But more than a decade later, Joanna Gaines is reconnecting with the version of herself that existed before she appeared on TV or worked alongside her husband. Their company Magnolia—which predates Fixer Upper by a decade—is now a multi-platform business. Its partnerships range from one of the most popular lines at Target and magazines with the former Meredith (now People Inc.) to Loloi Rugs and York Wallcoverings. Plus, Magnolia has a thriving local retail, food and beverage, and hospitality business in Waco, Texas.

The nitty-gritty of running those businesses is where Gaines thrives—and where she’s spent the past nine months returning to in a new role as president of Magnolia.

“When Fixer started, I got catapulted into this design business,” she reflects now. “For the first couple years or seasons, I really struggled with imposter syndrome because I was like—I’m not really a designer.” Instead, she says, “I’ve always loved the operations. I’ve always loved the numbers.” As a young person, she worked as the bookkeeper at her father’s tire and automotive company. But for the past decade, she says, “I poured my life into the creative side of Magnolia—and I almost had to do that because I’m not a natural creative.”

This year, Gaines has been returning to the operational place where she is most comfortable, and with that has found a renewed passion for her business. She’s been taking stock of everything their business currently includes (with its many partnerships, it’s some complicated accounting). “For a few years, the passion had left the building,” she says. While Magnolia’s brand has long been nationwide through its partnerships and media presence, its on-the-ground business has remained exclusive to Waco. “We could have scaled five years ago,” Gaines says. “We just didn’t. It wasn’t in me.”

Diving into “the stuff that’s nearest and dearest to my heart” has reignited a fire in Gaines, now 48 and a mother of five kids, most of them in college or soon to be. “I feel that instinct that it’s time to trust that this business is ready for that,” she says.

Gaines has been surprised by “how much I missed the old me.” The one who loved numbers and running a business, not only designing homes and product and planning magazine editorial. She advises other women looking to rediscover themselves or their love for what they do to take time every season to take stock of what is working and what isn’t—to find clarity. “Once you get that clarity and that vision, that’s the momentum that you need to push forward,” she says, “even when things are really hard.”

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world.

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PARTING WORDS

"To see how much these books mean to so many people and the way readers have shown up for this one really blows my mind."

— ACOTAR author Sarah J. Maas. Her latest release, A Court of Splintered Harmony, sold 1.7 million copies on its release date alone, not including audio books or non-English editions.