Brett surprise, marcus. This is our show. Strud come on, marcus, were taking you on, man. Lemonis wait a minute. Were changing the show from the profit to polar bear profits. Strud [ laughs ] brett [ laughs ] lemonis over the years that ive been making the profit, ive visited countless businesses. Lets go make some money [ horn honking ] ive traveled the country trying to fix the people. And you do 1 million a year . You should be proud of that. Man but we dont know how to keep any of it. Lemonis . Fix the process. You see . It flimsy. Dont ever make these again. You dont sell them. And create a few products. Juli it reduces anxiety and depression. Lemonis i kind of like it. I spent countless days working on these companies. How much money did you burn through . Parker 650,000. Lemonis but we cant always fit everything im thinking into the show. Tonight were gonna give you an inside look at an episode from season 7 polar bear coolers. Over the next hour, im gonna take you behind the scenes to share with you what i was actually thinking during filming. In 2016, the Online Business went down 4 . Hayden thats the year that i no longer started handling the website. Strud you should have been fighting for that with me. Hayden i did. Lemonis cause youre a control freak, other people dont feel valued. Brett get out of your own damn way, strud. Lemonis . Share some secrets. Brett you had him. You lost him. Lemonis the gift that you gave me is the uniqueness of who you are forced me to realize that i have to accept everybody for who they are. Strud i dont really have time to explain every part. Lemonis . And give you an honest assessment of my decisions. The company lost 35,000. No, no, dont point at him. Whats going on with business . Strud oh, man, marcus. Its flatlining. Lemonis let me make an offer to you right now. I should buy polar bear from you. My name is Marcus Lemonis, and this is an inside look at the profit. Obviously in this new day, in this new world that were living in, this is one of the businesses that its important to understand, what do you do now . How do you reinvent yourself . How do you move forward . Whats tomorrow look like . And i think what were gonna try to do tonight is provide some insight on how businesses sometimes have to pivot when they least expect it. [ rock music plays ] hayden hello. Lemonis whats that music . Hayden you didnt know what you walked into, did you . Lemonis how you doing . Im marcus. Hayden im hayden. Nice to meet you. Lemonis hayden, how are you . Geoff marcus, geoff gold. Lemonis nice to meet you. Brett im brett. Lemonis how are you . Lemonis whats. Brett thats strud upstairs, playing. Lemonis in the middle of the workday . Okay. I have never walked into a situation where somebody was jamming out. Strud how you doing . [ music stops ] how are you . Hey, Marcus Lemonis im marcus. Strud im so pleased to meet you. Lemonis what is your name . Strud strud. Lemonis okay. Stephanie stephanie. Lemonis stephanie, nice to meet you. Lemonis are you the owner . Strud yes. Lemonis okay. And what is your role here . Stephanie i just own him. Lemonis are you his wife or just. Stephanie he calls me his lovelifepartner. Strud lovelifepartner. Stephanie so its a mouthful. So, whats the polar bear jingle . Is there a jingle . Strud no. Theres no particular jingle. Lemonis well, just play me something. [ rock music plays ] strud Marcus Lemonis, weve seen your show and it sure is fine lemonis okay. Strud why dont you come on down to georgia meet polar bear, well have a good time lemonis look, i love the fact that strud likes to have fun. If he was upstairs writing jingles or commercials or doing videos things that actually drove the business forward i wouldnt care. And im wondering if thats the reason that im actually here cause he cant focus. Strud were the pioneers of the soft performance cooler, okay . 20 years, ive been doing that. Right now we are super stressed. I mean, theres been a lot of hard times. Lemonis what are you stressed about . Strud last year was 2. 5 million, but in 2017, we were 3. 5 million. Lemonis whoa strud so weve gone down 1 million in two years, marcus. Thats the problem. Lemonis the fact that he lost over 30 in revenue from 17 to 18 is a really big deal. Where is the product . Why dont we go look at the product . Strud lets go do that. Lemonis so youre his sister . Brett i am. Lemonis how many other siblings . Brett thats it, just he and i. Lemonis hey, brett, thanks for being here. And we want everybody to understand who strud is a little bit more and why you are who you are, partially because of her. One of the things that we did not include in the show because we just didnt have time is the very earnest and sincere conversation that you and i had after i met strud. And it was one of the things that i think really helped me gain clarity on the sincerity of your family, you and your brother. I know its tough for you to talk about, but i also know that you dont hide it because you want to help other people. Brett absolutely. Lemonis whats it like growing up with him . Brett oh, boy. Lemonis come on, brett. Brett its fun. I mean, i would do anything he asked me to do, just cause i thought he was so cool. Lemonis still even today . Brett no, i think hes just an absolute buffoon now. [ both laugh ] no, its insane. Hes very intense. Great guy but very intense. So thats where weve had some issue. In the past, i had a fulltime job here and loved it. And then i had an incident that took place that took me out of polar bear. Lemonis a Health Incident . Brett rehab. I had a terrible drug problem at one time. Lemonis oh, okay. And youre feeling better now . Brett yeah. I got clean, got. Lemonis congratulations to you. Brett . 10 years. Thank you. Lemonis very proud of you. Brett thank you. I advocate for Mental Illness and addiction. Actually, its the facility that helped me, that i got help through, so they ended up hiring me. Lemonis thats awesome. Brett its incredible. It really is. Were all done. Lemonis that is about right. Brett thank you. Lemonis lets go see the warehouse. Strud okay, lets do that. Come on. Brett oh, my god. That got real, didnt it . Lemonis the reason that im so grateful about how open and honest you are about this, its important to understand that there is tolerance and forgiveness and understanding required to run a business and that businesses are built on people. Lots of things happen to people. You dont need to be embarrassed. You dont need to apologize. You own it. You learn from it. You teach other people how to avoid it. Brett im absolutely not embarrassed. What i did was embarrassing in the past. Recoverys not embarrassing. Theres absolutely nothing embarrassing about getting help. Everybody has something going on in their life, and thats what makes us human. Lemonis and that is the one thing that i think makes Small Business in america so special. And i want to thank you for being so open and transparent about that. Brett absolutely. Lemonis is this the full assortment . Strud yeah. This is the h2o, the waterproof line. So, the difference in these two models, marcus, is this is closedcell foam, like the foam in your life vest. Its squishy. Its waterproof. Lemonis okay. Strud and this is opencell foam, like the foam in your couch. It sucks water up like a sponge. Lemonis in order for a company to be successful, it needs to be able to tell its story quickly and cleanly. Instead, hes starting to go into all these technical terms, like closedcell foam or opencell foam. All i essentially want to know is, how long do things stay cold, how much does it cost, and does it do what i need it to do . Ill be honest with you. The construction of it and the details the quality looks good. As i look at all the coolers, it was a bit overwhelming. Wow. So, what are these . Strud 6packs. Lemonis how do you know . Strud because i can look at this and tell theres too many 6packs here. Lemonis when i walk around this warehouse, it looks. Chaotic, it looks disorganized. Theres no rhyme or reason to where things are. What is all this . Strud this is the return bin. Lemonis it doesnt look right. What i thought i would see, to be honest, is i thought it would see some sort of racking. Strud i mean, i can walk in here and get a visual of where everything is. Lemonis so how many 48 blacks are out here right now . Strud um. Well, lets go look at them. Lemonis no, no. You said you could do it from here. Strud well, i need to look at them. I need to look. Youll see where they are. Lemonis in order to improve the profitability of the business, understanding your inventory, managing it properly, knowing what you have at the right time at the right price is quintessential to maximizing your margin. Whats here . Geoff 7,000 coolers. Lemonis what are the top skus you sell . Geoff the 12pack black. Lemonis how many do you have in stock right now . Strud honestly, i do not know how many black 12packs we have in stock right now. Lemonis how many do you have . Geoff zero. Lemonis you dont think thats a thing you should know . How many 12pack black coolers do you have in stock today . Strud oh, christ, come on marcus. Not right now, man. Lemonis heres the funding. Here you go. Heres some money. Essentially, theyve piled up a bunch of cash in their warehouse in different areas and dont know what they have. And anytime a company does this, it essentially puts themselves out of business, and they dont even realize it. This inventory thats sitting around needs to be, first, organized, and second, if theres too much of something, it needs to be liquidated. If theres too little of something, it needs to be ordered. You think your [bleep] looks together . Strud for my knowledge, i know whats here. Lemonis okay. So, i want to hear from your sister. Brett you were doing just fine, just fine. Everything was going great. You were making lots of money. But then somebody quit manning the store and quit coming up with fresh ideas. You didnt do any marketing. You didnt do any advertising. You didnt do any social media. The social Media Presence didnt exist. Strud could i Say Something . Brett no. Thats the first time ive ever seen him be quiet. The times changed, and polar bear didnt change with the times. Strud let me please say, this is the part of the show where i realized brett nash is smarter than i realized she was, because shes exactly right. We didnt change with the times. Thats what happened. Lemonis i dont want you to get mad at me when i say this. Strud im not gonna ever get mad at you. Lemonis but one of the reasons that i wanted brett here tonight is because i think everybody in america feels like you sucked all of the air out of the room and took it away from your sister. Strud no. I love my sister. Its nothing but pure fun for me to do Something Like this with her. Thats right. I love you and lemonis excuse me, strud. We just got through telling you that people dont want to hear from you. They want to hear from your sister. Brett right. Strud shh brett youre welcome, strud. Strud shh brett keep going. Strud go, brett, go. Brett this ought to be great. Lemonis love it. Strud, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the way you treat people . Strud 7. Geoff in the beginnibeginning, it was much nicer. Things got a little more intense as we were growing. 2009, we had a meeting, and he proceeds to go on the board and drew a line, like, this is what everybody makes. This is how much geoff makes. This is how much, you know. Lemonis in front of everybody . Geoff in front of everybody. And that meeting is where you said, no. Im up here. Youre down here. Lemonis i believe that every bone in your body is good. I truly do believe that. What Business Owners across america can be unaware of is when things are going bad, they want to control everything. And the people around you want to contribute, and when you take that ability for them to contribute, you end up making people not want to work with you. Were you hurt by it . Geoff absolutely. And he cut my pay cause he thought i was making too much money. Lemonis how much did he cut your pay by . Geoff 10 grand. Lemonis and how many years did that last . Geoff well, we got to a different arrangement about six months later. But the damage was already done in my life, so. Strud hold on. How was damage done to your life . Geoff personal stuff. Strud okay. Personal stuff. Geoff when your house is worth nothing and your pay is cut by 10 grand, it changes your life. Lemonis i dont know how you actually fix this business without totally revamping the way strud thinks. And im not sure its possible. Did you learn through this journey with me that your decisions affect other people more than you thought they did . Strud yes, and, of course, i love brett. And i love geoff and i love hayden, too. I really like these guys, and when things start getting more difficult for everybody, these kind of things start getting called out more. And thats difficult. And thats when you, i guess, as a person need to be able to see beyond that and be stronger than that. Maybe i have a blind spot, guys. Maybe theres an area of strud that just doesnt get things, and maybe thatll never change. Brett no, you get it. You got to listen you got to listen thats the problem sit back and listen strud okay, go. Lemonis i am willing to set up a line of credit for the business. But i want 25 equity for doing it. Were you surprised at my offer . Strud i thought marcus, honestly, i would be afraid for you to invest in this company. Thanks for sharing your savage moves, and especially your awkward ones. Thanks for sharing your cute kids. And your adorable pets. Now its our turn to share. With the geico giveback. A 15 credit on car and motorcycle policies for both current and new customers. And because were committed for the long haul, the credit lasts your full policy term. So thanks again. One good share deserves another. So thanks again. We are running our covid19 Technology Response on teams. Teams has given us the possibility to continue to innovate. I can bring them in, i can actually share my screen and show the x rays. We can do that in a visit like this. Were living on teams. Its as simple as that. Its the simple joy of washing your hands,. Without ever touching a faucet. Its the Little Things that matter. Thats why we create moments to feel kohler clean, every day. There are times when our need to connect really matters. To keep customers and employees in the know. To keep business moving. Comcast business is prepared for times like these. Powered by the nations largest gigspeed network. To help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. Tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. And a team of experts here for you 24 7. Weve always believed in the power of working together. Thats why, when every connection counts. You can count on us. And your pay is cut by 10 grand, it changes your life. Strud i wish we had talked about it more. Geoff you never would listen. Lemonis when you own a business, you have to read peoples minds, and you have to think about their feelings more than your own. Lets go to last year. 2018, Company Generated 2. 6 million in revenue. The company lost 35,000. Strud well, hold on. Lost 35,000 . Lemonis did you know that . No, no, dont point at him. Strud i never know my numbers on the fly. Lemonis brett, has he changed at all in that regard . Brett no. Lemonis so what are the two numbers that you would use to figure out gross profit percentage . Strud we have two i cant see it. I dont have my glasses. What is it . [ laughter ] lemonis theyre a little dirty. Strud hey, they work. Lemonis do they help . Strud yeah, man, they do. Almost good. So im putting the 2. 6. Geoff dont put a period, though. Strud okay. Geoff yeah, the point doesnt yeah, dont add the point. Strud im sorry. What number are we typing in . 1448298 . Brett youve got a 2 on there. You need to take that 2 off. Strud okay. Brett 2. 6. Strud 2, 6. Brett 7, 8. Strud 7, 8. Brett 7, 8, 9. Strud 7, 8, 9. Lemonis when we sat down to negotiate, how long do you think we were in there . Strud a long time. Brett a couple of days. Lemonis it was the longest negotiation in the history of our show. We were there for 3 1 2 hours. Should he know them better than this . Brett absolutely. Strud but i do know them better, but im very im dyslexic. I have to really look at something and focus, okay . And i dont know if im dyslexic or not. Im just telling you what happens to me when i look at them, so im trying lemonis what is dyslexia . Strud i dont even know. I think it has trouble lemonis but you labeled yourself. Strud what i want to communicate to you, marcus, is i have trouble visualizing things. Brett issues. Strud i have trouble visualizing things and registering them visually. It takes me a minute to process it, okay. Lemonis but do you know what dyslexia is . Strud no, its a disease of the no, i dont know. Tell me. Lemonis but you labeled yourself with it. Strud well, im trying to communicate to you that i have an issue. Lemonis do you have meningitis . Strud no. Lemonis do you know what it is . Strud no. Lemonis okay, how do you know you dont have it . Strud because someone would have told me by now. Lemonis okay. 2017, the company did 3. 2 million in revenue and made 16,000. Lemonis 2016. 3. 5 million in revenue. Made 88 grand. So from 16 to 17 to 18, its drop, drop, drop, drop. Strud okay, so lemonis why . And you cant blame anybody. Strud okay. Um. Lemonis its really im telling you, this is gonna determine whether i move forward. If you answer wrong, im leaving. Strud its 100 bad decisions made on my part, marcus. Lemonis thats it. Thats the answer. The fact that strud was able to answer the question correctly showed me that he is aware of his own liability, which gives me a little bit of hope. Can we look at the Balance Sheet real quick . Just look at the current one. 422,000 in assets. On the liability side, 124,000 in payables. So the business is relatively clean. So, normally, i would write a check. My worry is how he would actually manage the money. I almost need to keep him. On a tight leash. This business only needs, financially, the ability to ramp up its inventory as sales ramp up. Heres what im willing to do. You know, its funny, cause normally people have this idea in their mind of what they can expect when we sit down to negotiate. What did you think was gonna happen when we sat down to negotiate . Be honest. Strud i thought, this is a little early for a negotiation. You dont know me. You dont know the company. And id watched the show many times. I didnt understand that it happened the first day, but it makes sense. Lemonis i willing to set up a line of credit for the business. If the goal is to get back to 3 million. Strud yes. Lemonis youll need a 540,000 line of credit. You earn into the line of credit as the sales grow. Im gonna provide them with a revolving line of credit that allows them to borrow money from the line, buil