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The Fixer Season 1 Episode 2
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00:00Across America, thousands of businesses grinding it out every single day because the ultimate
00:09American dream is owning something you built. Everything will be stationary for when Marcus
00:15comes in. Every episode, I'm meeting businesses at a crossroads. We've actually invested our
00:21entire life savings into this business. I'll pick one and go to work, but I'm not a consultant.
00:27I don't believe in handouts. I'm a capitalist. This is $15,000. Always looking for ways to
00:34make money. That's why we want you to work with us, because we're bad at math. That's a
00:38terrible reason. You should be good at math. I'll work on their people. I don't know why
00:43you're being such a dick about it. Leon, are you mad about something? No. Why the f***
00:47are you singling me out? Their process, the execution, is just like, what is it? And their
00:54product. We've heard from the clients that it's not so easy. That's f***. Marcus is an
00:58amazing investor, and hopefully we'll invest in our business. In the end, we'll negotiate.
01:03My offer is $500,000 for 10% to see if a deal can be made so we both can profit.
01:10Yeah, no, it's not. Hi. How are you? Nice to meet you. I'm Jeff. Jeff, I'm Marcus. Pleasure.
01:22Hi, Danielle. Nice to meet you. Danielle, nice to see you. This is our son, Liam. Liam, how you
01:26doing, my man? Good. How are you? So we own a company called Escape Room New Jersey. Okay. We
01:31now own three locations. Oh. What kind of revenue do these locations do? Angola's the smallest. Angola's
01:38about $10,000 a week, I would say. So just extrapolate that out. A half a million a year?
01:44Yes. What's the next location? Madison. Probably pulling in about $15,000 to $20,000 a week. So
01:50Pompton Lakes will be our next location. And revenue there? That one's between $20,000 and $25,000. Okay.
01:56So $2.5 million in total? Is that about right? The whole company, I'd say about $2,000. What's
02:01the bottom line? Between one and 1.5. Wow. So that's a pretty big net margin return. Why
02:07don't you have more of these? That's where you come in. Oh. I want to create this into a
02:12franchisable concept. I want to open these all over the country. That really is the dream.
02:16Okay. All right. Let's have some fun. Yes. Let's have some fun. We're going to do the escape
02:20box first. There's a coin in here that you need to access. You're looking at the box. You can
02:26see there's locks, right? Looking for a combination. Okay. Excellent. And there's my coin.
02:38So what are we doing? And now you may bump. Make you out, Liam. And he's down. Mark this one.
02:46Next, we're going to move to the rage room. I get it. Clearly, based on the numbers, it's a great
02:56cash flow business. But if you don't constantly change the game, at some point, your ability to
03:04retain customers would dissipate. And right now, for me, I don't think it's scalable. So I don't think
03:12that it's something that I would invest in. Thank you for the opportunity. Of course. Thank you.
03:16I appreciate you. Nice to meet you. Thank you, sir. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much.
03:25It's live. Through this. Wow. How are you? Hello, Marcus. Very good to meet you. What is your name?
03:32Frank. Frank. Nice to meet you. Sean. Sean. Nice to meet you. Carlos. Carlos. Nice to meet you.
03:38Brian. Pleasure. Brian, how are you? So we are Brothers Guitar Shop. We are a retail store in
03:44Manhattan. We started out of the back of our hardware store, our family-owned business. Oh,
03:49wow. Yeah. Our parents are immigrants, so we're first-generation Americans. It's a family business
03:54that's been established for how many years in New York? 40 years. 40 years. We've been really
04:00focusing on trying to have us spending more time on the guitars. Guitars, it's more of our passion.
04:05You know, that's what we like to do. Is it more profitable than the hardware store?
04:09No, it's not at all. The margins are way better in the hardware business. 100%. It's, you know,
04:14a pack of screws, you buy it for 57 cents and sell it for $4.99. Here, it's a 30% margin on all new
04:22gear. Do you guys provide guitar lessons? We do, yeah. We also love to do the used stuff. The used,
04:30we make the most profit right now. I think that... No, you don't. Well... In the guitar lesson
04:35business, there's no cost associated with it. You essentially split the revenue with the
04:40instructor and that's it. Totally. Makes sense. Totally. It's 100% margin. Well, the used, we see
04:45the most money out of it in the register. Generating the most revenue is different than it being the
04:49most profitable. Yeah. Right. It can generate the most gross profit, but there's also expenses
04:54against it. Can I use your guitar as an example? Please. Consider this like your revenue and then
05:00all the way down, you'll have your cost of goods and you'll have all of your expenses and then at
05:05the bottom, you'll have your profit or not. And I think that if you're running multiple businesses,
05:10this is one P&L for used sales and there's one for new sales and there's one for service and there's
05:15one for lessons. And in the end, you're going to see what the bottom line is. This hobby business
05:21still feels like a hobby because knowing the sectors of revenue and the gross profit and the
05:29expenses associated with them is not as clear for me yet. Am I wrong? No, you're absolutely right.
05:36You're absolutely right. I mean, we're kind of all over the place. And that's why I don't think
05:39there's an opportunity here for us together. Keep your hobby going, but not at the expense of your
05:46hardware business. Thank you for coming today. Thank you, Marcus. It's great to meet you. I appreciate it.
05:52That's it.
06:10Okay.
06:16Well, that's an interesting way to make an entrance. Nice to meet you there, young fella.
06:22How are you? I'm Marcus. Marcus, I'm Gene Seller.
06:24Gene, nice to meet you. You too. So what is it that you do?
06:27I own a store called Jazz Audio and I do a bunch of accessories on cars. You know,
06:33we do amplifiers and lights underneath the car. Yeah.
06:36Power steps, rims and tires.
06:39So your company soups up my ride, makes it sound better, look better.
06:43It's perfect. Let's maybe put the music on. I want to hear how good this bass is.
06:49I'm going to give you a demo. Because I just want to clarify, I'm from Miami. So bass for me is very
06:54different than it is for most people. I know what bass is. You do. I do. And you have a subwoofer behind
07:01the seat? I got an amp behind the seat. And by the way, this is called a downfire box. And I'll tell
07:05you why. A what? Downfire box. Downfire. Right. You know why? Because you can put anything you want
07:10on top of it. Okay. Hold on. Yeah. Get in there. All right. Go ahead. Okay.
07:22You know what I'm saying, buddy? Now we're rocking.
07:29That's how you drive a car.
07:33I thought I was going to be a rock star. It didn't happen. So I had an opportunity to open up a
07:37stereo shop. And I jumped all over it. So I've been in the car business. I know. For a long,
07:43a big part of my life. And seeing stuff like this, aftermarket distributor of car accessories
07:49that does installation. Right. And there's a million of them. Yeah, but they're not cheap.
07:54They're not jazz audio. I know you're going to ask me, what separates you? Me. My whole system,
08:00my whole procedure. You have a process? Of course. It's like McDonald's. I got a process.
08:04So let me, let's take a step back. Shoot. If you're not a manufacturer,
08:09your market is only as big as your labor reach. Your basic trade area, BTA. Okay.
08:16That basically means that this is the area that you can influence. Yeah. My store will take out a
08:21certain amount of, you know, square miles. 100%. So it's limited. Yeah. Unless you have a bunch of
08:26stores. Is that your goal? That's my goal. How many you have now? I have one. What's your total revenue?
08:33Bring it in? Like one, three. And on the bottom line? 400. 450. And so how much money have you
08:41saved? Uh, do I really want to say that? Well, I mean, I think, I think ultimately. I got money saved.
08:48No, you don't have to give me a dollar amount. But what I'm asked, what I'm trying to understand is
08:53you've built a heck of a business. Yes. Truly like the American dream. Yeah, definitely.
08:59So why am I here? What's the opportunity? I want to get another salesperson. I want to,
09:04I want to start training some people at the location I have now, get them ready for the next
09:08location. My job is to help you navigate to where you want to get to and to use my resources and
09:15things that I know and the people that I know and the things that you know and try to put it together
09:20to make the road from point A to point B as straight as possible. Yeah. No matter what we do,
09:24no matter how much we know, that road's not going to be straight. To fire my belly's not out. To do
09:29what? Make more money. You're a great guy. I did a lot. I'm just thinking about what I want to do
09:33right now. Oh, listen, you can get back to me. I could, or I can tell you now. You could do both.
09:39You're a great guy. I did a lot. I'm just thinking about what I want to do right now. Listen,
09:54you can get back to me. I could, or I can tell you now. You could do both. I think, I think this is an
10:02opportunity worth pursuing. I want to do some business with you. If Gene's numbers are accurate,
10:07$1.3 million in revenue and $400,000 in profit. Well, that's interesting to me, but I'm not just
10:14going to write a check. I want to look under the hood to find out if the people, the process, the
10:18product, and the profit are legit. I guess we're about to find out.
10:24Me and Marcus are getting together. This is happening. Marcus got hooked on me. There might
10:32be a million installers out there, but right now there's only one Gene out there until me and
10:36Marcus partner up and we make another Gene for our next store. So another Jazz Audio coming soon to a
10:42place near you. I'm here in Long Island, New York to see Jazz Audio and its owner Gene. When I saw the
10:53product the other day, I saw a couple of things, but I want to understand. Is this a big business?
10:58Is it even an opportunity? How are you? How are you? Good. I'm Marcus. I'm well, because I'm Rob.
11:05Rob? Robert. Yeah. Michael, nice to meet you. Michael, nice to meet you. The aftermarket automobile
11:10business is really enticing because not only do manufacturers tend to drive price down by leaving
11:15options out, but with the used car market being as good as it is, it gives consumers the opportunity to
11:21customize the vehicle to exactly what they want. And whether that's rims, running boards, alarms,
11:27leather seats, a variety of things, it's a great business with great margins.
11:31Gene, Marcus is here to see you. Marcus is here for me? Yep. Oh, you want to meet Marcus?
11:35My buddy. Hey. Marcus, how are you? How are you? That's my wife, Susan. How are you? Nice to meet you.
11:42She made a surprise visit on me. She came to check on you to make sure you're behaving?
11:45Hmm. I guess. So is this jazz audio? This is jazz audio.
11:591985 called, and they want their store back.
12:03What's going on here? Okay, so these are a soundboard. These are speakers.
12:08Why are these empty? Sold them out of the board.
12:10How long ago? Too long ago. How long has this stuff been in the case?
12:14Uh, God, that stuff has been in that case so long that none of those radios are current.
12:21They all need to be changed. How many of these are out of production already?
12:24Probably half of them. So half of them, they don't even make any more?
12:27They don't even make any more. It feels like time stood still in here.
12:31And that technology changed. And then as you sold things, you just didn't replace it.
12:36I mean, there's a lot, just, just, there's a lot of empty slots here.
12:40I agree. That's not a good look.
12:42Yeah. It's a terrible look.
12:44When somebody walks in the front door, if they have a good experience and the parts are in inventory,
12:48the likelihood of them buying it is increased. And if they buy it, the likelihood of it going to the shop
12:54and giving those guys the chance to earn money is also increased.
12:57That's it. Sell more, service more, make more.
13:01It feels like you're not paying attention to the business. Just, that's my first impression.
13:06When I first met Gene the other day, he said...
13:08Now on Long Island, my store will take out a certain amount of, you know, square miles.
13:13So it's limited.
13:14Yeah, unless you have a bunch of stores.
13:15Is that your goal?
13:16That's my goal.
13:17There's this great concept to take across the nation and...
13:20Um, no.
13:26Michael, how long have you been here?
13:28About two years.
13:29And what did you do before this?
13:31I ran global operations for Alliance Bernstein for 23 years.
13:34Well, that's a big deal.
13:35Are you the manager?
13:36Yes and no.
13:37Which part is yes, which part is no?
13:39Well, I handle most of the interactions with the clients, sometimes with the retail,
13:44but I don't, like, directly order anything or control, you know, that type of stuff.
13:48Who does that?
13:49Gene.
13:49He used to manage a business a hundred times the size of this.
13:54His aptitude and his knowledge of being just a general manager of sorts is probably greater
14:00than Gene gives him credit for.
14:02And what is the inventory management?
14:04There really isn't one.
14:05There isn't one?
14:07No.
14:08Running any kind of business without an inventory supply chain system is really like deciding
14:13that you don't want to be in business anymore.
14:14Knowing what you have in real time, knowing what's coming, and understanding what to reorder
14:18is all about predicting how sales are going to flow through your business.
14:22But with Gene, not tracking the inventory is a problem.
14:25That's headquarters.
14:26That's me getting ready to put on a show.
14:28Who is?
14:28That's me.
14:29I always wanted to be a rock star.
14:31Tried to get a couple of record deals, and it didn't pan out.
14:34But I love music.
14:35So I opened up, you know, a stereo shop.
14:37I started out as an installer.
14:39I did sales.
14:40So this is mama.
14:42Who does the installations?
14:44They do my installers in the shop.
14:46Juan, Rob, Richie.
14:48So there's three installers?
14:50Correct.
14:50And one salesperson?
14:51Correct.
14:52And me.
14:53The installers, listen, I love them as people and whatnot.
14:56But do they need help?
14:57They need to get here on time.
14:59They need to be more assertive instead of just sitting on their ass waiting for a car to
15:03come in.
15:04Yep.
15:04And if I tell them, hey, say anything to them, they'll just walk out.
15:07And I need a mechanic.
15:10You know, so they're not listening to me.
15:12So that's the real...
15:13Why don't they listen?
15:14They don't, because they don't care.
15:16They just want a paycheck.
15:17They're welcome to America.
15:19They don't want to work.
15:20It infuriates me when a manager or an owner of a business thinks that people are just sitting
15:24on their ass.
15:25Guys, this is Marcus.
15:26I just experienced no inventory on the shelf, but now you're accusing your technicians of sitting
15:31on their ass because there's no work?
15:32There's no work because there's nothing to buy.
15:35So the technician is my most favorite person in the whole world.
15:40It's been since I was a little kid.
15:41That would be me?
15:42I grew up in the auto business.
15:43I grew up in the shop.
15:45Okay.
15:45I grew up in the parts department.
15:47I was an assistant tech.
15:48I was a service advisor.
15:49So I understand the plight of the manager inside and the technician outside.
15:55So I get it.
15:57Technicians are the most important labor pool for me in the entire world.
16:01They are the driving force of everything that happens in this country.
16:04And they are underappreciated and they are underrecognized and they are underpaid.
16:08The other thing that I know about technicians, they don't say a lot, but when they do, you
16:13better listen.
16:13How long have you worked here?
16:1625 years.
16:18What?
16:18Yeah.
16:19You've been with him for, Gene, for 25 years?
16:2125 years.
16:22I've been here 15 years.
16:23So you guys like it here if you've been here that long?
16:27Um, it's okay sometimes.
16:32Sometimes there's just too much tension.
16:34What drives that?
16:37Who even came up with such a stupid idea?
16:39Where was the brain power to come up with that?
16:41There's two genes I always say.
16:42There's a happy gene.
16:43And there's an evil gene.
16:48There's the gene that will insult you.
16:51I'm saying you look cranky.
16:53Did you have a bad night?
16:53Did you get into a fight with your husband or something?
16:56Berate you.
16:57Richie, I'm killing myself and you're sitting on your ass.
17:00You don't know what you're walking into.
17:02He'll blow up on some of the dealers.
17:05And we lost a couple of dealerships.
17:07Which is a lifeline of the business.
17:08Yeah.
17:09There are two distinct streams of revenue in an aftermarket business.
17:13Individual customers who walk in and wholesale customers like dealerships.
17:17So no product to sell at the front of the store.
17:20And now you've pissed off all the dealers in your local area.
17:23How are these guys supposed to make a living?
17:25Richie, I'm Marcus.
17:27Nice to meet you.
17:28How are you?
17:29Good.
17:29How long have you been here?
17:30I started in 93.
17:33That's a long time.
17:34Mm-hmm.
17:35I'm getting the sense from Michael and from the other guys
17:37that most of you are unhappy.
17:40100%.
17:40He has good days, a lot of bad days.
17:43What are his good days like?
17:45He can be fun.
17:46And his bad days?
17:47Just berated.
17:50It's not right.
17:52I don't know why anybody would do that to somebody.
17:54Especially somebody that's worked for you for that long.
17:58Made you money.
18:00How hard he is on Richie is just...
18:02It upsets me.
18:03I think it'd be helpful if you guys are open to it
18:07where the five of us have an honest conversation once and for all.
18:11That would be tremendous.
18:12Let's see if Gene's available.
18:14This is a bigger challenge than I ever thought that I was signing up for.
18:19And it's a smaller opportunity than I thought I was signing up for.
18:23Do I care at this point?
18:24No, because I'm so pissed off and I'm so fired up
18:28about the way the guys in the shop are treated
18:30that I don't care how much time I have to spend here.
18:32I'll feel good about it.
18:34And that's all that matters.
18:35What I think is broken is the relationship between you guys.
18:38They have a lot to say.
18:39You have a lot to say.
18:41Best thing to do is flush the toilet
18:43so the s*** doesn't sit in the bowl anymore.
18:45Yeah.
18:47I have no problems starting at all.
18:49My big thing has always been...
18:51To him.
18:52...mutual respect.
18:54We've had this conversation.
18:55Many times.
18:56Is there a lack of respect for each other?
18:58I don't think you respect any of us.
18:59Why?
18:59Why do you feel that way?
19:01The way you are.
19:03I feel like some of you come in
19:05and you just want a s*** paycheck
19:07and that's it, no matter how it is.
19:08That's not true.
19:10I'll tell you what.
19:10You put yourself in that shoe right there
19:13and you own the damn store.
19:14Would you pay me to sit on my s*** to do nothing?
19:17God, no way.
19:18You would s*** never pay me to do that.
19:20Never.
19:21You would throw me out
19:22and go tell me to go to s*** home
19:23and you guys know you would.
19:24Richie, get off your fat s*** sitting in the corner
19:26when I got no work going on.
19:28Come up to my office.
19:29Say, you got anything you want me to do?
19:31I'd bite the bullet.
19:32Why the f*** are you singling me out right now?
19:39Richie, get off your fat s*** sitting in the corner
19:42when I got no work going on.
19:43Come up to my office.
19:44Say, you got anything you want me to do?
19:46I'd bite the bullet.
19:47Why the f*** are you singling me out right now?
19:48No, I'm just looking at the whole crew.
19:49I'm just looking at the whole crew, Bob.
19:51That's all.
19:52Not just you.
19:53I'm looking at the whole crew.
19:54Well, you did call him a fat s***.
19:55Well, I apologize for that.
19:58Well, my people process product model
20:00is a little busted right now
20:02because there is no product in inventory.
20:06They have zero process.
20:08Zero.
20:10And the people are...
20:11How about when I go out and do $1,500, $1,600
20:14and 4 o'clock you want to get rid of me
20:16because now it's dead?
20:18It ain't my fault you're so fast.
20:20You're getting paid for three hours.
20:21So I'm productive is what I'm saying.
20:25Dysfunctional?
20:25Should we go with that?
20:26But there's no reason for you to get...
20:28I'm not agitated.
20:29Bring the agitation on me.
20:30One, I need you to get here at 9.30.
20:33I mean, yeah, I know.
20:34You think it's funny,
20:35but that's f***ing costing me money.
20:37I'm a businessman.
20:39What's your thought on what he's saying?
20:40No, I just say he's right, you know.
20:43So you'll agree with him?
20:44Yeah, I do.
20:46Right.
20:46But you can deliver that same message
20:48a totally different way.
20:50And the fact that he just acknowledged it
20:53is a pretty good thing.
20:55The fact that he's productive
20:56is a pretty good thing.
20:58The fact that you called him names,
21:01not a good thing.
21:02Got it.
21:0325 years?
21:0430-something years?
21:05Mm-hmm.
21:0615.
21:06So there's some reason
21:08against their better judgment
21:10that they stay with you.
21:13Can you imagine
21:14if they actually liked working here
21:17how much better the business could be?
21:19Well, I'm hoping you're right.
21:21Oh, I know I'm right.
21:22Okay.
21:23I know I'm right.
21:24But the machine is not working.
21:25It's broken.
21:26So either we fix the machine
21:28and you fix it my way,
21:30or I'm gonna leave and never come back.
21:34Those are the choices.
21:35We'll make it right now.
21:36You want me to help you fix it,
21:37or do you want to just let it just die?
21:39I'm with you.
21:40100% in.
21:41I'm with you.
21:42Okay.
21:43Come prepared to work your ass off.
21:45Okay.
21:45I'm ready.
21:46Me and my guys, you know,
21:48we're button heads.
21:49I don't really hate them,
21:50but they do aggravate
21:51the crap out of me sometimes.
21:53And Marcus does see that.
21:54And Marcus is gonna help me
21:56try to fix it.
21:58Jazz Audio could use an infusion.
22:00I'll change the name
22:01to Marcus Costerio.
22:04I have no problem with that.
22:05Everybody's coming to see Gene.
22:06That's why I'm concerned.
22:14Anytime I walk into a business,
22:16I always want to go under the premise
22:18that I'm going to leave it
22:19better than I found it.
22:20And this business is broken with people.
22:22That's Gene.
22:22Has no process,
22:23no inventory system,
22:25and literally has no product.
22:26And so we're gonna have to rebuild
22:28the basic building blocks
22:29of any business.
22:30Bring inventory in,
22:32renovate the store,
22:32put a system in place,
22:34and then I can figure out
22:35if there's even a deal here at all.
22:37We're gonna start over.
22:38We're gonna get this business
22:39back on track
22:40with the right inventory,
22:41and we're gonna start chucking
22:42any of these parts and pieces
22:44that don't work
22:45that we know are obsolete.
22:46For as much time as it takes
22:48to get the store renovated,
22:50I'm gonna cover the payroll.
22:51All right, let's get to work.
22:52What's going on?
23:01Marcus and me and the boys
23:03are tearing up our jazz audio.
23:05Oh, my, my.
23:06Marcus, you don't know how bad
23:08I've been wanting to do all that.
23:09Well, why haven't you?
23:11Why is that he won't let me touch anything?
23:13I've been wanting to redo the shop
23:15and get this place ship-shaped,
23:16you know,
23:17so having Marcus come in
23:18and get the ball rolling
23:20was a big plus.
23:21I feel like I had him on my side.
23:24Michael, can we throw this out?
23:25I don't even care what's in here.
23:26I never go through it.
23:27I do.
23:28That's bothering you?
23:29That is bothering you?
23:30Yes, ma'am.
23:31Oh, my God.
23:35Oh, yeah, that's right.
23:36There's wires.
23:37It's gonna...
23:38I knew Marcus was gonna do something.
23:40I didn't know it was gonna be
23:41this extreme.
23:42Somebody's gotta grab one.
23:43When I seen him tip over the soundboard,
23:47I knew the showroom was in trouble.
23:50Yeah!
23:51Sixteen years later,
23:53it's empty now.
23:56Wait.
23:57See?
23:58See?
23:58That was better.
23:59That's why you do it.
24:02Marcus, you know what?
24:03Nobody knows half the s*** I do.
24:05Nobody knows half the stuff I do.
24:07That's life.
24:07That's life.
24:08That's my choice.
24:09I picked it.
24:10I chose to open this store.
24:11I chose to open this store.
24:12I chose to open a taco store.
24:13They call a dealership.
24:14You have a taco place?
24:15I do.
24:16What else do you have?
24:17Shell and bagel.
24:18You can't eat what else?
24:19Used car on Apple Street, too.
24:20I forgot to tell you.
24:21Okay, who runs the used car place?
24:23Oh, I have people for that.
24:23I got a corner.
24:24Who runs the bagel shop?
24:25Benny's there every day.
24:26He runs it.
24:27Okay.
24:27Maybe this particular business
24:29shouldn't have so much Gene in it.
24:31I love that.
24:32I would love that.
24:33And maybe it should just be about these guys.
24:36You should put a manager in place.
24:38And you pop in and out.
24:40I would love to.
24:40Okay.
24:41Look, I understand that this is Gene's first business
24:43after being a rock star.
24:45And I understand the love affair
24:46that everybody has with their first business.
24:48But for this business to actually survive and prosper,
24:52Gene's going to have to put somebody else in charge.
24:54So, basically, what's going to happen here is
24:58is I'm going to remove myself a little bit from the store.
25:01Michael is going to be general manager.
25:04He's going to be running everything up front.
25:06He's going to be doing it all.
25:08You know, the buck's going to stop with him
25:10with customer satisfaction, efficiency of the shop,
25:14my inventory.
25:15You're going to have to deal with me more.
25:17Oh.
25:18It's all right.
25:19I'm fine.
25:19I love Mike.
25:20I'm fine.
25:20Fine or it's a good thing?
25:22It's good.
25:22Okay, when Michael is the manager now,
25:24I'm going to step back.
25:25And it's very hard.
25:26It's very hard to step back.
25:28I'm going to tell you something,
25:29because I got 45 years of my life into this store.
25:31But Gene's got enough work,
25:34if you can turn the camera around and look at Gene's desk,
25:37Gene's got enough work to keep him busy until he's 75.
25:40Even though we butted heads up until last Friday, whatever,
25:43I still believe we got the best stereo shop on Long Island.
25:46We got the best installs.
25:48And if there's a problem, you can come to me.
25:50Okay, but just don't come to me with a stupid problem.
25:54You were doing good.
25:55You were doing so well.
25:57You were doing so well.
26:00Okay, just...
26:02Back that up?
26:02Yeah, just back that up.
26:03You guys are awesome.
26:05You guys are awesome.
26:06We've been here together for 30 years.
26:08You know what I mean?
26:08You guys can work anywhere.
26:09You don't need to work at Jazz Order.
26:10You can work anywhere.
26:12But somehow you guys all choose to work with me.
26:15And I appreciate that.
26:16And I thank you.
26:17Now that Michael's the general manager,
26:19I have a high expectation that he's going to drive business
26:22through the front door
26:23or finding dealerships to do business with,
26:25all while managing the inventory at the store.
26:28All right, let's finish the work, guys.
26:29Let's do it.
26:30Let's finish the shop.
26:32You're disappointed with the bottom line?
26:35Well, yeah.
26:35Like, you're working your ass off for that.
26:38Yes, I am.
26:40Something's got to change.
26:41Gene, you ready to say goodbye to the old Jazz floor?
26:52Here it goes!
26:55Rubble, coming down.
26:57Michael, I want to walk you through
26:59the upgraded QuickBooks that I want to put in the system.
27:03Okay.
27:04I need somebody to track all of the assets,
27:06all of the cash,
27:07all of the liabilities at all times.
27:09How do you track your receivables today?
27:11Yeah, for argument's sake.
27:13And then I saved the paperwork here.
27:15So they sent me the check.
27:16I print it out.
27:17But is all that recorded in QuickBooks?
27:19No.
27:20It needs to be.
27:20Okay, that's what I'm saying.
27:21No, I use just this.
27:22So you bring in inventory,
27:24you log it into QuickBooks.
27:26You sell inventory,
27:28you record it in QuickBooks.
27:29Because all this paper craziness
27:31is what leads to things being out of stock,
27:35parts missing,
27:35you not feeling comfortable
27:36if things are walking away out the back door.
27:39It's a tracking mechanism.
27:41It's an analytical mechanism.
27:42Yeah, no, we can eliminate a lot of steps.
27:44There's a lot of room for error in that.
27:46There's a lot of steps.
27:47I think when I was 12
27:49and I had my candy business,
27:51I had a better system than you.
27:54What are you trying to say?
27:55So part of the reason why I wanted to come here
28:02is that I'm looking for margin expansion
28:04for the business.
28:05Is there somewhere we could look at product?
28:07Absolutely.
28:08Yeah.
28:08Can we go into the warehouse?
28:10Yeah.
28:10One of the first moves I want to make
28:12is to improve the way
28:13the company thinks about inventory.
28:15So I'm taking them to a regional distributor
28:17that'll give them access to innovation,
28:20real-time inventory,
28:21and much better margins.
28:23Can we pull stuff and just put it on this
28:25so we understand what we're doing?
28:26One of the side benefits
28:27to doing this with Michael and Gene
28:29is so I could see how Gene behaves.
28:31This is Michael's first opportunity
28:33to step up as the leader,
28:34to build that relationship with the distributor,
28:36and to show Gene that he's qualified.
28:39This is a great piece,
28:40and if I'm correct,
28:41you came in at a great price point.
28:42It's also the test to see if Gene can zip it.
28:46So I was thinking, you know,
28:47the JVC, the Alpine,
28:49that those are great.
28:51You got a wireless one?
28:53The $6.95.
28:54I appreciate Gene getting up in there,
28:57but I think you have to remind him
28:59not to go back to his old ways.
29:01He's doing it right now.
29:02I don't want to spend the extra money.
29:03What I would ask you to do
29:05is politely say to him,
29:08listen, Gene, I'm going to handle this.
29:12And then I would ask them,
29:14what other things do you guys recommend?
29:16What are you seeing?
29:17What's new?
29:18What's innovative?
29:18I want to pull from their knowledge.
29:21So go ahead and jump in.
29:25So what I was thinking was
29:27what the client base has been looking for
29:30and see if they can give us some recommendations
29:32and what the best, you know,
29:35options are for us.
29:37That's fine.
29:38Difference between having
29:40just a regular BT screen.
29:42Let him make you see...
29:44What categories are merging...
29:45Come here for a second.
29:46What's hard for you about this?
29:48Letting go.
29:48What's hard for you?
29:50Because I'm a control guy.
29:51I put 35 years of my life into it.
29:55It's like you,
29:56walking away from camp world
29:57after you did all that.
29:58So here's the thing that I learned.
30:00Tell me.
30:00My own advice.
30:02For years,
30:02I thought I was the only person
30:04that could do anything there.
30:05Okay.
30:06And what I learned over time
30:08is that when I brought in people
30:09that were so much smarter than me,
30:11they had a different perspective than me.
30:14They approached people differently than me.
30:16The business actually flourished more.
30:19I think it worked.
30:19And my job was to organize
30:22and collect all the smartest brains in the world
30:25to run the business that I had started.
30:29How you doing?
30:29Mike is going to be your sales guy?
30:30Okay.
30:31I appreciate the fact
30:32that you're letting Michael represent your business.
30:35He's going to place the order.
30:37You're going to take a deep breath.
30:39Okay.
30:39Perfect.
30:40We have the aid here.
30:41Mike, just so when we're done,
30:43we just pay.
30:44Yep.
30:44Okay.
30:45I want Gene to understand
30:46how committed I am
30:47to improving his business with him.
30:50And paying for the inventory right now
30:51is a good way
30:52to make a good faith effort towards that.
30:55But I want to see how they handle it.
30:56It's the final step in determining
30:58whether I even want to do a deal here or not.
31:00Mike, look forward to working with you.
31:02Thank you so much.
31:03Now that Michael's taking control
31:04of rebuilding the inventory,
31:06I want him to develop new relationships.
31:08So I'm taking him to a local dealership
31:10so I can see how he performs.
31:14Hi, Aaron.
31:15Michael.
31:16Michael, Aaron, how are you?
31:17I'm Marcus.
31:18I've been running this dealership for 12 years.
31:20We don't even know all of the services
31:22and accessories that you guys provide.
31:25So we're going to put a marketing deck together
31:26that gives you everything
31:28that we believe we can provide to you?
31:30Yeah.
31:31You give us a fair price
31:32and make it quick, easy, and efficient,
31:34we're all in.
31:35I'm going to teach Michael
31:36how to use technology
31:38to actually understand
31:39who his whole customer base is.
31:41Salesforce is a technology platform
31:44that will allow Michael to understand
31:46every single customer
31:47that walks through the door,
31:49how to manage the account,
31:50how to communicate with them,
31:51and how to get the most
31:53out of that relationship.
31:55Bye.
32:00I have to be honest.
32:06I think the space looks really good.
32:09One of the benefits of Marcus coming here
32:10was getting everybody to work together,
32:13to refresh the store.
32:15We tried to make it, like, more inviting.
32:19I love the way it turned out.
32:20It feels so much better.
32:21It feels like a whole new store.
32:24You guys have to move back a little bit
32:25because I'm going to show you
32:28what's behind the curtain.
32:29One of the things that I think is important
32:31is that a business never forgets
32:32where it started
32:33and it understands where it's going.
32:35And with Michael being the general manager
32:37and the shop being cleaned up
32:39and new inventory coming,
32:40it's a fresh start.
32:41But I also think it's important
32:42to recognize the work, Gene,
32:44that you've done to get us here.
32:47And whether there was twists in the roads
32:49and bumps in the road,
32:50you still have had a business
32:52that's lasted for a long time.
32:54And I think a lot of people
32:55dismiss the fact that a business
32:56can last for 25, 30, 35 years
32:58despite all of its dramas.
33:01So I'm going to show you
33:02something that I hope you enjoy.
33:06Okay.
33:07You ready?
33:07I'm ready.
33:23Oh, Mike.
33:27Who's that good-looking guy?
33:29That is awesome.
33:31Marcus, give me a hug.
33:33That is awesome.
33:36Nobody he loves more than himself.
33:37Look at Gene.
33:38He's always showing people that picture.
33:40Which one?
33:40Look at me with the hair.
33:41Now everyone's going to see it.
33:42They always say,
33:43that's not you,
33:44and then I've got to show them my tattoo.
33:45We believe you.
33:46Don't take your clothes off.
33:47We're good.
33:48One of the things
33:49that I wanted to accomplish
33:50in addition to paying homage
33:52to your past...
33:53...is that if this is
33:54the sales counter
33:55and people are coming in,
33:57this is a conversation starter.
33:58It shows that you're in the business
34:00that you believe in.
34:03Him and the rest of the guys
34:04are going to lay out the floor.
34:06Okay.
34:06The three of us
34:07are going to go next door
34:08to the bagel store.
34:09I want you to bring
34:10your financials with you.
34:12Okay.
34:13Print out like last year's numbers.
34:14Okay, fine.
34:15Okay?
34:15I can do that.
34:16Let's do that,
34:17and then we're going to meet next door
34:18and sit down and talk a little turkey.
34:20Talk turkey?
34:21Okay.
34:21I don't like turkey.
34:22Too bad.
34:23Yes, you do.
34:25Now that I've spent time with Gene
34:26working on the people,
34:27the process, the product,
34:29it's time to sit down
34:30to really understand,
34:31is there an investment opportunity here?
34:33And what I'm thinking about
34:34is the kind of deal
34:35that would be unlike
34:36anything I've ever done before.
34:39What's the business need
34:46besides the people,
34:47process, and product?
34:48Profit.
34:49Needs money.
34:51Needs some money.
34:52It looks like last year
34:53the business did
34:54almost $900,000 in sales.
34:56Mm-hmm.
34:59$239,000 in gross profit,
35:01so that puts the margin
35:03at around 27%.
35:05Total expenses of $109,000
35:09$90,000 against $239,000 in gross
35:13and a profit of $48,000.
35:15Call it $50,000.
35:18Not a lot of money in the bank.
35:20No, not too much.
35:21I'm going to put some money
35:22into the store.
35:24You made $50,000 this year?
35:26The company did.
35:28Really?
35:29That's it.
35:30You're disappointed
35:31with the bottom line?
35:32Well, yeah.
35:33Like, you're working
35:33your asshole for that.
35:35Yes, I am.
35:37Okay.
35:38Something's got to change.
35:40It's clear to me
35:41that Gene doesn't know
35:42his numbers
35:43because when I met him,
35:44he told me that his business
35:45was doing $1.3 million
35:46in sales
35:47and it had profit
35:48of $400,000.
35:50That would normally
35:50be on the bottom line.
35:52What's your total revenue?
35:53Bring it in, like $13,000.
35:55And on the bottom line?
35:56What, our net profit?
35:58Yeah.
35:58$400,000, $450,000?
36:00What Gene misrepresented
36:02is that he meant gross profit.
36:04That's the number
36:05right underneath
36:06the revenue number.
36:07Then there's all the expenses
36:09and then there's the bottom line.
36:11The bottom line
36:11is not $400,000.
36:13It's $50,000.
36:15And I'm going to maneuver
36:16my offer around $50,000
36:18because it would be worth
36:20way more
36:20if it actually made $400,000.
36:22How much is the inventory
36:24that was just purchased?
36:25Right now,
36:26I think you spent
36:27about $30,000.
36:28I think I didn't see
36:30the receivables.
36:30I think between
36:32what I wired
36:32and what I put on my cart,
36:34it's close to $50,000 now.
36:35Right.
36:35You might be close to $50,000.
36:37That's how much I have in.
36:38Right.
36:39I'd like the $50,000
36:40to stay in the business
36:42that I put in the inventory.
36:43Wow, that's very kind to you.
36:45And I'd like to have
36:46some equity for it.
36:49Okay.
36:51I'd like to think about that.
36:53You think about it right now.
36:54No, I can't make a decision
36:55that quick, Marcus.
36:56I'm not to be disrespectful.
36:59I'd love to have you as a partner.
37:00I'd love to do it.
37:00Well, I made the decision
37:01to put the $50,000 in.
37:02You did.
37:03Because I knew
37:04that the business needed it
37:05and I knew you needed it
37:07and I knew the people
37:08that work there needed it
37:10and I didn't even hesitate.
37:11I can make the argument
37:12and you did it
37:12because you wanted
37:13to help a small business.
37:14I don't do anything
37:15in business for charity.
37:17I don't believe in handouts.
37:20So basically,
37:20you want a piece of my store.
37:22Well, I put money in.
37:23Right, you want a piece of it.
37:24Right, that's fine.
37:25I put money in.
37:25I got it.
37:26How much equity
37:26are you looking for?
37:28What's the $50,000
37:29that I put in worth?
37:3110%?
37:33So the business
37:33is worth $500,000?
37:35My business took 35 years
37:37of my sweat and blood
37:38to get it here.
37:39You know, you gave me $50,000.
37:41I'll give you a $50,000 back.
37:43You know, if that's what you want,
37:44I'll hand you a $50,000 back.
37:45I got, you know,
37:45that's what it takes.
37:46That's what it takes.
37:47But I'm not giving up
37:48half my store for $50,000.
37:53It took 35 years
37:54of my sweat and blood
37:55to get it here.
37:56But I'm not giving up
37:57half my store for $50,000.
37:59Did I ask for half?
37:59No.
38:00Then why would you accuse me
38:01of asking for half?
38:02You reacted to me
38:03as if I was reaching
38:04into your pocket
38:05trying to take something
38:06from you.
38:07I don't think that's wrong.
38:08I don't think so.
38:09I just said $50,000.
38:09I'm telling you
38:10how I perceive it.
38:11Okay, well, you...
38:11It's the same way
38:12your people perceive it
38:13when you tell them
38:14to sit their fat ass down
38:15or get off their fat ass.
38:17You go from zero
38:18to 100 really fast
38:19instead of just
38:21taking it slow
38:22and having a dialogue
38:24and just talking about it.
38:26So now I'm asking you,
38:27what is everything
38:28that we've gone through
38:29plus the $50,000 worth you?
38:31Because the $50,000
38:33is just money
38:34out of the account.
38:35Yeah.
38:35The time that I've spent
38:37with you
38:37and the things
38:38that you say
38:39that you've learned
38:39from me
38:40have to be worth
38:41$50,000?
38:42100%.
38:43Okay.
38:44So do I get any credit
38:46for flipping your ass
38:47like a pancake
38:48and getting you
38:49to think a different way?
38:54Well, okay.
38:55So I'll go up to 20%
38:58if you're interested.
39:00Is 20% something
39:01you could live with?
39:02100%.
39:03Love to have you
39:03as a partner.
39:04Okay, great.
39:05Love to have you
39:06as a partner.
39:06Yay!
39:07Fantastic.
39:07Can we go talk
39:08to your team?
39:09Sure.
39:09Okay.
39:09You know,
39:12I don't like
39:12making spur-of-the-moment
39:14decisions.
39:14I don't do that.
39:15But I didn't want
39:16to lose the deal
39:17and I believe
39:17he can still bring
39:18a lot to the table.
39:19So I believe
39:21the 20% I gave up,
39:22it's fair.
39:27Why don't you tell them
39:28what just happened?
39:31I'm going to give Marcus
39:32or you're going to team up.
39:33You're not giving me anything.
39:34No, Marcus bought in.
39:35Marcus now owns
39:3920% of jazz audio.
39:41He's coming aboard.
39:45We did make a deal
39:46for me to buy
39:4720% of jazz audio,
39:48but I like to buy
39:50and sell things.
39:51So, do any of you
39:53have any money
39:54in your pocket?
39:55Uh.
39:56Do you have a dollar?
39:58You got a dollar
39:59for one, too?
40:00Can I have your money,
40:01please?
40:02One dollar,
40:02two dollar,
40:04three dollar,
40:05four dollar.
40:06I just sold my interest
40:08to them
40:08for four dollars.
40:11You guys now
40:11own my 20%.
40:13Here you go.
40:16Today's your lucky day.
40:18Richie, Rob,
40:20Michael, and Juan,
40:21you will equally own
40:22the 20%,
40:235% apiece,
40:24and no more nonsense
40:27about you're the owner
40:29and they're the workers.
40:30This is your business, too.
40:32I'm excited
40:33because I think
40:34it's always a good motivation
40:35to say you're part
40:37of something.
40:39I'm glad you did that.
40:40I like the way
40:41you flipped it.
40:41Right, you flipped it
40:42and you did an awesome job.
40:44There's a pot of gold
40:45at the end of the rainbow.
40:46We just got to get there.
40:47Now we're getting there together.
40:48You guys should actually
40:49have a monthly
40:50financial review
40:52and Michael's
40:53going to help lead that
40:54because he's going to
40:55have access to Salesforce.
40:58You're going to have
40:58all the data
40:59that you need
41:00to understand
41:00how to run the business.
41:01If the business
41:02makes 300 grand,
41:03that's 15 grand
41:04a piece extra
41:05for everybody.
41:06The more money
41:07you guys make,
41:08the more money
41:08I'm going to make.
41:09That's the right way
41:10to think about it.
41:11I said something right?
41:12That's finally,
41:14finally.
41:16These individuals
41:17who have been with him
41:18for 15, 20,
41:19and 30 years
41:20are the backbone
41:21of his business
41:22and I wanted him
41:22to see value.
41:23I also wanted them
41:24to recognize
41:25the value that I see
41:27in that type of labor force.
41:28I also wanted
41:29the employees
41:30to understand
41:30that it's your business
41:32and your shop
41:33and your customer
41:34and your inventory
41:35and when people
41:36take an ownership mentality,
41:38they have a totally
41:39different mentality.
41:40Thank you for giving me
41:41the chance.
41:42I appreciate it.
41:43Thanks, Marcus.
41:44Nice meeting you.
41:45Thank you very much.
41:46It's a great investment
41:47because it's an homage
41:48to every technician
41:49that I've ever worked with
41:51since I was a little kid
41:52who taught me
41:53the value of hard work
41:54and a long day.
41:55That was a small price
41:57to pay to recognize
41:58an audience
41:59that I think
42:00is underappreciated.
42:03Thank you, Marcus.
42:04Thank you for making
42:05our work.
42:05Oh, thank you.
42:07Marcus, thank you so much.
42:08Appreciate it.
42:08So nice to meet you.
42:10By the way,
42:11everybody's got my number.
42:12They will when I leave.
42:13If you misbehave.
42:15Oh, give me your number.
42:19See you guys.
42:22What's the business?
42:23A new experience
42:24in the pet space.
42:25An organic bedding company.
42:26We created Moti Toys.
42:27Pop Insanity.
42:28Gourmet popcorn.
42:29Dry ice T-post.
42:30We're a frozen dessert business.
42:31That's delicious.
42:33You don't really know
42:34the math of your business.
42:36I disagree.
42:36You've lost a million dollars a year?
42:38Our growth is flattening
42:39very quickly.
42:40How much longer
42:41can you survive
42:42if the business
42:42keeps losing money?
42:43Maybe another six months.
42:46I've seen enough.
42:48I don't know who's in charge.
42:49Do you guys think
42:50there's an opportunity
42:51for me to make money
42:52and contribute?
42:53Then I'm your guy.
42:55I don't know who's in there.
42:58I don't know.
43:00Any idea?
43:01I don't me.
43:02I don't know who's in this way.
43:02I don't know.
43:03I don't know who's in my budget
43:03or in my work or in my job.
43:04Maybe anyway.
43:05I don't know who's in it.
43:05But Iground.