A funny thing happened on an episode of CNBC’s “The Profit” earlier this year.
Host Marcus Lemonis had decided to invest in a company called Grafton Furniture in Miami. When he arrived at the company’s headquarters, he gathered the staff in the workshop and asked them one question:
“Where are you from?”
Not “What’s your role?” “How much money do you make?” or “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
Again: “Where are you from?”
The staff was eager to answer. And their responses were revealing.
GIFs from “The Profit”/CNBC.
And…
And…
…they said.
Lemonis knows — from personal experience — what opportunities are possible in the U.S.
Images from “The Profit”/CNBC.
Lemonis was born in Lebanon and adopted by a couple living in America when he was an infant. For him, the U.S. was — and continues to be — the land of opportunity. Living here allowed him to build a billion-dollar company that employs hundreds.
That’s why a lot of people come here — to work for an honest living and make a better life for their kids.
“The most beautiful part of America is that they give us a chance … to come to this country, to make a living, to provide for our families.”
A diverse, largely immigrant staff isn’t an impediment to a good business — it’s a selling point. And being a magnet for immigrants is one of America’s greatest strengths.
Grafton Furniture and its largely immigrant staff is doing very well.
Thanks in part to Lemonis’ investment and advice, Grafton’s margins recently increased by 20%. Their service gets terrific reviews. And the company shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
That’s the American dream.
“The most beautiful part of America is that they give us a chance … to come to this country, to make a living, to provide for our families,” Lemonis says in the episode.
He’s 100% right.
