Get All Access for $5/mo

How Guy Fieri's Empire Almost Burned to the Ground The Food Network wild man opens up about writing his latest book and overcoming every small-business owner's worst nightmare.

By Dan Bova

Once upon a time, Guy Fieri was a food-obsessed entrepreneur who dreamed of running his own restaurant. Fast forward a few years and the man doesn't have one restaurant -- he has 45. Fieri's spots such as Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, Guy Fieri's Chophouse, El Burro Borracho and Guy's Burger Joint can be found across the country.

As you probably know, the culinary hurricane stars in Emmy Award-winning TV shows, has written a bunch of New York Times bestselling books and just recently added a wine label, Hunt & Ryde, to his empire. His appetite for success is matched only by his fans' appetite for his down-home grub.

Related: 'I Have No Portion Control!' Padma Lakshmi's Eating and Business Plan

While in New York promoting the release of his latest tome, Guy Fieri Family Food, we got him to stop by our office for a few minutes to talk about his new projects and his philosophy on running a massively successful empire. We were blown away by his energy, not to mention the trays of Bacon Mac 'n' Cheese Burgers he brought for the staff.

While Guy Fieri's success seems like a given at this point, he, like all entrepreneurs, faced immense struggles that took energy, self-belief and a whole lot of back-breaking work to overcome. For more, check out the video above.

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

More from Entrepreneur Exclusives

3 Simple Ways to Boost E-Commerce Sales

Why Your First 1,000 Customers Are Your Most Important

How to Grow Your Business By Finding New Customers

3 Stress-Busting Relaxation Exercises You Can Do Anywhere (60-Second Video)

Leadership

How to Close the Trust Gap Between You and Your Team — 5 Strategies for Leaders

Trust is tanking in your workplace. Here's how to fix it and become the boss your team needs to succeed.

Business Solutions

Save $139 on This VPN Unlimited Subscription

Rated 4.6/5 stars on the app store, this VPN solution works with all of your devices.

Marketing

5 Small Business Marketing Tactics to See Results This Quarter

Five quick and effective small business marketing strategies that can yield both short-term results and long-term success.

Science & Technology

Is AI Going to Take Over PR? Here's Where It Belongs and Where It Doesn't in Content Creation

Is artificial intelligence going to take over content creation in PR and marketing, or is it inconsequential?

Business News

Jack Dorsey Says Social Media Has an Algorithm Problem, and Elon Musk Agrees: 'We Are Being Programmed'

"The public square cannot be owned by one company," Dorsey said. "The public square, by default, is the Internet."

Business News

These Are the Most Affordable U.S. Cities for Dining Out

A new study shined the spotlight on three southern locales for cheap eats.