lemonis: you do? finia: yes. lemonis: okay. nina: yes! lemonis: the macaron queen. okay. nina: thank you. yay! finia: i make this the best $100,000 you have ever invested. ♪ lemonis: good morning! nina: good morning! lemonis: hey! finia: good morning. lemonis: how are you? finia: good! nina: hi, partner. lemonis: high five. i just want to recap what we're doing, where we're going. you know, as all of you know, we all agreed to do a deal together. finia: yay! nina: yes! lemonis: but ultimately, at the end of the day, the company has to define who it wants to be when it grows up. if it wants to be a small city of atlanta kiosk... finia: that's not what we are shooting for. lemonis: what are we shooting for? why don't you tell me? finia: we are shooting for the moon! lemonis: okay. this business could be super profitable, but in order for that to happen, changes have to happen. first of all, we need to pivot away from retail and focus more on wholesale and direct-to-consumer, where the margins are way higher, and in order to grow the revenue, we're gonna have to find a co-

lemonis: okay. we had a handshake, and we had agreed to the terms of the deal, and i had spent time and money. but they were no longer interested in honoring our deal. pete: i can tell you right now, we are not gonna iron out those deal points -- no way. lemonis: you're asking me to throw a million dollars in and be subjected to whatever fate you decide. "go stand in the corner, and shut the [bleep] up." that's essentially what you're telling me to do. steve: we don't like the fact that you can say no. lemonis: i don't see it working. steve: then, we can just [exhales sharply] if you want. lemonis: yeah. steve, honestly, you kind of [bleep] me all along the way. you just did. i walked away, and while i was out the $105,000 i spent, i managed to get the 3-d printer returned. people ask me all the time how it feels when people take my money or the deal falls apart. look, it stinks. i work hard for my money. and i didn't always have money. and so the money that i do have, i take very seriously. -hey! g

lemonis: 33%. lou: what? lemonis: 33%. lou: that's a 50% to lose. lemonis: for you. lou: i don't like that. lemonis: i know. lou: i'm going forward. i'd like something a little bit better than that. lemonis: this business was starting over. i mean, that's how i looked at it. ♪ lou: i think i need a time out. lemonis: i'm going to be in charge up here. i need to have full control of this. lou: the company is going down the tubes. i'd like to take control back over, no? lemonis: you've done a good job up to this point of taking it down the tubes with mike. what are you doing back there, junior? since we're obviously lost, lemonis: so we'll put in $1,250,000 apiece? i'm rescheduling my xfinity customer service appointment. ah, relax. i got this. which gps are you using anyway? a little something called instinct. been using it for years. yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. he knows exactly where we're going. my whole body is a compass. oh boy... the my account app makes today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. not my thing. is that what you're asking? lou:

lemonis: how old are you? cory: 13. lemonis: really? cory: yep. 13. lemonis: you're not 30? cory: no. i'm 13. lemonis: are you sure? can i see your i.d.? it's very common in small businesses that the business doesn't necessarily have an office yet. they work out of their home, so lisa, cory's mom, invited me to go back to their house where they run their business. cory: all right. thank you. bye. hello. lemonis: how you doing, buddy? cory: good. good. good. lisa: hi. lemonis: thanks for having me over. lisa: yeah. this is my el caso. lemonis: your el caso. there you go. lisa: this is where it all started. you want to show him your room? show him your room. cory: yeah. this is my room. this is my crazy room. lemonis: is that you? cory: yep. lemonis: how old were you there? cory: 2 or 3. lemonis: 3? lisa: yeah. lemonis: then what's all this? cory: this is goals. lemonis: talk to me about these goals. do you mind? cory: mm-hmm. lemonis: walk me through them. cory: some of them we didn't get, and then some of them we actually got. so, like, a car we got. so we want to get a stor

lemonis: how are you? mark: nice to meet you. mark. lemonis: mark? mark: yep. lemonis: i'm marcus. mark: this is heidi. this is... heidi: hi. nice to meet you. lemonis: how are are you? nice to meet you. husband and wife? heidi: yes. lemonis: well, i'm in santa claus. heidi: yep. mark: yeah. yeah. you are. it's a very tourist-attracting kind of area. lemonis: yeah. mark: holiday world, splashin' safari park... lemonis: okay. mark: ...they get about a million to a million and a half visitors a year. lemonis: wow. mark: so that's the big tourism for the town. they're actually the first theme park. lemonis: oh, they're the first theme park that every existed? mark: yeah. they were santa land about 70 years ago. heidi: we moved here two years ago. lemonis: oh, okay. where are you from? heidi: we were originally from pennsylvania. lemonis: oh. heidi: and we were going to do that back there, so i researched it. i'm like, "wow. that's a really cool town." so he changed his job. we moved out here, sold our house, and here we are... lemonis: wow. heidi: ...about two years later. lemonis: wh

lemonis: 33%. lou: what? lemonis: 33%. lou: that's a 50% to lose. lemonis: for you. lou: i don't like that. lemonis: i know. lou: i'm going forward. i'd like something a little bit better than that. lemonis: this business was starting over. i mean, that's how i looked at it. ♪ lou: i think i need a time out. lemonis: i'm going to be in charge up here. i need to have full control of this. lou: the company is going down the tubes. i'd like to take control back over, no? lemonis: you've done a good job up to this point of taking it down the tubes with mike. lemonis: so we'll put in creais back at red lobster.ast with new creations to choose from; like rich, butter-poached maine lobster and crispy crab-stuffed shrimp rangoon. how will you pick just 4 of 10? it won't be easy. better hurry in. i'm a mechanical engineer at volkswagen chattanooga.hey have a soul of their own. my job is to solve problems. i come from four generations of race car drivers. i definitely feel like cars are in my dna. my work ethic reflects on my name. we sign off, so you can sign on. start savi

-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 all the parts for manufacturing, finance. lemonis: so you're doing manufacturing and you're the accountant? chris: yeah. mike: chris left a corporate company, making six figures, and cut it in half to come work for sjc. he has mbas and an engineering background. lemonis: you a partner in the business? chris: we act like partners, but i have no equity stake in the business. -lemonis: so that's a no? -chris: yes, so... lemonis: so, something beautiful like this... what's your cost to make it -- materials and labor? chris: $680. lemonis: it was $680 to make this? what will you sell this piece for? mike: $795. lemonis: so at, basically, 15% margins. mike: righ

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: 10 days? -joe t.: more than that. -lemonis: 100? -joe t.: no. -lemonis: 30? -joe t.: more. -lemonis: 60? -joe t.: yeah. -lemonis: 60 days? -joe t.: yeah. lemonis: there was 60-days time between you terminating the person and you stopping your communication with her? which means, joe, that it still happened inside of the window that you and i were partners. this discussion is about you making a decision that put the business in jeopardy. joe t.: i know, that's what you're saying. lemonis: you put your partners in jeopardy, you put me in jeopardy. why did you fire her? joe t.: she was being evaluated over time, and so was everyone else. lemonis: when i first got there, you never said to me, "there's a list of employees. they're problem children. i'm having to coach them." joe t.: i am not the person who's gonna say, "hey, i'm done with that person." i'm going to try to put them through my training program and see what i can do to make them better employees. lemonis: did you do that with the young lady? joe t.: as a group? absolutely. lemonis: i'm not saying as

lemonis: yeah? ana: we put that on everything, and, so, i started making one, and then friends started asking me for it. and i was like, "maybe i should bottle this." lemonis: are you a chef? ana: well, i'm not a chef because i went to the culinary institute of my mom, like, you know? but i'm as much of a chef as most of the people on food network. i've written three cookbooks, and i've competed on food network. and if you ask bobby flay, the greatest cook ever. lemonis: okay. ♪ ana: when the second book came out, they had done this big thing in the miami herald about my new book, so i started getting, like, calls for endorsement deals and things like that. and i got called to do "real housewives of miami." don't hold that against me. lemonis: so, you were on "real housewives of miami"? how many seasons? ana: yeah, for two seasons. i'm a terrible housewife because, to me, everything is attorney-client privilege, so i don't perpetuate rumors. so, no, it didn't work for me. lemonis: so, the million

lemonis: why? what did you think was going to happen? kelly: i don't know. i was nervous. patrick: she's always paranoid about everything. kelly: i'm -- yeah. lemonis: well, you should be paranoid about it a little bit. a little more paranoid -- it will be good for you. that you didn't think everybody else was gonna clean up your mess, because they've been doing it for years. kelly: he's the little brother. we're always trying to take care of him. lemonis: why do you help so much? dan: i -- i don't know. [ sighs ] just something i've always done. lemonis: why? dan: because my mom would have taken care of him. [ voice breaking ] she's not here. lemonis: patrick, you're a lucky guy, because i have rarely seen family businesses where you have a brother and sister that makes tons of sacrifices with no -- there's no reward for them. patrick: i know i'm lucky. but i would do anything for them, too. lemonis: i can see the talent in you, and my job is to rip it out of you. even if it hurts. okay? patrick:

lemonis: yeah. vinny: and it's very polluting to the environment, so 90% of everything that goes into recycle ends up in the ground or in the ocean again, so that's why we're about zero waste. lemonis: i like the fact that vinny is very focused on his business being zero waste, which means everything essentially is biodegradable. vinny: this is the tap. lemonis: but it's plastic. you told me that your whole thing was about not having waste. vinny: it's just costs. i mean, we got to figure that one out. lemonis: yeah. what you have to be careful of is when you have a philosophy about who the company is and what it stands for, you've got to have no instances where people can be, like, "ah! i got you!" vinny: nobody is perfect. lemonis: nobody is, but don't let costs compromise the edict, right? vinny: yeah. lemonis: the manifest of the business. then cocovinny is like cocoscammy. vinny: i don't know about that. lemonis: no, but i'm not saying that, but you just don't want to let anybody say it. vinny:

lemonis: how you doing, buddy? taylor: mr. lemonis! lemonis: nice to meet you. taylor: oh! lemonis: marcus, marcus. taylor: mr. lemonis, oh, my god! lemonis: so what are you? you work in... what is your name? taylor: taylor barton. lemonis: nice to meet you, my man. this place is busy. taylor: well, it's saturday. that's what we do. lemonis: yeah. taylor: we're the birthday party capital of the world. lemonis: this feels like it. how long has this business been here? taylor: it'll be 27 years in september. my dad took over about a year and a half ago. he bought the business from his ex-partner. i think he paid, like, $2 million for the business, and to me, that is not good business. i would have never made that deal. lemonis: do you report to him, or does he report to you? taylor: i like to think he reports to me, but i've never had any formal training. lemonis: is your dad here? taylor: he is. lemonis: let's meet him. jerry: hey! lemonis: how are you? i'm marcus. jerry: who is this guy? lemonis: nice to meet you, sir. jerry: boy, i thought you were a hugger, man. lemonis:

lemonis: excuse me? geoff: when your house is worth nothing and your pay is cut by 10 grand, it changes your life. lemonis: my job is to help this owner appreciate his staff... this isn't gonna go anywhere good. hayden: it's not. lemonis: ...and rethink his process. if we don't fix this, this business is gonna go nowhere. i'm marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to help businesses. i 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. ♪ this is "the profit." ♪ so, i received an application from a company in georgia that has a cooler business. it's called polar bear coolers. the overall cooler business has exploded, and particularly the high-end cooler business 'cause people want to invest in something and hold it forever. and the soft-sided cooler business is a fast-growing category. now i love tailgating and i love the outdoors, and so it

lemonis: yeah. jimmy: you know... she was the best. she was great. we had the greatest life you could imagine. lemonis: how long were you married? jimmy: 19 years. we had everything. we had two beautiful kids. [voice breaking] you know, we had a good marriage. and...it was very hard. her father got ill, and she was gonna visit him at the hospital. so she didn't go to work, and she had important meetings that she was gonna be missing. she said, "i'm gonna run across to the world trade center and check on the people that were supposed to be at the meeting, and then i'll come back to the hospital." so she went there for a few minutes, and that's what happened. ♪ so, what little compensation i got for them, i gave it to them because they lost their mother. ♪ i'm sorry. lemonis: don't be sorry. jimmy: and that's why i felt he could do business 'cause he had some money from that, and i said, "go ahead." lemonis: and so the money that you bought the business with was part of the money that came from yo

-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: $7. lemonis: we want to deliver a high-quality burger with the freshest and finest ingredients. a $7 burger isn't gonna work. we want to average a 25% food cost. if the burger costs us $3.50 to make, then the retail price is gonna have to be around $12. we're gonna operate with the food cost as our basis, not our gut. what is the first thing that somebody will order? fuji: a burger. lemonis: and how are we presenting it? fuji: lettuce, tomato, and ketchup and cheese. that's gonna be the standard. lemonis: we know that, with the margins on fries, right, it probably costs us somewhere around 50 cents with packaging and everything. and we're gonna sell our fries for $5. think about the margins on that. today, 70% of their revenue comes from selling hamburgers. and so we want to drive the product mix to have hamburgers not be more than 50% of all the product that we sell. the other 50% of the products that we sell have to be products with margins of 80% and 85%, like fries, potatoes, ice crea

lemonis: for how long? -tamika: like a year. -lemonis: wow. tonnie's basically relying on free labor. and the fact that his sister is willing to help out shows that he has real backing from his family. that's a big advantage when you're struggling. so, who's doing the quality control on this kind of stuff? -tamika: myself and tonnie. -lemonis: yourself? and so do you think this looks right? tamika: no, that one's not going out. lemonis: i don't want to see paper. this wouldn't clear. tamika: and the more we go through, we realize how much is wasted. lemonis: when this happens, two from the same batch at the same time, there's no process. tamika: and let me tell you, i have fought with my brother on this process. lemonis: why are you fighting with him? why aren't you just fixing it? -does he listen to you? -tamika: no. -lemonis: no? -tamika: no. lemonis: that looks nice. are you a professional cake decorator? marcus: yeah, i am. lemonis: it's a small space to work, no? and is tonnie easy to work with? marcus: yeah. lemonis: and how about her? i

lemonis: 33%. lou: what? lemonis: 33%. lou: that's a 50% to lose. lemonis: for you. lou: i don't like that. lemonis: i know. lou: i'm going forward. i'd like something a little bit better than that. lemonis: this business was starting over. i mean, that's how i looked at it. ♪ lou: i think i need a time out. lemonis: i'm going to be in charge up here. i need to have full control of this. lou: the company is going down the tubes. i'd like to take control back over, no? lemonis: you've done a good job up to this point of taking it down the tubes with mike. lemonis: so we'll put in $1,250,000 apiece? i must admit. i had a few good tricks to help hide my bladder leak pad. like the old "tunic tug". you know it, right? but i don't have to, with always discreet. i couldn't believe the difference. it's less bulky. and it really protects. watch this. the super absorbent core turns liquid and odor to gel, and locks it away. so i have nothing to hide. always discreet. for bladder leaks. is that what you're asking? lou: yeah. lemonis: i would want 33%. lou: that's a 50% to los

lemonis: really? rachel: yeah. lemonis: how old was he? rachel: he was 47 and just dropped dead, so... he was a great dad, and it was a real, real rocky, crazy -- lemonis: how did he end up passing? i mean, what -- rachel: we think it was a heart attack. i had a call on the freeway that -- "pull over. i have something to tell you." i think that first year, i was in a blur. i have two kids. they had to start school in a week. just had to go. lemonis: you just have to go into survival mode, right? "i have to take care of my kids, and i have to, like --" rachel: it's just wild. lemonis: i'm really sorry, by the way. rachel: yeah, thank you. lemonis: i really respect rachel and the fact that she lost her husband, she's raising kids, and she's running a business, and it shows me that she's willing to do whatever it takes. and for me, that's enough to actually dig in. ♪ so, the balance sheet's pretty interesting. when you go to the revenue -- 2016, $230,000. but then you go to cogs... rachel: right, it's a lot. lemonis: ...and $484,000 means i

lemonis: thank you for having me. lemonis: you did great. heidi: no. thank you. lemonis: i'm very proud of you guys. dear santa, you're welcome for fixing your toy store. now can you get me a good return on my investment? mark: thank you, sir. heidi: say goodbye! ♪ lemonis: tonight on "the profit"... corey: it's the traditional new york style kettle-boiled bagel. -lemonis: a master bagel maker has built three locations and a big following in chicago. the flavor's amazing. corey: if it doesn't hurt here from chewing after a while, it's not real. lemonis: but even as he dreams of expanding beyond the windy city... corey: i want 10 more. lemonis: ...his business is growing stale. that store should do $2.5 million, not $1.5 million. owner corey kaplan has a long history in the industry and an ego to match. corey: they didn't even know how to say bagel in chicago until i got there. lemonis: yet his branding is uninspired. it looks old and not reflective of you. his product mix is all over the place. why have capers? and while he and his wife have overcome great chal

lemonis: 33%. lou: what? lemonis: 33%. lou: that's a 50% to lose. lemonis: for you. lou: i don't like that. lemonis: i know. lou: i'm going forward. i'd like something a little bit better than that. lemonis: this business was starting over. i mean, that's how i looked at it. ♪ lou: i think i need a time out. lemonis: i'm going to be in charge up here. i need to have full control of this. lou: the company is going down the tubes. i'd like to take control back over, no? lemonis: you've done a good job up to this point of taking it down the tubes with mike. so chantix can help you quit slow turkey. along with support, chantix is proven to help you quit. with chantix you can keep smoking at first and ease into quitting so when the day arrives, you'll be more ready to kiss cigarettes goodbye. when you try to quit smoking, with or without chantix, you may have nicotine withdrawal symptoms. stop chantix and get help right away if you have changes in behavior or thinking, aggression, hostility, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts or actions, seizures, new or worse heart or b

lemonis: okay. so, whose recipes are these? jennifer: mine. lemonis: and who's in charge of what? chandler: she's the art, and i'm really the business side of it, right? i'm trying to make sure we're able to scale -- like, we can't scale her, so i need to have something that is makable by a properly trained employee. if it was 100% her way, it would be we make everything that we can from scratch. jennifer: that's the problem, is that we're very much both control freaks about stuff. i'm in charge of operations, the daily running of the store. lemonis: okay. chandler: i'm the ceo. i get the final call. lemonis: what does that mean? [ both laugh ] it's a barbecue restaurant. chandler: yeah. lemonis: it seems to me that chandler maybe takes himself just a little too seriously. it's almost like he felt like he needed to put a label on himself. "i'm the ceo, just wanted everybody to know, which makes me the man in charge." i thought it was a little unnecessary. and if he's the ceo of this business, what's

-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: 33%. lou: what? lemonis: 33%. lou: that's a 50% to lose. lemonis: for you. lou: i don't like that. lemonis: i know. lou: i'm going forward. i'd like something a little bit better than that. lemonis: this business was starting over. i mean, that's how i looked at it. ♪ lou: i think i need a time out. lemonis: i'm going to be in charge up here. i need to have full control of this. lou: the company is going down the tubes. i'd like to take control back over, no? lemonis: you've done a good job up to this point of taking it down the tubes with mike. before we talk about tax-s-audrey's expecting... new? -twins! lemonis: so we'll put in $1,250,000 apiece? ♪ we'd be closer to the twins. change in plans. at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. walkabout wednesdays are back! get a sirloin or chicken on the barbie, fries, and a draft beer or coca-cola - all for just $10.99. hurry in! wednesdays are for outback. outback steakhouse. aussie rules. wednesdays are for outback. uh, "fifteen minutes could save you 15%ain? or more on car insurance." i t

-lemonis: okay. lady: i never understood that market. we had mill valley, california. lemonis: [ laughing ] and why didn't it work? please, don't say because you didn't know the market. lady: that is what happened there. lemonis: jeans isn't barbecue. it's not that complicated. whether this is cleveland or the most fascinating city in america, it's jeans. really. so three stores left today. lady: yes -- san francisco, chicago, then dallas. lemonis: what was the worst year? lady: i believe 2013. and we did like $8 million on the top line, -but we had losses. -lemonis: how much was that? lady: $396,000. lemonis: and that was with 13 stores? lady: that was with the whole engine running. lemonis: ah. in 2013, lady did $8 million in sales across 13 stores but lost close to $400,000. that's because only three of the stores were actually making money. and the big problem was they weren't making enough money to keep the other 10 open. and so the only solution was to keep those three and say goodbye to the re

lemonis: great job. lemonis: hello, guys. steve: hey. ana: hey. good morning. lemonis: how are you? after seeing the presentations that both steve and ana put on for sam for the simple greek, it's clear to me that each of them have their strengths and their weaknesses. so i wanted to sit down with them and discuss how we're going to handle design going forward. you know, ana, initially, when i first came to you, it was a pretty simple idea. invest in pacific, have it be part of grafton, and go on down its merry way. but things, i think, have taken a different turn for me, especially after seeing the simple greek pitch. ana really opened my eyes. your presentation was what i'm always looking for in business leaders. what sam felt and what i felt is that you had one goal in mind, and that was to make that business successful and add value in any way that you could. so, ana, the way i'd like to be have it structured going forward is pacific and grafton will be one company. you'll be in charge of design for that whole business, and steve will be in charge of the manufacturing and the sa

lemonis: this is a house of cards. lemonis: i know. gina: the one thing i don't like, marcus -- and this is not towards you. the one thing i don't like -- excuse my language -- anybody [bleep] with putting food on my table to feed my kids. anybody -- anybody. there'll be a problem. lemonis: i know. you know i get the family thing. that's why i was here from the beginning. i know things aren't good. but i feel bad that these workers are gonna get hurt because of sal's bad decisions. and i have a terrible feeling that things are only gonna get worse. five days after my first visit, i got a call from sal's landlord, michael. he informed me that he hadn't been given any of the money that i invested specifically to pay him and he was ready to start eviction. i met with him outside in an effort to calm him down. there were still over a dozen employees there, and i didn't want the thing to totally implode. michael: you're caught with your pants down. gina: leave him alone! he can't pay anything. -he can't even defend himself. -michael: there

-lemonis: yep. stephanie: [ 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 ] ste

lemonis: that was really good. -dina: yeah. lemonis: ...but the business is in meltdown. zoe: the last couple years, it's just been declining, and i can't figure out why. lemonis: though the owners, three siblings, have made great sacrifices, they've failed to properly market their product... sean: our initial reaction was that we didn't know how it connected to you. zoe: what's the story to this, that we're greek? lemonis: ...and they're resistant to even the smallest change. petros: we don't want to be mainstream and do what everyone else is doing. that's how we've gotten to 18 awesome chocolate pieces. lemonis: in 10 years. lemonis: if i can't get them to open up and try new things... zoe: i don't like the top. i don't like the cross. lemonis: ...their beloved company will fall to pieces. pantelis: we'll get it together. lemonis: when? when are you gonna get it together? 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

lemonis: $5. and so if they end up costing you $10 or $11, i think that the perceived value difference between plain one and this, it's got to be $15 or $20. flex's watches used to cost them $5 to make, and they would sell them for $35. licensing printed village designs will cost as additional $5, bringing the total to $10. but it will also boost the perceived value of the watch, allowing us to raise the price of the watch by as much as $20. so that $5 investment will end up yielding the company an additional $15 in gross profit. trevor: all right. like this. i like that it's different. i think the skull thing is kind of fun. brad: i don't think skulls and the edginess and the darkness -- i-i'm not a fan of it. just don't like the skulls. travis: it's a "no" for me. brad: no. trevor: i still like it. brad: how does that have to do anything with who we are? trevor: well, people love halloween, though. i could argue that this is a fun thing to launch in october. travis: in october. you lost your mom

lemonis: not quite. criss is the only mind freak... with tv shows and specials, famous for walking on water. but the criss angel i know is much more than just a guy who does tricks. this is not a magic show. i want to make sure that people understand that. you're not a magician. you're not some strip headliner. you're a businessperson. -show business. -yeah. so there's no show if you don't understand the business. [ saxophone plays ] there's 250,000 tourists that come through vegas every day to two days, depending upon the seasons. everybody's out there trying to get the attention, get people to see their show. you really have to understand the mentality of the public that come to las vegas to really understand how to capitalize on that. you really have to understand what the audience wants. believe me, criss gets it. he just spent 10 years at the luxor hotel and casino. great success. brought in $150 million a year in direct and indirect sales, revenue. it's incredible. number-one magic show on the plan

lemonis: really? cory: yep. lemonis: a pint-sized entrepreneur and his mom have created a popular cookie brand. cory: would you like to try a cookie? jennifer: these are really good. cory: thank you. lemonis: but now their company is going through growing pains. lisa: when you don't have the right resources or the brain, this is what happens. i'm back to square one. lemonis: the c.e.o. struggles with the fundamentals. how much does it cost to make a dozen? cory: a dozen is around... lemonis: you don't know. cory: oh, no. lemonis: his mother struggles with self-doubt. lisa: i don't think i can take the company where it needs to be. lemonis: you can. i'm positive. i wouldn't be standing here. their product tastes great, but it can't be sold in stores. what's the shelf life? cory: two days.

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