Capital Gaines, by Chip Gaines

Chip Gaines and his lovely wife and partner Joanna have won the hearts of America with their hit TV show Fixer Upper.  Before they became an HGTV sensation, they dabbled in a variety of businesses.  Chip's new book, Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff tells the story of his business successes (as well as a few failures) and spreads some of the wisdom of his ways.

If you've seen Fixer Upper, you've seen the teamwork between Chip and Joanna.  This is a theme throughout the book.  Even while they were dating, Joanna had his back and was there to help him out of a jam (or two or three).  He writes, "Jo and I have always believed that it is us against the world. . . . We know that in all the world there is this one singular human who will be on our team every time."  As they made business decisions and took huge risks, it was always a collaborative effort.  Of course, as he told an employee, "People are always asking us who's in charge, and the answer is, when Jo is gone, I'm the boss."

Another theme is taking risks and working hard.  Chip's career has been marked by big risks and lots of hard work.  He assures us that "if you do the hard work and never quit--and pick yourself up when things go sideways--good things will be waiting on the other side."  Speaking of having a winning mentality, he compares life and business to a tennis match.  You will lose some games and win others, but "with a winner mentality, there's a positive waiting for you no matter the outcome."  In the end, "winning and losing isn't an event; it's a mind-set."

Capital Gaines is full of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially if they are already admirers of the Gaineses.  While Fixer Upper took the Gaines's businesses to new heights, I have no doubt that they would have continued to be successful even without the exposure the show brought.  Chip and Joanna make a great team, a true partnership in life and business.  Capital Gaines captures the fun-loving, hard-working, slightly crazy Chip that we see on the TV show, while also passing along some memorable nuggets of wisdom for business and life.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!