Anthony Leggio and his girlfriend, Kristen, moved from Long Island, NY, to Surfside Beach, SC, to settle down and start a family together. The couple secured a $200,000 loan from Anthony’s father and opened ASL Sign Sales & Service, a one-stop store for signs of all kinds servicing a wide range of businesses and industries. The overhead for the shop was expensive. He had to fund the latest in industrial printing equipment and full-service trucks to get the business started off on the right foot.
In its second year in business, ASL Sign Sales & Service sold $300,000 worth of sales, making a profit of $45,000. Anthony is an ambitious entrepreneur who thought he could do so much more with the business. He was also known as being a bit of a hothead. Would Marcus Lemonis be able to settle Anthony down enough to make a deal that would be good for both of them?
ASL Sign Sales & Service on The Profit
The Profit Season 2 Episode 16
Marcus arrived at ASL Sign Sales & Service and received a tour of the facilities from Anthony. Josh ran the machinery in the shop and was responsible for all of the design work. When Marcus asked him what Anthony did in the daily operations of the business, Josh told him that everyone liked to keep Anthony outside. Everyone agreed that it was wise to keep Anthony out of the sales process, as he was too overbearing and aggressive. Even Kristin admitted that Anthony could be overbearing and loud.
Anthony had only recently begun to receive a paycheck and Kristen, who was an important part of the operation, was still not getting paid. Anthony insisted Kristen did not want for anything and that he would buy her whatever she needed.
After Marcus walked the floor, the manufacturing area, and met the sales staff, he met Anthony’s father, Louis. Anthony had never paid back the initial $200,000 loan to start the business. A stunned Marcus wondered what else he should know about the man he was contemplating going into business with. Louis said that his son acted as if he knew it all and was unwilling to take any kind of criticism or suggestions.
It did not take long for Marcus to witness Anthony’s ways of dealing with situations firsthand. A customer had come into the store looking to refurbish a sign for their business a mile from ASL Sign Sales & Service. Anthony took over the conversation from Josh and made his pitch, offering to throw in business cards with the deal. When the customer left, Marcus asked Anthony how he could have improved his sales pitch. Anthony responded that he could have given him more business cards and Marcus told him he was not being serious enough about his business.
Anthony got upset and Marcus tried to calm him down by explaining that he was just trying to find out everything he could about how ASL Sign Sales & Service was run and managed. Marcus snapped off his sunglasses and walked away.
Looking to the Finances
In taking a look into the financials of ASL Sign Sales & Service, Marcus was pleased to see that sales had increased every year and that they currently had a positive cash flow with $135,000 in receivables and just $25,000 on the debt side of the ledger. However, the original loan from Anthony’s father was not on the books and Marcus learned that Louis has been paying their rent each month.
In speaking separately with Kristen, Marcus also learned that neither she nor Louis had any equity in the business, despite his loan and her hard work. Marcus tried to explain to Kristen how Anthony’s attitude and actions could harm the success of the business, and any potential deal he would make.
Marcus and Anthony met at a local restaurant to see if they could work out a deal. Marcus wondered why Anthony even called The Profit when the business was doing quite well. Anthony wanted to expand ASL Sign Sales & Service to cater to large national companies instead of the smaller clients he was dealing with now. Marcus felt that he could do business with Anthony to have service all of his sign needs, but he didn’t have to be partners to do that.
Marcus likes to partner with people he feels he can trust and count on. He wasn’t sure Anthony could be counted to accept the kinds of changes Marcus would want to make to the process. He wasn’t ready to write a check at this point, but wasn’t walking away and would continue to work with Anthony to see where he could take ASL Sign Sales & Service for the future. The two shook on this agreement.
Marcus started on the exterior of the business. He got rid of the debris that was littering the front of the store. Marcus, Anthony, and Kristen then went to work on straightening out and organizing the inside of the store.
Anthony, Josh, and Marcus went to Pirate Land, the customer Anthony met with when Marcus first came into the store. As Josh described the design elements of the project to the customer, Anthony interrupted several times. Eventually, Marcus simply told Anthony to let Josh talk and make his pitch. Josh let the customer know the job would take about three weeks, but Anthony jumped in to say they could get it done in a week. The customer stood by looking confused and the meeting ended without a sale being made.
Marcus had talked with several people about Anthony, most thought Anthony would not make a good business partner. He ultimately decided to walk away from ASL Sign Sales & Service without making an investment offer to Anthony.
ASL Sign Sales & Service After The Profit
Despite not being able to secure a deal with Marcus and The Profit, Anthony and ASL Sign Sales & Service still saw great success and growth. They maintain a strong social media presence, frequently updating their Facebook page with new signs they have made for some of the biggest companies in the area, including Sago House Furniture, BNC Bank, and Fairfield Marietta.
The staff remains the same, and Anthony and Kristen appear to be engaged to be married. In addition to customizing signs of all kinds, ASL Sign Sales & Service offers lighting options and will soon add vehicle wraps to their product line.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; SEO Insights is not affiliated with ASL Sign Sales & Service, The Profit, or any of its subsidiaries.
