Marcus Lemonis has done well for himself. He's a self-made millionaire and the star of CNBC's hit show "The Profit." But if he had to go back and start from scratch?
He'd sell cars.
That's because he likes reaping the direct rewards of his hustle.
"If I lost everything today and I had to start over, I would go sell cars. Because I'm working with somebody else's inventory, I control my own pay plan. I control my schedule. I can get up at 5 in the morning and work 'til 10 at night," says Lemonis. "And I enjoy it."
The last bit is important. Lemonis says he has never done a job that he hasn't enjoyed. After a few odd jobs in school, ranging from mowing lawns to being a club promoter in college, he got into the automobile industry and then the RV business.
Today, he is the chairman and CEO of recreational vehicle dealership Camping World, which he took public this month in an initial public offering that raised $251 million.
No matter what Lemonis ever did for work, he says he found that it was really important to enjoy it.
The other reason Lemonis would sell cars if he lost everything is that he says he knows he can do it. And he's a true entrepreneur at heart.
"I can control my own destiny," says Lemonis. "I think it's one of the hardest jobs in this country. But it's one of those jobs where the work and the reward ... there's a direct correlation, if you follow the process. You can see the reward in your commission check. It doesn't get much simpler than that."
