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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.

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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.

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