-lemonis: how you doing? anthony: mr. marcus lemonis. it's such a pleasure to finally -- -lemonis: are you anthony? -anthony: yes, sir, it is. -lemonis: nice to meet you. -anthony: pleasure to meet you. lemonis: you know what i love about highway 17? anthony: it's a lot of signs? lemonis: [ laughing ] all the signs. anthony: yeah, new signs, we do a lot of. we just did one, the car wash. i don't know if you saw it on the way here. big l.e.d. board, it was about 32 grand. we just finished it. lemonis: oh, whoa. anthony: customer's really stoked about it. lemonis: now, i don't know your business, and i'm excited to learn it. and so i know a little bit about it, 'cause i buy a couple million dollars a year worth of signs across all these businesses. anthony: i know a good sign company. -lemonis: i know you do. -anthony: [ laughs ] lemonis: but i got to get comfortable with what you're doing. so, what exactly does asl signs do? anthony: we are a one-stop shop manufacturing plant. so we do high volume, low labor. -lemonis: banners? -anthony:

lemonis: wow.larkin's sees over 600,000 customers per year, and a little over 1/3 of them order coffee. that equals about 220,000 cups per year. in one pound of coffee, you can make 40 cups of coffee. based on that, larkin's would need to order just under 5,800 pounds of coffee per year. west end sells it at a wholesale price of $7.25, then from this one meeting alone, they would generate $42,000 a year in sales. that's 5% of their annual revenue with just one meeting. -i'll turn it over to you guys. -john: okay. we appreciate the time that you guys have given us today. i realize how valuable that is. and we're here just to tell you about west end coffee. we are a full-service coffee-roasting facility. man: if it was a custom blend. becky: i don't know if we're gonna offer a private recipe for larkin's. if that's the case, we wouldn't have that on the shelf. john: to answer your question, chef, if you order that on monday, you'll have it in your kitchen on friday. so it may not necessarily be true

lemonis: yeah.an #2: have you figured it out? 'cause we don't know. woman: she's off saturday, sunday, and monday. woman #2: she should be here on saturday. our biggest day she's not even a part of. i just don't... lemonis: how does this affect you in doing your job? woman #2: mis-booked appointments, lack of assistance, and just customer service and lack of product. woman #3: we have never seen her once come up anything about inventory, about putting things in the computer. lemonis: nobody in here has ever talked to carolyn? woman: i think she has some idea. woman #3: but she's the type of person that thinks with her heart. she never wants to, you know, hurt anyone. she wants to give someone the benefit of the doubt, you know? lemonis: communication doesn't exist here. it's like the inmates are running the asylum. i'm hoping that she has a better feel for her financials. i need to understand the revenue. what's the total revenue, and how does that break down per store? carolyn: annually? lemonis: y

lemonis: okay. franchising is an incredibly attractive business model because it allows you to get paid once you perfect a concept. my big fat greek gyro only gets about $10,000 when they sign up a new franchise. in success, that fee could grow much higher. better still, each of your franchisees pay the owner a royalty on a monthly basis. that could be anywhere between 4% and 12% of your monthly sales. mike: right now we're making about $60,000, $65,000 annually on royalties. lemonis: they pay an up-front fee. mike: correct. lemonis: you control the branding. mike: correct. lemonis: who picks the locations? who goes out and vets it 'cause it's your brand? mike: i do. lemonis: who developed the menu? kathleen: we did. lemonis: i was gonna take a trip to greece this summer, and i'm looking for tater tots... cheese sticks, cheddar balls, mushrooms. -hummus isn't greek. -andreas: lebanese. lemonis: what do you actually make yourself? mike: we have the traditional gyro. we have steak. we have fresh chick

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. if you don't like money, don't follow my process. i make the tough decisions. we're closing the store. we're done. i'm not talking about it anymore. i back them up, spending my own money. it's not always pretty... man: perfect flavor. lemonis: ...but this is business. you got to trust the process. i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. thanks for your business. this is "the profit." coopersburg, pennsylvania is about an hour north of philadelphia, in the heart of amish country. and it's home to coopersburg sports, a novelty-and-sports business. scott pino started the business in 1991... scott: i can't find the yankee order out here. lemonis: ...shortly after he secured the coveted license from major league baseball. he eventually was able to place his mini bat, his top seller, in every major league baseball park. business was great, and they were pulling in over $4 million a year and making a hefty buck. but in 2008, a major sporting-good company entered the novelty game, an

-lemonis: yep.tephanie: [ sighs ] lemonis: well, you know, i've spent the last couple days asking you guys a lot of questions. while i struggle a lot with the product, you guys have spent a lot of time working really hard, but the business is really in trouble. i mean, you do $5 million of sales. but at the end of the day, last year, you lost money. stephanie: how do you envision the growth of this business? lemonis: it's about changing every single product that you have. you have $900,000 tied up in inventory. half of it should go into the garbage. how long can you survive? nicolas: we're trying to be as lean as possible. i have about three months where i won't be able to pay my rent at home. lemonis: how much money do you think this business needs? nicolas: i believe it needs around $1 million. it's 20% of what we do on an annual basis. lemonis: well, it's 20% of what you sell. my offer is $800,000. i have full control. there's 100% of the stock today. -i'll have 50% of it. -noemi: [ gasps ] steph

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. 2.5 million people visit key west a year, and you only sell 40,000 pies. i make tough decisions. we're closing the store. we're done. i'm not talking about it anymore. and i back them up with my own cash. >> check that out. >> it's not always pretty... >> tired of this bull[bleep]. >> but this is business. >> we're gonna have a battle on this one. >> i do it to save jobs... i got to get some stuff done and you're gonna be our leader here. and i do it to make money. this the profit. [theme music] ♪ u.s. key lime pie company is a pie maker located in beautiful and sunny key west, florida. jim brush... >> jeff! >> and his girlfriend, alison sloat, bought the company, recipes and all, over ten years ago for just $1,200, and have grown the business from selling pies on the side of the road to having their key lime pie named the nation's best pie by the american pie counsel. even though they generate $1.4 million in sales, they have yet to turn a profit. >> we really are a victim of our own

lemonis: for this business to survive,

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. i make the tough decisions.

[laughing] "i'm marcus lemonis."ughter] >> that's gonna cost you. >> [laughs] >> so here's the deal. my offer is, uh... i'll pay off the 1.1 million of debt and i'll provide another million dollars in a working capital line, and i want 50% of the business. >> no. >> that's not gonna happen. >> why not? >> 'cause we're not gonna give you controlling interest of our company. >> why is that? >> because-- >> it's part of who we are. >> skullduggery is me. i am skullduggery. it's my company. it's our company, you know? it's not your company. you didn't spend 25 years building this company. >> so 1.6 million in revenue, you've got no cash in the bank, and you lose money. and you think giving up half of the business is a bad deal? >> you're asking for our whole life. you're asking for everything that i've ever worked for. >> yeah, i mean, it feels like a punch in the gut. >> i just offered to wipe out a million dollars' worth of debt and then give you another million dollars in working capital, and you're acting insulted ab

my name is marcus lemonis. and i fix failing businesses.usiness last year did $50 million of business. unfortunately, we didn't make any money. you guys sell a lot, but there's one thing that you don't do very well. what is that? >> collect. >> collect money. so last night at dinner, i made a deal with alan and howard. and i'm putting in a million dollars. but you know what they forgot to do last night? they forgot to ask me for my money. it's a theme, but it's not funny. because your paychecks and the rent, all get paid when we collect the money, not when the stuff leaves on the truck. there's the money. >> thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> from this point forward, i'm in charge. the first thing we're gonna do is fix the accounts receivable process, so that i know for sure what meats coming in and what meat's going out. i wanna know how much we're selling, how much we're collecting, and who owes what. we're gonna start by getting on the phone, and calling these customers that owe us money. we need to be paid. and from now on, when we

my name is marcus lemonis. in the past ten years, i've bought hundreds of failing businesses, turned them around, and i've made millions doing it. i'll write whatever check i need to, even if you won't. if you want people to listen, you put money on the table. i'm gonna give you a check for $500,000. i found six struggling businesses, some weeks away from closure. my plan is to turn them around. for the next week, i'm 100% in charge. >> all right. >> let's go get to work. can't run a business if it's not clean. but i'm not just giving them advice. i'm putting up millions of dollars of my own money. if you don't know your numbers, you just don't know your business. i'll work by their side... i'll put in the hours... 'cause i have the same risk that they do. where's accounting? >> she's counting. >> no, where's accounting? >> um... >> oh, my god. this business is a total mess. i judge businesses based on three things: it's pretty damn good. most often, businesses fail because of people. >> i trusted people to man

[laughter] >> by the time he's done. >> yeah. >> have you guys met marcus lemonis?ughter] >> private label products like this will dramatically improve your margins, but in order to make room for these kind of products, we need to clear out the stuff that's been sitting there for years. so when we get back to the store, i'm gonna have dan lower the prices and liquidate some of the slow moving merchandise. thanks, guys, appreciate it. >> thanks again, marcus, appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks, marcus. >> thanks, guys. all right, let's head home. >> this end's coming all the way out, correct? we're gonna move this all the way down? >> well, you want to move it out enough to accommodate for that. don't go any further than that. so i would be very technical in my measurement to not go past that. >> understand. >> yep. >> put a pedestal here-- >> hey. >> hi. >> how are you? >> i'm good, how are you? >> good. >> i'm a little shocked. we're out of business. >> we were out of business before, we just didn't know it. >> i believe we're still partners, correct? >> mm-hmm

my name is marcus lemonis, and some of you have seen me around.d i'm here to help fix this business, so people don't lose their job. there are 32 employees relying on this business for their livelihood. and ever since jacob's passing, they're starving for leadership. for the next week, i'm in charge. so what we're gonna do is we're gonna make some massive changes, and, at the end of this week, we're gonna have a grand reopening. we're gonna let our customers tell us if we've gotten it right. i need to get rid of excess inventory, make time-saving changes, and i need to organize what's left. in order for that to happen, i need to put in the right system, like a bar-coding system. this building looks terrible. maarse has a viable product here, but, in order to make it good, we need to display it to the customers in a way that's appealing. they need to see it, and it needs to be presented in a less-cluttered, less-disorganized manner. the entire store needs to be re-merchandised. we're gonna become profitable together. so, marina, you have something

>> my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.ugh decisions. i can tell you for damn sure, you're replaceable.

lemony fresh. >> put that in your water. >> this is clearer than mom's kitchen. >> the thing is peoplere afraid to put their toes in this, but there's nothing to worry about here. this is just, you know, tropical nature. this is it. the everglades. this is the way to see it, to, you know. >> right on cue, the alligator takes his leg. >> nah. >> what do you call this one? princess? >> this is where snakes like to hang out like right on top of these. ♪ >> i keep waiting for yoda to walk out. watching a barn owl enjoy his sushi lunch, you realize this is the good stuff, the stuff that is in deep trouble because not enough clean, fresh water is getting into places like this. because, for too long, people saw the everglades like this, endless squishy wasteland full of things that simply want to hurt you. >> it's got that sawgrass, you know, it's like bathing in broken glass. and the air, it's kind of hard to breathe, the mosquitoes that are choking you. >> in his definitive history "the swamp" michael grunwald nails it as too wet to farm, too dry to sail, too unpredictable to settle. >> whe

. >> this is delicious and lemony. these are wild onions. bristly ox tongue. >> reporter: he is promoting wild food week where several bay area restaurants will serve professionally prepared meals made from weeds. the head chef is looking at narrow leaf plantine. >> a non-native plant that was once cultivated for food. >> reporter: he is also cooking for flowers and more bristly ox tongue. another restaurant is serving weeds too but it takes a special kind of customer. >> definitely has an open mind, is not afraid to try different flavors. >> reporter: any caution about this? >> yes, if you don't know what you're doing, don't eat it. >> reporter: some may be safe to eat but taste terrible. now, let's review what we have learned. there's stuff growing in your front yard and maybe the lot next door to your house, some not all that may be safe to eat. just might not be everybody's cup of tea, though. in berkeley, don ford, kpix 5. >> the famous berkeley restaurant chez panisse is serving weeds for wild food week. i didn't see any ribs on his pl

. >> lemony fresh. >> put that in your water. >> this is cleaner than mom's kitchen. >> people are afraidr toes in this, but there's nothing to worry about here. this is just nature. this is it. this is the way to see it too, you know. >> right on cue. the alligator takes his leg. >> yeah. ♪ >> what do you call this one? princess? >> this is where snakes like to hang out, like right on top of these. >> i don't mind saying this. i wouldn't do that. >> it was awesome. >> are you crazy? >> it was amazing. it's not like yosemite where you go wow. you have to go out there, oh, hey, look over there. beautiful. >> those beasts actually come close to there under the water when your ankles are looking so appetizing. here's the weird thing. you did that and got all these spectacular pictures and then you just -- right off to the al alps. >> actually it's the other way around. trying to understand why the glaciers are disappearing so fast and climate change skeptics are not. i go to a heart land institute convention in vegas. and then we come down and go into the swamp which is one of the great exam

. >> this is delicious and lemony. these are wild onions. this is bristly ox tongue. >> reporter: he is promoting wild food week where several bay area restaurants will serve professionally prepared meals made from weeds. the head chef is one of them looking at narrow leaf plantine. >> non-native plant that everyone thinks is a weed but was once cultivated for food. >> reporter: he is also cooking with flowers and more bristly ox tongue. another restaurant is serving weeds but it takes a special kind of customer. >> definitely has an open mind, is not afraid to try different flavors. >> reporter: any caution about this to someone who doesn't know what they're doing? >> yeah. if you don't know what you're doing, don't eat it. >> reporter: some plants like the common clover may be safe to eat but taste terrible. now, let's review what we have learned. there's stuff growing in your front yard and maybe the lot next door to your house. some not all that may be safe to eat. just might not be everybody's cup of tea, though. in berkeley, don ford,

. >> my name is marcus lemonis and i fix failing businesses.

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

>> my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. i don't know how you run your business this way. i make tough decisions. i can tell you for damn sure, you're replaceable. and i back them up with my own cash. there's your check. it's not always pretty. everybody's working hard, not just you. but this is business. >> i was just gonna try to stop you in your tracks. >> you'll never to stop me in my tracks. i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. >> ching-ching. >> this is the profit. [upbeat music] ♪ worldwide trailers designs, builds, and sells concession trailers, mostly to food vendors. tom etheridge and nancy pappas started the company in 2001, and took it from a backyard start-up to a multimillion dollar business. >> you got 50%. i got 50%. >> tom and nancy were a couple, and although their relationship came to an abrupt end three years ago, they have continued to work together. >> working with nancy is difficult. nance, you never agree with anything i say anyway, so what's the point? >> i not only run the company, but i

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. i'm willing to write a "half a million dollar" check. i make tough decisions. i'm not willing to do the deal if you're in charge of sales. back them up with my own cash. it's not always pretty. i'll take the shower. jen, you take the toilet. >> i don't do the toilet in my own house. really? >> but this is business. i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. this the profit. [upbeat music] ♪ eco-me is an all-natural cleaning product started by robin kay levine in 2006. with the partnership of her childhood friend jen mihajlov, a 12% owner, they built eco-me up from a small, do-it-yourself cleaning kit to a 17-piece cleaning line, including dog-grooming products. this product is sold nationwide at stores like whole foods and target, and last year they did a half a million dollars in sales, with only six employees. i personally use this product in my own home and find that it works extremely well. to stay in business, robin has leveraged friends and family to find every penny she c

my name is marcus lemonis. i fix failing businesses. i make tough decisions. you are no longer the general manager. and i back them up with my own cash. it's not always pretty. >> perfect flavor. >> but this is business. [bleep] is gonna change.