small business growth strategies
Marcus knocks another one out of the ballpark in the season finale with the Key West Key Lime Pie Company.
If we don’t make it, we don’t sell it. – Marcus Lemonis
The Key West Key Lime Pie Company (KLPC) is located in Key West, Florida and is owned 50/50 by Jim Brush and Alison Sloat. The couple bought the business for $1200 ten years ago. As you have no doubt guessed, the company sells key lime pies. It had sales of $1.4 million last year but no profits before Marcus showed up. It also had $130K in debt.
Let’s do a quick Marcus Lemonis review of the business using his 3 Ps methodology.
The second season ended with another strong episode about Marcus’s turnaround of the Key West Key Lime Pie Company in Key West, Florida. Last weekend the new site built by Marcus sold 22K pies. Here’s the website.
The turnaround is reminiscent of Amazing Grape. Similar problems; similar solution.
I’ll write about it some more by week’s end.
Marcus moves fast. Money loves speed, as they say. He doesn’t waste any time waffling.
Just received this press release.
Sunday Business Notebook: AutoMatch USA is open
Where our hero Marcus works his magic in record time.
Link to Video.
Amazing Grapes is an Orange County, CA wine bar and shop started by a successful real estate developer. It was launched 9 years ago but has never shown a profit despite current sales of $3.5 million. It also owes $570K to its vendors. The main problem is that all of the owners are distracted by other business interests and personal activities. The most active of them, Greg Schroeder, only drops by once or twice a month, according to staff. Another invisible owner, Bill, had to be shamed by Marcus into meeting with him. Greg and Bill have invested $750K. There are five other investors who invested another $500K but they are only mentioned once in passing.
This particular episode is an example of the tycoon game at its finest. Captain Marvelous (aka Marcus Lemonis) comes across a very nice business with great potential that can be turned around quickly. The business is already in an affluent area packed with the right type of customer. It just needs to do a better job of catering to them and utilizing its expensive floor space which costs $14K per month.
Poor, poor, pitiful me. – Linda Ronstadt
We finally got a really good episode from a business lessons perspective! I really liked this one, folks, even though it was infuriating in some ways. (More on that later.)
Sweet Pete’s is a Jacksonville, Florida based candy artisan owned and operated by married couple, Allison and Pete Behringer.
Watch Sweet Pete’s here.
It’s the best episode of the year so far because it has everything: a great little business with strong potential for growth, passionate owners who you want to see succeed, and, unfortunately, a troublesome hanger-oner. You simply can’t cram more drama than that into 43 minutes. Watching the episode you really get the sense that this thing is ready to explode from potential. All that’s been holding the partners back is a lack of resources and a ball & chain around their ankles.
Let’s do a quick Marcus Lemonis-style assessment:
Recent Comments