-lemonis: i'm marcus. -gary: i'm gary. lemonis: gary, nice to meet you. this is an unbelievable location. how long have you been here? -gary: 41 years. -lemonis: wow. -and who started the business? -gary: it was my dad. lemonis: and do you guys rent this property? gary: no, we own this property. lemonis: how much did you buy this property for? gary: way back when, it was $450,000, and i bought it from my dad for $600,000. lemonis: it's a really nice building. gary: well, it didn't look quite like this, 'cause it burned down. lemonis: remind me a little bit -- when did this fire happen? gary: 4th of july, 2009. it was 100% loss. lemonis: and how much was the total loss? gary: over $1 million. lemonis: how much did the insurance pay? gary: about $1.2 million. lemonis: so the loss was $1 million, but they paid $1.2 million? -gary: yeah. -lemonis: okay. -do you mind if i come around? -gary: oh, no. you're welcome. lemonis: do you have a mortgage on the property? gary: i do. lemonis: how much is that payment a month? gary: about $3,800. lemonis: so, those peop

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: all day long. -lemonis: for-sale signs? -anthony: as many as y

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: all day long. -lemonis: for-sale signs? -anthony: as many as y

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcuso our business and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. huh, fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. everybody knows that. well, did you know genies can be really literal? no. what is your wish? no...ok...a million bucks! oh no... geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. which means it's timeson for the volkswagen sign-then-drive event. for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holiday

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. lemonis: if you don't like money, don't follow my process. lemonis: i make the tough decisions. lemonis: we're closing the store. we're done. i'm not talking about it anymore. lemonis: i back them up, spending my own money. it's not always pretty... man: perfect flavor. lemonis: ...but this is business. lemonis: you got to trust the process. lemonis: i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. lemonis: thanks for your business. lemonis: this is "the profit." queens, new york, is a dense and diverse world of cultures and businesses. and it's home to artistic stitch, an embroidery and silk-screening business run by sal loretta and nick meola. the company started 18 years ago in sal's garage. -sal: where we at with this job? -fabio: it'll be done today. lemonis: today, it's become a $2-million-a-year business, the bulk of that revenue coming from uniforms, hats, and custom shirts. fabio: hey, that's one down. here we go. here we go. lemonis: two years ago, sal and nick decided to mov

good morning, marcus. lemonis: what's happening? colas: i made a new version of the duster with the different type of trim. lemonis: okay. nicolas: you talked about the trim was fraying. -lemonis: can i see it? -nicolas: yeah. let me get it. lemonis: noemi, can you come on down? nicolas: the weaving is a little tighter, so it feels slightly different. lemonis: who's the one that actually changed this? nicolas: i did. lemonis: nicolas, why are you working on the duster? nicolas: because i had the resources to do it. lemonis: but you didn't include your mom? noemi: no, because we went through that. lemonis: it sounds like you have a problem with that. nicolas: i don't have a problem with that. noemi: it's the control. i told you. this is another problem we have. nicolas: so, are we talking about the past or the future or -- i don't understand. noemi: future. -nicolas: okay, so -- -noemi: we already decide. why are we going back and talking about it? nicolas: so, if we're talking about the future, what happened in the past is irrelevant

lemonis: i'm marcus. angela: angela. nis: as i walked around and talked to all the employees in the company, there was one thing that was clearly consistent -- everybody hated the look of this place. woman: it's just got to be... woman #2: sharper. woman: ...revamped. lemonis: what should the look be? woman: [ laughs ] not that! not to kill your ankles when you sit down, no. lemonis: and i also got a little more detail on carolyn's ex-business partner. when did you go into business with him? carolyn: 1998 i started with him. lemonis: how many salons does he have? carolyn: he has about 22 now. lemonis: really? carolyn: yeah. lemonis: and there was definitely confusion about roles and responsibilities. so, what do you do here? debbie: i'm actually the manager here, marcus. lemonis: you are? debbie: yes. lemonis: how is that different from susan's job? debbie: um... um...uh... lacey: hi, guys. is susan here? i need to talk to her. debbie: you need susan? let me get her for you. lacey: okay. susan: hi. so you left your salon

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcuscoming into our business and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. lemonis: i believe in the three pillars in business -- people, process, and product -- and it's been my mantra in life and on the show. improving the product is rarely an issue. noemi: voilà. lemonis: at courage. b, we took a woman's-clothing line that was all over the place... noemi: i never approved this design. -nicolas: you approved this. -stephanie: are you kidding? lemonis: ...and often poorly made. it's dist

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcusnto our business and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. i'm angela, and i quit smoking with chantix. people who know me, they say 'i never thought you would quit.' but chantix helped me do it. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. it gave me the power to overcome the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcusming into our business and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. ♪because i love you ♪[music continues] ♪ [announcer] this is my business. i started it. i believe in it. i know and grow it. i live it and breathe it. i put my heart and soul... ...blood,sweat and tears into it. i run on quickbooks. that's how i own it. there is no car because there was no accident. volvo's most advanced accident avoidance systems ever. the future of safety, from the company that has always brought y

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcusnd helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. heyes... you can...old her? cup your hands together for me... ...rub it all the way up your hands. any exposed skin. get in your elbow creases. and get the backs of your hands too. here, let's put some just around your neck. (bell rings) okay bonnie, you're good to go. okay great thanks, here can you hold him? (bell rings) by their second kid, every mom is an expert and more likely to choose luvs than first time moms. live, learn, and get l

ben: hi, marcus. lemonis: how you doing? i'm marcus. -ben: nice to meet you. nice to meet you. and so, what's your role here? ben: i mainly help manage these guys in here, keep things moving. do a little bit of everything right now. lemonis: and where's your raw materials? ben: raw materials are in the warehouse. we run out to the warehouse, grab the raw materials, bring them in here, and we allow that to dry. and then they return to that room again. lemonis: that sounds kind of... ben: yeah, it's all over the place. that's what i want to change. lemonis: you know what i feel like when i'm in this building? like a mouse looking for his cheese. you start in one room, and you have to visit at least eight of those rooms to finish the product. this place is wildly inefficient. ben: there's not a flow. lemonis: why doesn't your dad want to get it fixed? do you ever talk to him about it? ben: he's kind of just like, you know, stuck in his old ways. it's just how we've been doing it for 20-plus years. lemonis: right. how frustrating is that? ben: it's pretty frustrat

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcuscoming into our business and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. i take prilosec otc each morning for my frequent heartburn. because it gives me... zero heartburn! prilosec otc. the number 1 doctor-recommended frequent heartburn medicine for 9 straight years. one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. what you're doing now, janice. blogging. your blog is just pictures of you in the mirror. it's called a fashion blog, todd. well, i've been helping people save money with pro

lemonis: are you proud of her? michael: very proud. very proud. marcus and helping us go to the next level was the single best thing that's ever happened to us at pro-fit. lemonis: michael and tina are gonna make a lot more money with the pro-fit bars than they do with the pro-fit gym, and over the next year, we plan on selling about a million bars, generating $900,000 in revenue and $200,000 in profit. and we're gonna launch a number of new product extensions. tina: oh, my god! michael: good job, honey. you did great. tina: oh, i can't believe this! -michael: [ smooches ] -tina: ah! -michael: well done. -tina: amazing. i research. i dig. and dig some (trader more. search. because, for me, the challenge of the search... is almost as exciting as the thrill of the find. (announcer) at scottrade, we share your passion for trading. that's why we rebuilt scottrade elite from the ground up - including a proprietary momentum indicator that makes researching sectors and industries even easier. because at scottrade, our passion is to power yours. and i quit smoki

ben: hi, marcus. lemonis: how you doing? i'm marcus. -ben: nice to meet you. nice to meet you. and so, what's your role here? ben: i mainly help manage these guys in here, keep things moving. do a little bit of everything right now. lemonis: and where's your raw materials? ben: raw materials are in the warehouse. we run out to the warehouse, grab the raw materials, bring them in here, and we allow that to dry. and then they return to that room again. lemonis: that sounds kind of... ben: yeah, it's all over the place. that's what i want to change. lemonis: you know what i feel like when i'm in this building? like a mouse looking for his cheese. you start in one room, and you have to visit at least eight of those rooms to finish the product. this place is wildly inefficient. ben: there's not a flow. lemonis: why doesn't your dad want to get it fixed? do you ever talk to him about it? ben: he's kind of just like, you know, stuck in his old ways. it's just how we've been doing it for 20-plus years. lemonis: right. how frustrating is that? ben: it's pretty frustrat

lemonis: makes stuff for whole foods and costco. kenny: marcushared with me your formula and your process, and i love it, and i've had the biscuits. the kids have had them. they think they're great. i've heard rave reviews about the watermelon cake, also. lemonis: i just wanted him to come down and spend some time with you. lynn: okay. that sounds good. lemonis: any time you mass produce a product, you have to make changes not only for the size of the batch, but the amount of shelf life the product will have. kenny: in the restaurant here, are they generally not uniform shape? -lynn: right. -kenny: which is okay. lemonis: well, here's a bag of them. and, see, they're all different. kenny: because, certainly, when we go to commercialization, one of the keys is that it's consistent size, shape, and weight every single time. so they fit in the packages, so the nutritional data matches. i'll walk you through what we did. instead of self-rising, we used all-purpose flour. we find commercially is that everybody's self-rising flour is different. all-pur

lemonis: makes stuff for whole foods and costco. kenny: marcus formula and your process, and i love it, and i've had the biscuits. the kids have had them. they think they're great. i've heard rave reviews about the watermelon cake, also. lemonis: i just wanted him to come down and spend some time with you. lynn: okay. that sounds good. lemonis: any time you mass produce a product, you have to make changes not only for the size of the batch, but the amount of shelf life the product will have. kenny: in the restaurant here, are they generally not uniform shape? -lynn: right. -kenny: which is okay. lemonis: well, here's a bag of them. and, see, they're all different. kenny: because, certainly, when we go to commercialization, one of the keys is that it's consistent size, shape, and weight every single time. so they fit in the packages, so the nutritional data matches. i'll walk you through what we did. instead of self-rising, we used all-purpose flour. we find commercially is that everybody's self-rising flour is different. all-purpose flour general

-lemonis: i'm marcus. sasha: i'm sasha. nice to meet you. -lemonis: nice to meet you. -rich: hi, marcus. -i'm richard. how are you? -lemonis: nice to meet you. market square serves gyros, but beyond that, there are few similarities to the other locations. the color scheme and seating are different. even the layout's different. same brand, different experience. not a good idea. how's business? tell me a little bit about it. rich: well, as far as business is concerned, we do about a half a million a year. lemonis: half a million in sales? rich: well, to break even. lemonis: so, how often do you see mike and kathleen? sasha: the first of the month, like clockwork. rich: they're here to get their royalty check. lemonis: do they stay for a day and work on your business and help you? rich: no. we put $175,000 of our own money into it. we just gutted this entire building. lemonis: so, you put in all this equipment, the floors, the ceilings, the whole thing. sasha: everything. lemonis: $175,000's a lot of money to invest without getting support. sasha: yeah. lemonis: after visi

[laughter] >> by the time he's done. >> yeah. >> have you guys met marcus lemonis? 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. >> partners shou

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

my name is marcus lemonis. i fix failing businesses. i make tough decisions.r the general manager. and i back them up with my own cash. it's not always pretty. >> perfect flavor. >> but this is business.

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 some of you have seen me around.nd 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.ness 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 del

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.s business will never function well under the "green tea" name. i make tough decisions... >> it was a mistake. >> this is never gonna happen again. and back them up with my own cash. that's a real check, by the way.

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.that i can launch you in a direction to make you a profit, then you should do a deal with me. i

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.don't like money, don't follow my process. i make the tough decisions.

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. this business will never function well under the "green tea" name. i make tough decisions... >> it was a mistake. >> this is never gonna happen again. and back them up with my own cash. that's a real check, by the way. it's not always pretty... >> do you want to come over here? >> no. >> but this is business. i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. this the profit. [upbeat music] ♪ this week, i'm going to keyport, new jersey, a town that was devastated by hurricane sandy in 2012. i'm going to meet the owners of mr. green tea, a gourmet ice cream company. for nearly 50 years, mr. green tea has been hand-crafting exotic ice cream flavors and supplying the asian restaurant trade in new york city. >> so delicious. >> way ahead of their time, mr. green tea was producing flavors like green tea, ginger, and red bean. this family business was founded by richard's dad, santo emanuele, in 1968, who ran it with richard's older brother, james. richard's dad passed away, and then his brot

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.t like money, don't follow my process.

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 person and change the deal. >> i didn't agree to this [bleep]. >> and i back them up with my own cash. if you're not gonna put your pride away, well, then i'm not gonna do the deal. it's not always pretty. >> are you okay? >> end it. >> but this is business. you gotta trust the process.dy. this the profit. [hip-hop music] ♪ 10 miles outside of my hometown of chicago, located in morton grove, illinois, is the home of athans motors. in 2009, pete athans, a car enthusiast and successful real estate investor, who made millions flipping houses, sunk his entire life savings into building his first car dealership. >> i created a place where you want to hang out, buy a car, sell your car... car's worth 30 all day, wholesale. service your car, or just come by and have a cup of coffee. >> the project took 18 months and cost more than $4 million to complete. >> i've spent all my cash building this place and trying to keep it ope

>> my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses.how you run your business this way. i make tough decisions.