“You know, I do business on handshakes and I try to help people, and I do it to make money.”
That’s a quote from Marcus Lemonis, the star of CNBC’s hit show The Profit. Each week on the show Lemonis tries to help a failing business get back on its feet. Sound familiar? Well, it should (especially if you have read this blog).
Reality shows like Hotel lmpossible, Restaurant Impossible, and Bar Rescue feature industry experts visiting foundering businesses, addressing problems big and small, and within a week, transforming former money pits into profit machines.
But The Profit is a little different. Lemonis isn’t necessarily an expert the type of business, like hotels or restaurants, that he’s trying to rescue. He’s an expert in business. (For more on his background, check out his Wikipedia page.) His oft-repeated mantra is People, Process, Product. In each episode he examines all three and determines if the business has any hope for a turnaround.
And here’s the kicker: Lemonis isn’t just a hired gun, like Hotel’s Anthony Melchiorri or Restaurant’s Robert Irvine. Lemonis is putting up his own money, a la Shark Tank, to revive these businesses but also make a profit for himself. (The name of the show is just one big spoiler, isn’t it?)
Lemonis’ financial contribution is typically enough to pay off the business’s debt, plus some money for some upgrades to equipment that will have an impact on the bottom line. In exchange for his cash—it’s always such a baller move on when he whips out his checkbook and writes a million dollar check to a business owner—he asks for a large chunk of equity, often as high as 50%. He also requires full operational control of the business.
Like the “Impossible” shows, most of the time Lemonis business proposal and management style are met with some initial resistance from the owners, but eventually they realize that what’s good for him is what’s good for them. Happy ending, right?
Not quite. Sometimes, and this is much rarer on the various Impossibles, Lemonis can’t come to an agreement with the business, and he backs out. (While the check presentation is a big moment on the show, in reality I’m sure there are lawyers and accountants digging into the company’s financials and the owners’ credit histories to make sure the business isn’t a lemon.)
On the episode I caught last night, featuring Swanson’s Fish Market in Fairfield, Connecticut, Lemonis wrote the business a million dollar check to temporarily buy the building in which the market resides and clear up its debt, which he believed would be the pecuniary boost they needed to get back on track.
But as Lemonis (or his lawyers, off camera) dug deeper he discovered that the mortgage on the building was not, in fact, “in good shape” as the business co-owner Gary had said it was. It was in foreclosure.
Besides that, Lemonis couldn’t get past the fact that Gary owned a boat while some of his employees were covering the costs of the fish out of their own pockets. He also couldn’t get through to the other co-owner, Sue, about why her owning a BMW with $500 a month payments was sending the wrong message to her employees. Neither were willing to sell off their toys in order to take a little pressure off the business and, ya know, pay their frickin’ employees. (Unlike many struggling businesses I’ve seen on shows like this, these two had no guilt over paying themselves.) The icing on the cake was that when Lemonis came back a few weeks later to check in, he found out the owners were doing renovations on their home.
In the end Lemonis walked. There was no text at the end, like you’d see at the end of Hotel Impossible (“Occupancy is up 75% since Anthony’s visit. The hotel has plans to upgrade all rooms within the next six months.”) It was Lemonis’ quote (from the beginning of this post), and then the episode just kind of ends.
In a previous post I wondered why this didn’t happen more often, as it did in an episode of Hotel Impossible last season. If these people aren’t willing to do what it takes to run a successful business, why does the show still insist on helping them? I imagine there are so many American businesses doing things the right way (or at least what they believe is the right way) and still struggling. Why not help them instead?
(Here’s an idea for a show: when one small business is too stubborn or foolish to accept the free help of an expert—who, by the way, they called!—that expert goes across the street and helps their biggest rival. Or better yet, the expert starts his own business just to crush them. Too much? Watch the Hotel Impossible episode about the Thunderbird Motel–or read my post about it–and tell me those people deserve to stay in business.)
The only regrettable aspect of Lemonis walking away from Swanson’s was that the owners’ 24-year-old daughter, Larissa, was apparently working the hardest of any of them to keep the company afloat. She also seemed to be the only one who saw the value of Lemonis’ involvement and potential investment. Maybe somewhere in the near future she’ll open her own fish market and put her parents out of business? Or at least buy them out? After all, what better way to learn how to run a successful business than seeing first-hand all the ways not to run one?
***UPDATE*** I’m not sure about the sequence of events here but Larissa Swanson, the daughter of the owners of Swanson’s Fish Market, wrote a treatise on the company’s website in response to the way their episode of The Profit was edited and the deal that Lemonis ultimately walked away from. You can read the whole thing here, but the her key points are quoted or paraphrased below (with my own thoughts in italics).
- “When we sat down for the deal they told us before hand that if he writes us a check, it is only for show purposes and we have to hand it right back.” That sounds about right.
- “We also did not film for 4 weeks, the filming process started at the beginning of June and ended in September! We were strung along for 4 months. They don’t add that my mom had a contractor at the house painting bc we are fixing it up right now to SELL and put it on the market. We never even did a building deal with him, where he said he would buy It for one million. We did not see a penny for the entire 4 months.” This was not clear at all on the episode. In terms of timing Lemonis mentioned that he went back four weeks later, and that’s when he discovered the property was in foreclosure. More on that…
- “On August 26th I was served papers by a sheriff on the building for kasowitz (the guy who did a mortgage for it) I notified Marcus immediately via text..we were not aware that a foreclosure process even started. Our building is fine now and we are taking care of it. Our building also had a contractor Lien put on it 3 years ago and we had the lien removal paper but our mortgager never brought it to city hall to be taken care of and of course they never aired that either!” It’s starting to sound like a he said-she said thing, but ultimately if Swanson’s was even close to foreclosure Gary shouldn’t have said it was “in good shape.” Or was that creative editing, too?
- “When the boat happened he moved it from the marina and put it in someone’s backyard before hurricane Sandy hit and the motors became ruined and it turned into a salvaged project. He bought that boat 15 years ago.” The fact remains that he’s apparently paying marina fees on a boat, but Marcus made it out to be a luxury yacht.
- “Marcus even asked me to negotiate with people and had me promise to pay them the next day certified check and never even came through. Those people are so angry now that they are sueing us.” Um…
- “They also didn’t add how my little brother has a serious mental illness that he was diagnosed with 3 years ago of schizophrenia and it’s so severe that we are constantly in and out of hospitals and have paid over 100k in medical,hospital,ambulance bills and medications.” The show easily could have gone the other way with this and played up this angle, a la Restaurant Impossible, but they chose to go in the direction of villainizing the Swansons instead.
- Sue had three deaths in her family around the time of the taping, explaining her disconnected, erratic behavior.
- “Halfway through filming [Sue] agreed to sell the BMW and we filmed a cute scene where we taped for sale signs on her car windows to show we would sacrifice for the deal but they didnt show that either of course.” It’s starting to sound like the producers made the call to cut this into one episode’s worth of content, even though they clearly needed more time to tell the story completely.
- “I also wanted to touch base on our employees chipping in for product- that i agree was not right but it was a total of only two times and they got their money back right at the end of the day only because we had vendors who wanted cashiers checks in the morning for product and my mother or father were not there to get to the bank and there was not enough to cover it with cash in the register.” Again, they really played up this angle as if it was all the time. That said, it’s no way to run a business.
- Larissa addresses the circumstances around the fires that destroyed their property and imputes them to a former employee with a drug problem. I’m not sure this is relevant except that it casts doubt for those who may have thought the Swansons may have set the fires themselves for the insurance money.
- There are also some images on the site including Larissa’s text to Lemonis about the foreclosure and some other critical documents that the show glossed over.
So, what are we as fans of The Profit to make of all this? Well, we all know reality shows edit their footage in order to tell a succinct, compelling story in their allotted amount of time, usually about 44 minutes for an hour-long program. Some edits don’t matter as much, like the exact phrasing of a quote, but others can be specious, like some of what Larissa alleges above.
While I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen of Lemonis and The Profit so far, at this point I’ll really need to take what he and the show are saying with a grain of salt. And I won’t be so quick to write a blog post that paints these small businesses featured on these shows in such a negative light, at least not until hearing both sides of the story.
As for you, I suggest you watch at your own risk.
What night & time is this show on? I didn’t see it anywhere
Thanx
Tuesday at 10.
I like your plot twists – throw the money to the biggest rival! That’ll show ’em!
There are three sides to every story … yours, mine and the truth.
The Swanson’s paved their road to hell long before the profit gave them the EZ Pass to get there.
I feel really bad for this family! I believe her story.
Larrisa shd have her own show she’s gorgeous
well, lets see the positive side, when they lose the building and their home, they could fish,with ther boat, then sell the fish, around in the trunk of the bmw, and larisa could work as a club dancer.
Saw this as a re-run last night and I was perplexed by one thing in particular: Why on earth did he not discover this “fact” about the foreclosure (now a questionable fact, given the daughter’s statements on the website) before handing over a $1 million check, which would be used to buy a building that was financially compromised? Of course the truth is, it wasn’t “handed over” at all, but still, he gives that impression, and says his business is all done on a handshake.
He has every right to do this with his own money, but I find it a horrific business practice to even imply that he gives money to strangers without doing his due diligence first.
Larissa said the foreclosure happened midway through filming.
Hang on, these people wouuld have likely stated the son was sick, could have taken the car to carmax to be sold, and an employee with a drug probl sets fires? For what purpos
I think something smells fishy here! Bottom line…………………….workers paying vendors????????? Com on…………………………….
Lesson: Don’t ask for help from a company/person that is in the TV/drama business!
Can you say shopaholics? Did you not notice the exuberance on the mom’s face after she had money again? And dad and mom so defensive about everything (the boat, remodeling etc.?). I believe the poor daughter got hounded by the parents to write up a list if excuses to make them all look better. And I feel very sorry for her after mom rips her a new one and then hugs her like all is well. Whether snippets or not they still look like heartless schmucks using everyone they can so they can still live above their means.
Ill never watch the show again, When you know the whole story the profit guy is a creep.
How old are you 5… What businessman /woman isn’t a “creep” from time to time… its called being a “Boss” and not a babysitter.
The Swanson’s are so full of it…. YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR IN FORECLOSURE…. COME ON NOW… Whether it happen midway through the deal or not … When you know you have not been paying your Mortgage, you don’t tell someone you are in “Good Standing”. They wanted that money, to go shopping with it just like they did with all the “Insurance” money they previously received. they are just mad because they thought he would write a check and they could personally cash it.
you are absolutely right about that statement that you posted honesty is always the best policy
I am not buying all of what Larissa says. It was caught on camera honey!
saw this episode tonight and read the Market response.
Food 4 Thought –
1) Employees are paying Vendors? Not ok.
2) Husband and Wife both admit they have expensive toys while their business is going under and their employees are paying Vendors? Not ok.
3) Stephen Abbot is posting on here and also specifically posting rebuttals and positive reviews for this business on Yelp attacking The Profit = Swanson Fish Market propagandist pretending to be a consumer. Not ok.
David Krouse, I am not at all affiliated with Swanson Fish Market, have never met any of the people who work there or own it, have never been hired by them or anyone affiliated with them in any capacity, and have NEVER posted a review on Yelp for or against this business, which I’ve never patronized (I do not even eat fish, as a rule.)
So, all of your speculations are false.
I’m just a viewer of The Profit – one who reserves the right to exercise my free speech about the show and its episodes – and am highly critical of their clever and deceptive editing techniques, though as you note, this family’s business sense leaves a lot to be desired and there’s no question that they made MANY mistakes. Which, of course, is why someone called for Marcus Lemonis to come in the first place.
seems the Swansons are liars and crooks. larissa is just a dumb bimbo who will look fat like her mom in ten years. Why no insurance fraud investigation?? smells fishy.
I wonder why they’re having their house rennovated & bought a new boat & a luxury car when they claimed to be financially struggling in their business & medical bills for a family member. I think it’s safe to say that they’re not a good business to deal with especially when they dont see that all those unneccessary expenses (home rennovation, boat, car etc…) as a bad thing.
I think Marcus has a duty to himself and out of respect for just plain human dignity, to resolve some of this. I have sent him a tweet and will email him and ask him to not slander anyone in pursuit of ratings or ego gratification. Larissa makes a lot of claims that ML and his prod co.portrayed her family to be liars that are provable or disprovable. For the sake of his own reputation, he deserves to be more up front.Although Larissa’s ‘treatise’ is certainly filled with anger, she also seems pretty clear headed, which are two things seldom found in the same place at the same time. She deserves to be heard.
You come into and leave this world with your good name. Be very careful with how you treat it and how you treat others. I love ‘The Profit’ and Marcus, but it looks like he may have come up short here.
Well Marcus is a brilliant business man and done a lot of good. He has also stated several times he has made mistakes before. As for this show I like it but I’m sure the producers are the people manipulating things for there own success and ratings. & even if Marcus looks bad in this case he is always classy & doesn’t bad mouth people. & as successful he is and respected, the fact is he’s very busy & doesn’t need to explain himself, this is his money & he can do as he pleases.
Listen-that Mother besides having a Xanax problem has an alcohol problem. It was obvious. That family is a bunch of cry babies.Just looking for free $$$$. Marcus should have seen this at the beginning!!! I watched the re-run
5 minutes in, numbers don’t make sense. Trying to figure out why Marcus is still there till he brings up buying the building – collateral. But when building not paid for as advertised, I’d have walked away. Who would want to think their parents are crooks? Two buildings had fires with insurance payouts. Both buildings supposedly cost less to rebuild than insurance paid. Smells fishy to me.
If you read all of her post she explains the bmw was a lease and half way through the filming her mom agreed to sell it. 2. she explained they did not make money on the fires they lost money. 3. the forclosure started after filming began and Marcus was told the same day but also the forclosure was from a construction lien that had been paid but was not filed paid. I used to like this show but will no longer believe any of it. I always look up the companies after to see if they made it and with this one I found this…her whole story with screen shots, texts etc. http://www.swansonsfishmarket.com/#!the-profit–please-read/c24el
it’s just another reality show. it’s all about the story and perpetuating a questionable, if not outright false narrative. If you take a mom and pop anything, and give it multiple hours of national exposure, the contributions of the ‘star/savior/second coming of jc’ are secondary, tertiary, (what is after ‘tertiary’ ? what ever that is. it’s that) I would like to see a ‘contestant’ whip out a video recorder and just inform him and his prod. co that they are gonna video everything just to protect their name from being slandered on national TV by clever and distorted editing that characterizes the contestant in a bad light. I really lost all interest in the show after about the 5th or 6th episode where the contestant complains about things being done for the sake of the show. But if you go online, you can see the power of TV when thousands of defensive sycophants will stick up for our beneficent saint marcus. if any one speaks a questioning word about his integrity or motives. It’s TV, we all need to find better things to do with our spare time.
Others with the same type of stories are starting to post as well. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, one investigated the ‘foreclosure’ that Marcus suddenly discovered and it WASN’T, and the form and check had the wrong dates on it, making Marcus out to be in my opinion a liar! This discovery was NOT by the Swanson’s but a viewer!
They don’t know how to handle their money, they don’t have anybody else to blame but themselves!!
” I imagine there are so many American businesses doing things the right way (or at least what they believe is the right way) and still struggling. Why not help them instead?” I think if a business is doing everything the right way they will be successful unless there is a big problem like wrong location, or area not rich enough to support the business, or high costs, etc. In that case “helping them” is not possible. Just my 2c.