Exclusive: Read an excerpt from Chip Gaines' 'Capital Gaines'

USA TODAY

Chip Gaines has shared many of his successes with America. He hosts HGTV's phenomenally popular Fixer Upper with his wife, Joanna. The duo also wrote the best-selling book The Magnolia Story, which debuted at No. 2 on the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list.

But you can't have success without some failure. So Gaines struck out on his own to write about both. In Capital Gaines: The Smart Things I've Learned from Doing Stupid Stuff, (Thomas Nelson) out Oct. 17, Gaines shares his own personal story as an entrepreneur, warts and all.

Q&A: Chip Gaines on his new book, future plans and 'stupid stuff'

According to the publisher, "Chip and Joanna are simply a force of nature. Their authenticity, their energy, their humor, and their faith have already been an inspiration to millions. We're looking very much forward to helping Chip share his personal story behind how they build their business — the guts, the belly-flops, the breakthroughs — with his signature and irresistible mix of humanity and hilarity."

Read an excerpt from Capital Gaines

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Before Mexico I sure liked to tell people that I was a businessman and an entrepreneur, but there’s a big difference between starting a few businesses and actually building something that’s sustainable. And by that definition, I wasn’t operating even one truly successful business. Sure, my intentions in going to Mexico to learn Spanish were sincerely admirable, but to be honest, I was also excited about taking a few months off at the beach. I cared about these businesses and these guys big time, but I was still acting like a kid—and they deserved better than that.

For the first time, while driving that truck home with Shiner by my side, and while feeling the sheer embarrassment of being found out, I was sensing the gravity of what it takes to run a business. It dawned on me that up until then I’d been playing. An owner of a young business, or in my case three businesses, can’t be on a beach 2,000 miles away. It became very clear to me that I had to grow up and become the leader these businesses needed. Or, I thought, maybe it was time for me to cash out and sell these businesses. If nothing else, I could count them all as great learning experiences. I’ll be honest: cashing out felt like the safest, logical conclusion. The nice thing about working at some corporation is that you get to go to Mexico as soon as you've saved enough money and accrued enough time off. You don't have to give it a second thought. I began to glimpse what the life of an entrepreneur actually required: When you own a business, all of the responsibility ultimately falls on your shoulders. The buck stops with you every time.

Perhaps you have to be crazy to choose the life of an entrepreneur, but you have to be stupid to choose it without ever counting the cost.

I look back on that trip as pivotal. I learned some crucial lessons in a short amount of time, and I grew up a lot. After shaking off the doubts, I came back more motivated than ever to dig in and get after it with my young businesses. This was the catalyst I needed to create change. If it weren’t for that trip, I’m not sure I would have evolved into the businessman I’ve become.

I also realized I had put Jo in a terrible spot unintentionally. No language acquisition or dream trip was worth that. It became my mission to prove to Jo, my parents, her parents and myself that I could do this—that I was the real deal and I wouldn’t stop until I made this entrepreneurship dream a reality.

Who could’ve guessed that there was so much to learn from one misguided, bull-fighting, broken-down trip to Mexico?

For the full chapter go here.
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