honestly thought that i was at a picnic table store. if we can get $1 more out of everybody in the room... i notice that a lot of parents, while their kids are running around, they're doing nothing. jerry: i really, to be honest with you, haven't focused on how to really, you know, eke every penny out of the games. lemonis: what's the most profitable asset you have in the building? jerry: games. lemonis: okay. i'm just glad that you said it. you called me. i didn't call you. 12,000 square feet can be carved up to generate more revenue. i just need everybody to spend just one more dollar. he doesn't even seem interested in exploring the idea. i think there's $200,000 a year on the table, so if we end up buying the property, that $200,000 is a really nice... jerry: pays the rent. lemonis: well, it pays the mortgage and then some. jerry: yeah. it's not something that got up to my a priority list.

taylor: you guys were just sitting down. shaleena: i was going over the schedule with danielle! taylor: i understand that, but you're inside the kitchen. you're supposed to know how to do this. shaleena: okay! i was doing the schedule, taylor! lemonis: like, honestly, taylor's behavior is unacceptable to me. jerry isn't really open to any feedback or any questions of any kind. what am i doing here? shaleena: what's your problem? taylor: what's your problem? shaleena: we've been running around all morning. i sit down for 5 minutes, and all of a sudden, i'm not doing my job? taylor: because you guys aren't thinking about every aspect of the business. shaleena: who's gonna run the kitchen all day if the schedule is not made the right way? matisun: can i talk to you for a minute, sweetheart? let's sit down. lemonis: sometimes, when owners' kids start working in the business when they're 13, they may have a little bit of attitude. that's their lack of maturity, but when somebody is 30 years old, like, this is unacceptable. matisun: okay, so there's a better way to talk to somebody than that. taylor: how else am i supposed to react to them after i've told them a million times? matisun: if you attack right off the bat, that puts them on defense, so maybe there's a better way to communicate with them

that would actually make them happy to be of service. taylor: mom, come on. i can go show you the games. they got fingerprints all over them. look at this. matisun: yes. i understand. taylor: look at that. look at this. matisun: okay. taylor: it's dirty. at what point do you not lose your fuse? matisun: there's got to be a way to communicate without making them feel this big. taylor: we can talk nice to people all day long. at what point does it change? that's what i would like to know. matisun: i'm just saying there's a better... taylor: so do you have the solution? lemonis: taylor, i don't like how you're talking to your mom. i don't like it because we're gonna -- taylor: it's easy to come in here every once in a while. lemonis: and maybe... taylor: and sometimes i don't feel like i have a day off. lemonis: taylor. taylor: i'm always thinking about this. lemonis: whoa. whoa, whoa. your attitude, i want to throw it in the trash, and i need you to apologize to her, or i'm leaving because i can tell you that that's, like, a nonstarter for me, and the problem is, i'm only standing here for you. they don't need my help. taylor: i understand. lemonis: okay. taylor: my thoughts, i want to gather my delivery. lemonis: it shouldn't be that hard.

coming up... so, the quality of the karts are your responsibility. how do you not know what it costs to order the new graphics? taylor: i don't know. lemonis: you can tell i'm frustrated, right? if you're gonna run this business someday, you can't just keep saying, "i don't know." if you're looking to take your business to the next level, log on to theprofitcasting.com. wow. jim could you ipop the hood for us?? there she is. -turbocharged, right?

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so i love you for that, but we got to figure out how to package that in a way that people can actually absorb, and so we're going to spend some time together, and we're going to really get down to basics. look, if taylor ultimately wants to run this business, he's gonna have to lead by example. he needs to make sure that he starts from the outside and gets everything right because the first impression is the only impression that matters. let's start at the front. the first impression, what is it? taylor: that it's dirty, few cigarette butts, some pine needles. lemonis: and you have that on the ground. what, essentially, are you saying about your business? taylor: that maybe the other parts of the business is like that. lemonis: i'm gonna give you a little trick. it's called four corners and four walls. four corners and four walls is a term that i use to describe the actual real estate and building that the property is on, and i want the business owner or manager to think about them as two distinct entities,

four corners being the actual property itself, the piece of land, and walking it corner to corner to make sure that it gives a good first impression. there's no trash. things are working. the lights are on. the grass is cut. the parking lot is striped, and then as you get closer to the building, well, the building is the four walls. what are the little things that you, by yourself, could do? point them out to me. taylor: that sign is peeling off, so i can get some new signs. i have a cup over here. i have some trash there. these look chipped off and worn out. capex is a term that is used for a business to spend their capital on expanding their business, capex versus windex. don't have any capex? i know you can find the windex. taylor: i don't mind doing the work. lemonis: i don't mind, either. taylor: let's do it. man: ♪ hey, hey, hey ♪ hey, hey, hey matisun: hey, marcus. lemonis: hello. matisun: good to see you. jerry: hey, marcus. lemonis: how are you? you ready to go in? it's been a few weeks since i've seen the family,

but i wanted to take them to anderson brothers' tankfarm. so anderson brothers mike and john are two guys that i invested in a few years ago, and i've asked them to get involved to help rebrand las vegas mini gran prix. mike: we're going through the website, and it looks like a fun place, but it looks like the '90s, you know? it looked like... john: kind of like a tired chuck e. cheese. mike: you know, it's... matisun: ouch! john: i'm sorry. matisun: no, it's okay. john: yeah. we feel like you have something really great, and imagine if you really polished it up and stepped up your game. lemonis: i want you to tell us which ones you like and, be honest, which ones you don't like. jerry: i do like the one that says raceway champion. taylor: i like the black one down there. john: racing helmet is pretty cool. taylor: yeah. i don't like the white one, but i like the black one. jerry: the black one, you know, don't like that. okay, left on top, don't like that. jerry: the wings are too close. it's all smashed in there. john: awesome. taylor: i think that's brilliant. lemonis: the one that jerry doesn't like. taylor: yes. lemonis: i don't agree with this. i don't agree with that. how about show some enthusiasm for the fact

that these guys have taken their time and money to create a whole new look? can you show a little appreciation? jerry: i have a question. why does everybody spell our name wrong? when you look at it, does everybody see the d on there when there's no d? i don't understand. taylor: it does kind of make sense. gran is outdated, and i do like the grand with the d. lemonis: my fear that's starting to set in and my nervousness is, is this gonna be a theme? i don't know how long i could tolerate this. coming up... jerry, are we agreeing or not agreeing that the fish tank is coming out? matisun: i think it needs to come out. jerry: we'll see. you know, it's over a $100,000 tank. lemonis: holy moses.

jerry: i have a question. i'll start... oh, do you want to go first? no, no i don't...you go. i was just going to say on slide 7, talking about bundling and saving...umm... jamie, you're cutting out. sorry i'm late! hey, whoever's doing that, can you go on mute? oh, my bad! i was just saying there's a typo on slide 7. bundle home & auto for big discosnouts. i think that's supposed to say discounts. you sure about that? hey, can you guys see me?

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why does everybody spell our name wrong? when you look at it, does everybody see

the d on there when there's no d? i don't understand. taylor: it does kind of make sense. gran is outdated. mike: for part of that rebranding, we were thinking that it's a little confusing. most things out there are grand, especially nowadays and how you spell things. you're searching things on google, your instagram and things like that. lemonis: gran prix sounds a little like... matisun: that's true. it's more formal. lemonis: it sounds wine and cheese versus beer and brat. mike: yeah. we really are looking for an overall theme. this whole thing isn't really about just nail-- it's just giving you an idea of, like, elevating. let's go bigger. lemonis: if you don't evolve, you're not gonna attract new customers, and you're not gonna keep employees happy. and i also want you to think about, what do we have to get out of every customer now? jerry: another dollar. lemonis: another dollar, so all this artwork can also translate onto memorabilia, souvenirs, gift bags. this to me is a $250,000-a-year category. matisun: wow. lemonis: minimum.

if 36,000 people a year come through these doors, if they can get one out of four people, 9,000 people to spend an average of $30 on merchandise, well, that's $270,000 a year annually without doing anything more. john: we're gonna play around with all your favorites. matisun: oh, good! john: and then we're gonna come back to you with some refined ideas that elevate the company and makes people want to come back. lemonis: whoop! all right. ♪ taylor: how's it going? jim: morning, taylor. how are you today? taylor: good. lemonis: the work on the outside of the building is underway, and it's under taylor's direction. taylor: we need to get the cars in a single-file line. lemonis: taylor is working hard, and he understands what it means to get his hands dirty. any time that any of the employees can see taylor outside grinding it out, their level of respect, even if they don't say it, is definitely growing for him. also, the anderson brothers have been working tirelessly to help the company rebrand its look.

so they gave me a new logo. matisun: i like that! do you... how do you like that, babe? jerry: i like it. i'm not so convinced that we need to put the d in, but, you know, just leave the name the same. that way we don't have to change the name on everything we have. lemonis: every time we make progress, there's some sort of issue because every single time i make a suggestion, it's a no. i think the big question is, where is all the merch gonna go? i mean, there's a particular spot... matisun: well, that's true, right where that fish tank is. lemonis: ...that could work really well. matisun: [ laughs ] i'll continue to chip away. lemonis: jerry, are we agreeing or not agreeing that the fish tank is coming out? jerry: you know, it's over a $100,000 tank. taylor: my thing is, how much money are we losing by not taking this out and putting something else in that makes money? lemonis: look. there are a lot of things about taylor that we still have to work on, but i do like the fact that he's starting to approach issues and conflicts in a more rational way. lemonis: i think i may have an idea. if this whole section became the sundry store, you could do hats.

you could do shirts. you could do snacks, and then when you get rid of the... lemonis: yep. jim: focal point? matisun: he can't even say it, poor guy. lemonis: it will open up the whole floor. matisun: yeah. ♪ lemonis: so, now that taylor has made progress with the four corners of the business, i want to start to get him comfortable with the idea of what should be inside the four walls, so i'm taking him to another fun center in south florida that also does racing but at a whole nother level. taylor: oh, wow. dang. this is kind of cool. lemonis: i want you to understand how the aesthetics feel from where i check in to even graphics on the walls. it feels like they've thought about all the little parts and pieces to create an environment that speaks to what they do. how do you think these karts look compared to yours?

taylor: a lot better. lemonis: and what do yours look like? taylor: well, our euro high-speed, i ordered all-new stickers, and we did one car, and it looks like it's brand-new, and it's fresh. lemonis: how much did it cost to do that? taylor: i don't know if i know that number right off the top of my head. lemonis: how much did it cost? and you said you did one. taylor: i think my father did. lemonis: so how do you not know what it costs to order the new graphics if it's outside, and it's yours? taylor: i can look up the sticker kit right now, and i'll know... lemonis: let's do that. taylor: ...the price. lemonis: holy moses. i feel strongly that taylor has made progress in a lot of ways, but this one particular area that's in his wheelhouse, it's outside the four walls, i expect him to be a master of those numbers. it's starting to feel risky for me, and it's really frustrating. taylor: $222.50. lemonis: so what else needs to happen besides the labor and the sticker kit? taylor: well, at some point, your seats are gonna need to be... lemonis: how much does that cost?

taylor: the pads... i don't know. my dad ordered those before i took over the outside. lemonis: so you want to call your dad back and ask him how much the pads are? taylor: yeah. he's not answering. lemonis: okay. here's the deal. you can tell i'm frustrated, right? taylor: yes, absolutely. lemonis: you got to get your [bleep] together. if you're gonna run this business someday, you can't just keep saying, "i don't know." do you disagree? disagree. taylor: you're asking about one... lemonis: i'm asking about a kart, the primary asset in the business, and you don't know what it costs to fix it up. that's a problem for me. taylor: well, i know what it costs to paint one, and so... lemonis: great, so then let's write it down. taylor: okay. lemonis: okay, because i'm not gonna keep doing this and wasting my time. taylor: i got... lemonis: and you don't know the answers. i'm not gonna keep wasting my time. taylor: i've been focusing on striping the whole track. lemonis: you've been... that was weeks ago. taylor: yeah, but it takes time to get bids out and contractors out. i don't just get one person and say, "okay." lemonis: i'm being really honest with you. it's the first time you've pissed me off.

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you got to know this [bleep]irst time you've pissed me off. taylor: i've been focusing on striping the whole track. lemonis: you've been... that was weeks ago. taylor: it's on that. lemonis: and you know what part of running a business is?

you have to manage multiple things at one time. it's like juggling. look. while i'm frustrated with taylor, i know that i have a responsibility to teach him how to be better. so let's write down the karts. taylor: okay. lemonis: and let's write down the cost to actually make them acceptable. taylor: go-karts is 34 karts. lemonis: okay. taylor: to repaint them is $1,250 paint. lemonis: great. what else do i need to do on top of the 1,250? taylor: $100 per car for the new vinyl. lemonis: okay, so what's the total per kart? taylor: $1,350. lemonis: times 34 karts? taylor: $45,900. lemonis: and as you move forward, the next question you're gonna ask yourself is, what's my return on investment gonna be if i do these things? do you believe that refurbishing the karts could yield you 25 cents more per ride? taylor: yes. lemonis: okay, so in a full year, you're selling how many wristbands? taylor: 150,000. lemonis: so for every 25 cents that you increase the price of that wristband, how much more do you make?

taylor: $37,500. lemonis: you take that $37,500 of incremental revenue. you divide it into the investment of $45,900, and the return on investment is 81%. want to sign up for that? i do. any questions? taylor: no. lemonis: perfect. taylor: sounds good. ♪ ♪ lemonis: i got a call from taylor telling me that they had made tons of improvements, and he asked me to come back to vegas so i can see all the changes that they've made. i'm excited to see if they finally have made some progress. holy moses. hold on one second. i guess i don't know what their definition of progress is. welcome to seaquest! matisun: hey, marcus! good to see you! lemonis: welcome to... jerry: marcus. lemonis: welcome to seaquest. matisun: hi! jerry: good to see you.

lemonis: what's the good word? parking lot looks good. matisun: thank you. lemonis: looks brighter and fresher. so, what games are new? jim: none. lemonis: okay. when is that gonna-- when can that happen? jerry: you know, we have pretty much the top 20 games, so to bring in just another game i don't think helps us. lemonis: so there's no new games? jerry: no new games since you were here. lemonis: okay. did you go look at any or no? jerry: no. lemonis: you got to help me. matisun: we have many conversations. yeah. yeah. so... lemonis: okay, so we got to have some agreement on that, right? matisun: mm-hmm. jerry: what i think about jerry is that he's a guy that's been doing this for a very long time. he wants to do things exactly the way he did 15 years ago, except the industry changed. lemonis: could we take a tour outside? jerry: sure. matisun: yeah.

lemonis: jerry, it looks nicer out here, don't you think? i think it looks... taylor: it looks way better. lemonis: ...significantly better. taylor: yeah, it does. jim: all the gum is gone. matisun: yeah. lemonis: it just looks brighter. everything looks brighter and fresher. matisun: yeah. taylor: and then that's one of our cool new signs that we put up. lemonis: and i like that. matisun: we took out the pine trees so that it would stay neater. taylor: when you drive by, you can actually see the place now. it's not hidden behind the trees. matisun: yeah. jerry: we restickered all these cars. lemonis: oh, these look a lot better. jim: tracks have all been restriped. lemonis: taylor, i think you've done a great job. it feels totally different out here. i am pleased with some of the progress that taylor has made, but at the end of the day, all this time and energy that i spent there was largely for me to make an investment in a piece of property, and while i feel like the outside looks better, the inside really looks no different at all. so, taylor, you did a really nice job. ♪

hi, there. matisun: hi. lemonis: okay. ladies first. matisun: hi. oh, my god, butterscotch cookie sounds amazing. lemonis: look. through this whole process, it's definitely been a little frustrating for me because i feel like jerry is resistant to making the changes that are required. the challenge is, i still want to do business by investing in the real estate. so what's happening with the property? jerry: i talked to the trustee a couple times. he's all on board about the buyout of the note for $3 million. lemonis: so let's assume that the property can be bought for $3 million. you're going to own 100% of the business. jerry: right. lemonis: right? we've all agreed on that. have you put any thought into how you want to structure a transaction with me that works for you guys? jerry: well, i'm asking the bank right now if they would finance it with nothing down. lemonis: i'm sorry. what? i would kind of... jerry: well... lemonis: i don't think they're gonna finance 100% of it. jerry: well, that's where i start, though.

you know what i mean? i'll start at 100%, and if they say, "well, no, we'll only finance 95%," i'm still a happy camper, right? lemonis: i'm confused. we had an understanding that i would be putting money in to help them buy the real estate, and we had an understanding that i would be a partner in that transaction. what i'm now being told is, "i think the bank will finance 100%." so you think they will? you know they will? do you not need me to be here anymore? i just wouldn't want to have that unknown out there because there are things that need to be done on the property, right? ♪ do you disagree with that? jerry: we'll see. ♪ lemonis: coming up... i think the way the facility looks is actually hurting the business. jerry: you know, i'm a little reluctant to spend a bunch of money.

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when you want the real deal...like a good neighbor, lemonis: there are things that need to be done on the property, right? ♪ do you disagree with that? jerry: we'll see. matisun: we're looking really good for the winter. we're not concerned about that at this point. ♪ lemonis: is it me, or is there this awkward silence in the room? like, they do have it all figured out, and i'm not part of that formula. just be a man and tell me you're not in. i think the way the facility looks is actually hurting the business. jerry: you know, i'm a little reluctant to spend a bunch of money here. lemonis: i don't want to move forward on a property transaction

where the guy that owns the business isn't very concerned about the property at the same time. jerry: to be honest with you, i think we don't continue on. ♪ lemonis: i think one of the challenges for me is i go into these businesses, i try to always be respectful of the business owner. i know what they have at stake. i know how hard they work, but ultimately, i can't force people to listen. matisun: thanks, marcus. jerry: thanks. matisun: take care. lemonis: i can't force jerry to take the fish tank out of his place. i can't force him to get more video games. i can't force him to do anything, not even make a partner in the real estate deal, but i know that when i drive away from here, i've given them 100% of my effort. what they choose to take on, that's their choice. while the deal didn't work out with jerry and matisun, i still wanted to say goodbye to taylor. i wish you a ton of luck. i know you're gonna be great. all right? taylor: thank you so much.

lemonis: i'll see you around, brother. taylor: thank you. lemonis: be good, my man. do i think i wasted my time? i don't, because i do feel like taylor is better today than when i met him the first time, and ultimately, that's the satisfaction that i need. ♪ >> tonight, on the profit, i go inside athans motors, a used car dealership started by a guy with no car experience. >> i don't have cars, but i have a good business. >> but you don't have cars! that the business! >> no, i'm done arguing with you. >> he spent so much money building the most opulent dealership i have ever seen that now he can't afford to buy cars or pay bills. if i can't stop the wasteful spending... what'd you spend on these walls? >> $100,000. >> wow. and sell some cars... >> i won't sell it. that car's worth 30 all day. >> athans motors will be out of business. my name is marcus lemonis. i fix failing businesses. this month you lost $150,000. i make tough decisions... you're not gonna come behind every single