marcus. how are you? it's nice to see you. lemonis: how you doing, buddy? ian: marcus. how are you? monis: what's happening? i been good. i'm heading over to aristotle's office to see what work he did while he was in greece. i want to see the new designs. i want to see new colors, and i want to see if he's getting really focused on the details. so what is all this? aristotle: so when moms are purchasing our product, they're always asking if you have anything for kids, so i took this opportunity to explore what that possibility could look like. lemonis: i love the fact that you took the initiative to come up with other ideas, and i like the fact that you were clever enough to come up with some colors because kids don't want to wear glasses that are just plain. aristotle: yep. lemonis: it's fun. they seem flexible. they seem durable. i know that aristotle and i had never talked about kids' glasses, but i have to give him credit for going outside of the box and thinking on his own without worrying about the risk of failure. that's showing a lot of personal development for him. are these

marcus: yeah. lemonis: and how about her? is she mean? arcus: [ laughing ] no, she's -- tamika: [ laughs ] woman: hi. how are you? lauren: what kind of cupcake would you like? girl: strawberry twist. lauren: you want a strawberry twist? all right, so, your total's gonna be $7.50. lemonis: how many staff members do you have? tonnie: 12. lauren will be the one who'll be in the front. -lemonis: hi. are you -- hi. -lauren: i'm lauren. lemonis: hi, lauren. how are you? -lauren: good. nice to meet you. -lemonis: very nice to meet you. -are you a baker? -lauren: when i have to be. lemonis: so what is your primary role here? lauren: i'm in the front selling the product. lemonis: okay, great. nice meeting you. lauren: you too. thank you. tonnie: there's a lot going on with tonnie's minis right now as we speak. i'm doing a project in newark that's close to being finalized. the people who are giving me the space, they're building out the store. lemonis: at their expense? tonnie: at their expense. so what i have to supply is equipment, the first month

i could have just walked away completely at that point, marcus. lemoniscontrol, and you are leaving here today because nobody is paying your bills. thank you for coming. mike: i wish you the best. lemonis: yeah. good luck to you. ♪ mike is now gone for good, and so is paul, by the way. he hung around for awhile and tried to work on little things, but in the end, it didn't work out, and candidly, it's probably for the best. now, they're still technically investors and my partners, but that's in the name only, not the operations. ♪ travis: so this is where we're standing here. this is gone now. lemonis: in an effort to drive more traffic to farrell's, we are redoing the entire floor plan to allow customers that just want to enjoy ice cream without food to come. we're expanding the entire candy store to improve the retail area, and we're adding a candy-making space, and we're also extending the ice cream bar. ♪ if everything goes according to plan, we'll be open in the next two weeks. ♪ hey, guys. how are you? shauna: hey. shauna: good. how are you? lemonis:

marcus? lemonis: how you doing, buddy? taylor: i'm doing well, man. day of the grand opening, and to be honest, i haven't been this excited about the unveiling of a new concept in a very long time. so, are you ready to go in? okay, i'll guide you in. okay, ready, hold on, don't look yet. okay. everybody in? okay, take a look. sarah: oh, my god! lemonis: this place has been completely transformed. dawn: this is amazing. it's so beautiful. lemonis: i give randy and dawn credit. they did the best they could with the resources they were given before, but now this place feels warm and inviting. honestly, this one's a home run. dawn: that's what i wanted the feel to be. walking into a kitchen, and you're our guest. lemonis: the store is now stocked with a wide variety of food and beverage options. taylor: y'all negotiated a good price point, so we're gonna be right about a 60% margin on each of these guys. lemonis: the shelves are full, accessories and books and other gift items. dawn: these are so adorable. lemonis: taylor picked out all these products him

mike: hey, marcus. lemonis: how does this store do? not hitting the numbers that we thought we would. lemonis: what did you forecast for this store? john: a million a year. we're doing -- lemonis: half of that. john: half of that. lemonis: how much is the rent here? john: about $10,000 a month. where it's about $6,500 in seal beach. lemonis: when's your lease run out? mike: next month. john: next month. lemonis: did you bring your financials? john: we did. lemonis: let's sit down and go over 'em. john: okay. so this is tankfarm seal beach. lemonis: seal beach, $530,000, and the store made $16,000. 56% margins. 56% for a store is slightly less than average. you got huntington, $539,000 in business. this store shows that it made 13 grand. very little return. anderson brothers. $1,742,000 of revenue. 40% margins. total expenses are $544,000. business made 155,000 bucks. between all the entities, $2.7 million in total revenue, $184,000 of profit, $530,000 of real, tangible assets, $511,000 of liabilities between payables and loans. so you'r

bernadette: nice to meet you, marcus. lemonis: nice to meet you. adette: thank you for being here. lemonis: i thought it may be a good idea for the three of us to go outside and talk, just, away from everybody. bernadette: yeah. lemonis: is that okay? let's head out. you have kids? bernadette: two. they're in there. lemonis: oh, they are? bernadette: yeah, stocked up with snacks and games. lemonis: how old are they? bernadette: 5 and 7. lemonis: what's the year been like for you? bernadette: we've worked really hard, and i'd hate to see what we've worked for, um, disappear. lemonis: he smiles a lot. bernadette: he does. lemonis: is that a real smile, or is that just for show? bernadette: it's a real smile. steve: i smile when i'm stressed, i smile when i'm nervous, and i smile when i'm happy. lemonis: well, that's good. steve: it's my default position. [ laughs ] lemonis: how hard has this been on him? bernadette: incredibly difficult. a lot of questioning himself. steve: i have taken a huge risk just to get here today, and i've pushed myself to the

marcus. kate harper. very nice to meet you. sam: sam. lemonis: i'm marcus. sam: sam murray. nice to meet you. l, first of all, welcome to brooklyn and welcome to mouth. we're excited to go through the whole thing. lemonis: mouth.com is a huge, food-subscription business, and i think if they like the product, well, it's a pretty good indication of what the whole marketplace is gonna think. erica: i'm erica, and this is... lamarinette: i'm mama. sam: mama? lamarinette: mama. erica: mother-and-daughter team. we're business partners, and our company is southern culture. we have three lines within our brand. sam: i have to say, from our perspective, we think southern food so long has become somewhat commercialized and become somewhat of a joke in american cuisine. it's overly sweet or overly spicy. erica: you know, our ideals are similar to you all's because we believe in really reinventing southern food and really updating that and adding a new twist and making it fun again. lamarinette: and erica loves quality, and today, when you taste this food, one thing i know for sure, what's in the box we s

lemonis: okay. anna: marcus, this is susana. lemonis: oh, hi, susana. susana: hi. lemonis: marcus. susana: hi, marcus. nice to meet you. lemonis: how are you? nice to meet you. susana: yeah. lemonis: don't be nervous. you guys manufacture your own stuff? anna: yes. susana: yes. anna: we manufacture in our new jersey factory. sue is responsible for design, and i'm responsible for all operations and sales. lemonis: so you handle production and sales? anna: yes. i'm very capable. lemonis: that's interesting. susana: the front stuff is too emotional for me. anna: sue is the creative engine of the company. susana: yeah. anna: so we don't want to expose her to all the -- you know, all the unpleasant stuff. susana: i don't like to be in the front of things. lemonis: okay. susana: i like to be in my world working. lemonis: you're the artist. susana: yes. i just... anna: she's very -- takes everything very close to heart. and, you know, in operations, every day there is a problem. there is -- i mean, every second there is a problem. not every day -- every five minutes. lemonis: right away i

lemonis: i'm marcus. charlotte: nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you.rlotte: thanks for coming. skyler: skyler. nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. and are you the only owner? no. so, i own 90%. charlotte owns 7%, and skyler owns 3%. lemonis: and what are your roles here? charlotte: i'm the creative director. lemonis: so, all of the designs? charlotte: yeah. i oversee all of it and come up with all the ideas. skyler: so, i'm the c.o.o. i also, basically, take on a lot of the c.f.o. responsibilities. so...i've been doing a lot of the... lemonis: that's an interesting crossover. skyler: it is. it is. lemonis: as the finance person, you're the steward of the assets, which includes knowing what's there, how much it is, where it's moving, how to track it. how do you actually do a physical count? matthew: we did count, and it was a little messy 'cause we don't bar code. lemonis: but you need bar coding so you know what the hell you have. skyler: that'd be great. lemonis: can you guys pull the different products you have, so i can just understand... m

lemonis: i'm marcus. jeff: yes, i know exactly who you are. lemonis: nice to meet you. a little confused. on the front door, there's two brands there. i thought i was coming to jd custom. jeff: you are. the other company on there is my biggest customer. lemonis: what kind of business is the owner? jeff: nail polish. this is one of their lines. lemonis: and so they're a nail polish manufacturer? jeff: they have several lines, yes. lemonis: so did you guys design this display? jeff: i designed this, yes. lemonis: and what about all this stuff in the back? jeff: if i didn't design it, i had a major part in designing it. lemonis: very cool. is everything you do makeup oriented? jeff: no, but it is definitely our biggest market. lemonis: is this whole display made of acrylic? jeff: yes. lemonis: different colors? jeff: different colors, all different colors. lemonis: you came up with this, too? jeff: yeah, that i came up with. lemonis: now, would this be considered an elaborate design? jeff: yes. lemonis: what makes it elaborate? jeff: you got the half-inch thick gauge acryl

lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. lisa: nice to meet you. monis: what do you love most about being here? lisa: probably the people, their hearts, and the fact that i know i'm making a difference in their lives. erik: we help a lot of people. it feels good to have a business where you can go online and people call you like, "erik, i just dropped 30 pounds. i feel great. thank you so much." i get those calls all the time. lemonis: and so what are you doing today? can i see what you're doing? lisa: sure. come on. this is our ravioli, and it has sweet potatoes in it. i just needed to make some fresh pesto. lemonis: can i taste your pesto? lisa: of course you can. erik: there you go. -lemonis: pesto's good. -erik: good. lemonis: the raviolis are not good. in any food business, presentation is the most important thing other than taste. and in this business, there is no presentation. there's no color. the food looks gray. it looks terrible. so, who's the rest of the staff up here? erik: this is jordan. lemonis: jordan, nice to meet you. i'm gonna ch

lemonis: how you doing, my man? i'm marcus. -j.d.: j.d. -lemonis: nice to meet you.nd so, what do you do? you come in, and you take product, and you shoot it on the street? j.d.: uh-huh. i do that part and also, like, the web site. lemonis: so let's go -- i want to see how this process works. giordano: yeah, let's do it. let's do it. aeneas also does some modeling for us. ♪ lemonis: the shirt that he has on, what's the name of that shirt? -giordano: i don't have a name. lemonis: what's the name of that shirt? giordano: chic gas station. it's like mechanic chic. lemonis: what was the name of this shirt? short-sleeve polo zip-on. giordano: i don't have all the names of everything. lemonis: you don't have any names. i don't think that rocco knows who his customer is. it's probably anybody that walks in that he can sell something to. lemonis: so why -- in a nutshell, why did you call me? giordano: the company has a lot of potential, but it's not doing well. it's not all about money. it's about contacts. it's about that i'm entering my 40s without a paycheck, even though

. ♪ lemonis: i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. ve investing in american businesses. woman: people are here because i care. lemonis: it's not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. do we have a deal? let's rock and roll. man: yeah! lemonis: this is "the profit." hatbox is a local hat store in downtown austin and it specializes in any kind of hat. literally any kind of hat that you can think of. now, we know that the accessory business is a fast growing business but to have a whole business just on hats -- i was intrigued by it. ♪ jaron: hi. how are you? lemonis: hey, good. how are you? jaron: i'm jaron. lemonis: jaron? jaron: yes, sir. lemonis: nice to meet you. i love your hat. jaron: thank you. lemonis: this place is bigger than i thought it was going to be. got to love hats if you work here right? jaron: yes, you do. lemonis: i felt like i was on main street in disney world and i walked into one of the, like, attractions, and i was greeted by a guy who looked like he was from the 1950s. i'll give them

-katie: bye, marcus. -lemonis: bye. ♪ is it warmer in here than it was in there even? thing is the press runs at 390 degrees, so it's always hot. lemonis: yeah, but, i mean, they could pump some cool air in here. marci: it would be a little more enjoyable. lemonis: it's odd to me that marci is out in the warehouse standing and working with this very hot machine -- i mean, really hot. and right on the other side of the wall are a bunch of guys sitting in cubicles with plenty of light and plenty of air conditioning. so what is -- is this printed on paper? marci: yeah. so, this is printed on special paper. lemonis: okay. the girls inside were telling me that the business is somewhat disorganized. marci: it is a little frustrating, though, to know that they're out fishing and then we might not be able to make payroll. lemonis: as opposed to getting on the phone, -selling, making money. -marci: mm-hmm. fishing is more important. i actually have a video on my phone of a friday afternoon i think you would probably find pretty interesting. so this is just me. it's a quarter af

lemonis: i'm marcus. caity: thanks for coming. monis: so you're really the person that runs this business? caity: yes. lemonis: okay. caity: but with the help of an amazing team. lemonis: do you guys sell online? jessica: we do. lemonis: how much does the web do? caity: it varies. we're really trying to increase web sales, but right now, year to date, our average is about $2,700 a week, and our goal is more like $5,000 a week. lemonis: oh! jessica: speak of the devil. monica: you guys, i am so sorry. hi. lemonis: how are you? monica: you're really cute. lemonis: nice -- thank you. but you're really late. monica: i said i was sorry. lemonis: i'm kidding. jessica: [ laughs ] lemonis: talk to me about the store. what are you thinking about? monica: this store and the website are both extensions of my home. lemonis: everybody said you don't spend much time here. monica: i don't. lemonis: why? monica: because my job and my kids are in los angeles. lemonis: makes sense. hello, ladies. welcome to monica potter. monica: hi. lemonis: come o

lemonis: i'm marcus. lisa: how are you doing? lemonis: nice to meet you. tell me what's going on here. cory: okay, so today we actually have a pop-up shop and customers come, they get a cookie. they sit down and wait for their car. lemonis: are we generating revenue? or are you giving them away? cory: the company buys them and then we give them. lemonis: very smart. whose idea was that? cory: both of our ideas. lemonis: okay. now more importantly, i love cookies. cory: so you got to try them. lemonis: so i'm a really tough judge, though. cory: okay. okay. i got you. lemonis: okay. cory: okay, this is the chocolate chip. they're all natural, and they have no preservatives added. lemonis: the chocolate chip was amazing. cory: thank you. second, this is a double dark. this is like the brownie. nice and soft in the middle. lemonis: it's delicious. cory: and sugar cookies. lemonis: is there orange in this cookie? orange peel? cory: it's a secret recipe. lemonis: okay. let me just tell you right now. lisa: oh, no. lemonis: if we do a deal, i'm gonna need to know

lemonis: what's happening? i'm marcus. -mary ellen: hi, i'm mary ellen. -lemonis: mary ellen.ry ellen: nice to meet you. -mary lou: mary lou. -lemonis: mary lou. chuck: call me chuck. lemonis: chuck, nice to meet you. -chuck: pleasure to meet you. -charlie: charlie. lemonis: okay, so you guys are brother and sister. -mary ellen: yes. -lemonis: is this your dad? -charlie: correct. -chuck: c.e.o., designer. charlie: when i go home, at the dinner table, he's my old man. he's my dad. i love him to death. in business, it's chuck because i'm going to get a little emotional. lemonis: and who's in charge? charlie: i kind of run the show. mary ellen: i mean, the loudest person usually does. lemonis: the loudest person. charlie: i think everyone can agree. -mary lou: no. -mary ellen: [ scoffs ] charlie: everyone comes to me. i'm the one person that you all communicate to. lemonis: and whose name's on the door? -chuck: oh, my name. -lemonis: okay. just wanted to clarify that. it doesn't say, "swim by charlie handy." chuck: no. lemonis: do you have a business card? charlie: yes. lemonis:

tracy: bye, marcus. lemonis: thank you for everything. i'm very proud of you. tracy: thank you. lemonis: i'm very proud of you. ♪ -lemonis: tonight on -what's the "f" stand for? -farmington? -fun. -lemonis: at a denim apparel business based in detroit, the jeans are stiff... -yeah. you've got to do the walk. -...and so are the owners. -no. no. no. -one of them stamps out any idea that isn't his own... -i'm fearful of just letting anyone do anything. -...while another obsesses about the smallest of details. -i've spent hours researching about exactly how to account for every half second. -...and the third cares only about his own payout. -doing the books is not of interest to me. -even though your a cpa? -even though i'm a cpa. yeah. -if i can't get them to embrace new ideas... this company will not survive as a men's jean company. ...this detroit rebuilding story will come to an end. my name is marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we are not going to wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we are going to wake up every morning wondering

tracy: bye, marcus. lemonis: thank you for everything. i'm very proud of you. tracy: thank you. lemonis: i'm very proud of you. ♪ i'm going to say, this is the coolest fricking thing i've ever seen. ...an avid fisherman has spent years inventing his own cutting-edge gear... ethan: there's never been one in the world. like, this is the first one. lemonis: ...garnering attention across the world... ethan: australia wants to do, like, 500 of 'em. lemonis: ...and generating almost half-a-million dollars in sales. fricking awesome. and i think he can do 10 times as much. ethan: i think we can really sell the pants off of this. marcos: i think it's going to be very interesting. lemonis: but only if he'd listen to feedback. you don't tend to hear the negatives. ethan: i get defensive. lemonis: ethan smith is rightly proud of what he's created. ethan: we're doing it better than other people. we've had 100 million views on facebook of this. lemonis: but his products, well, they need refinement. bruce: nothing fits right now. we need to tweak it. lemonis: his sales pitch definitely needs w

my name is marcus lemonis. i fix failing businesses. so the business only made 50,000? i make tough decisions... you can't train every class. and i back them up with my own cash. i like [bleep] done right the first time. >> that's not on me. >> it's not always pretty. >> he starts bringing in equipment here, i'm gonna break into hives. >> but this is business. the deal's off. i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. this the profit. [hip-hop music] ♪ pro-fit is a small group personal training studio located in the town of dyer, indiana. while national gyms offers huge facilities and the latest equipment, small gyms like pro-fit offer a much more personalized service in a less intimidating environment. >> we concentrate on doing one thing because without trainers, you can't get results. >> michael sena has been in the fitness industry for over 35 years... >> change direction. >> first as a body builder, then as a personal trainer. >> i was a personal trainer before there was a personal training industry. i'm a book author, fitness product inventor. it's really be