You probably knowJoanna Gainesas America’s favorite fixer upper.
Along with husband Chip Gaines, Joanna has built a multi-million dollar home renovation and lifestyle empire.
According toThe Sun, the pair share an estimatednet worthof $20 million.
It’s hard to imagine that Joanna was ever unsure of her future.
Nevertheless, the business mogul and TV star wasn’t always planning on building this kind of an empire.
Even after she married Chip, the pair had planned on owning just one store.
So how did Joanna manage to become one of the best-known television and home decor personalities around?
Here is the stunning transformation of Joanna Gaines.
Her multi-ethnic family faced racism and discrimination when Gaines was young.
Gaines, herself, was also a victim of teasing.
She toldDarling Magazinethat children in her class would tease her because of her ethnicity.
“That’s the last thing I want anyone to ever feel.”
She was in her sophomore year in a much larger school, as she toldDarling Magazine.
Instead, she ran to the bathroom to hide.
and ‘What’s my purpose?'"
She decided that she didn’t want to be afraid anymore, so she changed her outlook.
Her revelation made her realize that she wanted to help other women with their insecurities, too.
However, once the pair met, their plans changed.
By the end of their first date, Joanna knew that Chip might be the right man for her.
Soon after, they embarked upon their very-first fixer-upper project.
As Joanna toldToday, Chip had started flipping houses while they were dating.
“Our first fixer upper together, we really learned how to work together,” she said.
“I learned what not to do from a design standpoint.”
Of course, despite the mistakes they made, Joanna realized that she enjoyed interior design.
The couple continued buying, renovating, and selling houses in the years that followed.
That same year, they opened their very-first shop in Waco, Texas calledMagnolia.
The store helped Joanna to improve her confidence and skills in design.
“I would literally have no idea,” she confessed.
“And so I would start making stuff up.”
It turns out, her advice was actually pretty good.
This helped Joanna build her confidence and develop her own sense of style.
Then, in2018, they had a fifth child, Crew.
Becoming a mother was, understandably, a life-changing experience for Joanna.
For one thing, it meant changing her priorities.
So, she took a step back from her business and focused on parenthood.
And she has always kept the same attitude of family first, job second.
As she toldSouthern Living, “Being a mom is at the core of who I am.
It’s my top priority.”
In terms of raising her kids, Joanna took inspiration from her own parents.
After becoming angry, she started drawing up ideas of how they could transform it.
The next thing they knew, they were international stars.
“Never would we have thought it would be anywhere close to this,” she went on.
… We just lost steam we lost the purpose in it."
Another reason for taking a break was that the couple wanted to focus on family.
As Chip explained toPeople, thechildrenwere beginning to become negatively affected by the pressures of reality TV.
Apparently, they started to ask why their parents were never at home.
It sounds like this couple definitely made a smart decision.
However, Joanna had been hesitant to take on the huge project at first.
“I really was like, ‘It scares me,'” she recalled.
Chip finally convinced her to take the leap by bringing her up to the ballroom.
Afterward, “I could see it, I could see its history,” she said.
“As I am getting older the idea of beauty is very different for me,” she said.
It sounds like she has learned a lot about the meaning of beauty.
“It didn’t take me long to regret that moment,” she wrote.
When she finally got to watch the sun set with her father, she had a revelation.
Think about that: This one little moment gave her a whole new outlook on life.
In avideofor Baylor University, Gaines recalled several key moments when this occurred.
As a child, she once heard God say, “Joanna, I have a calling for you.
You’re going to have a platform one day.”
At the time, she didn’t even understand.
He made her a promise that if she stepped back, she’d eventually come back stronger than ever.
Then, she heard God’s voice again just after starting “Fixer Upper.”
Apparently, he told her it was time for her to reopen Magnolia.
So she did, and the store became hugely successful.
As Joanna toldFast Company, the plan was to fill the internet with real-life inspirational people like themselves.
One thing’s for sure Joanna Gaines’ empire certainly hasn’t stopped growing yet.
