Ep 21. An Inside Look: Ashtae Products

The Profit is a successful reality TV show that focuses on Marcus Lemonis, a self-made millionaire who helps struggling businesses by investing his expertise and money into the company. In season 7 episode 21, the show titled "An Inside Look: Ashtae Products" provides a detailed glimpse into the operations, strategies, and challenges of Ashtae Products, a hair care company based in North Carolina.

Ashtae Products was founded in 1994 by Dr. Willie Morrow, a renowned hair stylist who revolutionized the beauty industry with his breakthrough hair products. Dr. Willie has always been passionate about improving the condition of hair, especially in the African American community. He wanted to give women the power to style their hair in multiple ways by providing them with quality hair care products.

The episode initially concentrates on showing Marcus Lemonis' visit to the Ashtae Products' headquarters, where he meets Dr. Willie and his long-time business partner and friend, Henry Range. Marcus is impressed by the company's growth over the past years, with over 800 products that include shampoos, conditioners, gels, and hair sprays, sold in over 3,000 beauty supply stores across the United States.

Marcus' primary aim is to understand the business structure of Ashtae Products and examine their financials. During his sit-down with Dr. Willie, Henry, and the company's controller, he examines every aspect of the business, and he's surprised to find out that Ashtae Products is run more as Dr. Willie's passion project than a profitable enterprise. The company's financials were disorganized, and keeping track of sales and expenses was chaotic.

Marcus quickly identifies Ashtae Products' major gaps, including their outdated methods of hair care product distribution, how expensive it was to manufacture their products, and how the company heavily relied on one person to promote the product. Marcus' impact also revealed how little Dr. Willie and Henry knew about their gross margin. Marcus knew that he had his work cut out for him if he wanted to make the company profitable.

Throughout the episode, viewers get to see Marcus' impact as he begins working with Ashtae Products to strengthen its finances, improve product distribution, and streamline the business strategy. Marcus advises Dr. Willie to streamline his product line and reduce manufacturing costs wherever possible, as doing so would increase profit margins.

Since Ashtae Products relied heavily on a single promoter, Marcus advises the company to find new ways to market its products using modern and digital marketing methods. Marcus situated a complete online shop and began updating the company's social media and website.

By the end of the episode, Ashtae Products' management team finally understood that they needed to change their mindset and adopt a more modern, data-oriented business approach. Marcus Lemonis also taught the team simple but effective ways of tracking their expenses, sales and monitoring company performance.

Overall, Ashtae Products' episode provides the audience with an in-depth understanding of the hair care industry and how small companies struggle to survive and grow. Marcus Lemonis' impact on Ashtae Products greatly helped the company in cutting costs, and ultimately improved its profit margins. For any business owner, Ashtae Products' episode is an excellent source of inspiration and valuable insights into growing a profitable enterprise.