Marcus Lemonis: There’s Hope for Every Struggling Company

As star the CNBC program “The Profit,” Lemonis invests in troubled businesses and works with his new co-owners to fix every aspect of the companies.

In this Jan. 24, 2015, photo, Marcus Lemonis, of the TV show "The Profit," left, films at the SJC Custom Drums booth during the 2015 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP

NEW YORK—According to Marcus Lemonis every struggling company can be saved.

As star of the CNBC program “The Profit,” Lemonis invests in troubled businesses and works with his new co-owners to fix every aspect of the companies.

That could mean changing every product and service. And it also may require that the owner set aside a little pride.

“The business is bigger than you, and while you’re an important part of it, you are not the business,” said Lemonis. “That includes telling the owners all the mistakes they’ve made. It’s a blow to their egos, but it has to be done to save the company, Lemonis said.

Businesses on the show have included food manufacturers, restaurants, a beauty salon, and a used car company. Some have been close to collapse.

People often come in with so much bravado and arrogance and it turns off employees, vendors, and customers.

— Marcus Lemonis, investor