Five rules for success according to Marcus Lemonis

After dozens of deals and more than $60 million spent, Marcus Lemonis is ready to share his most important rules for success. We take a look at some of the principles that have helped make him the successful entrepreneur he is today.

Below are five rules Marcus follows for success.

Don't Be An Ass

Over the years, Marcus has met hundreds of entrepreneurs, their employees and their families. In that time, he's also met several jerks. Marcus makes it very clear, "when it comes to success in business, don't be an ass."

Marcus explains, "Anger, yelling and screaming don't make anyone want to come to work early and stay late."

Make Your Employees Number 1

Many business experts subscribe to the philosophy "the customer is number one" but not Marcus Lemonis. He believes employees should be prioritized over the customer.

"My theory is that if you treat the employee right, that ultimately that employee will be the one to interact with the customer and their experience will be better," says Marcus.

Know What You Don't Know

"I know what I am good at, and I know what I am not good at."

Marcus explains that it's important to know the areas that you are not good at. The reason? You can always fill in the gap by finding people who are successful in the areas you are not as strong in and then make them part of your team.

Be Authentic

"If you're going to tell your story, you better make sure it's a work of non-fiction," according to Marcus.

This is something Murchison-Hume owner Max Kater clearly struggled with. Even though the company was on the verge of collapsing, she carried herself as if nothing was wrong. Marcus believes she was trying to give the impression of wealth and success. He ended up walking away from the company.

Be Transparent

"I'm going to find what you're hiding, and the more I sniff something that you're hiding, I am going to find it," Marcus says.

Marcus doesn't want to do business with someone he can't trust. An example of a business that wasn't honest with Marcus is Artistic Stitch, a silk and screening business. As soon as Marcus started diving into the financial statements, he discovered several red flags including multiple personal expenses on the company credit card.

Watch the full episode, "Ten Rules for Success", to get even more advice from Marcus Lemonis on becoming a successful business owner.