The Profit

Season 1 SABC3 (*193) 19:30 Reality

A bad business is a good one according to Marcus Lemonis, the head honcho on reality show The Profit (2013-current). The 44-year-old entrepreneur puts his knowledge to good use, finding businesses to invest in that are stuck in the mud but have potential to do big things in the future. And he knows all about business and mud – Marcus has made his $2 billion (R27 billion) fortune with his recreational vehicle sales and spares business Camping World.

“The number-one rule is not to be a narcissist,” explains Marcus. “It turns you into a rude, disrespectful person and an even worse business owner. And it also makes you think that you’re invincible and you end up being your own downfall – and that will affect your business, even destroy it.” Marcus adds that while he has met the worst of the worst in business, nothing is too broken to fix if they follow his 3P rule: “It is all about People, Process, Product. With the right people, you have the right process to have the right product.”

The Profit isn’t Marcus’s first spin on reality TV either. He was a mentor on The Celebrity Apprentice (2008-2017) in 2011 and The Profit has its own spin-off show called The Partner (2017-current), which sees the businessman searching for managers for the companies that he has bought into on The Profit.

“This [show] is a huge investment for me. I’m spending my own money on the businesses that I invest in, I’m spending my time helping them turn their situation from negative to positive – a lot is at stake,” says The Profit’s host. “I like to buy things. I don’t like to sell. I like to fix things.” And he’s not joking when he says that he doesn’t do everything for money – Marcus doesn’t get paid for his job on The Profit. “Not a cent. My payment comes when the businesses turn around and become successful.”