-lemonis: tonnie? -tonnie: speaking. -lemonis: hey. it's marcus. tonnie: marcus, how are you? lemonis: i'm down at the store, and the ceiling caved in. tonnie: the ceiling... lemonis: collapsed. the ceiling collapsed. literally collapsed. -tonnie: the entire ceiling? -lemonis: the entire ceiling. tonnie: okay. i'm on my way. lemonis: okay. if your business is in trouble and you need my help, log on to... this highly sought-after device from progressive can be yours for... twenty grand? -no! we are giving it away for just 3 easy payments of $4.99 plus tax! the lines are blowing up! we've got deborah from poughkeepsie. flo: yeah, no, it's flo. you guys realize anyone can use the "name your price" tool for free on progressive.com, right? [ laughing nervously ] ♪ [ pickles whines ] i know, it's like they're always on television. what? after a dvt blood clot.mind when i got out of the hospital what about my family? my li'l buddy? and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. then my doctor told me abou

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis, and over the past two years, i've introduced you to 23 small businesses across this country... okay, let's go to work. ...most of them struggling... you've got to trust the process. ...some just weeks away from closing their doors... cut your losses and go home. ...but all of them looking for answers and help. woman: we certainly need your business expertise. man: absolutely -- 100%. lemonis: i've made deals with a candy company in jacksonville... i didn't really get a good taste. i need another one. ...a family barbecue south carolina... these ribs are ridiculous. ...a national clothing company based in new york city... woman: wow. i mean, i'm blown away. lemonis: ...an ice cream company in new jersey... -that green tea's good. -woman: isn't it good? lemonis: ...and a used car business in chicago. whoo-hoo! liquidation. when i get involved, i invest my time and my money... i'm 100% in charge. ...close to $23 million so far for a stake in those businesses. i'm not a consultant, and i'm not the fairy godmother. my goal -- save jobs, keep dreams alive, and

thanks, marcus. lemonis: steven! so going forward, we want to be able to understand better how we represent our quality. steven: yeah, no. back when i started doing deliveries and i would see unhappy clients and see mistakes maybe they wouldn't notice, but i would notice. lemonis: so, is this an example of something that would get delivered? steve: mm-hmm. lemonis: what would this chair retail for brand-new? steve: brand-new, that's a $1,700 chair. mary: oh. what do you see that's interesting about that cushion? steve: this shouldn't be seamed here. lemonis: why is the seam there? steven: it was seamed 'cause sometimes we make things work. lemonis: so this customer that paid $1,700 just happened to get "hey, sorry. we wanted to make it work, so we're gonna give you a half -- literally a half-assed cushion that covers half your ass. steve: right. this is not our best foot forward. lemonis: it's in your showroom. why is it in here? find a piece that you think is good. steve: this one, we reupholstered recently. lemonis

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis. yesterday, elizabeth and i made a deal for me to put $75,000 into this business, and i'll own 25% of the business. you can expect the entire process in here to change dramatically. how many of you have seen the recipe book and studied on it and been trained on it? you been trained on the recipe book? that's because there is no recipe book. we're gonna upgrade and improve the process and the equipment so that the same amount of people can make enough pie to not run out at 2:00. on a scale of 1-10 -- "10" being laser-focused, "1" being all over the place, describe her. 1-10. shay: all over the place. lemonis: so that's a 1. -shay: i would say a 3. lemonis: a 3. man: i think 3 sounds pretty accurate. -lemonis: 3? -man #2: 3. -lemonis: 3? -woman: 3. -lemonis: 3? -man #3: 3. lemonis: betty's struggling to manage this place, let alone her second place, which has been a drain on her time and her money. so for now, i want her to focus on this location and this location only. while you guys ha

-lemonis: hi, scott. i'm marcus. -scott: marcus. -it's a pleasure to meet you. -lemonis: nice to see you. -scott: thanks for coming in. -lemonis: this is samantha. -sam: nice to meet you. -scott: sam, nice to meet you. -mark: how you doing? mark. -lemonis: this is mark. -scott: mark. it's a pleasure. -mark: very nice to meet you. lemonis: the harper group is one of the most well-known product rep groups in new york city, and what they essentially do is they take a manufacturer's product and they basically distribute or rep it to retailers across the country. and so it's a step that's necessary to be able to get in a lot of different storefronts. are you guys ready? sam: we are ready. -mark: come on in. -sam: okay. lemonis: this is a big opportunity. i hope mark can keep an open mind during the pitch and not react to criticism. no distributor wants to take on a pain-in-the-ass partner. mark: so, our new collection is called the flora collection. -scott: okay. -mark: so from start, you know, we tried to go with a traditional look with a little modern touch to it.

lemonis: good to see you. i'm marcus. i'm blown away by the interest that we already have with the concept, but closing a deal here today will give us real momentum. we've gotten a lot of applications -- almost 800 -- since we kind of launched the concept. and so one of the prerequisites we have is that there's significant restaurant experience. do you have it? -john: sure. my wife's family has been in the restaurant catering business for almost 50 years. i have a background in design and construction. lemonis: well, clearly your background is qualified. why don't we take a look at the menu board? john: you've got five burgers. are there other things than just burgers? i know it's standard burger, but... lemonis: is there something specific that you'd like to see on the menu that you feel is missing? john: i think if you add a kids' menu, i think that would be helpful, because i've got three children. if we're gonna bring the kids for lunch or dinner, you kind of want to see it on the menu. lemonis: i wouldn't be surprise

marcus. -lemonis: how are you doing? -i'm marcus. -layne: nice to see you. lemonis: nice to meet you. miranda: layne does all of our numbers. lemonis: how much do you do in total sales? layne: well, last 12, of course, are $2.8 million, but last year was $2.336 million. miranda: i'm the artist, and he's the practical one. lemonis: does that work for you guys? miranda: no, it does. i think going into business together was really tough at the very beginning. -lemonis: why? -layne: she actually just got so aggressive on buying a bunch of inventory 'cause she was so excited about the product that she created. she just wanted to sell a ton of it. and me, i was wanting to try a little bit of it and then let's see if it sells. she's kind of like that helium balloon. if you don't grab her, she's just gonna keep soaring away. -[ laughs ] -miranda: it's true. this is our production room here. hey, ashley, can you show marcus how you fill lip glosses? she's way better than i am now. lemonis: i think the thing that surprised me the most was their manufacturing process,

-marcus. -lemonis: hi, guys. with some major changes to the burger and the building, i feel like we're making a lot of progress. i just want to make sure that we stay that way. this looks a lot better. as you went through this process of cleaning this place, what did you learn? sammy: i think we had a good start. tranchina: yes. and we need to get back to basics, yeah. sammy: we went off track a bit, 'cause we used to stay two hours past when we were closing to make sure the floors were scrubbed down and things were put back together. -lemonis: what is that? -sammy: that's a camera. lemonis: there's one in here, too? sammy: yeah. todd: you know why? 'cause we're having people that walk out with product. lemonis: who put the cameras in originally? todd: the cameras were here from day one. fuji: there were more added cameras... -lemonis: they added more after? -fuji: ...and more and more. lemonis: and who added them? fuji: it was between covello and todd. lemonis: fuji, i have to ask you -- every time this camera t

[ cheers and applause ] -lemonis: you mike? -mike: yeah. -lemonis: hey. marcus. -mike: nice to meet you. -lemonis: nice to meet you. -mike: thank you for coming. -lemonis: this place is rocking. -mike: it's crazy. i can't believe i still have my voice. lemonis: and so this is the product that you make? mike: yeah, we make custom drums from start to finish. lemonis: how much is a setup like this? mike: this set is about $6,000. lemonis: the average person can't afford $6,000. the average person can't afford $2,000. the problem i see is they're selling to a very small customer base. so, what is the lead time? mike: our turnaround time is, like, six to seven months. -lemonis: six to seven months? -mike: yeah. lemonis: it's ridiculous. you could build a yacht in six months. you could build a brand-new plane in six months. mike: we run out of inventory. lemonis: they don't have the parts and pieces. that's no way to run a business. -mike: this is chris. -lemonis: how you doing, chris? chris: very nice to meet you. lemonis: i'm marcus. what do you do? chris: i order al

lemonis: thank you. let him know that marcus is here. i really didn't know what to expect when i went to vision quest, and when i walked in, there were some really interesting pieces. larry: hey! oh, my god! -lemonis: how you doing? -larry: bring it in, man! -lemonis: how you doing? -larry: oh, my god! you're here! -lemonis: are you -- -larry: oh, my god! look at you! -lemonis: are you larry? -larry: i am. lemonis: 'cause if you weren't larry, i'd be worried. larry: [ laughs ] -so nice to meet you. -lemonis: nice to meet you, too. that's a pretty cool light. -larry: yeah, thank you. -lemonis: the strainer. larry: it was for a national account. everything you see here is all for national-account work. lemonis: so no retail products. larry: no. lemonis: so, i don't just think about vision quest for just this. larry: no, no. -lemonis: design? -larry: that's the least of it. -yes. right. -lemonis: they say to you, "we have this space, and we're looking for x, y, and z -from a design standpoint." -larry: exactly. -lemonis: "can you make it?"

my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. if you don't like money, don't follow my advice. i make the tough decisions. we're closing the store. we're done. i'm not talking to you 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." things move slowly in the small town of latta, south carolina. but when shuler's bar-b-que opens its doors, people near and far come rushing in with some traveling hundreds of miles to eat their legendary barbecue. lynn: hi. how are y'all? welcome to shuler's. lemonis: it's an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet, and their speciality is pulled pork and ribs. their biscuits are always one of the biggest draws. woman: excellent barbecue, some of the best i have ever had. norton: thank you, ma'am. lemonis: married couple lynn and norton hughes struggled to have a family until late in life. they we

-peter: marcus, i'm peter. -steve: marcus, i'm steve. -lemonis: nice to meet you. -steve: nice to meet you, too. lemonis: skullduggery, a family-run toy design and manufacturing company in anaheim, california, was exactly the sort of company that i felt had great potential. the company had generated $1.6 million in sales the previous year, but they were still losing money. steve: it's a big loss. lemonis: and while they had one or two products that had real potential, most of their products were missing the mark and collecting dust. i don't get this game. it's not fun. but if i can increase their visibility on the toys that were selling and push them to create new toys, i knew i could turn skullduggery around. so, i did a deal, and i invested $1.1 million for 30% of the company and an ongoing sales royalty. so, i want to be able to have control over the financial side. i don't want you taking on any debt or taking on any other partners without me being okay with it. -steve: i think that's fair. -peter: you want to shake on it? lemonis: and do we need to run this by

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis. and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're gonna wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything's gonna change. everything. but i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. let's go to work. this is "the profit." ♪ located in keyport, new jersey, mr. green tea ice cream is a gourmet ice-cream manufacturer with a rich family history. founded in 1968 by santo emanuele, the company is run today by his son, richard, richard's wife, lori, and son, michael. when i met them in 2013, they were generating $2 million in sales, mainly coming from selling to restaurants. -that green tea's good. -lori: isn't it good? lemonis: and if we hadn't made a deal... $600,000 for 35% of the business. ...they'd probably still be at the same level. that's because mr. green tea was at a standstill. richard: we physically cannot fill our orders to distributors. lemonis: part of the problem is that mr. green tea didn't have their

-lemonis: well, sam. -sam: well, marcus. i know that we see things through our own lens, -so you'll have to excuse me. -lemonis: i don't have a lens. i just see things through what actually happened. sam: now, no one's perfect, but i try really hard to make sure that when i get up in the morning, i am the type of person that makes the world a better place. and that is a decision i make. now that doesn't make me perfect. lemonis: i totally get it. sam: i have tried to be honest and i have tried to be forthright -- lemonis: you haven't been honest at all. sam: do you know what? we're gonna be honest. lemonis: good. it's about time. sam: i didn't think we were a good fit for you. i wanted you to come here and help max. thank you for helping with that. you applied to the show for max to solve max's problem. -sam: i did, didn't i. -lemonis: and you took my money. -sam: and i wanted it -- -lemonis: and you took my money. sam: that is moot in this instance. lemonis: yes or no. ♪ yeah?cell phone vibrates. (sigh) you're okay... he'

-lemonis: hi, guys. nice to see you again. -mike: marcus, good to see you. -lemonis: how are you? -mike: doing well. -nikki: good. -lemonis: so, i'm friends with this guy by the name of rob dyrdek. does that ring a bell to you? mike: oh, yeah. [ chuckles ] lemonis: rob dyrdek is an entrepreneur who's also a professional skateboard rider. he's one of the best out there. man: all right, guys. welcome to the fantasy factory. -nikki: thank you. oh, cool. very cool. mike: holy [bleep] lemonis: i think rob's gonna shed a lot of light on what the right price points are in the marketplace. he knows the industry. i also think he's gonna give us great feedback on the demographic. mike: rob, mike maloney. nice to meet you. rob: good to meet you. rob dyrdek. -lemonis: what's happening, my man? rob: appreciate you, man. how you been, man? i would have never thought the day you show up at my office with a skateboard. i mean, i'm -- i'm just -- i'm so happy right now. lemonis: i'm carrying it. i'm not riding it. rob: okay. sit down. show me what you guys got going here. lemonis: well, rob, i'm g

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." just about 15 miles south of pittsburgh in a small town called mcmurray, pennsylvania, there's a fast casual restaurant known as my big fat greek gyro. michael: what can i get for you? woman: gyro and fries. lemonis: husband and wife mike ference and kathleen kamoyerou... kathleen: they prefer our sauce. lemonis: ...started the business 10 years ago. kathleen's parents emigrated from greece. man: we used to make the gyro by hand. lemonis: and she wanted to celebrate the culture and enjoy the food she grew up with. man: it's one of the best. period. lemonis: and mike wanted to turn the gyro into t

-lemonis: and be open-minded. -giovanni: you've got it. lemonis: richard, i'm marcus lemonis. -how are you, sir? -scott: hey, scott. lemonis: scott, nice to meet you. -scott: hi. -lemonis: this is lisa. -we'd love to get a tour. -giovanni: yeah. scott: we need to get you guys suited up. giovanni: holy [bleep] ♪ lemonis: what we saw when we walked into that place is the most professional, state-of-the-art food-manufacturing facility that i had ever seen in my life. giovanni: wow. scott: this is our q.a. lab. lemonis: so, this is chicken, beef, salmon, and egg. scott: all basically no byproducts, no corn, wheat, soy. lemonis: we saw their attention to detail, and we saw the great pride they have in making sure that pets stay healthy. i could tell this is having a real impact on lisa. man: check it out. lisa: it's awesome to see it in action and how it goes from this to the actual product. it's very impressive. lemonis: what i hope lisa learned from this trip is in order to grow your business, you have to be open-minded and learn and do research. freshpet is an opportunity for

lemonis: my name is marcus lemonis. and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're gonna wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything's gonna change. everything. but i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. let's go to work. this is "the profit." ♪ in 2010, christina stembel planted the seeds for farmgirl flowers, a unique e-commerce florist located in san francisco. originally a farm girl herself, christina first got the idea while working at stanford where she saw firsthand how much businesses spend on floral arrangements. christina: get some of these. don't just put the pale ones in. lemonis: researching the industry further, she realized how much florists rely on imported flowers. and that their huge selections often lead to lots of waste. and that's when she decided to start a streamlined daily delivery service that exclusively uses american flowers. christina: that looks gorgeous, kim. lemonis: while farmgirl generates millions i

lemonis: ...their business will burn out. my name is marcus lemonis,

. >> 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 success right now. damn it, i'm tired

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

my name is marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're gonna wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything's gonna 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." ♪ amazing grapes is a combination wine bar and store in southern california. when i first visited, amazing grapes did just under $3 million in revenue. but it was anything but successful. the store was bursting with inventory that wasn't selling. why is there crap everywhere? -too much inventory? -man: exactly. lemonis: and the bar, which had the best margins, was relegated to a hidden corner in the store. after nine years, the owners were still looking for a winning formula. man: we have never seen a profit from this store. lemonis: i actually thought it might be better to just shut the doors. i don't know that i have a deal to make. cut your losses, liquidate your inventory, pay your v

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...

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 br

. >> my name is marcus lemonis, and i fix failing businesses. >> we made $10,000 together. >> i make tough decisions... we'll change the recipes. >> i mean, that would be the last thing i'd want to do. >> and i back them up with my own cash. it's not always pretty. >> do you want me to get in your face? 'cause that's your face. >> but this is business. >> i've lost faith. we need to change dramatically. >> i do it to save jobs. awesome. and i do it to make money. this the profit. sweet pete's is a candy store located in jacksonville, florida, specializing in chocolates and candy handmade by master chocolatier peter behringer. >> so you guys like candy? >> mm-hmm. >> pete's love of sweets began at the age of 12, when he started making candy for his mom's shop-- peterbrooke chocolatier. >> i wouldn't do anything else. >> family business was thriving, and life was good for pete and his wife, allison. but after a dispute, pete left the business and was forced to start over from scratch. >> the last $10,000 we had, we put into this business. >> starting over required the help of a financi

-lemonis: when i make a deal, i come in with a plan and a check. man: thank you, marcus. woman: i was gonna work you a little bit more. lemonis: [ chuckles ] but what happens after the cameras shut down... michael: i've let it slide for three freakin' years! lemonis: ...may surprise you. one struggling novelty sporting good company has been totally transformed. wow. look at this place. but the owner is still making the same sort of short-sighted decisions that nearly brought them to the brink. i'm pissed that you bought the printer. i'm not gonna lie. if you were me, would you stop putting money in this business?