lemonis: how you doing? i'm marcus. josh: josh. nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. us: hi, marcus. julius. lemonis: julius, nice to meet you. julius: this is angela. angela: hi, marcus. lemonis: really nice to meet you. how long has the business been here? julius: in april, it will be 20 years. lemonis: in this location? julius: in this location, yeah. lemonis: but the company has existed for how long? michael: 1954. lemonis: and when did you guys buy it? michael: 16 years ago. we do kind of three businesses in one, so we have the retail shop. second one is online, and then the third one is a wholesale business where we sell to restaurants and hotels. we have 5,000 restaurants in manhattan that we can sell to. lemonis: how many do you service? michael: probably, like, 65, so 0.1%. lemonis: oh. a little smaller than i thought it would be. michael: yeah, but it still... lemonis: did you lose customers over the years? michael: that's the area that's, you know, spikes and valleys, depending on where we are in the time frames. lemonis: how many types of cheese are there?

lemonis: how you doing, dear? stephanie: hi, marcush the brand that's rockin' the nation? ♪ ♪ guaranteed to make you smile ♪ gonna help you keep it cool for a while ♪ [ cheering ] ♪ do you want to keep things cold? geoff: who'd like to test out a cooler? stephanie: this is a bad-ass cooler. lemonis: they were working as a team. everybody was pitching in. everybody was out there hustling, talking to customers. and strud wasn't doing anything other than what i wanted him to be doing, which is letting his big, bright personality shine. strud: insulation sensation. how'd you like to be hands-free? yeah! get in there. one, two, three -- cha! man: the insulation sensation! man #2: it's an insulation sensation! [ cheering ] stephanie: all right. thanks, y'all. keep it cool! strud: hut! lemonis: so, when all the stuff went up on the shelves, what did you notice you were out of? strud: we're gonna need a lot of orange and blue coolers. [ laughter ] lemonis: now that i've seen them with customers and their pitch a lot more refined, i want to und

lemonis: i'm marcus. chris: how's it going? chris. nice to meet you. lemonis: chris, how are you? you. dino: what's up, marcus? dino. lemonis: dino, nice to meet you. i saw on the window i'm supposed to call you for franchise opportunities. dino: yes. you need one? lemonis: i was just -- i mean, i don't know yet. how's everybody else? ray: hey, marcus. i'm ray. lemonis: nice to meet you. ray: nice to meet you. debbie #1: hi, i'm debbie. i'm dino's wife. lemonis: hi, debbie. how are you? debbie #2: i'm also debbie. i'm dino and debbie's daughter. lemonis: how are you? so, three family members. debbie #2: well, ray is actually my husband. ray: i am family. lemonis: and so all four of you work here? dino: always me, ray or debbie are here all the time. lemonis: okay, that's a good thing. so, dino... dino: yes, sir? lemonis: ...was this your idea? dino: yes. i worked in a pizza place called mango's, and there was a mcdonald's, and i'm watching cars go through the drive-through. i got the idea of drive-through pizza by the slice because nobody had done it. so i was going to revolutioniz

lemonis: why don't we head over there. tony: thank you, marcus. thank you. s: as i drove an hour and a half from new york city to his distribution facility, it dawned on me that, yeah, this is one of the problems. you're not in the business of delivering food, and you're spending 3, 4 hours a day driving. tony: can you just rinse this out real quick? hey, marcus. lemonis: oh, hey. tony: so, this is bill. this is actually my wife, stephanie. lemonis: oh, hi. tony: she's transitioning jobs, so she's helping us out. lemonis: you mean she's saving your ass? tony: i mean, yeah. lemonis: okay. as wives normally do, right? tony: absolutely. she's the boss. lemonis: and so what is this area? tony: this is where our deep freezers are. so this is like... lemonis: and all they do is get made in here? tony: yep. lemonis: and then they pop out and go into the bag? tony: correct. all these hold different flavors. so this is the yeti tracks, and this is what they're pulling from for delivery. lemonis: what's in this one? tony: it should be green tea, but we're making green

lemonis: okay. barb: thank you, marcus. ♪ lemonis: what's up? barb: hi, marcus. how are you? monis: is this your commercial setup? kurt: it is. lemonis: any time i go and invest in a business, i'm looking for the people, the process, and the product. i clearly love the people, and the product is amazing, but it's still unclear to me what the process is, so i wanted to visit their commercial kitchen to understand how they develop ideas and how they bring them to market. kurt: so because the oat milk market is really growing... lemonis: yeah. kurt: ...you know, there's some that we've worked with before. these guys are local, so they're willing to kind of work with us on, like, size. lemonis: califia is in california. kurt: they're here in l.a. lemonis: you got a hibiscus, a green, a coffee, and a thai. what's the next flavor? kurt: i have an ube latte kegged and ready to go. lemonis: that [bleep] is purple. kurt: yeah, so you see how that comes out. lemonis: feel like i'm drinking barney. [ laughter ] is there oat milk in here? kurt: that one is almond and coconut. that's what

lemonis: what's the good word, my man? peter: hi, marcus. ready for a boat ride? h, man. peter: alright. lemonis: are we going out to your spot? peter: we are. lemonis: you think it's going to drop again today? rick: yes. it'll drop another foot by the morning, i think. lemonis: is that mud line where the... how high the water was? rick: yep, yep. ♪ ♪ lemonis: aye-yi-yi. peter: no sign of any beer coolers? man #3: no. peter: all of our beer coolers were sitting on top of here. they're gone. this is brutal. lemonis: is this worse than you thought it was gonna be? peter: i...well, i think that's safe to say, but most of it will clean up. lemonis: you just power-wash the [bleep] out of it. peter: daunting. yeah. lemonis: i kept asking people what the backup plan was if the water didn't subside, and over and over again, they would tell me not to worry. nine weeks later, the water is still here, and i hope peter can recover quickly. the 80 people who work here can't afford this business to be closed. ♪ rick: i don't like those sky colors. lemonis: feel like now you're g

want you to meet marcus lemonis. lemonis: hi. how are you? i'm marcus. shauna: i'm shauna. ou. lemonis: nice to meet you. father daughter working together? shauna: yeah, yeah. it's fun. lemonis: and have you been in the business a while? shauna: i have. i started right out of college. so, i'm the director of marketing now. lemonis: you're the person that gets everybody in the front door. shauna: yes, that's my goal. lemonis: what's it like working with your dad? shauna: i love working with him. i mean, my dad has always said that he started all of his businesses because he wanted to be able to pass something down to his kids, and, of course, i want to make him proud. mike: she's a huge inspiration for me and a motivation for me. lemonis: you can feel the affection between you guys. -shauna: yeah. -mike: oh, yeah. i'd like to have you meet my business partner, paul kramer. lemonis: okay. mike: want you to meet marcus lemonis. lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. nice to meet you. paul: thank you for joining us here. lemonis: absolutely. how do you share roles and responsibilitie

. ♪ i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. investing in american businesses. woman: these people are here because they care. lemonis: it's not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. we have a deal? let's rock and roll. man: yeah! lemonis: this is "the profit." ♪ today, i'm at las vegas mini gran prix. now, i have to be honest. i love go-karting. i absolutely love it, and because i'm already a fan of nascar, the fact that i can potentially get involved in a family fun center that has karting, this looks like an amazing idea. it's unbelievable the size of this property. the first thing that appeals to me the minute i drive onto this property, it's the real estate itself, and any time you can get one track of land that's this big next to a major road, it looks like it could be a solid investment. ♪ after walking the parking lot, i see trash on the ground, old tires. flags are ripped. the parking lot looks unkempt. there's these old motors just laying in the grass. it just feels like nobody cares. woma

lemonis: how you doing? i'm marcus. nick: marcus, pleasure. nick. lemonis: nick?ice to meet you, brother. this is really a small kitchen. it's tight. nick: a lot of the equipment in here is very, very dated, so we've just been kind of doing the best we can. lemonis: it's tough to work in here. nick: you get used to it. lemonis: what was strange is that i'm here around lunch time, and there's not really anybody here. as i walk around the inside of the facility, i'm underwhelmed. i can't tell if they've given up or they don't care. but i can't invest in a business that dante has neglected. what would you call these two colors? salmon and light salmon? dante: salmon. lemonis: let's the three of us go outside. and as i go around the outside of the property, i'm seeing weeds everywhere, crap hanging from the trees. the parking lot looks like garbage. now, i can be tolerant for certain things, but disrespecting hard-earned assets is not one of them, and so i'm gonna put him through the paces. what would you rate the property today, aesthetically? dante: uh, 5 out of 10?

i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. i love investing in american businesses. woman #2: i work 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." ♪ i've always been interested in investing in the multi-billion-dollar leather industry because it allows for great margins and great sell-through. about a year ago, i received an application from a company called lumillamingus, which was started about 6 years ago and continues to struggle. how are you? lulu: hi! i'm great. how are you? lemonis: i'm marcus. lulu: oh, it's so nice to meet you. lemonis: are you lulu? lulu: thanks for coming. i am lulu. lemonis: nice to meet you. where are you from? lulu: guess. lemonis: wherever heidi klum is from. lulu: no, denmark. she's from germany. lemonis: okay. lulu: yeah. lemonis: it's not that far. lulu: close enough, close enough. so this is actually the production facility, and they have a couple of d

i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. love investing in american businesses. woman: these people are here because they care. lemonis: it's not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. do we have a deal? let's rock and roll. man: yeah! lemonis: this is "the profit." ♪ i was contacted by a miami-based former lawyer named ana quincoces. she has a marinade and sauce company called skinny latina. ana started the business 6 years ago, but so far, she hasn't been able to make the brand bigger than a regional product. the sauce and marinade industry is a gigantic opportunity, but i have two primary questions. number one -- what makes this sauce stand out in a crowd? and number two -- is this a real business, or is this just a side-hustle? woman: everything else was on top of it, right? for the barbecue. lemonis: hi, everybody. ana: of course i would meet you with this on. lemonis: that's all right. how are you? i'm marcus. nice to meet you. all right, so, i want to go through the process of how it's made

vinny: thanks, marcus. lemonis: see you in a few weeks. vinny: okay. whoo! lemonis: nice to see you, brother. i'm taking vinny to beyond green, which is a biodegradable company that makes things like storage and shopping bags, and i want to see if they could actually make a biodegradable tap so that when the coconut gets thrown in the garbage, it actually totally biodegrades. so what is this? is this it? veejay: yes. lemonis: and how does it happen? do you melt it? and what does it cost to manufacture this? veejay: at maximum, for 25 cents apiece. lemonis: and what do you currently buy your taps for? vinny: we're in that same range. lemonis: to make a smart environmental business decision that has a price difference of essentially nothing, well, there's no question about it. we're moving forward with the biodegradable one. so you and i are gonna work on how the presentation of the product is going to work, how a licensee would understand, what's the steps to actually get somebody to actually buy off on, okay? let's go. vinny: alright. sounds good. ♪ lemonis:

lemonis: i'm marcus. breanne: breanne. lemonis: nice to meet you. breanne: nice to meet you. cey: marcus! thank you! it's so exciting you're here! lemonis: nice to meet you. lacey: i'm really happy you're here. thank you. lemonis: this is really cool. and the two of you own it together? lacey: yes. breanne: we do, along with my stepdad. lemonis: so, what would you guys call yourself? are you a van-conversion company? breanne: yeah, we're a van-conversion company or camper-van-upfitting company. lacey: or a dream-builder company is what i like to call it. lemonis: do you guys convert shells? is that how i should think about it? breanne: yes, so... lemonis: is this an example of one? breanne: exactly. yeah. so, a customer calls us, and they tell us what van they have, and then we work with them based on that. so we don't actually buy the vans. we work with the customers' vans, and we upfit them. lemonis: okay. breanne: this is our personal van. all of it is aftermarket. the inside is our conversion. lemonis: and when you say that's your van, that's the company van? that's kind o

. ♪ lemonis: i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. love 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 th

lemonis: i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. love investing in american businesses. woman: these people are here because they care. lemonis: it's not always easy, but i do it to create jobs, and i do it to make money. do we have a deal? let's rock and roll. man: yeah! lemonis: this is "the profit." i'm in atlanta, georgia, and i'm on my way to perimeter mall, and i'm here to see macaron queen, which is a very small start-up in the dessert space. it's clear to me that macaron queen has a good business model on a small scale, but this particular product possesses all the qualities needed to actually become a direct-to-consumer product and a big wholesale product. they want to grow, but they want to grow profitably. woman #2: a princess cake, two of those crème brûlées. lemonis: i love french macarons. i would almost call myself a macaron snob. nina: hi! lemonis: i'm marcus. nina: hi, i'm nina. lemonis: nina? nina: yes. finia: pleasure to meet you. finia. lemonis: are you mom? finia: yes! lemonis: okay! this is a really beautiful di

petros: nice to meet you, marcus. lemonisw, you've been in the chocolate business for how many years? -george: almost 40 years. lemonis: and how long ago did you meet? eleni: 39 years ago. he was in greece. lemonis: oh, you were in greece. who are these pictures of? -zoe: that's my mom's parents. petros: yeah, and a little push cart in baltimore. zoe: in baltimore, where they were hand-rolling chocolates, and my dad came over. he learned the trade. george: i love to work for my kids. lemonis: it's nice to have your children support you. george: oh, yes. i think that's the most important, to love each other. lemonis: this place is -- it got a lot bigger. -petros: yeah, right. -lemonis: it goes back even -- petros: it goes back farther, yeah. lemonis: holy... petros: this is the kitchen, where we manufacture everything. lemonis: oh, my gosh. i just want to see the process. petros: so we're boiling the cream, and we have our raw chocolate, a little butter. lemonis: can i stir it? oh, yeah. petros: so this is gonna cool. after it

i'm marcus lemonis, and i want to see it for myself and really understand how small towns in americas worse than you thought it was gonna be? peter: this is brutal. lemonis: something like this make you want to call it quits? oliver: yes. lemonis: there's massive devastation... this is a street. ...an entire main street underwater.

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

[laughter] >> by the time he's done. >> yeah. >> have you guys met marcus lemonis?ts 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 should talk to ea

my name is marcus lemonis.n 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 manag

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