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The best episode of The Profit to date, and I've seen them all. A business that needed some outside help, a nice family that needed a little guidance on the job, and some factory workers that got better conditions and job security It was nice to see a productive episode without feeling like I was watching Dr. Phil deal with some psychopath. If I want that kind of drama I can watch any number of other shows. Let's hope we'll see more of these stories and fewer dysfunctional business owners, because I would like to believe tonight's episode is more typical of today's small businesses.

"... it turns out $779,000 of stolen investor money may have gone through fuelfood" I hope The Profit does an update on this doomed company before the season ends. Maybe with Marcus holding a microphone with a penitentiary in the background.

Marcus is no dummy. He's got a big enough staff to investigate a company before he shakes the owner's hand the first time. You could see from the start Marcus had no interest in Musclehead Inc. The company has no competitive advantage - anyone could easily start up a competing company. All they have is a local customer base, and no realistic opportunity or resources to take it national. The crappy kitchen, the lousy food recipes, the demoralized staff are worth zero. So, for the cost of some new pots and pans, Marcus gets another show under his belt, and dodges a bullet. Final score: Marcus 10, Musclehead 0

Interesting episode. Obviously the show's staff is doing research and due diligence behind the scenes to shape the direction of each episode. Thirty minutes into the show and no sign of the typical "Let's gut this place and install a new process" was a clue that Marcus knew the outcome from day three. Buying some pots and pans was as far as he got. Erik's brain is obviously damaged by steroids. His tactics, bravado, and persona that may have worked in the gym won't work in business as clearly shown. There is a fine line between showmanship and bullying. You can't bully your way to success and maintain it for long. But where Erik really blew it was allowing his "books" to be exposed in detail on TV. Any company, any entrepreneur with half a brain can see the revenue and margins and growth that this nitwit achieved in spite of himself. Imagine what a competent team could accomplish. Look for a start-up to enter the market and quickly wipe this guy out. Erik probably thought being on the show would be a huge publicity win. Instead it blew up in his face.

"Nothing wrong with that but it's not true to the pitch." Agreed. After three seasons, it's apparent that he's looking for synergistic acquisitions in a limited number of industries. Those outside his areas of interest tend to get no deal. Yeah – it’s OK and it’s his money. But the viewers might get bored if yet another company with an under-sized kitchen gets aired :)

Interesting to watch these updates. Notice how a$$holes tend to fail in business? I love how Marcus directly called some people out who were deceitful.

I'm late to the party as I just watched this episode last night. The highlight for me was Bill, the other main investor who Marcus had to coax into coming over for a meeting. This guy was supposedly a business consultant, yet couldn't see that his own company was losing money with every bottle sold. That store was little more than a very expensive warehouse for the internet sales dept. And why would any sane person order more inventory when you can't sell what you already have? Obviously these guys somehow by accident made enough money in the past to open this place as a hobby and as a venue to showcase the lousy band.

" Something about his attitude was different in this episode." Agreed. The only thing I can figure is that this was a complete take-over & make-over. Not just a series of fixes. Not a business in which he could be a minority share owner. The family gets to stay and run their original out-of-the-way location. They are not capable of running a franchise (I don't believe the sudden miracle turn-around by the owner will last long term) As an auto repair analogy, Marcus fixed a broken car by lifting up the radiator cap and driving a new car underneath. Marcus didn't want to salvage anything: Product - Process – People. He didn't see a reason to keep any of it, thus the attitude. What he got was an LLC and a couple of locations that provided a jump start to a business idea he formed before finding this family. I believe he must have scouted them out, not the other way around.

Google: motivational-quotes-marcus-lemonis #7. You’ve got to treat people with the same amount of respect and decorum we are all the same; we just have different jobs. #14. Listen, be open to criticism, resolve it with speed and empathy, and take responsibility. The whole issue of cramming the name down their throats left me with a different impression of Marcus. It proved to me that he wasn't there to invest and "fix" a business; he was there to get a jump start on a totally new business venture he wanted to start and own. Trust the Process = Do it my way or don't take my money. I guess that's a decision each owners has to make.

Yeah - as a Corp her accounting mess certainly has big implications. Not much has been said about the guy who was introduced as her "accountant". The guy who went over the books with Marcus before Marcus brought in the forensic accountant. How come her "accountant" didn't know the books were a mess until Marcus pointed it out (unless of course he's in on the scam)? With cash unaccounted for, all kinds of things could have happened. People stealing? People paid under the table? Drugs? Who knows? I have no idea why Marcus went back a year later and made a deal. Too many unanswered questions to understand what that's about.

Agreed Amarsir - having the existing locations insured he could test the concept and begin generating some revenue quickly. But if his big franchise plans materialize, then he was indeed too generous in the offer. I'm curious if the growth and financial results Marcus has forecasted for these various businesses have materialized. Maybe we find out next week.

Same question mark here. This couple had nothing proprietary. Marcus even acknowledged that the business looks more like a start-up. He changed EVERYTHING, including the menu and most ingredients. The only thing I saw of any value was they had one, maybe two locations that were proven as far as customer volume. Not a big deal since he plans to go national. Otherwise, it's like buying a house and tearing it down because you only wanted the land to build new from the ground up. So yeah, I had the same thought - Marcus seems to favor customer-facing food businesses, and it really looks like he had this idea all along for fast casual Greek, Again, why own 55% of something you can't salvage much from, when you can start from scratch and own 100%?

"This group is clearly going to need day-to-day oversight from a Marcus corporate manager more than others. This is the first deal he's done that I have seen where I felt the business owners couldn't take the ball and run with it after he left. " I agree - had exactly the same thoughts watching this one. I'm sure that's why Marcus asked for 55% ownership - he knows the franchise won't grow if run by this couple and he'll need to eventually clean house. This was produced as a feel good episode. But people don't turnaround from being "I'll do knothing and just collect franchise checks" to being a dynamic hard-working driving force to manage a growing franchise. There may have been an emotional turn-around, but I don't see the skill set, experience, and leadership required.

Marcus gutted the name, gutted the menu, gutted the interiors, and gutted the process. All for the better. So what did he get? The people? If you're going to gut everything and start over with a new concept, why not just start a new business, hire your own people, and own 100% instead of 55%? The family were nice people, but I didn't see any core competencies that made them unique.

Zann - That was my take exactly. It's like Marcus felt sorry that she lost the Disney contract (likely because they realized her accounting is in shambles and very likely under-reported her sales to cheat them on commission). But yeah - nothing I could see in their re-union that explained any of the discrepancies from the original episode, or why she deserved his investment now. A real let down of an episode overall with so many un-answered questions.

Yeah - I wasn't too happy either with showing the scene where Marcus met with the customer who was unhappy with the work, didn't pay, and got sued. Meet off camera, OK. Meet on camera, not OK. There are two sides to every story, and we are dealing with people's livelyhood here. Did anyone check out the deleted scenes on The Profit website? Marcus interviewed an ex-partner who now has his own sign shop. Nothing good to say about ASL either. But what really concerned me was the film crew took a close-up shot of the guy's work-in-process job board (apparently to show his business is doing well), and you could see the company names of all his customers! As a business owner, I'd be pissed if I granted an interview in my office and they filmed and aired my customer info. I love the show, but I think Marcus needs to dial a few things back. Don't get me wrong, ASL did not deserve a partnership with Marcus, but the show can make it's point without hitting below the belt. Let the owner talk and act foolish - but no need to bring in outsiders to gang up. Again, I think the upside potential for a business owner who goes on this show is outweighed by the high probabality you'll be made to look like a fool.

I'm still scratching my head on this one. Something changed to bring Marcus back, but I don't know what. People don't change that much in a year. Yeah - she tidied up the office, got some bar-code, and has the cameras - too little too late. When the missing $400k was brought to her attention, she didn't even get mad. I'd be pulling out all the stops to find out what happened. Actually, I'd know the moment 1% of that money was unaccounted for. Either she is extremely lax (don't trip over those bundles of bills on the floor), or she was hiding her true income from the IRS (and her commission to Disney). Either way, those are not traits I want in a partner. Why would he risk his money when there are people out there who may need a little business education, but are otherwise honest and straight-forward? I guess the answer is the people in the latter category don't make for exciting reality TV.

I agree - the ASL guy is not as bad as some others who got a deal with Marcus. It could be just a personality conflict. I personally don't get along with many New Yorker's because many are too abrasive for my West Coast upbringing. That aside, it seems Marcus cut out when he realized the guy just wanted the potential $1.5M in sign business Marcus could refer. Perhaps ASL should have contacted Marcus on the side to make a sales presentation rather than apply to be on the show. It seems the kind of deals Marcus really wants are those where he can move a good product into broad distribution, own a good percentage of the company, and also get a percentage of each unit sold.

I don't understand why Marcus went back to the popcorn lady. Does he feel sorry the show cost her the largest contract she had (Disney)? Too many unanswered questions - where did $400k go? Not much has been said about her "accountant". He looked more like a bookkeeper than a CPA - either way, he had to know the books did not balance, and it's his job to keep her informed. I think the owner, her mom and the bookkeeper worked together to reduce her income on paper and defraud the IRS. Sorry Marcus, without more explanation given to the viewers, you made a bad deal. I love the show. But speaking of bad deals, who (after watching three seasons) would subject themselves and their business to the portrayals of a typical episode? I'd say 20% come out looking good and with a good deal putting them on track (BBQ House, Lime Pie) - 80% are made to look like fools (Fish Market, Sign Shop, Popcorn Lady, Flower Shop, Coffee Roaster, etc.) If you have your act together you don't need Marcus. If you don't have your act together, there's a high probability you'll be in a lot worse shape for going on the show.