Marcus Lemonis was the guest speaker at this month’s Latin American Economic Development Authority (LAEDA) dinner at the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center in Camden. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Lemonis, he is the chairman and CEO of Camping World and Good Sam Enterprises, and the star of CNBC’s The Profit, a reality show about saving small businesses. One of his key themes of the evening was the responsibility that comes along with running a business. Giving back to the community was a key topic, but during the course of the question and answer period, someone asked him about return on investment models and how he decides whether or not to buy a broken business. To our surprise, Lemonis said he doesn’t really factor return on investment into his decision-making, but instead looks more at people, process and product.
I couldn’t help but think that what’s driven our business over the last twenty seven years and the fact that “committed” people are an essential part of our company’s success. Profits always follow good business practices driven by good people!
So, from a billionaire to a struggling entrepreneur there is another valuable lesson to be learned . . . care about your people your business will flourish.