The Profit

Marcus Lemonis takes the viewer on an excursion of behind-the-scenes business dealings. He is the proverbial fireman of small business owners as he is invited by the owners of those struggling/failing businesses to come and offer his guidance and help.

Typically, he does an introduction of the business, a overview of the business's market, strategies, successes, and failures. Like a doctor who reviews the patient's ailments, Mr. Lemonis then offers a diagnosis and a cost for his cure. Typically the cost of the cure means that he injects some of his own capital investment, and in return, requires a percentage of ownership and initial control over the decision making.

Once the owner and Mr. Lemonis make a handshake deal, he begins the process of interjecting his ideas and taking the owner(s) to meet specialists to assist with their particular business. Mr. Lemonis's black book is full of a virtual who's who of business contacts that most business owners would dream to possess and to know. Using his skills and contacts, Mr. Lemonis on The Profit demonstrates how a sinking ship can be made to float and once again sail....most often with lower costs, higher sales and distribution, and larger profit margins.

It is fascinating to see the variety of troubled businesses, but also to see how despite this variety, often the problems are very similar. Mr. Lemonis's techniques and his business savvy are well-known and he is highly respected for this. However, it must be said that perhaps equally as important and equally as skilled is Mr. Lemonis's people skills which often come into play as he strives to lift the business from the red into the black.

This is one of the very few shows that my wife and I enjoy watching together. She loves watching a variety of reality shows which don't hold my interest and I have a love for shows such as Undercover Boss or The Profit which spotlight business choices and decisions and their results. I may not always agree with Mr. Lemonis's choices, but his results are remarkable. Each show is similar and also unique. Unlike a well written mystery that often has a happy ending, this show also displays the underside of failure due to toxic people and not every episode ends with a predictable success.

You should watch at least 3 shows before you form an opinion, and in doing so, I believe that you will find viewing the series "Profitable". Highly recommended.

This show gives lots of great tips on how to turn around a business that isn't doing the best. Whether the episode is in your field or not there's always a lot to learn that is pretty interesting

As another reviewer accurately wrote, this is similar to shows like Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell, it is also like Bar Rescue. However, the Profit is geared towards not only saving the business, but increasing its earning potential. Why? because the owners and he make money then. This isn't as selfish as it may seem since many of the businesses are often family owned or are at the center of a community.

While one reviewer broke it down simply to a deal is done or not, sure that is true at the end of every episode. However, it is recommended to watch more than a couple. There has been criticism about some drama within the episodes, but what reality TV show does not have some drama, real or contrived? I disagree with the reviewer that was dubious of Lemonis' success. A successful business person is not just someone who wins everyday and makes money with every deal. A successful business person knows what to do everyday, fix what is broke and learn from mistakes made, and move on. I would suggest you may read Lemonis' bio and you might see the man differently.

There is a lot to be learned through each episode and keeping in mind Lemonis' 3 P's of People, Process and Product. Lemonis walks away when the people are an unfixable problem. Truth is people will fail a business before anything else.

My only criticism is there is no review or follow-up episodes to date.

I've been working for startups for the last 6 years and I was blown away by this show. Despite some of the criticism you might have read online, what Marcus says is simple and extremely effective. If people stick to the principles he says out i.e. People, Process and Product it's hard to see why a business would still fail. Marcus deals with many different problems on the show and tackles them with the same formula which is amazing in itself. The more you watch it, the more you understand the nuances of how his fundamentals work and the clarity this guy has.

I recommend this show to not just budding entrepreneurs but also anyone who is interested in just a great show.

Just happened to flip to CNBC for an after market trading check, but this show happened to be on. I ended up watching a rerun at 6 pm and the new episode later that night. What I really like about the show is that it doesn't always end in success. In the first episode I watched, Lemonis walked out on them. In the second episode, he almost did, but the owners came though. Their final product was very, very well done and seemed both viable and thoroughly thought out for sustainable, long term success.

I agree with a previous reviewer, it would be really cool at the end of each season to do check-ins with the businesses to see what aspects of their plans worked and what parts failed. I hope this show continues for many seasons to come and that the variety of businesses remains plentiful.