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BRITCOM 3
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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
00:44you're being such a dick about it. Leon, are you mad about something? No. Why the f***
00:47are you singling me out? They're processed. The execution is just like, what is it?
00:53We've heard from the clients that it's not so easy. That's f***. Marcus is an amazing
00:58investor and hopefully we'll invest in our business. In the end, we'll negotiate. My
01:04offer is $500,000 for 10%. To see if a deal can be made so we both can profit.
01:16Glasses on, glasses off. Leave them off and then if you need them, you put them on.
01:20Okay. Good morning. Hi, Marcus. How are you? Nice to meet you. I'm Marge. I'm Kariana. Nice to
01:28meet you. I am Marge. I am Kariana's mom. Hi, Marge. So what's the business? Mary Hot Coco is a hot
01:36chocolate trailer. We specialize in making gourmet style hot chocolates. Kind of crazy story. Just
01:41laying in bed one night, having a vision of opening a hot chocolate trailer. Okay. And
01:46overnight, the line was wrapped around the Hoboken Street. And I said, Mom, I'm going to
01:50close the front. There's a line of people here. I don't know what to do. And she's
01:52like, you better not close that truck. I said, Kariana, get up off the floor, face
01:57them head on and just keep spinning. From that point forward, it kind of just took
02:03on a life of its own. Like this year alone in 90 days, it made $150,000. Okay. And you
02:09pulled your mom into the business? She's literally my right hand woman. Like she's the best.
02:13So what happens the other nine months of the year? Not a lot happens. And like, that's one
02:19of the things that I'm hoping you could help me with. Yeah. Here's what I want you to do.
02:24I do see an opportunity for you to think about your business differently. The key behind this
02:30business is taking out the seasonality and Mary in white feels very different than Mary
02:35in red with garland. So what I want you to do is I want you to reimagine the business
02:40with this in mind. It's a 365 day business and Mary now equals happy. Right. Not Christmas.
02:50And you have to take some of the color out at certain times of the year and put other colors
02:54in and things can plug in and plug out like Legos. Yeah. Correct. It needs to be Mary.
03:00Mary everything. And then you can end up having 10 of these. Yeah, of course. I don't think
03:05you need me. I don't see an opportunity for me to invest, but that's what I would do.
03:12Okay. I agree. Thank you so much. And continue to love your mother. I love her. Oh my goodness.
03:16I love you more. Oh my gosh. Well, good morning. Good morning. Nice to see you. I'm Marcus. Good.
03:26I'm Dawn. Dawn, nice to meet you. I'm Patrick. Patrick, nice to meet you. Hi, Marcus. I'm Brandy.
03:31It's really nice to meet you guys. Thank you so much. I'm the owner and founder of Sleepover Party
03:36Shop. We create these magical moments with the beautiful tents that you see, picnic celebrations,
03:43movie nights. When we come, our team that sets everything up and makes it white gloves, we also
03:48provide the sleepover in a box where you can just pick up your package and set your own
03:53party up. We have our family who's really involved in the business. Made this camping setup. Love it.
04:00So the basic one costs $40. If you want at least some decor, it's your deluxe package. $80 per person.
04:06Has it done any revenue? Yeah. I mean, we just this last year, we sold $170,000 worth of these
04:14experiences. Wow. But what doesn't work right now is a retail piece of it. We can only grow so far
04:21within our local market. That's where I'm needing help. So what's all included in the sleepover kit?
04:26This set, it's a tent. It's a throw blanket. It's two decorative pillows. The tent cover, we count as a
04:32piece. A personalized name sign and the fairy lights. Not the mattress. Not the mattress. So that would be
04:37the eighth thing I would need. Okay. What else am I not getting? A sheet? A fitted sheet? Ninth thing. And so
04:43there are going to be certain things that I'm going to need to get outside of the seven Ps. Now, the party's
04:49that day and I don't have everything I need. So my experience dropped as well. So I don't think that
04:57this business is something where you and I can really make money together yet. But I'd like to give
05:05you a $20,000 grant so that you could just start to put your plan together. Yeah. I don't take that
05:12lightly. I appreciate everything about this moment. Okay. I really do. Thank you so much, Marcus. I'm
05:18glad you like hugs. Bye, guys.
05:23Now, this was just working in here. Now, it's out here with good Wi-Fi.
05:27Well, hi. What are you doing out here? What am I doing out here? What are you doing out here? I wasn't ready. How are you on
05:33Marcus? I'm Keanu. Nice to meet you. I'm Leon. Leon, how are you? Nice to meet you. So tell me about the name of the
05:40business. Cream and Crumb. We're a dope-ass ice cream shop. Oh. That's our moniker. Okay.
05:48The whole concept of Cream and Crumb is to have layer of cream and a layer of crumb. We build our flavor
05:56from the ground up. We make everything from scratch. Sometimes the crumb may be cookies. Cookies. Sometimes
06:01it may be cakes. Brownies. It may be jam. It may be curd. So you brought one flavor? No, we have multiple
06:07flavors. Marcus, I don't mess up my little. Oh. Thank you, sir. We have our holiday nog. We have our coffee
06:14and Kahlua. Then we have our multi-vanilla chip. So this was on dry ice, so it's going to be kind
06:20of solid for you. Yeah. Cool. It's really hard to eat the ice cream. Mm-hmm. Well, you're not eating
06:26tempered ice cream, so you're kind of struggling with a plastic spoon. But simple ingredients,
06:33nothing artificial, no gums, no stabilizers. What if I just want ice cream and I just want vanilla?
06:39We are not a traditional ice cream. We're not just a kiddie ice cream. We're not the...
06:44We don't offer sprinkles. We don't let you put fudge on your stuff. We don't let you make milkshakes.
06:49I just want you to know we're the no fun ice cream place. Well, no, that's not no fun. You want sprinkles? No.
06:55You want your ice cream soft? No. We put so much... You want vanilla? No. So listen, we put so much love
07:02into the ice cream already. This is what we offer. Here's the problem. The stats are that more than 60%
07:09of all ice cream sold in America is vanilla. The people that generally come in our store actually
07:14don't come for vanilla. What's the standard item that I come in and order, like a cup or a cone?
07:19Cup. Single or double? We only offer double. At that location, we did.
07:25So you got into the ice cream business. Why? Prior to this, I worked for the federal government.
07:30Oh. Yeah. What happened was they got rid of the agency I was working for, took my retirement,
07:35cashed out 80. $80,000? Yeah. So with that, I had a small shop. From there, I went to a bigger
07:44location. How many locations do you have now? None. Oh. So in December of 2024, we closed our doors.
07:54Are you out of business? I'm not out of business. Well, we pivoted. Now, it's e-commerce on our website.
08:00We ship and we deliver locally. It's hard. Ice cream and e-commerce are hard. Yeah. What was the
08:07total revenue in 2024? 248. $240,000. A quarter of a million dollars. Yeah. And how much was on the
08:14bottom line? It was $27,000 profit. Yeah. And how much did you pay yourselves?
08:21Hmm. So you didn't make money. I didn't. Because it wasn't fully burdened with the expenses. It's
08:27unclear to me. And maybe, Leon, you could help. What's the opportunity for me? Because I also like
08:32to make money. We would like to think that the opportunity would be you getting in on the ground
08:38floor with a growing brand that will be as big as... A Ben and Jerry's? I have a high level of concern
08:46I have a high level of concern that you're closed.
09:01You all right? Mm-hmm. Sorry. No, no. Come on. The fact that it didn't work once or even twice,
09:08what happens in business is like you keep trying until something clicks.
09:12It's what normally happens. So, what is it that you have this fear of?
09:21Um, just losing everything. Okay.
09:27What is it? My home. That's real.
09:30We didn't want our little girl to walk through anything. Yeah.
09:33And now we have another little girl.
09:36So, it's compounding. Yeah. But you have a choice to make. You can go in with no fear.
09:47Because how much worse could it get? It's closed.
09:50Oh, yeah. That's true.
09:52Hey, I'm going to be simple. The reason that I want to help is I did think your product was good.
09:56I thought it was the perfect amount of fat. It was churned perfectly. And it wasn't too sweet.
10:03No. So, I compliment you on that. Thank you.
10:07When I look at any business, I'm looking for a very clear path that I can see to make money and to improve the business.
10:15Sorry I'm crying. You all right?
10:18In this particular case, their mistakes are so obvious that I'll give them tasks that allow them to achieve success
10:25so they can regain their confidence. I'll figure out how to make some coins along the way, though.
10:30I mean, the ice cream is pretty good.
10:40Hello.
10:41Hi, Kiana. It's Marcus.
10:42Hi, Marcus.
10:43I'm here at the original Cream and Crumbs location. Is it possible that I can meet with you guys?
10:48Absolutely.
10:49Okay.
10:50See you shortly.
10:50Okay.
10:51All righty.
10:51Great.
10:52Bye-bye.
10:52I've driven to Montclair, New Jersey to see the original location of Cream and Crumbs.
10:59And what I really want to do is get a sense of the neighborhood because Kiana and Leon said that the location wasn't as good as they had originally hoped.
11:07One of the key indicators in getting a place like this is to really understand what other businesses on the street or in the neighborhood
11:13are going to give you the kind of traffic for a product like ice cream.
11:18And there isn't any foot traffic here.
11:21Hi, guys.
11:22Hi.
11:23Come on in.
11:24How are you doing?
11:24Nice to see you.
11:25Likewise.
11:26I drove to see the neighborhood and see the space.
11:29Maybe I saw one or two people walking.
11:32Yeah.
11:32Maybe.
11:33So what's the plan now?
11:34Well, when we announced that we were closing in December, we got a couple of phone calls from some local towns.
11:40One of them was Newark.
11:42The town called you?
11:43Not the town.
11:45Oh, I was like, wow.
11:46A realtor.
11:47They're looking, renting out spaces there.
11:50So they sent us an LOI to review this week.
11:53Oh.
11:54Yes.
11:55So you have an LOI for the space.
11:57Yeah.
11:57Shouldn't we go see it?
11:58Of course.
11:59Absolutely.
11:59Sure.
12:00Why not?
12:00Marcus, aren't you a New Yorker?
12:02You know how to drive?
12:02First of all, I'm from Miami.
12:04Oh, you are from Miami.
12:05And no, people from Miami, like me, don't know how to drive.
12:09You don't.
12:09But we drive everywhere.
12:11There's a big difference.
12:12Hmm.
12:14Downtown Newark, all this is brand new out this building.
12:19Guys, the traffic isn't much better here.
12:22And if the traffic is during the week, I don't think there's going to be a lot of people here on a weekend.
12:27We can say that now.
12:29But when we open up, we're not opening up just cream and crumbs.
12:32Other places are opening up that's going to bring the nightlife.
12:36I want to challenge you guys a little bit.
12:39And I want to make sure that whatever you're going to do, you don't end up with another situation like Montclair.
12:45Because this makes me nervous.
12:46Okay.
12:47You can't sell enough ice cream on a quiet street to pay anything.
12:52I think they're naive to the cold hard facts.
12:54And I need them to be realistic about the viability.
12:58Or then it turns into a very costly nightmare.
13:01How much is this lease that you're looking at in Newark?
13:06Let's say $60,000.
13:08Right out of the gates.
13:09That's $60,000.
13:10You're going to walk into $60,000 expenses before you do a thing.
13:13Correct.
13:14So where are you going to get the money to do that?
13:16This urban development program has a grant that comes with $250,000.
13:23And just for clarity, it's 125 year one, 125 year two.
13:28They break it up.
13:29Correct.
13:30Out of that 125, how much is it going to cost to build out the place?
13:33How many square feet is it?
13:35Uh, 17.
13:3617 plus.
13:36Is it going to be $100 a square foot to build it out, which is very low?
13:41Up to $70,000.
13:42I'll say $75,000.
13:43How much is $75,000?
13:44The number you just said times $1,700.
13:50$127,500.
13:52Over.
13:58How do you open?
14:00How do you buy raw materials?
14:03Biggest difference, we get three months of payment as well.
14:06You get three months of payment to do the build out.
14:08No, no, no.
14:08From open.
14:11Do you understand how close you're living to the edge of death?
14:14And if you sign a personal guarantee for a lease, and you have one or two bad months,
14:21this thing turns into zero really fast?
14:24Well, I'm working now.
14:26You went back to work?
14:27I went back to work.
14:28Full time?
14:29Full time.
14:30So, you at least have income coming back in?
14:33Of course.
14:33You still have a lot of money saved today?
14:35No, it's that big fat zero right there.
14:40What I love about you guys is that you're dreamers.
14:43What I worry about is that under those circumstances, I don't think you should put your family at risk.
14:50I'm somebody, and I'm not going to get emotional, but my mom said this to me last year.
14:57And she said, the idea that you, with nothing, created this, I got to do it.
15:10I got to do it.
15:12Like, regardless, I got to do it.
15:14How do you see it?
15:16I don't need a brick and mortar.
15:18There's always other avenues to just sell a product, if you've gotten a good enough product.
15:23What are they?
15:25I wouldn't know.
15:25I wouldn't even know at this point.
15:27To know to get a restart, you got to restart your brain.
15:30You got to think differently.
15:31Finally, I want to invest in you, but I don't want to lose my money.
15:37So, this is $5,000 for a budget.
15:42Just to see if you guys know how to put a plan together, and can you do it separately?
15:47It's important for me to understand the weaknesses, and then we'll figure out if there's something here,
15:52or you're giving me my $5,000 back.
15:53You have one shot to get it right.
16:00One of my main rules in business is that if you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business.
16:06I'm working with Kiana and Leon to reimagine their ice cream business.
16:10The Intuit QuickBooks dashboard lets them evaluate everything in one place,
16:15from cost of goods to income statements.
16:17By creating a customized cash flow roadmap, we can properly forecast seasonal cash flow swings.
16:24Now that you know your numbers, you'll understand why I don't want our businesses just to survive.
16:30I want us to thrive.
16:36This is $5,000.
16:39Just to see if you guys know how to put a plan together, and can you do it separately?
16:43It's important for me to understand the weaknesses, and then we'll figure out if there's something here,
16:48or you're giving me my $5,000 back.
16:54Just finished doing my plan.
16:56We already bust through the $5,000.
17:01But I'm still going to present my plan, so he can see the numbers.
17:06We'll see.
17:07See what Leon has to say.
17:09Of the $5,000, use $3,600 as a down payment for the kitchen.
17:14Enough ingredients to make a decent amount of profit.
17:16And go from there.
17:18Peace.
17:24It's clear to me that without a brick-and-mortar store, we need a clear path to prosperity.
17:29And anytime I get involved in a business where there's a husband and a wife,
17:33I want to ensure that they both feel like they contributed.
17:36So I've asked them each to come up with their own plan.
17:39And then they're going to work together to come up with a unified plan.
17:43So they both contributed, and they're unified going forward.
17:49How are you, buddy?
17:49How are you, sir?
17:50Good to see you.
17:50How are you?
17:52What do we got?
17:53We're going to do mine first.
17:54Okay.
17:55Obviously, start with the $5,000.
17:57Get the kitchen.
17:58That puts us at $3,600.
18:00Okay.
18:01From there, take $400 and get the ingredients that I wouldn't eat.
18:05Okay.
18:05I could get $230 to $250 pints out of, say, $400.
18:10That could generate $3,000 worth of revenue.
18:12And how are you going to sell them?
18:13We would do essentially an email blast to our existing customers.
18:16If we do this, I'm going to put a little technology concept in your business.
18:21Okay.
18:21It's Salesforce, and it's essentially a CRM that takes every customer data point that
18:28you have and put it all in one database and build profiles.
18:32Whoa.
18:33What else?
18:33What's next?
18:34So then after that is rinse and repeat.
18:36So this is just going to be basically direct-to-consumer marketing.
18:41And how are you fulfilling?
18:43Deliveries.
18:44Us and our car.
18:47What happens if you have six orders at the same time?
18:50We don't.
18:50Because of the system that we use, there's a time frame.
18:54It's a 15-minute order window, but it's a three-hour delivery window.
18:59Just like the cable guy.
19:00We give you a window.
19:02I hate the cable guy.
19:03Everybody hates the cable guy.
19:05But I don't want to hate the ice cream delivery person.
19:08All right.
19:09So on to?
19:10Okay.
19:10On to the boss's plan.
19:12So some great things happened this week for us.
19:15Okay.
19:16We're in with Smorgasburg in Brooklyn.
19:18That's at food festival?
19:20Yeah.
19:20That's great news.
19:22Surprising news.
19:24We've been applying to Smorgasburg since 2018.
19:27I was like, this is going to be my final last.
19:29If they don't pick me, I'm never applying again.
19:31And the idea that we got picked this time is crazy.
19:35I think this is the place where this brand can grow and flourish.
19:41I'm excited for the opportunity.
19:44So are we off Newark then?
19:46No.
19:47I still would love to do Newark.
19:48But having that access to that population, it allows us to really get what we want to
19:54do different in ice cream.
19:55Yeah.
19:56So my plan, I start looking more so towards our summer event.
20:01Okay.
20:02Still the shared kitchen, which is $3,600.
20:05Our first week in Smorgasburg, which is our deposit of $600.
20:09The Provinces, $140.
20:10And then our ice cream cart.
20:12So the ice cream cart that I think that's best for us would be $48.90, which leaves us
20:20as a negative.
20:21So here's the challenge.
20:22Leon's plan costs $5,000.
20:25Your plan is the same plan as Leon's, except you don't have enough money for the cart.
20:31Correct.
20:31All right.
20:32So here's what I want to do.
20:33Okay.
20:34I'm going to give you an additional $10,000.
20:37Okay.
20:37Because you can't go to a food festival without a cart.
20:40Yeah.
20:40We are going to put in a better delivery system.
20:43It's not going to be you driving around all over the place.
20:48In exchange for the $15,000, because I like to make money, you are required to make vanilla.
20:55What if I just want ice cream and I just want vanilla?
20:57The people that generally come in our store actually don't come for vanilla.
21:01How do you want to make vanilla?
21:03I don't know yet.
21:04I'm going to want it to be special, though.
21:06Okay.
21:06Oh.
21:07Okay.
21:07That's okay.
21:08So until you pay this money back to me, I'm going to get 50% of all the vanilla sales.
21:15And I get 25% of the sales of vanilla forever.
21:19Not forever.
21:20For how long?
21:22The next three years.
21:24I'm not doing it for less than seven.
21:26No.
21:26Five.
21:27It's either 20% for seven years or 25% for six years.
21:3320% for seven years.
21:35Yeah, I think it's 20%.
21:36Okay.
21:36That's the deal.
21:37Okay.
21:39Anytime a business owner experiences rejection or loss, it starts to crack our confidence.
21:46And then you start trying anything you can and sometimes digging yourself into a deeper hole.
21:51I want to spoon feed them structure, discipline, and reward.
21:55So they can experience success while also feeling the discipline and structure required to rebuild that confidence.
22:01If a business is going to get back on its feet, it needs small wins along the way.
22:06And the best way to do that is to take on bite-sized tasks and get early wins and accomplishments.
22:13I want you to get in the mindset that as you see other people at Smorgasburg, you may do a collab with them.
22:19As you think about other restaurants, you may do something with them.
22:22You really turn into a marketing machine.
22:24Yeah.
22:25We was fully prepared that Marcus was just going to walk away.
22:30I am surprised that we are forming a partnership.
22:35Crazy.
22:36Crazy work.
22:38We're going to make some ice cream.
22:43With Kiana and Leon, it's clear to me that there's three lines of revenue that don't involve a brick and mortar at all.
22:49Maybe they just do delivery or wholesaling or going to events, but they have to believe it and they have to be willing to change.
22:56But if they don't, this isn't a business that I want to invest in.
22:59No, thank you.
23:01Hi, hi, hi.
23:03So what I wanted to do today is have you start to think about how cash is going to flow.
23:09So now we come down to these three revenue streams.
23:12Small batch craft ice cream, local events and delivery, and then business to business.
23:18Some people may call it wholesale, and really trying to build the brand that's fun and interesting.
23:25As long as it's on brand.
23:26What does on brand mean?
23:27It could be urban.
23:29What does urban mean?
23:30Black culture.
23:31Okay.
23:31Do you believe that the Cream and Crumbs brand is a urban, black culture brand?
23:37Yes.
23:38The brand is influenced by black culture, is influenced by hip-hop.
23:42I don't ever think it's good for any brand that's trying to serve a final product to ever pigeonhole itself away from even one person.
23:52You believe that that will pigeonhole us into that?
23:56I believe you should have merchandise that speaks to other people's culture as well.
24:01What we cannot do is strip away what we are or our culture in order to sell to the masses.
24:11I'm annoyed and agitated, as you probably can tell.
24:14Well, why are you annoyed with me?
24:15I'm not annoyed with you.
24:17Well, who are you annoyed with?
24:20Say it.
24:21I'm annoyed and agitated, as you probably can tell.
24:30Well, why are you annoyed with me?
24:32I'm not annoyed with you.
24:33Well, who are you annoyed with?
24:35It was the idea that your look does not welcome everyone.
24:40Did I say that to you?
24:42That's what, to me...
24:43Did I say that to you?
24:44You did say that.
24:45No, you didn't say it.
24:48It's a sensitive subject, isn't it?
24:49It is.
24:51Many people have not encountered black people in the ice cream space.
24:55So when people interact with us, I would get the, you know, slick comments or something like that.
25:02Tell me, tell me about that.
25:04You're just nice and you're polite and you have, you think, a lovely exchange and then they go out into their car and give you a one-star review and say how mean and rude you are.
25:15Because the easiest thing I could do is label a black woman, an angry black woman.
25:21In the first shop, we had someone place a noose in front of our door.
25:26And it's funny because you think, I'm in New Jersey.
25:30I'm in Bloomfield, New Jersey.
25:31There's no way.
25:33But it was.
25:34That happened.
25:37Like, those are just simple things that you could never understand because on a day-to-day, that's what you deal with.
25:48But it is what it is because that's how we have to navigate this world.
25:53That's the world and the life that we live in.
25:56So for me, I'm looking for the people that we look like, who appreciate the product that we put out.
26:04That's who I'm here.
26:05Those people are going to find us.
26:07That's how I look at it.
26:09I'm sorry that you guys had to experience that.
26:14There's a lot of in the world who don't have good common sense, who weren't raised properly, who don't think properly.
26:22And I believe you should always stand on who you are.
26:26Who you are is what makes you special.
26:28Yeah.
26:28But that doesn't justify making a bad business decision to prove a point.
26:33And my job is to make sure that you guys expand your brand, get to tell your story, and do it in a fun way because ice cream isn't that serious.
26:44Why did you pick ice cream as a business to get into?
26:47Yeah, it does start with my granddad.
26:49As a kid, that was our thing, eating ice cream.
26:53When I visit on the weekends or for the summer, he always kept cherry vanilla ice cream, and he'll have his half a gallon, I'll have mine.
27:02But yeah, it started with him.
27:04My love for ice cream.
27:05Your inspiration or your motivation to have that connection to how you felt when you were with your grandpa is something that's very special to you.
27:14You could have that same relationship no matter what color you are.
27:17True.
27:18So we'll never compromise who we are.
27:20We won't do business with people that ask us to compromise who we are.
27:23But as Michael Jordan used to say, I sell shoes to everybody.
27:28Okay.
27:28100%.
27:28I agree.
27:33I'm headed to a ghost kitchen in New Jersey, Kiana and Leon found.
27:37And what I love about these ghost kitchen concepts is that it has a much smaller fixed cost structure while you're building a customer base.
27:45You pay your rent, you pay for your supplies.
27:47When you take on your own location, there's rent, there's insurance, there's taxes, there's maintenance.
27:53It also requires you to carry a larger staff.
27:56Hello.
27:57Hello.
27:58What's up?
27:59How you doing?
27:59Not bad.
28:00How are you?
28:01I'm excited.
28:02Marcus walks in with those bags of groceries.
28:06The thought is, oh my God, he's going to come in with a whole bunch of sprinkles.
28:10And is it going to be on brand or what we're trying to present with our product?
28:15We was interested in hearing what we're going to do as far as making the Marcus Moniz ice cream.
28:21You mean Moneymaker.
28:22That's the name of it.
28:23That's what it's called, Moneymaker?
28:24Yeah.
28:25Okay.
28:26And I know what I want to sell it for.
28:28Okay.
28:29Okay, let's see.
28:30I know how to do food costing.
28:32Let's be honest, we know I drive around with this.
28:36You're going to have a four ounce, an eight ounce, and then a pint, and that's it?
28:41Yep.
28:42Okay.
28:43You don't do a gallon?
28:44No.
28:45No.
28:45Why?
28:46Because we don't want to.
28:47We don't wish to sell gallons to customers.
28:49Granted, we want to get as much money as possible, but we don't want to spread ourselves too thin
28:54and just do everything.
28:56It's for SKUs.
28:57The only reason I'm recommending a gallon is because you start to get gross dollars, not
29:03just gross margin.
29:04The gross margin's not bad.
29:06While gross profit margin percentages are important, nothing beats gross profit dollars.
29:12For example, if you sell a $5 item with a 20% margin, you're going to have a dollar.
29:18But if you sell a $15 item at a 19% margin, you may have a lower margin percentage, but more
29:26actual dollars are going to be generated, which is how you pay your bills.
29:31I don't understand why people have a problem with rules in their business.
29:35Everything else has rules.
29:37If you come to my house and I don't want you to wear shoes in my house, that's just a rule
29:41I have.
29:41Same thing with business, in my opinion.
29:43That's enough math for, even for me.
29:49That was great math.
29:50All right, let's make some vanilla.
29:51Do you have any lemons here?
29:53No, we don't have any lemons.
29:54Anybody have lemons?
29:56Well, you're going to ask the people.
29:57Anybody have lemons?
29:58Do you have a lemon?
30:00I do have a lemon.
30:01I feel like I'm borrowing from my neighbor.
30:03Thanks, guys.
30:04What do you want to change?
30:14I'm not saying anything.
30:16Well, it would help if you said something.
30:18I'm hooked on this.
30:18Do you want to just do this on the plain vanilla base?
30:21That's not enough to do anything.
30:25Yeah, no.
30:26We could just put it in there and blend it.
30:28Okay.
30:28So we have a creme fraiche, vanilla bean, lemon zest, lemon cake, and white chocolate-covered
30:36cornflakes.
30:37I'm loving it.
30:39Have you tried this?
30:40No.
30:41Would you like to?
30:43Or just like you?
30:44You seem like you want to say no.
30:45You know what?
30:46Moneymaker?
30:47You said I'll participate.
30:49Oh, why?
30:52Yeah.
30:53You didn't like that?
30:54No.
30:54But why?
30:56I love it.
30:57I wasn't even going to waste my time to tell you.
31:04Leon, are you mad about something today?
31:06No.
31:07Because you feel like you're about to drop somebody.
31:15Leon, are you mad about something today?
31:17No.
31:18Because you feel like you're about to drop somebody.
31:20No, I'm good.
31:22Come with me.
31:22Sure.
31:23Okay.
31:23Leon feels unusually disengaged today.
31:26And I'm not sure if it's something that I said or he's getting frustrated with me.
31:30But whatever it is, I need to get to the bottom of it.
31:34What's bothering you today?
31:35What?
31:37It's just...
31:37Something happened?
31:38We made our decision not to do Newark.
31:40The one you showed me.
31:41Yeah.
31:42Kind of tried to pass the buck on the build-out to our pockets.
31:46So the landlord came back to you and told you what?
31:49Due to kind of miscalculations, the number was astronomical.
31:53How much was it?
31:54Roughly $150,000.
31:56Is what they wanted you to spend on the build-out?
31:58Of the $250,000?
31:59Of the $250,000.
32:00I just think that's crazy that you would give a grant and then turn around and then say,
32:05you have to use up more than 50% of, say, a grant towards something that needs to be built in there.
32:10I don't know.
32:11It's too off.
32:11Yeah, it just seems like they try to pull the wool over people's eyes.
32:14Like, how dare you?
32:16I have to take them at their word.
32:18It's an oversight on their part.
32:19Although I can't see how that oversight can possibly happen, I guess it can.
32:25Here's what I would say to you.
32:26Shake it off.
32:27Mm-hmm.
32:27You know that I'm sticking with you.
32:29We're going to find new ways to expand the brand.
32:31Okay.
32:32I felt bamboozled.
32:34Like, I felt this can't be really business because that's not how Leon and I walk this earth.
32:40Leon was just telling me that you guys got news from the Newark situation.
32:46I think it's ridiculous.
32:47And I'm sorry that it happened to you.
32:49The reason that I was trying to talk you out of that so much is because I just felt like when it's too good to be true, it usually is.
32:58Yeah.
32:59I can disagree with Marcus.
33:01No problem with that.
33:03But when he's right, he's right.
33:04And Marcus has been right more often than wrong in this situation.
33:09Yeah.
33:09All right, so there's the menu on the whiteboard.
33:12We need to add...
33:13The white chocolate and the cake.
33:14Yes.
33:15You want to mix everything in the palate or I say layer it.
33:20Okay.
33:21All right, we don't want to soup it up.
33:22I don't like the white chocolate, but the cornflake is actually really good.
33:31Honestly, he's right about the white chocolate.
33:35Mm-hmm.
33:36We came up with something as a team.
33:38Yeah.
33:38I think it'll be good.
33:40That's what's up.
33:41So Smorgasbord starts when...
33:43It's sweet.
33:43How are you feeling?
33:44We're confident.
33:46We're confident.
33:47Let's do it.
33:48See you guys.
33:49See ya.
33:49Here you are.
33:56Can I have another scuba chocolate deluxe?
33:57Mm-hmm.
33:58How you doing, buddy?
33:59I'm not bad, man.
33:59Don't you miss me?
34:01We're almost sold out of Moneymaker.
34:03Oh, there's not much.
34:04Can I taste the Moneymaker?
34:06Absolutely.
34:06That's a good idea.
34:09You're welcome.
34:10That's really good.
34:12So, Kiana, where are you storing this?
34:14In the kitchen that we rent.
34:16Oh.
34:16How's that going, by the way?
34:18I hate it, but okay.
34:19You do?
34:20I do.
34:20What do you hate about it?
34:22It's getting pretty expensive, especially when it comes to storing ice cream.
34:26How much does it cost in a month?
34:28$800 for storage alone.
34:30Just for the storage.
34:30And how much does the whole thing cost in a month?
34:32About $3,000.
34:34How much do you think you'll do today?
34:35$1,500?
34:37Yeah.
34:37If you could do $1,500, we know what the margins are.
34:40Right.
34:40So, it makes money, and you got a good spot.
34:43So, I want to just tell you this with all sincerity.
34:46One, in walking around and looking at all these brands, this was a huge accomplishment.
34:52So, I'm going to cover your smorgasbord fees for the season.
34:55We'll make it happen.
34:56Okay.
34:56Okay?
34:57Two, if we're going to operate a business that is wholesale and events, we need to have the building blocks.
35:03We're seeing how much business today.
35:06I want to get you guys a meeting with Melba to see if we can grow our wholesale business with her.
35:10Melba?
35:11You know who Melba is?
35:13Yeah.
35:13She's a chef, restaurateur, and a native New Yorker.
35:17Celebrity chef Melba Wilson.
35:20Melba is the queen of Harlem.
35:22You know, you see her on the paper, on TV, and you hear all of the great things about her food.
35:29I look up to her as far as an entrepreneur.
35:33So, the opportunity to present our ice cream to her.
35:36Let's go.
35:37Okay.
35:37Super proud of you.
35:38Super proud of you, my friend.
35:39Thank you, man.
35:40Thank you, man.
35:40Super proud of you.
35:42Welcome to Melba.
36:11How are you?
36:12I'm here to see Melba.
36:14I wasn't nervous to meet you, but I'm nervous to meet her.
36:17Why?
36:18She's a big deal.
36:19I mean, you're a big deal, Marcus.
36:22Hi, how are you?
36:24Hi, nice to meet you.
36:27With meeting Melba, I'm hoping that she like us, she likes the product.
36:34I'm excited to try some ice cream.
36:35Okay?
36:36Okay?
36:36You can impress.
36:37Because having that other revenue coming in, not only just to our customer, but business
36:44to business.
36:44That's our goal.
36:46So, stakes are high for us.
36:48Today is how Cream & Crumbs is going to move forward.
36:51If Cream & Crumbs is going to move forward.
36:54Tell me a little bit about Cream & Crumbs.
36:58We opened our first brick and mortar in 2018.
37:02Coming out of the pandemic, we opened up a larger shop, thinking, hey, we can grow from
37:06here.
37:07Okay.
37:08We didn't have the traffic that we thought we were going to get in that location.
37:12So, we closed in December of 2024.
37:15We obviously lost the...
37:17All of it.
37:17The initial, we lost everything.
37:18So, even the first store?
37:22Everything.
37:23Everything.
37:23Wow.
37:24I lost everything.
37:25And we didn't offer, in Marcus' opinion, the most profitable and most selling item, vanilla
37:33ice cream.
37:33It's not my opinion.
37:34Wait.
37:35You did not sell vanilla ice cream?
37:38Okay.
37:38So, let me just say something.
37:39Vanilla is the number one selling flavor ice cream in the world.
37:46Mm-hmm.
37:47So, how do you claim to be successful and you don't sell what everybody is buying?
37:54Lesson learned.
37:55And I don't want the word ask and what I'm eating.
37:57I don't...
37:58And if I do, I'm not going to let anybody know.
38:01Okay.
38:02It may sound cool, but if I'm a parent and I see this, I'm not bringing my kid in.
38:08Mm-hmm.
38:08So, you're really not going to like this.
38:11We're not a kiddie ice cream shop.
38:16Essentially, a lot of our clientele beings is adults.
38:20Okay, my black mama eyebrows going up.
38:22Mm-hmm.
38:23You are a money-making shop.
38:25Mm-hmm.
38:26You're giving me every reason why you don't want the green.
38:28And that's why I have to ask you, is this a business or is it a hobby?
38:32Mm-hmm.
38:38I've learned to adjust.
38:53Yeah.
38:54Very well.
38:55And the idea of it is not just your baby and it's a hobby.
39:00You want to make money off of this.
39:02Come on, break a one-night.
39:03You got the memo.
39:04Marcus made sure we got the memo.
39:06Oh, Marcus got to make sure he got the money, too.
39:08Yeah.
39:08We can't be mad at not knowing what we don't know.
39:11But what I will say is that the thing that has inspired me about them is that they fought,
39:17but that fighting actually made me like them more.
39:21Yeah.
39:21As opposed to just saying whatever to anything just to do everything.
39:25Right.
39:26But at the end of the day, the reason that I asked them if they would consider coming here
39:31is because I'd like to figure out a way for the three of us to be in business together.
39:38We're trying to build partnerships, you know?
39:40It's a collab.
39:41It's a collab.
39:42It's a business.
39:43So let's taste some ice cream.
39:45Yes.
39:45It's made with a vanilla base, which is a vanilla Madagascar bourbon vanilla,
39:54a Vietnamese cinnamon with a peach jam, and then I did a cinnamon crumble.
39:58I named it Melba's Peachy Crumble.
40:07Oh, my God.
40:09It's good.
40:10Mmm.
40:11It's creamy.
40:12It's flavorful.
40:13It's the ingredients.
40:14But it's also the love.
40:16We cook our own base, so we make our vanilla base.
40:19The overrun is under 15%, so it's not a lot of air in our ice cream.
40:22It's just quality ingredients.
40:24Marcus, this is sick.
40:26This is different.
40:27What's the shelf life?
40:29I would say 45 days.
40:3045 days.
40:3045 days.
40:30Okay.
40:31And what sizes do you sell it in?
40:33For a wholesale, we're doing one gallon and a quarter, and then we have our self-serve cups.
40:39And you guys would package it for us?
40:41We package it.
40:42We deliver it.
40:43You literally just pop it in.
40:44Cool thing about this, it just goes in a regular freezer.
40:47What are you thinking?
40:49What it took for you guys to get here, I can only imagine.
40:53But to keep up with it, as you know, it's very labor-intensive.
40:58Yes.
40:58But what I love is that you didn't give up.
41:02So I love the idea.
41:04Oh, wow.
41:08What?
41:09We're providing an ice cream from Melba?
41:11Holy s***.
41:12That's the secret sauce and the ice cream is the tears.
41:17It's tough.
41:17You got to balance.
41:18How do I take care of my family?
41:20How do I take care of my children?
41:22And to be here now, I don't even know how to describe it.
41:25I'm also wondering if this is something we could sell at Grand Central.
41:28And that was the thought behind it.
41:30Really, really good at Grand Central.
41:32A lot of people could be in our position.
41:34You kind of, you know, you're living from paycheck to paycheck.
41:37But it's encouraging to let you know it is something on the other side of it.
41:41We no longer have that fear of losing our home.
41:44I'm so excited to grow and see what comes from here.
41:48To date, I've invested about $25,000 into Kiana and Leon's business.
41:54$15,000 for the ghost kitchen, a cart, and some other supplies.
41:58And another $10,000 for the smorgasbord fees for the year.
42:02Through this journey of going from store closure to now,
42:05they've implemented small, achievable tasks to build their confidence back.
42:09Look, I'm going to make money by getting a piece of their vanilla sales.
42:12But what I like more than anything about Kiana and Leon
42:15is their ability to pick themselves up.
42:18dust themselves off.
42:19Isn't that really what the definition of a true American entrepreneur is?
42:24It is for me.
42:25I'm here for the ride.
42:26You're a tag team.
42:27You're a tag team.
42:27This is a dream come true.
42:31I'm ready.
42:32Let's rock and roll.
42:39Well, hello.
42:40How are you?
42:41We just want to know if you're a good quality human.
42:43That's why we started this.
42:45Banter is the fun.
42:46And the bliss is come by a candle and relax.
42:49Put a pretty good amount.
42:51This is really good.
42:52This is not your mark.
42:54Their brand is violating other people's trademarks.
42:57You don't know your gross profit?
42:59Um, uh...
43:00You knew you were coming here today.
43:02Are you always this bossy?
43:03Yes.
43:03I think there's an opportunity here for me.