om: oh! lemonis: ...a midwesterner has built a multimillion-dollar business preventing slips and falls... thom: we do ramps for people with disabilities. lemonis: it's a safety and accessibility business. wow. ...manufacturing everything from safety treads to ramps, big and small. that's pretty awesome. but as a leader, he's in danger of losing his footing. this looks like you dropped the ball. this is actually awful. thom disch has a bad habit of letting problems fester. thom: sometimes, i avoid conflict by not challenging people. lemonis: now his marketing is a mess. there's fragmentation all over in the branding.

you need brand consistency. his production process is filled with inefficiencies. eva: the issue comes down to the company not having consequences. that's why none of this works. lemonis: and his relationship with his son, already strained, is only getting worse. thom: there's no right or wrong. alex: no right or wrong, but you will not let anybody else be right. lemonis: if i can't help him to step up as the boss and learn to face his problems head-on... eva: we're not thriving and working together enough. lemonis: ...this business won't only slip, it will fail. this relationship is either going to get better, or you need to go. my name is marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not going to wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're going to wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything is going to change -- everything. but i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money.

this... let's go to work. ...is "the profit." ♪ [ bell clanging ] ♪ today, i'm visiting handi products. now, it's fun to invest in fashion and food, but while ramps may not get everybody's heart racing, there is a need for safety and accessibility in america. take the r.v. business that i'm heavily invested in. i know my customers struggle to get up and down those units all the time. and sometimes, the most mundane products, they can be the most lucrative. christine: welcome. lemonis: how are you? christine: good. how are you? lemonis: marcus. christine: hi, marcus. christine. lemonis: nice to meet you. christine: this is thom. thom: hello. lemonis: hi, thom. i'm marcus. thom: marcus, nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. how long have you been in business? thom: i bought it in 1995. in fact, when i bought it, it was three people, and there's almost 50 people here now. my son is our sales manager. lemonis: how long has your son been in the business? thom: six years now.

lemonis: how's that working? thom: well, the -- one of the things that we did was, when we started this, we said he doesn't report to me because there's always family dynamics that come into play. lemonis: you guys talk about business? thom: no. he doesn't report to me. we have a better balanced communication. lemonis: uh-huh. can i get a tour... thom: absolutely lemonis: ...see inside? thom: why don't we start off over here on the welding side? ♪ lemonis: what gets manufactured in this building? thom: all of the ramps, right from zero to finished product. this is what we call a portable access ramp. lemonis: how do people find your business? thom: the web. probably 80% of our customers come to us through the web. these are our commercial van ramps. ♪ lemonis: wow. thom: this will handle 1,500 pounds and allow people to take a two-wheeler or load... lemonis: wow. thom: ...the van just like that. lemonis: that's pretty awesome. how much could this business grow in top line without having to add any more labor or any more space? thom: we're running one shift,

so we could go to a two- or three-shift model. we're at eight million now, probably do five times the amount of volume we're doing now. lemonis: you could do $40 million in business. thom: yes. we should be a $100-million company, yet we're not. lemonis: honestly, thom is right. this business has plenty of room to run, but what has to happen is he has to tap into new markets and identify them, and once he does, this business will have no problem filling that capacity. thom: couldn't get all of our processes right. our processes have some room for improvement, but for the most part, i think i try to step back and let people do their own thing. lemonis: are these some of the products? thom: this is the retail. it's an aluminum nonslip tread that can actually make the edge of the stair, which is always where people slip, sort of a nonslip and then prevent people from slipping. it's for exteriors, the exterior or basement. lemonis: so, like, off my deck or off my front door. thom: exactly. these are bath and shower treads. this is your grip tape. lemonis: but it seems like the name of the company is "stop the slip," and then here it's "handi treads,"

not "stop the slip." thom: good point. lemonis: so, what is the name of the brand? thom: well, it depends on the individual products. a third of our business is accessibility, a third of it is in slip-and-fall prevention, and then a third of it is in material handling. lemonis: why doesn't the branding on the package match the branding here? thom: you know, that's a good question. i guess i hadn't thought about that. lemonis: there's not a cohesive look across all of the different skus, and there's two different names -- handi products on one, stop the slip on another. i want to see packaging that clearly outlines what the brand is, what its features and benefits are. their packaging does none of that. this stop the slip line, has it had a lot of growth in the last couple of years? thom: uh, no, it doesn't generate much revenue because the issue, when we started getting into this slip-and-fall-prevention category, our biggest problem is having it distributed. nobody is serving the slip-and-fall-prevention market, so each of these things end up in a different place in the store. lemonis: thom has said that his slip-and-fall business

has struggled because retailers don't have a dedicated slip-and-fall section in their stores. for example, the metal treads may be sold in one department, and something for the bathtub may be sold in the plumbing department. one idea would be to convince the retailer to have a safety category, dedicated space, dedicated products, dedicated revenue. i'm surprised that you haven't sold this into the r.v. market. thom: i haven't thought about the r.v. market. lemonis: every r.v. has steps. thom: ah. this one is pet step. lemonis: is this pretty strong? thom: it's 500 pounds. lemonis: what does this retail for? thom: $1.69. lemonis: what's it cost? thom: $44. lemonis: wow. vans, trucks, and suvs, there's almost 10 million r.v.ers in america. 75% of r.v.ers have pets. thom: wow. lemonis: have you been in here a long time? thom: six months. lemonis: and where were you before? thom: we were at libertyville. lemonis: why did you have to get this building? because you couldn't -- thom: we needed to grow. lemonis: pretty cool. how are you? i'm marcus. eva: nice to meet you. lemonis: are you eva? eva: yes, i am. lemonis: nice to -- there, nice. brand-new building, and all he gives you is a paper tag.

thom: our fancy name tags. yes, that's it. lemonis: how long have you been here? eva: for just over four years. lemonis: and what do you do here? eva: i do a little of everything. [ chuckles ] lemonis: who's the shop foreman? who heads up manufacturing? thom: that would be eva. lemonis: does the sales team report to you? eva: no. no. thom: it reports to alex, my son, and bill dittman. lemonis: so, eva, you're here. where's bill? thom: bill dittman is in libertyville. lemonis: do you keep everybody separated on purpose? thom: no, i'd love to bring them all here, but bill lives in libertyville, and it's convenient for him. eva: it doesn't make sense to have 2 plants 30 minutes apart. lemonis: it's not that far. look, i find it a little odd that this company has two separate offices that are 25 minutes apart because one employee doesn't want to make the drive. this is bonkers. i want to meet alex. thom: yeah, straight ahead. alex: how are you doing? lemonis: i'm marcus. alex: alex, nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. well, your dad has given me a great tour. you love it here? alex: yeah. lemonis: what do you do? alex: my title is sales manager, but i kind of dabble

in a little bit of everything, from sales to collections. lemonis: how is it working with your dad, truth? why don't you give us a minute? thom: yeah, i'll go. lemonis: yeah, actually, get out of here! thom: i've done the direction. i've done the hard part. lemonis: stop moderating everything. how is it working with your dad? alex: he has a strong personality. i suggest different things to try to improve our process downstairs in the production and to try to improve marketing. he would listen to my ideas, but i don't -- he would never act on them, so i just got the feeling that it wasn't something he was, like, really taking to heart. and then when i went from customer service manager to sales manager, nothing was really offered to me, so i had to push a little bit more for that. lemonis: who'd you have to push? alex: thom. lemonis: your dad. alex: my dad. sorry. i call him thom. i have other people say "thom" to me. i don't want them to think that because i'm his son that i'm getting, like, special treatment. lemonis: what do you mean by that? like, by calling him dad? alex: yes. lemonis: oh.

what did you do before you came here? alex: i was a supervisor at ups in rockford. lemonis: but you grew up here. alex: till i was about 10, 11 years old. then my mom moved to rockford, and we went and lived with her. lemonis: your parents got divorced? alex: yeah, when i was young. lemonis: when you moved to rockford, did you make a choice to go with your mom? alex: no. no. there was a whole legal custody-battle thing. lemonis: mm-hmm. do you think it created any wedge between you and your dad? alex: yeah, i'm sure. i think that's a big reason why i work very hard to try to impress him, basically, i guess is the word. i try to make him see that i kind of do know a little bit about what i'm doing. ♪ lemonis: i talked to your son. thom: i'd love to have been a fly on that wall. lemonis: family business is tough, and i have experience with it because i worked with my father, and it was not an environment that i enjoyed. thom: as you mentioned, family dynamics are always difficult,

which is exactly why i put bill dittman between us. lemonis: and you don't like conflict at all... thom: that's true. lemonis: ...which is why there's people still working in libertyville. thom: that's true. ♪ lemonis: so, i'm heading to the facility in libertyville. i want to get to the bottom of this idea that one person doesn't want to drive to the main office. thom: this building was perfect for us because when i first bought the business, we were in a 6,000-square-foot operation, and here we moved into this one, and we had 28,000 square feet to grow into. lemonis: thom, i'm just making observations. tell me. there's really nothing here. this all can fit into half a room. thom: yes. we could tighten it up. we could tighten it up. bill: marcus, bill dittman. lemonis: oh, hey, bill. how are you? what are you in charge of? bill: i've started to build the retail side of the business. lemonis: where's the bulk of the revenue at retail coming from, online? bill: believe it or not, yes, and our biggest challenge is

none of the retail groups have even a safety category. lemonis: because the way you've presented them to the retailer isn't about a category. it's broken up. what is the difference between stop the slip and people treads? bill: there's the same product from an adhesive perspective in putting it down in the floor or in the bath or in a, you know -- lemonis: so, there's really not a difference. bill: correct. and i'm going to -- you know, i brag about how the group has come together. lemonis: even the people in kenosha? bill: what's that? lemonis: even the people in kenosha? thom: there's been a conversation about why do we have people here. when are other people from libertyville coming up here? lemonis: yeah. bill: the way i look at it, i live a mile away. i get a lot more time in the office here. lemonis: or... bill: or be driving 30 or 40 minutes, right? lemonis: yeah. it took me 26 minutes. bill: really? okay. lemonis: yep. i'm definitely seeing some things that don't add up, so what i'd rather do is sit down and study the numbers

because we all know the numbers don't lie. ♪ what's happening? thom: how are you doing? lemonis: how are you? what's happening? alex: how's it going? lemonis: i think the business that you guys are in is pretty fantastic, but do you guys feel like there's a lot of warmth between the two of you? alex: no. thom: no, probably not. we're not touchy-feely. lemonis: you could get a job doing a lot of things. why do you want to work for your dad? alex: legacy. lemonis: what does that mean? alex: it means a lot to him. it means a lot to me. i'd want to keep going with what he created. i don't want to let him down. lemonis: when a father and son work together, it's difficult for the father because he wants to be tough and not set a bad example, and it's difficult for the son, from my experience, because he doesn't want to seem disrespectful, and it creates this very weird dynamic. thom: you're hitting the nail on the head. there are some things that i want him to do,

but i just sort of expect him to do because i don't want anybody to think that you're getting this because you're entitled, and there are some things that i don't want to say because i don't want to offend him, and sometimes i avoid conflict by not challenging people. lemonis: why? ♪ thom: umm... well, i don't get into this very often, but i grew up in household where my mother was an alcoholic. lemonis: mm-hmm. thom: and my father was a verbally abusive person. once i realized that they did the best they could with what they had, you sort of accept that for what it is. lemonis: when people are abused, which is high conflict, they want as little conflict as possible because it's reminiscent of what that felt like, but you have a big staff, and so communication is really important. thom: yeah.

lemonis: so, did you bring the financials? thom: i did. lemonis: can i see them? ♪ 2016 -- $5.6 million of sales. 2017 -- $7.5 million. and 2018 -- $8 million. i think there's a much bigger market, huge. thom: well, a big part of our challenge in growing is that we have been cash-, you know, restricted. lemonis: how much cash on the balance sheet? alex: $42,000. lemonis: but how have you been so cash-restricted when you have good earnings? do you take a lot of cash out? thom: i've taken nothing out. lemonis: so, then where's all the retained earnings? thom: buildings. lemonis: okay. i get it. so, the total rents are about $264,000. libertyville is killing you. if you wanted to double the business, you actually could not... alex: right. lemonis: ...because you don't have the cash to buy the raw materials, to take the chance, to market, go to new trade shows. it doesn't have the cash. but i like the fact that you guys are making what i would consider a socially responsible product,

and i like the fact that you're creating safety for people. it's a safety-and-accessibility business. alex: yes. lemonis: so, i'd like to do a deal. i'm willing to put up 1 million bucks. for 1 million bucks, i want 20%. thom: i would say $2 million would help us create a good growth plan. alex: right. ♪ alex: i bust my ass more than anybody else, i feel. i want to be recognized. lemonis: this relationship is either going to get better, or you need to go.

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♪ thom: i would say $2 million would help us create a good growth plan. alex: right. ♪ lemonis: that was kind of slick, wasn't it, how he did that? i'll try something different with you. thom: okay. lemonis: so, i'll agree to your $2 million. it's a million for 15%, but i reserve the right, over the next 48 months from today, to put another million in. so, it's 1 for 20% or 2 for 30% -- one now and one over the next four years if i want to. you could say no.

alex: to grow that market, to get it to where you want it to be, you need somebody that knows what they're doing on the retail side of things. thom: you know what? door two. lemonis: door two? so, it's $2 million. thom: just motivates you to do a lot more to make things better. it'll be the best investment you've made. lemonis: okay. thom: thank you, sir. lemonis: that was good. that was fun. thom: that was good. i enjoyed it. lemonis: your dad is good. alex: yes. lemonis: you better learn something from him. thom: thank you. lemonis: all right, guys. ♪ how's everybody doing? man #1: good. man #2: good. lemonis: thom and i made a deal for me to invest up to $2 million into the business. bill: what's the first thing you think we should do? lemonis: that's a really good question. you don't want my answer. i think the first step is you have to get out of libertyville immediately, and everybody should be together. bill: we get a lot done here. lemonis: do you get a lot done? bill: yeah.

lemonis: but you have a sales problem. we need to find out how the company is going to be marketed. there's not good branding. we need to create some level of consistency. all of their stop the slip products are branded differently -- different-looking packages, different names, and in order to have success with retailers, they're going to have to put it all under one cohesive brand, safety products called stop the slip. and then i feel like i myself, in five minutes, could sell all these pet ramps to r.v.ers. and finally, what can thom do better? alex: communication. we need to get better communication. eva: we're not thriving and working together enough. thom treats alex like his son and not an employee. he doesn't listen to him. lemonis: our job as leaders is to understand how we're all going to communicate together, so if somebody has a complaint or an idea, how they can share it. thom: yeah. lemonis: let's get to work. come on. ♪

i brought handi products to the florida r.v. supershow. thom: wow! lemonis: there are hundreds of thousands of customers and almost 1,000 vendors, and the primary goal is to clearly outline where opportunity exists that they can't see. at this particular show, you're going to see probably 100,000 different customers. this is a smattering of the 10 million people in america that own r.v.s. we're going to show people the pet ramp, and then we're going to test out some of the antislip products. thom: perfect. lemonis: all right. ♪ thom: does isabella have a problem with the stairs in the r.v.? woman #1: yes, she does. lemonis: let's see with and without. thom: okay. good girl. woman #1: come on up we go. come on, bella. lemonis: she's like, "no." no. let's try it with the ramp. woman #1: all right. here we go, right up the ramp. there you go. come on. lemonis: we're learning a few things while we're here, and ultimately, what i want thom to pay attention to is how he can modify his product and his perspective

to have one single product serve multiple industries. woman #2: i felt that it was pretty steep. lemonis: for example, the ramp that he currently makes will work really well in the back of a car or a sport utility, but i need it to work in an r.v. or a boat or a cargo trailer so that it works for everybody. he may not be a customer. woman #2: right. this is not for you. lemonis: i want you to show customers some of these other products. alex: all right. safety and accessibility is what we do. so, these are aluminum nonslip treads. these are just little strips that you peel off, and you stick down. woman #3: oh, that's neat, huh? man: that'd be, like, good for as soon as you come up the steps into the motor home. alex: yes. woman #4: what about weather? alex: made, manufactured, and tested in chicago, illinois... woman #4: oh. alex: ...so we are very familiar with the weather. thom: it does phenomenal in weather, even in, like, the northern... woman #4: snow? thom: yes. alex: yep. thom: as long as the snow doesn't cover it completely. like, if you get a little coating of snow or frost, the nice part about it is that the button itself is raised, and these are guaranteed never to wear out in your lifetime. lemonis: look, i don't like the fact

that thom just steamrolled alex, and if it was me and i'm watching one of my teammates successfully pitch the product and do a good job doing it, i would step out of the way, actually get out of the way. so, bruce runs our camping world retail stores. thom: hi, bruce. i'm thom. bruce: hi, nice to meet you, bruce wright. lemonis: let's ask bruce what he thinks. bruce: yeah, this one, you're shouting out your company name on this one, your brand on there, and this one is kind of hidden on there. right now, you kind of just show one picture here. alex: right. bruce: i think you're showing steps at home, but you better show some stuff at home, r.v., all the different uses you can have it, a boat. so, i would say tell the whole story, get it on the back. alex: and honestly, it's not even a picture of the product. bruce: that's even -- yeah. lemonis: what's the retail on this again? alex: $29.99, i believe, for that one. lemonis: what's wholesale cost? alex: $13. thom: half that. lemonis: well, half of that would be $15. thom: right. lemonis: so, is it $13 or $15? you don't know it off the top of your head? alex: i thought i did, but he's having a different number than i did. thom: i'm right until i'm proven wrong.

you think you're right, and i think i'm right. alex: but you will not let anybody else be right. thom: it's based on 20 years of experience that i've got this opinion. it's like we're talking about the truck ramp that we have. i thought we should introduce it now, and you said, "no. i want to finish it out." alex: you've sold 10 of the ramps, and we've had problems with 6 that i've had to deal with the problems. let's not open up the market to everybody. let's design it so it works and then sell it. thom: you said, "let's take it off the market." lemonis: the floodgates have clearly opened, and they're now just going at each other, and what's obvious is that there's way more underneath the surface than anybody realizes. let's go sit down because i don't want to do that in public. look, thom and alex are going to have to sit down, and they're going to have to figure out how to work through these differences because whatever contamination exists between the two of them, it's going to end up poisoning the rest of the business. how are you guys getting along together? truthfully, no bull[bleep] alex: it was a little more rocky in the past couple weeks, few weeks.

i bust my ass more than anybody else, i feel. lemonis: welcome to family business. you want me to give you a high five for working hard for a family business? alex: i want to be recognized for it. lemonis: maybe you want a prize for it. alex: i want to be recognized. lemonis: but they don't exist. your father is always going to tougher on you than he would be on an average employee. alex: okay. lemonis: this relationship is either going to get better, or you need to go. eva: the issue comes down to the company not having consequences, and it's not just this department. it's every fricking department in this company.

lemonis: this relationship is either going to get better, or you need to go. there's no in between. alex: okay. lemonis: you're going to fight fire with fire, and ultimately, unfortunately, because he owns the place, he's going to win. alex: yeah. lemonis: this is about a father and son,

two people in the business, actually learning how to communicate and get past their issues. in order to move this business forward, they're going to have to move forward. i think what has to happen, though, you have to be a little bit more tolerant of who your dad is. alex: every day, i come to work, and i try to prove to you that i'm good, that i'm good at this job. i wish we would've had a better relationship. ♪ lemonis: and whatever animosity you have from the past, i think you need to figure out how to put it on the table and deal with it. you're still angry about what happened when you were a kid. alex: i wasn't -- we weren't together much when i was a kid. lemonis: i know. the two of you haven't rebuilt your bond. you're not a bad father. he's just starving for you. he wants his dad so bad.

♪ alex: [ sniffles ] lemonis: all he wants is your acceptance and your approval. he is dying to have a relationship with you. ♪ ♪ good morning. good to see you. my man, what's happening? i haven't seen you in a while. so, today, thom is meeting with purei, a chicago-based advertising company that is hopefully going to bring some new, fresh ideas to the packaging. len: you know, one of the things we did when we saw the packaging -- obviously, it's clear that it needs an update. the first one we did... alex: ooh. len: ...was something more interesting, okay, and more consumer-friendly. bring the packaging to life. change the color scheme completely. make it more approachable. alex: i like the colors. i like the name. i like that there's really only one thing to look at to tell you what it is and how you can use it,

which is a lot better than... thom: i'm not sure i like the blue. i think blue is a little more passive than i like. i might brighten that up a little bit. lemonis: thom just ran over alex, and whether it's conscious or not, in order for this company to be successful, thom is going to have to let other people give feedback, give their input, have an opinion. thom: now, should we maybe improve our... alex: website? thom: absolutely not. eva: i mean, right now, you can't find anything on our website. alex: certain products are hidden. eva: yeah, so... thom: 75% to 90% of the people that go to our site find our site through search and find our site as a result of the design of that site. len: okay. thom: so, you got to be very careful about going in and doing a change in the website. ♪ lemonis: i got a glimpse into how people get shut down. thom: okay. lemonis: we have to figure out

how to better communicate. eva, how do you see it? eva: like, an example, yesterday, we were in a meeting. they know i was visibly upset. i didn't agree with the direction that they were headed. thom: you know, we've been talking about having alex move into the production area, and that's part of what we have to do because he's going to need it. i think it would be a good thing for alex and for the company. alex: oh, there's certain aspects about products and quality that i think that i can help improve. i deal with customer complaints and customers calling and saying, "i spent $2,000 on this, and it does not work." eva: he has a lot to learn, and he needs to understand the processes. lemonis: while i can tell that eva is annoyed, and i definitely want to be sensitive to that, i'm glad that thom is giving alex a chance to prove himself, to actually show his dad that he can do something. let's do this. rather than talking about it, let's go into the shop. i want to hear from alex what he thinks he would improve.

♪ what are five things you'd fix right now? alex: i'd walk around more, make sure they're working on the right thing, make sure they're not slacking. check where's the work order for this, double-check a measurement or two, just to make sure everybody is understanding what they're working on and what they're making and that we have the right product. eva: but at the same time, we need to instill the responsibility in each person. thom: do you -- do you see that as not happening now? eva: the issue comes down to the company as a whole not having consequences. thom: but at the same time, when we say we're going to have consequences, that means we're losing this person. eva: not necessarily. maybe it's sending them home early one day. alex: if we're expecting the people that we have in the supervisor role now to do that, they're more friends than they are bosses.

eva: and that's not going to change until the company changes, and it's not just this department. it's every fricking department in this company. that's why none of this works. ♪ alex: it's the new look. thom: we did this internally. lemonis: it feels homemade again. as a leader, you have to actually move the ball. this looks like you dropped the ball. thom: hmm. lemonis: this is... actually awful.

eva: the issue comes down to the company not having consequences, and it's not just this department. it's every fricking department in this company. that's why none of this works. because we don't have a handbook that we hand people and say, "lookit. we're serious. these are the rules," people do what they feel like. alex: and i hate to say it. there's no fear of losing their job. they can do almost whatever they want and know there's not going to be a consequence.

thom: i will own that because i am the anticonflict person, and i avoid that sort of consequence issue. lemonis: one of the benefits of alex going on the floor is that eva's voice is now getting heard, and the things that needed to be addressed, like the employees having structure or rules, was ignored before. this is a conflict, as the owner of the business, thom is going to have to address himself. thom: how do i help you to fix that? eva: we need a handbook. thom: we need a handbook. okay. eva: we need a handbook, and we need rules and processes that we're going to stick to. thom: all right. i will have the handbook on your desks by the end of the month. ♪ lemonis: alex has started working on the manufacturing floor with eva so that he can learn the business from the ground up. alex: 12 inches of space for the dog to walk up. thom: good girl. lemonis: meanwhile, thom has been working on making modifications to the pet ramp.

it'll ultimately open it up to other industries like the r.v. business. thom: we're looking to see if we can practically build this same product in a plastic modular version. lemonis: wow. thom: yeah. lemonis: also, i want to start interfacing with some of the retailers so that we can understand how stop the slip can be a fully integrated brand. were you in true value today? paul: we've got the true value show. lemonis: it's like a giant convention. oh, yeah. the true value convention is one of the biggest trade shows for this kind of product in america, and i want to actually take stop the slip there so that retailers can see the product and decide if it's a good fit for their business. but it's only a month away, which means we need to get busy. you guys have a booth there? paul: yes. lemonis: you got to have some solid, solid, solid mock-ups. ♪ so, what progress has been made since the last time i saw you? thom: all right. well, we brought in some new equipment.

lemonis: so, i'm back at the handi manufacturing facility to ensure that some of the changes that i asked to have happen actually happened. so, are you spending more time out here or not yet? alex: yes. i think it's been going really well. eva: it's been going well. alex: i see how difficult it is out here. coming out here and actually seeing it really kind of opened my eyes a little bit. thom: we're kind of talking about packaging. you want to join us? lemonis: is this the new stuff? alex: it's the new look. yes. lemonis: one of the challenges that this company has had around the stop the slip product is the packaging, so thom was tasked with coming up with new ideas and new packaging with one of the advertising companies. so, it's this verse this. thom: yes. lemonis: i think this looks like the exact same thing except you changed the color and moved pictures around. what do you think of it? eva: i don't know if it's substantially different than what we were doing. lemonis: yeah. what was the agency's name that we met? thom: purei. lemonis: what they came back

with felt like they refreshed the whole thing. thom: i didn't like it, so we took some of the thoughts they had, and we did this internally. lemonis: it feels homemade again. thom: okay. lemonis: it's obvious to me that thom listened to nobody in this process -- not me, not the ad company, not his employees, and you can see it in the product. what do you guys think of this? jim: i think it's an improvement. lemonis: well, when you set the bar really low, all you have to do is have a bunny hop, and you're over it. alex, what do you think? alex: i agree this looks a little dated, maybe a little too boxy. eva: yeah, i...don't love them. paul: i'm hoping we can commit to one of the professional designers to create this. he did a number of concepts that i really like. jim: that was what we were trying. thom: no. no. i really was disappointed with it. i didn't like the way it fit with the product. lemonis: we have the true value trade show in less than a week, and as we're sitting here, it appears that thom

has basically closed his ears, not taking any feedback, not open to new ideas, and we need to show up with something new. and so, i think, as a leader, you have to be able to have people feel like their input matters... thom: mm-hmm. lemonis: ...right? and actually move the ball. this looks like you dropped the ball. thom: hmm. lemonis: this is... actually awful. ♪ if your business is in trouble, and you need my help, log on to theprofitcasting.com.

lemonis: and so i think, as a leader, you have to be able to have people feel like their input matters and actually move the ball. this looks like you dropped the ball. this is actually awful. thom: part of my problem is i've been trying not to have a million meetings. lemonis: once again, thom agrees that he's got a problem, but he's doing nothing to fix it. you can just dialogue with it a little bit, but i think what happens is the minute people feel like they can't have an opinion, it's like, "well [bleep] it. i'm just not going to say anything." thom: right. right. lemonis: why don't you guys work on it and come back with something, okay? we'll see you guys in a little bit. ♪ thom is moving the ball forward with the team to get the packaging done on time. steve: we want to make the design clean and clear

and focused and easy to communicate needs. eva: you need to make this longer. lemonis: in order to make sure that production is efficient and quality is maintained, thom is working on putting together a handbook. eva: they put up large monitors. lemonis: eva has developed a job board that will manage not only the overall workflow but the specific jobs being done and their dates. cutting, fabrication, cleaning, ordering, shipping. this is helpful. alex: yeah. eva: yeah. lemonis: everything from the libertyville manufacturing plant has been moved to kenosha. eva: this machine is the floor for everything they build. alex: these guys used to run it in libertyville. they moved up here. lemonis: and they like having it here? and bill and the rest of the team have transitioned nicely to the kenosha office. bill: what's going to happen when we do change the branding? thom: can you bring the forklifts over here? will it fit? alex: yeah. lemonis: thom and alex are working together, putting the finishing touches on the modified ramps. it won't be long before we can start selling them to new retail segments. alex: you want to measure it? thom: yeah. you got the tape measure?

all right. lemonis: and the father and son, they're making a ton of progress in their relationship. thom: we're communicating better. we're doing more communicating, which is, i think, good. alex: i think that he's really taken to heart what we've talked about. thom: i'm listening more to some of the things that you have to say, and i think that's helped our relationship, and i like the fact that you're working closer and stronger with eva, even if you don't agree with 100% of what's going on out there. lemonis: thom is gaining flexibility and direction with his leadership while alex is looking way more comfortable with his dad. i just hope they can maintain this level of progress into the true value show. ♪ today, i'm at the true value convention. there are over 2,600 independent member retailers as well as 3,000 other vendors who are trying to impress those retailers

and ultimately get their products into true value stores nationwide. how are you? thom: good to see you. lemonis: oh, i like your new logo. thom: oh, you like that? yeah. lemonis: i'm anxious to see if thom was able to improve the packaging on stop the slip. i'm excited to see the new packaging. thom: yeah. well, we brought the old stuff because we didn't want to confuse the customers. lemonis: what would you be confusing them with? why would you show them the old stuff and not the new stuff? paul: we're sitting on inventory here of the old inventory. lemonis: but you have these shirts on that look nothing like that. all along the way, we've been talking about representing this brand in a cohesive way, all around safety. the fact that this display is with the old branding not only dampens your odds of success, but it confuses the potential customer, so they may end up buying nothing. how much money do we have invested in this old packaging? alex: $4,800. lemonis: it's not worth it. you went to a trade show knowing you're changing the packaging. you sell them that because you have it. you may actually lose accounts over it.

thom: mm. lemonis: for exclusives, extras, and business advice, visit theprofit.cnbc.com.

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knowing you're changing the packaging. you sell them that because you have it. you may actually lose accounts over it. thom: mm. paul: we won't have this available till we've got everything fine-tuned. lemonis: this looks kind of badass. thom: i like it. i like it. lemonis: i'm just going to say it right now. alex: oh, i think it looks great. lemonis: i mean, this looks fantastic. it's now cleaner. you actually see one cohesive brand and an assortment of products all looking like they belong to one thing.

so, none of this is on here? alex: correct. lemonis: while they made a lot of progress on the packaging, they still missed the mark. i wanted them to create a display that actually tied it all together and told one story, and they still haven't done that. but i think you got to lead with this. thom: okay. lemonis: we're not waiting anymore to launch the new look. we're here, and we're going to need to make the best of it. alex: alex. tory: hi. tory. alex: nice to meet you. john: tom, how are you? lemonis: tory and john oversee merchandising for true value's corporate office, and they essentially determine what goes into the warehouse so that the members, also known as the store retailers for true value, can pick from that inventory, so if you want to impress anybody in this moment, it's these two. thom: the company is an accessibility and a safety company. the brand will be stop the slip. tory: okay. thom: this is alex. he is my son. he is... alex: sales manager. thom: ...sales manager. john: great. thom: i'll let you take on the product. alex: it's our number-one product. it's high margin. we warranty it for the lifetime of the homeowner. lemonis: i have to admit that i was happy to see

thom actually acknowledge his son instead of talking over him, which is huge progress for him. do you have a preference of logo? tory: i would go with the yellow. lemonis: what didn't you like about this? tory: it's a little busy. in the background, there's just too much going on. this is clean, simple. consumers want to know how the product works, and there's none of that on the old packaging. john: it signals caution. what's next from a product perspective? thom: well, our next thing is to unify the entire product line. lemonis: we'll come to your office and show you everything redone the way it's supposed to be. john: thank you for your time. tory: thank you, guys, lemonis: the merchandisers from true value seemed to like the packaging, and if we can show them that we can put it in a full set, then we're going to be in great shape. alex: i'm alex. nice to meet you. sue? sue: hey, alex. lemonis: we also generated some sales with some of the store owners. alex: creates a nonslip surface walking up and down stairs. think it's something you want to try? woman: yeah. [ laughs ] man: nice to meet you. thanks for your time. alex: oh, thank you. lemonis: the trade show ended a lot better than it started, but the best part was seeing thom and alex work together.

thom: the contribution you're making is good. i might not have been giving you the opportunity. i need to step back and count on you. i want you to run putting all these pieces together with true value. lemonis: i do think the packaging looks... alex: yeah, i like it. thom: it does look good. lemonis: we're seeing the goal line. okay, buddy. alex: cool. lemonis: thank you. alex: thanks, dad. love you, dad. thom: great. ♪ paul: hello. hartman: guys, how are you? lemonis: how are you? since the trade show, i've tasked the company with finalizing the product packaging and also coming up with the displays. i've set up an opportunity for thom and the team to present their full assortment to true value at their corporate office. thom: how many stores does true value have? hartman: there's about 4,500. thom: okay. hartman: we love our current members, but we're also welcoming new customers to our organization. lemonis: like, another independent retailer can do business with you? hartman: that's right. lemonis: true value doesn't only sell to their 4,500 retail members, but they also now are one of the biggest distributors

of these kind of products even outside of their members. alex: that display, it actually comes with a quarter pallet on the bottom with one of our treads so they can step on it and test it out. eva: so, there's two different versions of it, a 2-foot, a 3-foot, and a 4-foot. lemonis: which is the one that's up on the screen. man: four-foot is an all-inclusive assortment with the best of our products. lemonis: every member of the team participated in the presentation, and it really looks like a cohesive team now that understands what their objectives are. tory: it's more simple, it tells the story, and it all ties into one, whereas, before, you had different packaging, so it looked like different brands. alex: right. lemonis: they've made tremendous progress on the stop the slip products. man: what's the investment for a simple 3-foot display? thom: think we're looking at about $500 would be the opening order. lemonis: this particular category of stop the slip should generate close to $4 million just with the true value account. man: do you guys know the market potential for a pet? paul: we do a ton of business in the pet category. lemonis: i'm also happy that they've made a lot of progress in developing the pet ramp, and in a matter of months,

that will definitely be to market. i thought you did a really good job. thom: you worked hard, and you put a lot of effort into this. you really stepped up. eva: it's a team. everyone brings something to the table. lemonis: okay. i'll see you guys back at the office. thom: hey. thank you. ♪ jimmy: we are the best-kept secret in new jersey. lemonis: the food is amazing. ...great food isn't gonna be enough to keep this little new jersey restaurant afloat. you may have lost some business in those months. jimmy: lost half the business. it went back down to the numbers where we started. lemonis: this father-and-son team's complete lack of experience... this does not look like a financial statement. this is how a bookie keeps numbers. ...and motivation... does this sign look nice to you? dante: no. lemonis: all these weeds, all this trash, it feels like you really genuinely don't give a [bleep]. ...has them bleeding money year after year. jimmy: i don't think you know totally what to do. you don't know the laws. you don't know if you can handle this. lemonis: they'll need to learn the basics from the ground up. dante: we buy the pasta by the pound.