The Profit is a reality show about business, money, and turning around an unsuccessful enterprise through an infusion of experience, capital, and advice.
This sounds like one of the most boring things imaginable, coming around with reality television’s usual prediliction for unnecessary drama and foolishness. And yet, The Profit contains some actual, real sound advice about how to grow your business and how businesses in various industries gain more customers. Marcus Lamonis, our strange benefactor, doesn’t really look the part; he always appears on scene in strange clothing, but the man clearly knows his numbers (it wouldn’t surprise me if he trained as an accountant at some point). Those numbers don’t lie, and Lamonis knows how to put people on the black – if only they would listen!
I’m not sure whether the editing turns people into foolish charlatans or not, but many of the business owners refuse to change the way they do business – the “pride of ownership” disease, as I like to call it. Most of them need fixing in the Rule of Lamonis’ Three Ps: People, Process, and Product. If the people don’t do their jobs and do not hold integrity in their business and private lives, then things will suffer. If the process contains inefficiencies and waste because “that’s the way things have always been done”, then it affects the rest of the business too. If the product does not match up to internally high quality standard (or does not set itself apart enough in a crowded market), then who wants to buy it? Lemonis identifies the problems rather quickly, and even the audience can see these problems if they look at it purely from the money. Our objective stance allows us to cut through the emotion and see the real problems.
At the same time, it seems like Marcus Lemonis knows how to obtain the best performance from his new partners in business – for rational people, anyway. Clearly, he knows that asking for large amounts of equity (usually 50%) along with cash infusions of up to one million dollars frightens people. They need to sacrifice something to let their place grow, because owning part of something big is better than owning all of nothing. Working on something from the ground up, however, tends to place subjective personal attachments to plain bad business practice. Sometimes they just flatout refuse help, advice, or otherwise; Lemonis will not go through with a deal if they try to swindle him in some fashion, or refuse to create change for increased profitability. And yet, he needs to use a light handhold for the more emotionally fragile people; he clearly knows how to work in a high stakes environment, while also encouraging people into good decisions.
Because of the financial investment from the host, it’s not like he does it for giggles. He wants to make money, save the business, and keep people’s jobs. But, if the owner refuses to help out or change, then things will go south. He then takes a hardline stance, and really rips into people to, hopefully, break them out of their addled stupor. I don’t think I have heard more bleeps on a PG rated show than this one. Tensions run high when finances are involved, and that’s no less true in real life than on a television show. You hope they work it out; sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.
Of course, since this is television, you must always be wary of staged fights, misinformation, and other such problems. You only really get one side of a story, the side of The Profit, and the reality may not match up with reality shows. Probably the most notable example of this is Swanson’s Fish Market. Apparently, the business suffered a fire to its primary store and warehouse, and need help from someone to stay aflot after being in debt for years. The Profit made it look like they were swindlers, telling Marcus to buy a building when they were already in foreclosure. The owners kept a BMW and a boat, not really telling Marcus either way until the information “leaked out”. Because of this, on the show he doesn’t make a deal. The mother (and employee in charge of the books) supposedly looks strangely disinterested in the business and distracted, for reasons we don’t know (apathy, more like!)
The daughter of the owner, however, says different. In a gigantic long blog post, Larissa details her side of the story: the BMW was on lease, the boat was owned for 30 years and existed primarily for fishing, and the insurance that they got from the building was substantially less than they anticipated, hence the debt. Larissa told Marcus about the foreclosure. Three people in the family died six months before Lemonis visited, and it was then that the mother had already left the business (making her participation in the episode puzzling!). Again, some things seem fishy (HA HA FISH MARKET) from either side, but we will never know the true story. In one respect, though, a show like this can definitely sully the reputation of a decades-long business just for ratings, and that does not help matters.
On the one hand, then, I really love the show, its structure, and how Lemonis does often fix ailing businesses (he has a track record to prove it). On the other hand, we may just see one part of a greater whole, one that allows us to indulge in some business-related Schadenfreude. I guess it depends on what you want out of your television shows.
Even so, I would recommend checking out CNBC’s primetime lineup for The Profit. Honestly, the majority of it details a side you don’t often see in business shows (an entrepreneur hands-on with his investments), and this appeals to me in a different way than Shark Tank. Considering how many episodes I watched in recent days, I think that stands as a testament to the show’s presentation that it held my interest with zero problems. If you have any interest in the subject matter, give it a watch and draw your own conclusions on who’s right!
