The Family-First Entrepreneur: How to Achieve Financial Freedom Without Sacrificing What Matters Most

by Steve Chou

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Most entrepreneurs start a business seeking freedom but end up in a prison of hundred-hour workweeks isolated from their loved ones. This book is a guide to do entrepreneurship differently—letting go of the hustle and embracing a family-first mindset instead. We all want a comfortable life with plenty of time for family and friends. This vision is what inspired Steve Chou to strike out on his own over a decade ago. But what he found was a nonstop schedule of never-ending work that wore him and his family down. The hallmarks of modern business are making people miserable and preventing them from enjoying life’s greatest gifts. Business owners get stuck on the hamster wheel of hustle only to end up burned out and looking for a better way. For fifteen years, Steve Chou has run two successful seven-figure businesses in twenty hours a week or fewer, leaving plenty of time for family, friends, and leisure. In The Family-First Entrepreneur , he shares profound insights and practical advice on business and life, demonstrating that you can, in fact, pursue your dream without sacrificing what matters most. Chou offers a series of simple principles that can guide every decision you make, helping you establish a solid foundation upon which you can build the life you’ve dreamed of while comfortably supporting those you love.

Genres: Business, Entrepreneurship, Audiobook, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 16, 2023

Reviews

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book via Goodreads giveaway.
It was ok.
The book is well written and edited, it was easy to read but started to get a little verbose and repetitive about halfway through. Steve has some good advice and food for thought, however, none of this is earth-shattering and it read very similar to other business-entrepreneur type books (including mentioning their own businesses by name probably over a hundred times). Yet again, a post secondary educated person moves from a corporate job to running their own business, a lot of these how-to books make a lot of assumptions about the baseline people are coming from in order to utilize this information, in my opinion. Also, much of this is conceptual and obviously doesn’t get into details regarding legal and tax implications. It is US-centric. Minus points for saying Elon Musk is admirable. Plus points for the thoughtful quitting quiz which is applicable with or without the desire to start your own business.
Worth reading if you haven’t read books like this before and are interested in starting your own business, know about business, and have time and capital. Otherwise, you’re not missing a lot.

[ChooChooTrain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beauty of The Family-First Entrepreneur lies in its creative ability to inspire confidence to succeed in whatever you put your mind to. The author, Steve Chou, encourages us to take control of our lives rather than letting work dictate what is most important, bridging the gap between work and personal life. Through a recollection of all of his personal experiences, Readers gain an understanding of what aided Steve's journey and what to avoid when starting a business, really digging deep into what we can do to keep what we love.
This book really helped me work through the steps as someone who has always wanted to start a business but wasn't sure where to start, while also keeping me interested in the overall timeline of Steve Chou's journey. As a student, this book has definitely motivated me to keep trying to achieve success by starting my business without having to worry about losing time for my schoolwork and friends.

[Toni Herrbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want business advice you can actually implement? What I enjoyed about this book is that the stories and examples are relatable and the tips and strategies given are things anyone can put to use in their business.

I like the work smarter not harder theme that carries throughout the book and appreciate the idea that most people start their own business to gain freedom, not to be chained to the grind of entrepreneurship.

Highly recommend for anyone tired of sacrificing their family for their business goals. You can find a balance between business and family - this book will convince you of that!

[Holda Crocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of practical, down-to-earth business-building advice for people with genuine lifestyle constraints (family!), this book offers surprising encouragement and inspiration. Steve Chou has walked the path, stumbled off to learn some hard lessons, found his way back and gifted the rest of us with his insights. A DIY guide but with emphasis on building a right-sized business while keeping your family life in tact and values in mind. I loved reading more about the human decision-making behind the scenes of Steve's businesses.

[Tanya Rofani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Chou is a well respected e-commerce builder and teacher. His book provides practical and actionable information to start an e-commerce business from finding an idea to validating and marketing the idea and launching the business.

He doesn't promise 'passive income' overnight. The book provides realistic information and sets out the work required to start and sustain an online venture. He encourages taking action to make your first $1000. All in all, it is a very practical resource if your seriously considering e-commerce.

[B.J. VDubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Chou did an amazing job chronicling his journey through entrepreneurship with his focus on having the time to be there for his family. He demonstrated the pitfalls he encountered, as well as the temptations and lures of scaling to reach that next goal, along with the costs to his ultimate goal in doing so. All in all, this book is an excellent read for anyone looking for a lifestyle entrepreneurial adventure. That was the main reason I read it; I want to be a family-first-entrepreneur, so why not learn from someone who has already done it.

[Haley McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been listening to the My Wife Quit Her Job podcast for over a year now so I finally got around to listening to Steve’s book! I’ve always liked his thought process, interview style, and delivery. While the earlier parts of the book felt a bit repetitive and I generally get more out of the podcast I liked the focus on family-first and do feel like this is a fresh perspective to entrepreneurship. I’ve already learned a lot from him so I’ll definitely keep listening.

[Alex Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots to learn

The title does give a good description of the book. However, there is much more to it. One of the pieces of thinking I’m taking away is to have a business that emphasizes profit and not top line revenue. Choose to do things for you and follow what is going to make you happy. You are going to be the one who knows what that is. Anyone running a business and wants to grow it along with their health and family, I recommend reading this.

[HeartEyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenges the usual ideas about being successful in business. The author tells stories and gives expert advice to help readers find a good balance between work and personal life while making their business thrive. The book gives practical tips. It's a book that all entrepreneurs should read if they want to be happy in both their work and personal lives.

[William Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this one has got to be in my Top 5. This one had a similar impact of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” for me and my life. It resonated deeeeeeep within, well done.

There are topics that are discussed and taught in this book that took me years to learn the hard way. While our situations were exactly the same, they was dangerously close. Handing this one to everyone entrepreneur I know.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best insights here weren't around how to be a family-oriented entrepreneur (other than him saying it's possible), but more general advice and experiences on how to start and grow an online business. His own strategy of continuing to work his full-time day job while slowly growing his online businesses over several years was helpful.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has the same desire as me- figure out a way to work and provide for your family without compromising time with them. I was really hoping for more concrete examples of his schedule and how he works around spending time with his family, but there really weren’t any. He does suggest having a lot of automated systems in place that you can set once and be done so that you’re not wasting time doing the tedious tasks that systems can do for you. It was helpful to read, but I wish there were more suggestions for how to actually go about it.