S03.E02: After The Deal

[Tara Ariano]

Marcus returns to four companies—a pie business in Florida, an embroidery and silk-screening outfit in Queens, a Long Island salon and a sports-memorabilia enterprise in Pennsylvania—to check on their progress.

[caligirl50]

There is drama ahead in tomorrow night's show.  The teaser has some crazy moments.

[Primetimer]

A couple of past subjects show well, but Sal's Artistic Stitch and bitch is a disaster. Sarah has questions.

Read the story

[Hikdebrandt]

Anyone recall Queen's Vibe's sales manager who couldn't sell? That was enough to make to pass on the deal.

[GeminiDancer]

I hated how Sal seemed to snow Marcus AGAIN! Once again, he uses that verge-of-tears face, says "You're right, Marcus", and Marcus seems to think that he's a good guy. No, Marcus. Sal is not a good guy. I have no doubt in my mind that Sal pocketed all of that money because it's absolutely ludicrous to know that not a single debt has been paid. He's using those crocodile tears all the way to the bank.

 

I understand Gina is frustrated that she's going to lose her job, but why is she going to further agitate an already angry landlord who should have evicted them once the show aired? She was a huge jerk for that.

 

I feel for Fabio the most. The dark circles around his eyes told me everything I needed to know about his situation. To think he's been friends with Sal for 18 years only to do him that dirty. That's gotta suck hard.

[Amarsir]

I hated how Sal seemed to snow Marcus AGAIN! Once again, he uses that verge-of-tears face, says "You're right, Marcus", and Marcus seems to think that he's a good guy. No, Marcus. Sal is not a good guy. I have no doubt in my mind that Sal pocketed all of that money because it's absolutely ludicrous to know that not a single debt has been paid. He's using those crocodile tears all the way to the bank.

I had the exact same thought. I wonder if Marcus is reluctant to admit his initial assessment was wrong, or if he just gets fooled by the act each time.  At least he's not putting any more money in, but that was a nightmare.

 

Good to see the salon and pie businesses doing well. I noticed the update didn't particularly mention any profits coming from that product line. Apparently Erika Cole by Raquel isn't bringing a lot of Dollar Cash by US Mint.  Also I'm curious what the structure is on this new money Marcus puts in. For Key Lime he'd already bought them out anyway so it's his business but how's Coopersberg working? Is it debt? More equity? Charitable contribution?

[attica]

Marcus seems to think that he's a good guy. No, Marcus. Sal is not a good guy.

 

I said this right out loud at the tv when Marcus proclaimed him a good guy. Nope: probably criminal.

 

Speaking of which, whom should we speculate that Gina meant when she threatened 'one call to end you, bro' (it's the 'bro' that makes it art, imo)? Not to make sweeping generalizations about the upstanding residents of Queens, but it wouldn't surprise me if Gina knew some thick-necked dudes in the waste management industry.

 

I wonder if Marcus's 'I want a free haircut' was a euphemism. For sexytimes.

 

Not a fan of key lime pie, but I sure would like to try that blood orange concoction.

 

I think the only reason Marcus didn't kick Cooperstown Scott to the curb is one word: Walmart.

[Amarsir]

I think the only reason Marcus didn't kick Cooperstown Scott to the curb is one word: Walmart.

I noticed that printed mats showed up in the "business is booming, we have new products" section. Not that Marcus edits the footage or even knows what goes into the montage, but there's a little conflict between condemning an investment and bragging about the product that results from it. So I actually don't think it was that much of a sticking point between them. Yes, Marcus wants to be consulted about $80,000 purchases (esp via debt). But I'm not sure how many purchase orders he can actually get when he doesn't have a sample product to show yet.

 

Point being that it's a protocol breech, but Marcus puts up with so much crap from much worse people that I don't see anything Scott did crossing that line.

[selhars]

1) ^^ Yeah, I thought the same thing.  I think Marcus was really ticked that he was in for way more than the original deal -- AND that Scott came coming back for money so they could fill orders and buy materials. What kinds of business management is that? Are there NO financial reserves.. tho handle an increase in orders?

 

The big deal was that Scott bought the machine and spent the money without prior permission -- ALL THE WHILE -- asking for money just to keep filing orders and buying materials. That said.... Marcus did say have more orders than expected IS a good problem to have. 

 

The printed mats looked good. AND they are a product that WILL sell. You put a team logo on ANYthing -- especially a floor mat or tile that looks like a basketball court or  football- or baseball field and they will sell. And I thought the daughter's idea about the tailgating -- and home decor line was fantastic.

 

So it WAS about the money....and it WASN'T about the money.

 

2) It was interesting that Marcus was soooo effusive with praise for the salon owner. Granted, that's one of the only episodes I didn't see originally. So, did they have some kind of special rapport during that episode? That made her stick out so much for her "hard work" and dedication? I was like where is this coming from?

 

3) I KNOW she's a hard worker, and I KNOW she's dedicated. BUT SOMETHING about the Key Lime Pie business just makes me done with wanted to even hear about them anymore. Something about the young women he made 25 owner I just haven't warmed up to. (I forget her name) Nothing against her really. She's just not a character in this play that I care about.

Edited May 20, 2015 by selhars

[rehoboth]

"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong..."

 

I got that vibe from the hair salon when it aired and from last night's show.  I don't see how a hair salon is a good fit for Marcus and I never picked up on the "She's the hardest worker I've ever seen" picture that he's painting.  I'm sure it was there but it didn't translate to my screen.  I do know that the former general manager was not a hard worker.  I'd rather see what Tabitha could do with this salon.

 

Did Artistic Stitch get anything out of Marcus last night?  Except for another endorsement of Sa'ls character.  Once he found out they changed the name, started taking a salary and sold his printer, I thought Marcus was there to deliver a tax document and see the shit hit the fan, if possible.

[caligirl50]

I think Marcus doesn't get mad, he gets even.  Do you honestly think that no one from the IRS will see this episode and start and inquiry/audit?  An idiot regular on Howard Stern made an announcement about not paying taxes and he went to jail.  It will happen.

[attica]

Heh, the IRS's budget for auditing has been cut so low, they're delighted when somebody else does the investigating for them! And why not?

[Lola16]

For Unique Salon, Marcus points to a shelf of hair color and says at $20 a bottle.... um, no Marcus.  That's Redken EQ shades.  More like $6 a bottle wholesale.

 

Still think the name is idiotic.  Erika Cole by Raquel.  Means nothing to anyone but the family.    Didn't Jerseylicious also feature Salon Today on their show?  Feels like a pay to be included rag.

[Lola16]

 

As for Sol of Artistic Stitch...I don't understand why Marcus thinks he is a good guy. He's a con man from beginning to end, and not a very smart one. I think the reason Marcus didn't take after him is because the building owner was going to do enough yelling for a crowd (and I don't blame him).,  Sol is going to get himself evicted and with any luck Fabio finds someone decent to work for.  

 

Sal lied and lied and lied.  Gina looked like a stark raving mad fool threatening the landlord on TV.  Fabio is spent.  I don't believe that no-one knows where the printer went.  It went to pay their salaries and Sal's family dinners out.  What surprises me is that Marcus doesn't have someone on his payroll that monitors these companies and their finances.  Heck, he could get a finance intern and have them check the books.

[clod]

why doesn't the landlord evict them and do the legal work to void the contract?   what is he waiting for?

[Lola16]

Actually Marcus did bring someone in to check the books...what I don't get is why Marcus seemed to keep giving to someone who clearly was lying.  Marcus is not a fool, and the guy is not that slick.  This segment puzzled me...not about Artistic Stitch but about Marcus.

In the beginning, Marcus had an accountant review the books.  And then... nothing?  No monitoring?  That's curious business practice to me.   A full time accountant would cost Marcus 100-120K per year (including health benefits etc) --- small price to pay versus the amount of money invested in all these business.  Mark Cuban (Shark Tank) has people dedicated to his show investments.  Marcus not knowing anything about what any of these companies doesn't seem quite right.

[Shibori]

It wasn't explained very well on the show, but I think there's a reason Marcus was practically giggling about giving Sal a 1099.  Marcus's options at that point were to sue the business, Sal, or both, or just write off the loss and move on.  With a company so much in debt, suing the corporation would be pretty much worthless, spending attorneys fees with little chance of recovery.  It sounds like Marcus decided to take the loss, but also wanted to make sure Sal or the Corporation had to account for that income to the IRS.  Artistic Stitch is a corporation, not an LLC or a partnership.  Normally you don't need to 1099 a corporation for money you paid them.  Plus, with all the things they were (likely illegally) using as business expenses, it would be easy to rack up enough to offset the income.  But since Sal apparently never used the money in the business, I think Marcus may have done the 1099 as if he paid the money out to Sal, not to the Corporation, under the theory the money never made it to the business's debts as per their agreement (or because he actually made the check out to Sal, which would have been odd).  Now, to fix that, Sal would have to argue to the IRS that it was company income, not personal.  Even if the check was made out to Artistic Stitch, the corporation, there's a concept called piercing the corporate veil that comes into play when you've so co-mingled your personal and business funds that you can't reasonably claim the corporation is a separate entity.  The landlord could sue under the same theory, and file suit against Sal personally under that same theory, and have a good case.

 

So this is total speculation on my part, just based on what we were told in the show, but given how much value/impact Marcus seemed to place on that 1099, I suspect at least some part of it is accurate.  If it is, he set into a motion a chain of events that will not bode well for Sal.

[Lola16]

I figured there'd be some drama on the Profit's facebook page and yup, it didn't disappoint:

 

 

Gina Berardi Henderson Has anyone here that is on the Marcus train ever worked with him personally did anyone know that he fired over 15 people allll because he didn't think the pizzeria in our building didn't need to be there no he didn't say that.... Did he say how he entire show was a script and he made me and Fabio argue about the same thing 15 different ways did they say any of that NO because reality TV is not freaking real I meant everything I said when I said it Idc how it looked on TV at all Sal and artistic Stitch will be around before during after Marcus because it is what it is my boss has worked for over two decades to create this company and has kept over 100 employees he has never fired or laid off anyone every single week no matter how bad the sales were he still paid everyone so let's keep it 100 people!

Like · Reply · May 18 at 3:22am

<> l Let's keep it 100? If you're boss was doing so well then why did he need marcus?

Like · May 18 at 2:59pm
Gina Berardi Henderson Nobody said we needed him AT ALL because while he had the debt we were doing fine so nobody needed anybody.... Marcus didn't even know how to handle this company it was too unique for him

 

Gina's the one who threatened the landlord in the update.

[caligirl50]

Not the best spokesperson for the company, is she?  Sad.

[nobodyyoucare]

For Unique Salon, Marcus points to a shelf of hair color and says at $20 a bottle.... um, no Marcus.  That's Redken EQ shades.  More like $6 a bottle wholesale.

 

Still think the name is idiotic.  Erika Cole by Raquel.  Means nothing to anyone but the family.    Didn't Jerseylicious also feature Salon Today on their show?  Feels like a pay to be included rag.

How much does the bottle bring in when used? Is it 20 dollars profit? Then each bottle not there is 20 dollars down the drain. 

 

Actually someone by someone is the latest trend in high end salon products. 

I noticed that printed mats showed up in the "business is booming, we have new products" section. Not that Marcus edits the footage or even knows what goes into the montage, but there's a little conflict between condemning an investment and bragging about the product that results from it. So I actually don't think it was that much of a sticking point between them. Yes, Marcus wants to be consulted about $80,000 purchases (esp via debt). But I'm not sure how many purchase orders he can actually get when he doesn't have a sample product to show yet.

 

Point being that it's a protocol breech, but Marcus puts up with so much crap from much worse people that I don't see anything Scott did crossing that line.

Except a sample product could have been made without buying the 80,000 printer. That 80,000 could have been used to fill existing orders. You don't spend that type of money without a plan to get that money back in a reasonable time frame. If the guy had suggested the product and said we need 80,000 for the machien to make it and it looks like we get enough orders the first year to break even on the machine then it would have been approved. 

[nobodyyoucare]

In the beginning, Marcus had an accountant review the books.  And then... nothing?  No monitoring?  That's curious business practice to me.   A full time accountant would cost Marcus 100-120K per year (including health benefits etc) --- small price to pay versus the amount of money invested in all these business.  Mark Cuban (Shark Tank) has people dedicated to his show investments.  Marcus not knowing anything about what any of these companies doesn't seem quite right.

120k a year extra for each investment since the accountant would have to be on site when profits each year without the accountant would be 100k mininum. With accountant there is no profit.

 

Somebody at each business already does accounting. Marcus hiring an extra accountant full time is an unneeded expense.  

why doesn't the landlord evict them and do the legal work to void the contract?   what is he waiting for?

It can take years and a lot of money to evict someone. Hence why squatters are often impossible to get rid of. 

[nobodyyoucare]

For Unique Salon, Marcus points to a shelf of hair color and says at $20 a bottle.... um, no Marcus.  That's Redken EQ shades.  More like $6 a bottle wholesale.

 

Still think the name is idiotic.  Erika Cole by Raquel.  Means nothing to anyone but the family.    Didn't Jerseylicious also feature Salon Today on their show?  Feels like a pay to be included rag.

Salon Today has been around for about 25 years and is considered one of the leading mags on the industry. Its a mag for salon owners and operators. In other words something you don't normally find on newstands but known to people in the industry geared for the magazine.