If your business is struggling or in desperate need of cash, then Marcus Lemonis is the man that you want to meet. Lemonis, the owner of the multibillion-dollar company Camping World and the host of CNBC’s reality series The Profit, travels around the country to help save cash-strapped small businesses. In Tuesday’s episode of The Profit, he pays a visit to Greensboro, North Carolina, to help a family-owned haircare line that is almost $100,000 in debt.
The multicultural haircare company, Ashtae Products, was founded by Michael and Ramona Woods, who mortgaged their home and sacrificed personal items to begin their business in 1994. Today, Ashtae Products is distributed to professional salons and can be ordered online. However, the husband-and-wife duo found themselves at a breaking point due to Michael’s costly side projects. Fortunately, Lemonis steps in to help him find his focus.
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In each episode, Lemonis offers to invest into the struggling businesses in exchange for a percentage of the profits. However, in the preview clip below, things get intense when Lemonis tries to negotiate a deal with the Woods and accuses Michael of trying to exploit him as “just a checkbook.”
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Another clip reveals that Michael dumps a lot of the administrative duties and tasks onto his wife. However, Ramona told BLACK ENTERPRISE in an interview that her workload has become more manageable following the taping of the show.
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“When you’re bombarded constantly, it just seems like you’re underwater with the day-to-day small tasks,” she said. As a result, “you’re unable to manage and you’re unable to run the business from the top down because you’re in the trenches. You’re grinding [and] your head is down” buried in paperwork.
Now, she says, she is no longer being tied down by everyday transactions. “I’ve been able to put that on an in-house bookkeeper that we now have.”
Michael added that he is grateful to be featured on The Profit and the insight he gained.
“I think it was a great experience because it gave us an insight as to areas that we could improve in our business. We’ve been out for 23 years, so it was a great opportunity for Marcus to look at our company with fresh eyes.”
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The Profit airs tonight at 10p ET/PT on CNBC.