- 5 months ago
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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 terrible
00:38reason. You should be good at math. I'll work on their people. I don't know why you're being such
00:44a dick about it. Leon, are you mad about something? No. Why the f*** are you singling me out? Their
00:49process, the execution, is just like, what is it? And their product. We've heard from the clients
00:55that it's not so easy. That's f***. Marcus is an amazing investor, and hopefully we'll invest in
01:01our business. In the end, we'll negotiate. My offer is $500,000 for 10%. To see if a deal can be made
01:08so we both can profit.
01:16If you see me freaking out, just trying to put me on ease.
01:20Well, hello. How's it going?
01:22I'm Marcus. It's nice to meet you. I'm Bobby.
01:25Bobby. Kevin.
01:26Kevin, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you guys.
01:28Yeah. So Sauce Bay is a health-focused food brand that I started in 2017 out of my parents'
01:33kitchen, actually. When I was 21, I was hospitalized and later diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
01:38This is an autoimmune disease where your immune system is attacking your colon. And I was able
01:43to finally reclaim my health through clean eating. I want to put out products that not only taste
01:48better, but are better for you. The first product I launched was the pineapple, habanero, and
01:54turmeric-confused hot sauce. And then from there, we added some more flavors, and then we actually
01:58expanded into raw honey. So we're not just a hot sauce brand. We plan to be, like, much more.
02:03So this is something that you could put a pretty good amount.
02:09This is really good.
02:11But I got to be honest, there's sauces everywhere.
02:13Yeah.
02:14It's one of the most crowded, competitive spaces, period.
02:18Yeah.
02:18Business okay today?
02:21Be honest.
02:22Have no capital.
02:24Zero.
02:24None.
02:27I love your story. But at some moment in time, all these products need to make money.
02:31So which one are you going to be stunty with that's going to put you back on the map?
02:37It's right here.
02:38No one is doing anything like this.
02:41Cookie dough raw honey.
02:42You talk about stunt marketing. I mean, the slogan on this is, oh, baby, I like it raw.
02:47And how much money do you need to do something with the cookie dough honey thing?
02:50I would need probably, like, $12,000 to do, like, a decent production.
02:53I'm going to loan you $12,000.
02:55Okay.
02:56But you have to agree that if this doesn't work, you're going to find a new path.
03:00I believe in what you're doing, but I also feel there's a moment where you've got to cut bait.
03:03Yeah.
03:04One thing, not 20 things. One.
03:08No, I agree. I agree.
03:09So.
03:14No, I'm sorry. I have to turn it down.
03:16Okay.
03:17Yeah.
03:17Listen, I've made these same mistakes.
03:20Yeah.
03:20I only recognize my own failures on the table.
03:24I believe that I could do this, and so.
03:27Okay. All right. I appreciate you.
03:32Yo, I'm so nervous. I just saw him walk in.
03:35Hey there.
03:36Hello. Hi.
03:36I'm Marcus.
03:37Christy, nice to meet you.
03:39Ivan.
03:39Ivan, nice to meet you.
03:40Aaron.
03:41Aaron.
03:41Pleasure.
03:42Hi, Marcus. I'm Jill. Nice to meet you.
03:43Jill, how are you?
03:44We are little giants.
03:45We're co-founders. We started a brand online first, and then we did a pop-up in Dumbo,
03:50Brooklyn. These are our partners in our L.A. store.
03:53Oh, okay. So you went from New York to L.A.?
03:55Yep.
03:56We had a store here for five years.
03:58Oh.
03:58And then we ended up moving to L.A.
04:01Okay.
04:02Are you guys nervous?
04:03A little bit.
04:04Super nervous.
04:04Okay. Come on. Bring it in.
04:05Extremely nervous.
04:06Bring it in.
04:06Whoa.
04:07Yeah.
04:08Okay. Everybody good?
04:10Yeah.
04:10Okay. Okay. Good.
04:12All right.
04:13I'm less nervous, too.
04:14All right. Cool.
04:14Okay. Let's have some fun.
04:15All right.
04:16So tell me what we do.
04:16Let's do it.
04:17We are a children's clothing and accessory line.
04:21We make cool stuff for kids that parents want to wear.
04:24The idea was to take the adult version of hip-hop but make it palatable for kids.
04:29There's infinite potential in every child, and they need to be looked at not as children but
04:35as little giants because they can grow up to change the world.
04:38The inspiration behind it was our child.
04:40You know, our son's knowledge.
04:44You got this.
04:46Um, yeah, we have a child with autism, and, uh, it's rough.
04:52And we're trying to make clothes that's impactful, and it has meaning, um, so that every child
05:03feels special wearing it.
05:07Besides selling it at the L.A. store, it's sold online?
05:11Yes.
05:11Correct.
05:11Yes, we've been selling online.
05:12And where does the bulk of the revenue come from?
05:14Online.
05:14Online.
05:15So last year, how much did you do?
05:17We did three.
05:19$300,000?
05:19Yes.
05:20Okay.
05:20And how much does the store do?
05:22Last year, it did about $65,000.
05:24How much is your rent there?
05:26$6,000.
05:27So your rent on an annual basis is more than your revenue.
05:33More.
05:34That's not going to work.
05:35Can I get a whiteboard, please?
05:37So if we were thinking about a clothing brand, they would understand online, they would understand
05:45retail, and they would understand wholesale.
05:48Today, you're here and here.
05:50So if they thought about their customer base, there's baby and kids, tweens, and then adult,
06:00male and female.
06:02So the bulk of it is essentially right there and right here.
06:08So with that model, how many more years or months or weeks can you survive?
06:13The whole year?
06:14Yesterday?
06:14Like, what do you mean?
06:16You got to do something different.
06:18If this business is going to survive, it needs to become an online and a wholesale brand.
06:22I think you need to acknowledge that the store has to go.
06:24You guys can't keep writing checks every month.
06:26It's going to put your family in a bad space.
06:29For me today, this is a no.
06:32But it comes with advice.
06:35I want you to go back home, and I want you to find a few showrooms, and I want you to
06:40take your line.
06:41They will like it.
06:43Don't get stressed.
06:44I'm giving you a no, but I'm giving you direction.
06:48And then you're going to stay in touch with me, and we're going to see if that direction
06:51works.
06:52This is sobering, but it still feels okay, you know?
06:56The truth sometimes hurts.
06:58That doesn't mean that a business can't be reimagined.
07:01And that's really what I want them to do.
07:03It was nice meeting you.
07:05But doing the same thing, no more.
07:14Oh, here he comes.
07:15We have a small gift for you.
07:21Okay.
07:22Do you want me to put it on?
07:23Yes.
07:23Please put it on.
07:26Okay.
07:27We'd like to invite you into our kitchen to cook with Christina.
07:30Ciao, Marcus.
07:31Welcome to Alta Italia.
07:33Nice to see you.
07:34Nice to see you again, I want to say.
07:36I've been chasing you for a while.
07:45So are you ready to make some pasta together?
07:47Yes, but I want to know what the business is.
07:49Healthy Italia is the name.
07:51It's an Italian marketplace and cooking school located in Madison, New Jersey.
07:55We do a retail store in the front with specialty products that I import directly from Italy.
08:01Then we have the cooking school where you make everything hands-on from scratch and you
08:05learn how to cook a delicious Italian meal.
08:07Okay.
08:07We also do catering.
08:08We do private events for team buildings.
08:11Okay, okay.
08:11Slow down.
08:12So this is it.
08:12You asked me what's the business.
08:13Okay.
08:14So it's an experiential dining experience where I make the food that I'm going to eat?
08:20Mm-hmm.
08:21Exactly.
08:22This is going to be your table, actually.
08:23That's my table.
08:24Okay.
08:24What you have there is the ingredients to make pasta.
08:27This is exciting.
08:28I'm so happy that you're excited.
08:30I know you love to cook.
08:31We're going to use the fork.
08:32Okay.
08:32And we're going to start mixing all the ingredients.
08:34What do I do with the stuff on my fork?
08:35Just keep going.
08:36Don't worry about that.
08:37Okay.
08:38Hold on.
08:38Like this.
08:39Are you always this bossy?
08:40Yeah.
08:41Oh.
08:42And why did you decide to open this business?
08:45In Italy, I'm a CPA.
08:47You're a CPA?
08:48Yeah.
08:48And how about in America?
08:49Are you also a CPA?
08:50I worked in a CPA firm for three years, and then I started my business, so I gave that
08:55up.
08:55And I started to think what people would love and appreciate about Italy, and I thought
09:00about food.
09:01So I decided to open this business, like start to import products and combine the idea of
09:06the retail store with the cooking school.
09:08Okay.
09:08So I will be able to share my family recipes and traditions.
09:12Where do they live?
09:13Everybody's home.
09:15Except you.
09:15Yeah.
09:16So when I come to take a class there, I'm doing it in the kitchen.
09:19Exactly.
09:20And how many people can you see at one time?
09:22So I can get 18 people in the classes.
09:24And how much does it cost to go?
09:26An average of $130 per person.
09:29Really?
09:30Mm-hmm.
09:31Now we're going to just cut our pasta.
09:33And when you think about the revenue in the business, how much of it comes from the shop
09:38versus coming from classes?
09:40Most of it comes from the classes and not from the retail store.
09:46In a month, we make an average of $110,000.
09:49This store is like $30,000.
09:52So it's more than a million dollars a year.
09:54It's 1.3.
09:55Her business makes money.
09:57It's not in trouble.
09:58No.
09:58I'm going to boil it together.
09:59And one of the important things to understand is that a business can get stuck.
10:04Do you like pasta?
10:05I love it.
10:06Whether it's the systems, whether it's the structure, it's just understanding what's holding you back.
10:12I was able to take my idea and my business up to here, and I gave everything I had.
10:20Here's what we're going to do.
10:21I see an opportunity here, but I feel like I need to immerse myself in your business
10:26to really understand what the layout is, to really understand what the experience is,
10:31and to think about how you're utilizing your space.
10:34There's a lot of things there.
10:37Thank you so much, Margo.
10:38I'm looking forward to it.
10:40It's an honor.
10:41Thank you so much.
10:42I'm looking forward to it.
10:42I'm here in Madison, New Jersey, to visit Christina, her employees, and Healthy Italia.
10:54The business generates over a million dollars in revenue,
10:57which is impressive for any business, especially this size.
11:06This is beautiful.
11:08How are you?
11:09I'm Marcus.
11:09Hi, I'm Susan.
11:10Nice to meet you.
11:11Susan, nice to meet you.
11:12There's a lot of beautiful stuff here.
11:15We only work with small producers who don't distribute anywhere else in the U.S.
11:19Do you run the store?
11:20So I'm really the event planner.
11:23How?
11:23But I'm here during the day and, you know, talk to the customers.
11:27I'm Italian.
11:28My parents are from Italy.
11:30Do you have to be Italian to work here?
11:31You don't, but I think it helps.
11:33It does.
11:34Number one in the store would be what?
11:36This category is probably one or two.
11:39Okay, so prepared food's one.
11:41Shared food, bagged pasta.
11:43Two.
11:44Olive oil.
11:45Now go to the bottom from the lowest selling, least effective thing.
11:49Would be cutlery, all the flatware.
11:51Okay.
11:51Why?
11:52People see this.
11:54They think it's beautiful.
11:55They pass this, and then they go here.
11:57So just the way the merch plan works, would you re-merchandise the whole store if you could?
12:02I think that there is excitement, even if it's the same items, if they were in a different
12:08rotation.
12:08Just moving around.
12:09Yes, it's been always the same.
12:11My impression of Susan is that she has a very strong opinion.
12:15She's very intelligent.
12:16She's very articulate.
12:17And she's very committed to the business.
12:19Hi.
12:20Hi, I'm Marcus.
12:20I'm Marcus.
12:21Angela.
12:21Hey, Angela.
12:22Nice to see you.
12:22How are you?
12:23Can you take me into your kitchen?
12:24Yeah, absolutely.
12:25Come on in.
12:26I am the kitchen manager.
12:27Wow.
12:28So I pretty much oversee and run everything in the kitchen.
12:32So is all the prepared foods made right here?
12:35It's all made here, yes.
12:36There's no kitchen, like, surprise kitchen in the back?
12:38What you see is what you get.
12:39Where's all the inventory for, like, the up front section?
12:42That's the basement.
12:43That's not my department.
12:45Why do you smile when you say that?
12:47Because I think somebody's going to show you, but it's not going to be me.
12:49They're going to show me the basement?
12:50Oh, I'm sure.
12:51Is there something down there?
12:52I guess you're going to find out.
12:54Okay.
12:55Angela's being coy and awkward about this inventory, and that's never a good sign.
12:59It's like an immediate red flag.
13:01I have no idea what I'm about to see.
13:04Do you want to just look first?
13:05I'm just going to hang back to it.
13:07Yeah, shit.
13:08You first.
13:09Okay, do I need to brace myself?
13:12Yeah.
13:13What the f***?
13:19You first.
13:20Okay, do I need to brace myself?
13:24Turn left.
13:25Okay.
13:31What is this?
13:37It's storage.
13:38It's storage.
13:39It's storage.
13:39No, this is unhealthy Italia.
13:43And what is all this stuff?
13:45Pasta machines.
13:46Potting pans.
13:47Utensils.
13:48Tablecloths.
13:48You have more inventory than a Bed, Bath & Beyond store.
13:52Really?
13:52No.
13:53Yeah.
13:54What a terrible use of money.
13:56As I walk through this inventory, it only says one thing to me.
13:59You have no merchandise plan.
14:02No strategy of commerce.
14:04Of what you're putting on the shelf.
14:05What you expect to sell.
14:07And how you're going to replenish your inventory.
14:10This feels irresponsible to me.
14:14People are going to think I'm being very tough on you.
14:16Here's the thing.
14:17I don't care.
14:18That's fine.
14:18Because I really believe you have a great idea.
14:22Can you guys give us a minute?
14:24Yeah, of course.
14:25Sure.
14:27I'm still trying to figure out why you wanted me to come here.
14:30Really?
14:31Because, yeah.
14:32Because you know you are so smart.
14:35And you know the difference between what's okay and what's not.
14:40Great.
14:41I don't need you to tell me what's wrong.
14:43I need you to help me how to fix it.
14:46How to fix it and where I can grow.
14:51The idea of incorporating retail into the cooking school is right.
14:55But you think about the inventory tied up in the basement.
14:58Then you add on the labor that it takes.
15:00This is a losing proposition.
15:05I want to just be a participant in the class.
15:07All right.
15:10So, to get started, we're just going to cut off the top part of our tomato.
15:14You want to be careful that you don't take the tip of your spoon and poke it through.
15:17We don't want to make any holes.
15:18Then we're going to grab our garlic back and give it a pop.
15:21Then we're going to go ahead and turn our front burner on.
15:24It's the knob on the right.
15:25Turn it all the way to the left.
15:26It's going to whoosh on.
15:28Have any of you guys made whole bronzino before?
15:31Yes.
15:31She's amazing.
15:34She's got a really good command of what's happening here.
15:37You've probably noticed that I'm not from Italy by my lack of accent.
15:40I'm actually a Midwest girl.
15:41I was a stay-at-home mom for 14 years.
15:44What I knew I wanted to do, leaving my kids every day, is I wanted to do what made me happy.
15:48I would say the experience feels easy.
15:50It feels clear.
15:52And we'll see what happens.
15:53You guys can go ahead, play to Marsala, and then head to your tables in the storefront to enjoy.
15:59Do you guys make money when stuff up there sells?
16:03No, but I don't want it to...
16:06I don't want everybody to be pushy.
16:07I don't want it to sound pushy.
16:09I don't want people to feel like they're being forced into something.
16:13Have you had feedback about that?
16:15No.
16:15So how do you know how far you could go?
16:17Because it's organic when it's just being used here.
16:20It's an organic sales pitch versus being pushy because somebody wants to make money.
16:25It's almost like nobody in the building, including Angela, is bought in in the importance of generating revenue up front.
16:32Oh, I don't want to...
16:32It's too pushy.
16:33I don't want to sell.
16:35I don't...
16:35It's like, well, then what are we doing?
16:38I love experiential things.
16:40I thought this was exceptionally well done today.
16:43But you guys are doing an awful job of marketing the front of the store in the kitchen.
16:51I didn't feel like you were ever even subtly selling me anything.
16:56I do think that we do do it subtly.
16:59I do agree with you, though.
17:01What did you subtly do besides show me a scratch pot?
17:04I don't know.
17:28I don't know.
17:29No, I...
17:30I...
17:31I think it...
17:32I...
17:33What's going on with your self-confidence?
17:34I just want to stay on that topic.
17:36What are you not confident in about yourself?
17:40Every person out there that's going to say, why is she at Healthy Italia?
17:45Really?
17:46Of course.
17:46Like, I don't fit the bill of healthy...
17:49What does that mean?
17:49Because I don't fit the bill.
17:51Like, like, it's...
17:54Okay.
17:58What if nobody sees you the way you see yourself?
18:17I might be okay with that.
18:19And honestly, anybody that feels that way about you can off.
18:22Well, right.
18:23But...
18:24The way that you feel about yourself is never going to change,
18:27unless you change your own perspective about who you are.
18:31Cristina and the team at Healthy Italia
18:33clearly want to grow their revenue and their profitability.
18:36And a higher degree of confidence or conviction
18:38means a higher degree of conversion to sale.
18:46Morning, morning.
18:48Okay.
18:49I want to start with the financials.
18:51Okay.
18:51Can I pause and get glasses real quick?
18:54Yeah.
18:54Okay.
18:55Yeah, I also have my glasses in the back.
18:57Okay.
18:58Okay, you didn't get your glasses.
18:59I don't need glasses yet.
19:01Lucky how.
19:02Do you see a career opportunity here, or do you even want that?
19:07First, I was an equity research analyst.
19:09For a big firm?
19:10Yes.
19:10You essentially did the due diligence...
19:12Yes.
19:13...for everybody that would ever invest.
19:15Correct.
19:15If you could just take your brain that knows that really well...
19:19Sure.
19:19...and look at this business the exact same way.
19:22Okay.
19:22Did you know that she did that before?
19:24You should live in her head every day.
19:27Because she's essentially telling people who have their money
19:30to do this or don't do this based on all of the work that she does.
19:35Like, the fact that you have that on your team is kind of ridiculous.
19:41We don't dig into this enough.
19:43I think that...
19:44We who?
19:45Collectively.
19:46Us.
19:46It's very hard to pull myself out of the day-to-day.
19:50Like, I'm in deep with events and customers, and, like, I can't step away
19:55because we just don't have the hands yet to let me do that.
19:59What an absolute terrible waste of her talent.
20:04I think that Susan is starving for direction.
20:07Total income is $1,353,000 last year.
20:11So $1,064,000 of the $1,353,000 got generated from this class this way.
20:23Staffing the kitchen has been the biggest struggle.
20:25We get candidates.
20:28Okay.
20:28We get unqualified candidates.
20:30We get unqualified candidates.
20:31Unqualified candidates.
20:32Perfect.
20:32Are you on a dating app?
20:34Yeah, yeah.
20:34How did you describe yourself?
20:36YM?
20:37I don't remember.
20:38But I think...
20:38How would you describe yourself today?
20:40Goal-oriented.
20:41Hard worker.
20:43Dreamer.
20:44That's the ad.
20:46Goal-oriented woman.
20:47Hard worker.
20:48Obsessed with personal growth.
20:49What type of man would be able to withstand that level of intensity?
20:54Very few.
20:55I know that.
20:56I'll just tell you this as a man.
20:58I would be intimidated.
20:59I feel like I've told you that.
21:02You and many other people.
21:04I'm sure.
21:04Did she end up dating anyone?
21:06Did Christine end up dating anyone?
21:07No, I don't think so.
21:09The reason that you get unqualified candidates is you may not be describing yourself properly.
21:14What are they looking for in a personal dating app?
21:17Connection.
21:18And what you've basically done, and this is why I think we have a staffing problem,
21:22I think you appear inflexible.
21:25How you present yourself is usually how you're going to present your business.
21:30The reason that I think you could be struggling is, one, you're not using a system that looks
21:36at algorithms and information that match people together.
21:40In order to grow your business, you need to have really good people.
21:43And in order to attract really good people, you not only have to list out the expertise
21:47they need to have, but you also have to present them an opportunity to see what it means to
21:52them and why they should want to be part of your team.
21:55I want to have you go through this process, because what I love about ZipRecruiter is that
22:00you post the job and you get skilled, qualified candidates.
22:03It uses AI technology to get you results really fast.
22:08Because ultimately, what I'd want to do is, like, post the job this afternoon and be able
22:13to meet people tomorrow.
22:14That's how fast it should be.
22:16And with ZipRecruiter, that's how fast it is.
22:18ZipRecruiter does all the work.
22:20It's going to set the appointments.
22:21It's just going to set everything, all of it.
22:24So let's, Susan, take us through the balance sheet.
22:26Okay, current assets.
22:28Inventory, $404,000.
22:30So that's the basement.
22:34Yeah.
22:35Do you think that $400,000 for an inventory like this is good or bad?
22:40It's bad.
22:41It's what?
22:42It's bad.
22:44It's bad.
22:45$400,000 is insane.
22:53I've been working on this.
22:54Like, it's not that I don't know.
22:55So, like, if you want to put, like, a mark like this, yeah, let's put the highlight here
23:00and stay here until it's fixed.
23:03Was that an offer or was that?
23:04No, no, no.
23:05It's an acknowledgement.
23:07Yeah, exactly.
23:09Let's do that.
23:09They don't need more than 60 or 90 days supply of inventory.
23:15I want that cash unlocked and reinvested in other parts of the business that would help
23:20it grow, including opening a new location, getting the right kind of inventory, hiring
23:25new people, or marketing the business.
23:27I don't care if I need to explain it in Italian, English, or any other language.
23:32Unlock the cash, reinvest it in your business, and get a return on your money.
23:36How do you think you'd get rid of what's downstairs?
23:38What if this week we just did a store-wide sale, just to see what happens?
23:44So you test into it.
23:46Yeah.
23:46You test into it.
23:48Look, the liquidation sale that Susan is proposing is a good idea, but it's not really the sale
23:53that matters.
23:54It's the information that you learn from the sale.
23:57What actually sells?
23:58What are the right price points?
23:59And even if you drop it to 50, 60, 70 off, what doesn't sell?
24:04That's what the purpose of the sale is.
24:06I don't know what these prepaid assets are.
24:08Prepaid are expenses of 2025.
24:12125,000?
24:13Why do you have 125,000 in prepaid?
24:16It's personal development conferences for next year.
24:21125,000 to go to conferences?
24:24Like, what kind of conferences?
24:25I joined Tony Robbins.
24:27It can be discussed or like...
24:29No, it's your choice.
24:30That's your choice.
24:31It's your business.
24:32It's like I gave up my life for nine years, and now I just decided that I wanted to invest
24:39in myself.
24:40I said I want to meet people that can help me grow.
24:44You don't have to justify it.
24:45Absolutely.
24:45No, it's not like...
24:46This is me.
24:48Are you lonely?
24:49Oh, yeah, a lot.
24:50I gave up my life for nine years, and now I just decided that I wanted to invest in myself.
25:08Are you lonely?
25:09Oh, yeah, a lot.
25:10Okay.
25:11A lot.
25:11As business owners, that's pretty normal.
25:16It's your whole life.
25:18It's everything.
25:20I know that.
25:21Time management, historically, was my biggest enemy.
25:24I would immerse myself so much in my business that I didn't have any relationships because
25:28I was too busy.
25:30It's not good.
25:31What started to happen is I got forced to surround myself with other people that were smarter
25:38than me and better than me.
25:39And I stopped feeling guilty that if I didn't work 14 hours, what are people going to think?
25:46What I want to do is I want to change the way you spend your time.
25:51She always asks about my children and trips we take and things that I plan.
25:55So I don't think that anybody would not think that, you know, there's a piece missing.
26:01Here are the things that we need to solve.
26:02We need to come up with a merch plan.
26:04We need to put Susan's idea of a store-wide sale in motion so we can learn from the data.
26:08We need to have a job fair so Angela can hire some more instructors.
26:12And lastly, what everybody's hopes and goals are with their professional and personal careers.
26:18Absolutely.
26:18And everything's 50 off, right?
26:22Yes, these are like 11-something.
26:24We don't typically do sales here.
26:26What we need to think about is what's in the basement, get it out of here, and start fresh.
26:33The crowds went wild.
26:35Oh, wow.
26:36It got the inventory down.
26:38Is it gone?
26:39No, but I think it was necessary.
26:41Worrying about inventory?
26:42Don't worry.
26:43We're slashing prices all day.
26:45Thanks, Marcus.
26:46This is just what I wanted to do.
26:48Hi.
26:51I'm back at Healthy Italia this morning to understand how the liquidation sale has gone.
26:57Hello.
26:58Good morning.
26:58Good morning.
26:59How did it go?
27:01Good.
27:02We sold 2,500 units.
27:04Yeah.
27:05So how much cash did you generate?
27:07$26,000 in four days.
27:09And how much inventory do you still have?
27:12Coming in?
27:12Yeah.
27:13$42,000.
27:17The key to managing your inventory is establishing what's called an open-to-buy.
27:22It's the maximum amount of dollars you're going to allocate towards inventory at any given time.
27:28Understanding your supply chain and how inventory moves is key to that.
27:32You're going to start with how much do I have on the shelf and how much do I have in my back stock.
27:37You also have to anticipate how much you have on order.
27:40You can't get your inventory lowered if on Tuesday you have a sale and sell out of $10,000 and on Wednesday $20,000 more shows up.
27:49Who did all those pallets come from?
27:51Italy?
27:52No.
27:52Not where did they come from.
27:54Who did they come from?
27:55Everything got shipped to my family warehouse.
27:58They pallet everything.
28:00They load the container and it gets here.
28:01It's a family affair.
28:02So your family are inventory enablers.
28:05Exactly.
28:07Can I have a minute with her?
28:08Yeah, absolutely.
28:09Okay.
28:09So I know we talked earlier about what you potentially want to do.
28:15What are your thoughts?
28:16What do you specifically want to do?
28:18So I would like to be a chief operating officer, inventory, supply chain, merchandising.
28:29Okay.
28:29Have you talked to Christina about this?
28:31I have not.
28:31I mean...
28:31Christina.
28:32Christina, Susan is like a gift from the Italian gods.
28:39Yes.
28:40Here's what I want you to do.
28:41I want you to be as direct as you're capable of being.
28:44Okay.
28:44To tell her exactly what you'd like your role to be and walk her through the ideas.
28:48What is your title here?
28:49Operating officer.
28:51You like that?
28:52So to replace me with an event planner and then have me work completely thinking of all the pieces
28:58that would make us try to expand every piece of the business.
29:02Great.
29:03I love it.
29:04I was happy that she said yes.
29:07You know, we have to hash out the details, of course, but we need to go bigger.
29:11We need to think bigger.
29:12It's been a conversation that we've kept saying, how am I going to step away from what I do every day?
29:17That's why ZipRecruiter is a no-brainer.
29:19We're going to post a job for an event planner and it will technologically find matches really quickly.
29:25You're going to interview people and you're going to hire somebody, just like Angela's going to do today
29:29and looking for more instructors.
29:31Great.
29:32I need to quickly find a replacement for Susan.
29:36So I'm very happy that ZipRecruiter is really fast.
29:38It's going to save me a lot of time.
29:40It's the way to go.
29:46Welcome, everybody.
29:47My name's Angela.
29:48You all know you're here for an interview?
29:50Yes.
29:51Be your best today because we're judging.
29:53I don't think many people would ever interview this way, but I wanted to understand how these
29:58folks would feel being put on the spot, which is what would happen in a class.
30:04I really enjoy cooking.
30:06You know, I love putting love into the food.
30:08I love to cook.
30:09My grandmother showed me how.
30:10You are going to infuse some music, some love into your pasta.
30:14If you don't sing to your pasta, then it comes out funky later.
30:17It's not on me.
30:17My passion came from my mom, who was an excellent cook, and I guess that kind of rubbed off on
30:24me, and it's something that I then wanted to pursue.
30:26I have just been doing a lot of cooking and baking, and cooking I found to be therapeutic.
30:31Nice.
30:33Excellent.
30:34All right.
30:36Take the knob on the right.
30:37Turn it up straight up and down and turn your burner off.
30:39You already know who you are?
30:40Yeah, yeah.
30:41I like Eric.
30:43Which one is your favorite so far?
30:44Eileen in the back, because she's engaging.
30:48The key to interviewing somebody isn't just hiring anybody that walks in.
30:52It's got to be somebody that's qualified, understands, and has a passion around cooking, and can fall
30:57into the system that Angela's already created.
30:59Once you do that and fill that hole, the revenue growth will be automatic.
31:03What does the Healthy Italia location in Madison, New Jersey look like?
31:07Because we're going to redo the whole store in the next couple weeks.
31:10I know I've spent a significant amount of time focusing on the revenue in the back of
31:15the house, and that needs to happen.
31:17I would start to think about merchandising.
31:19What are you trying to get me to do with the way you've merchandised the store?
31:24But it's also important to find ways to generate more revenue in the front of the
31:27house, where the retail store is.
31:29I come in and I go this way.
31:31Yeah.
31:31So whatever's here has to matter.
31:33I want to change the merch strategy and the layout.
31:37What's the first thing you want me to see?
31:38What's the second thing you want me to see?
31:40Okay.
31:41To increase the opportunity to convert that customer to put something in their cart and
31:46give us extra dollars at the register.
31:47I look at these tables as what I call A fixtures, preferred spot to highlight something.
31:54The layout and the assortment are key to that.
31:57If you could move this back, because this is like a lot of dead space.
32:02This wall is ugly.
32:03I just want to get this out of here.
32:05Okay.
32:05And find new revenue opportunities, like to-go food.
32:09I think you need more prepared foods ready to go.
32:12But you'll need double door stainless steel refrigerator, a double door stainless steel
32:16freezer.
32:17The right assortment at the right time, at the right place, at the right price.
32:22The database piece and interacting with customers for me is kind of everything.
32:28We're going to install a customer relationship manager called Salesforce, and they have an AI
32:33piece to it.
32:34Every customer that ever answers any question, artificial intelligence is going to build the
32:39profile and start to communicate.
32:41It's like a silent salesperson, because the two of you and everybody else that works here
32:47is scared to sell people's stuff.
32:50That's the way we're going to grow revenue in the front.
32:52And even if it's only 10%, I'll take it.
32:58I know that he believes in me, but I want to impress Marcus so badly.
33:03He's really pretty.
33:03I was very excited for the renovation.
33:06I thought it was necessary.
33:07It's been nine years, the same layout.
33:09We've talked about how that wasn't selling any products.
33:13I think we're focused more.
33:15We have less, but we have the things that I feel like customers appreciate.
33:19Hi, Eric.
33:20How's it going?
33:20Good to see you again.
33:21Yeah, how are you?
33:22Excellent.
33:23So we're going to hire Eric, and we're going to do our regular training, and we're going
33:26to see if he's a good fit.
33:28This is Eric.
33:29He's shadowing.
33:29You'll probably see him taking notes.
33:31Go ahead and start with your eggplants.
33:33I can't wait to have a male in this business because we need them.
33:37I'm very happy that you decided to end up asking Eric to come.
33:40I think it's right call.
33:42Very proud of you.
33:43I agree.
33:44I did everything I could.
33:46I was so hard for the renovation.
33:48I did everything he asked me because I need him to see what I'm capable of.
33:52One of my big rules in business is that if you don't know your numbers, you don't know
33:58your business.
33:59From payroll to payments, from business tax to categorizing expenses, Intuit QuickBooks
34:04has it all on one platform.
34:06I'm working with Christina at Healthy Italia, a cooking school and marketplace, to try to
34:12find ways to use analytics to drive her business to profitability.
34:16QuickBooks makes it easy for me to recognize where the opportunities are.
34:20I'm not just looking for businesses to survive.
34:22I expect them to thrive.
34:30I'm back at Healthy Italia after a month of working on the people, the process, and the
34:35product.
34:36For me, the real question is, have enough changes been made where real money can be invested
34:42in this concept?
34:45Like, I'm back.
34:46Why does everybody seem so tired?
34:50We're tired, man.
34:51Today's the big reveal.
34:52It's been a lot.
34:53This really came out nice.
34:56Basically, the idea was to build a wall of freezer and refrigerators that all match.
35:01Then we got a bigger refrigerator for the fresh prepared food.
35:05Can we talk about the storage?
35:07This was the pots and pans land.
35:09Exactly.
35:10We had an artist come in to hand paint the walls.
35:13You've essentially built a stock room.
35:15You don't imagine, like, how much you can put here.
35:18A lot more bread.
35:20Yeah.
35:20Now we freshly bake it.
35:21So we got, we get it.
35:22Oh, you're doing it here?
35:23Yes.
35:24It's also cross-promoting, because if we take it from here and we serve it in the class,
35:28then they know that we sell it.
35:30Right.
35:30There.
35:31Got it.
35:31Got my high five.
35:32So we've got to figure out the connection between the kitchen and here, back and forth.
35:36Yeah.
35:37And now you can tell that story all the way out the door.
35:40And it now feels like the proper assortment, the right amount of stuff, the right margin
35:45profile, and the right revenue profile.
35:47I'm very happy about what Marcus is saying, because I did everything he asked me, but
35:53in my way.
35:55He raised my standard, and it's beautiful.
35:58Did you do those virtual interviews on ZipRecruiter?
36:01The tool that I have is actually beautiful.
36:04Like, it worked perfectly for us.
36:05It set up an appointment, like, you can decide the day, the time, and then whoever applied
36:12for the position can schedule the appointment with you on that day.
36:15And you just stop, like, a couple of minutes to get the vibe, and I knew that when I was
36:19seeing them, they were qualified candidates.
36:22Okay.
36:23How have you been able to advance or modify your own life while your professional life
36:29became more stable and secure?
36:32I have more balance, a little bit more balance, and not just work, work, work, work.
36:37I think Marcus wants us to make a dating profile.
36:40We'll take the dating profile.
36:41Yes.
36:41There it is, okay?
36:43Look at that.
36:44Executive decision.
36:45Executive decision made.
36:47But I mean that in all sincerity, because everybody here wants more for you as a human.
36:55I'm working on it.
36:56How are we doing that?
36:57Like, what are the things that we're doing?
36:58I'm going to say the idea.
37:00I'm going to...
37:01She's going to put it out in the universe.
37:03The universe is going to help me.
37:04So every year, I have to teach at Mother's Day.
37:07This is so good.
37:07Buckle up.
37:08Because nobody wants to work at Mother's Day, and we have a customer that every year calls
37:12because she wants me to teach at Mother's Day.
37:14I'm like, it's the last time.
37:16Because next year, I'm going to be a mom, so I'm not going to teach.
37:20Done.
37:22Executive decision made.
37:24Executive decision.
37:24I think we should go sit down as a group, and we should talk about what happens next.
37:35Sure.
37:36Are you okay with that?
37:37Mm-hmm.
37:41Christina and her team have worked hard to improve the people, the process, and the product.
37:46And now that I've seen what they're capable of, I want to try something different, something
37:50I know they're not expecting.
37:53The three of you are very different in terms of your background and the work ethic that the
37:58three of you have and the aptitude that you have.
38:01I don't see it kind of ever.
38:06Normally, I would invest in the business.
38:09And I'd be like, oh, okay, I invested in a small business, and everybody's great, and
38:12everything's fine, but I want to go big here.
38:17So I have a job offer.
38:19Yes.
38:19Oh.
38:20Wow.
38:24So you know that I took over at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and we own a concept called Our Table.
38:32So I would like to offer you a position to lead the development and be the general manager
38:39over the entire concept for the entire public company, where we could develop this concept
38:47across different nationalities by picking locations across the country.
38:52It's $175,000 base salary, up to $175,000 bonus, and 10% equity in the Our Table concept,
39:02which is a combination of what we do well and what you do well.
39:05Angela oversees the kitchen operations for our whole concept, and Susan oversees the
39:11operations, and you keep the ownership of this location, all the money that you make
39:16from it, and everything.
39:18Where do we sign?
39:20It's finally this moment that we've been waiting for, and frankly, I thought the whole deal
39:25would have been buying a piece of healthy Italian.
39:27Completely is not that.
39:29It's a bigger step for all of us.
39:33I know you didn't expect this.
39:35No, I would love to.
39:38There always comes the but.
39:39I know, like, but?
39:40But what I'm trying to understand is, all of this concept is being built on a concept
39:48that I bring.
39:50Kind of.
39:51I would say that the concept of Our Table is loosely inspired by the concept that you
39:59developed.
40:00So, my thing is, how much do we value the concept that I'm bringing?
40:06I want to increase my equity in the...
40:08Concept?
40:09In the concept.
40:10So, 10% of equity doesn't feel like enough.
40:15No.
40:17I'm fine if we want to start here.
40:19I would like this to be a starting point.
40:21I can't do that.
40:23It's something that I created.
40:25It's like I'm giving you my everything.
40:27I want to give you more, but I don't...
40:31Know how.
40:31No, I know how.
40:32I don't agree with it.
40:41It's like, I have this creation, and I'm just discounting it.
40:46That's the feeling.
40:47I want to be as polite as I could be, but as direct as I could be.
40:51It's a cooking school.
40:53I get it.
40:53And you didn't develop the concept of cooking school, and you didn't develop the concept
40:58of a retail store.
40:59What I see in you is the ability to take something that somebody else created long before all
41:05of us, and you made it better.
41:07That maybe is where we have a disconnect, that it's your execution and your work ethic and
41:13your intelligence that I'm putting value on, not the cooking school.
41:18So I think the struggle that I'm having, and I had it when I put this together, is like,
41:22I'm not buying the business, and you didn't invent anything.
41:25I get it.
41:26There's nothing proprietary about it other than one, two, three.
41:30That's the value.
41:32Do you agree that you don't want to sell your business?
41:34I agree.
41:34Okay.
41:35And do you agree that what you have is unique but not proprietary?
41:39I agree.
41:40And then if it doesn't work, I lose my money, but you didn't lose your business, and you
41:47got paid to do it.
41:48The risk is squarely on me.
41:50In his point of view, he's bringing much more to the table than needs to be considered
41:54than what I thought, and I see where he's coming from.
41:57So I'm starting to think that, you know what, Christina?
42:00It's everything I wanted.
42:02Everything.
42:03Because to me, it's never about a number, and it's never about money.
42:06I like this.
42:09Now you want that deal.
42:11So we're just coming back to that.
42:13You're breaking my balls.
42:14I love it.
42:15Get used to it.
42:17Yeah.
42:18Get used to it.
42:19Okay.
42:20Okay.
42:21Awesome.
42:22We got a deal.
42:23Finally.
42:24I don't think I processed it yet.
42:25It's like everything I've done so far is paying off, and now I'm building the life that
42:32is going to allow me to have a family.
42:35It's priceless.
42:36I cannot dream of anything more than this.
42:39Experiential retail is the future of retail.
42:42The key to making a great investment is to invest in the right people, people who are
42:48willing to tighten up and modify their process.
42:51With this team and my ability to pair them with a great infrastructure, the scalability and
42:57growth of this concept could be unbelievable.
43:00How do you feel?
43:01Great.
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