All Year-Round Designs Claimed

Gem story was written by: Marcus Mulenga

From the earliest recollections of her life, Precious has been wielding her artistic talents to sketch captivating portraits. The very act of rendering brought her siblings and herself to life on paper. A standout memory from her youth includes fashioning her classmates into television show characters, sparking enthusiasm among them. As she matured, art evolved into her sanctuary during her college years. Amidst her academic rigor, art was her refuge from the academic tumult. A proclivity for mathematics, combined with her passion for creativity, incited her journey into entrepreneurship. While her family adhered to the conventional 9-to-5 trajectory, Precious found her heart yearning for the autonomy of self-employment, indulging her creative spirit and assuming full control of her days.

Today, her dreams have taken root and blossomed into reality. With a decade of entrepreneurial experience under her belt and seven years as a professional artist, she secured her inaugural commissioned artwork sale in 2014. Filled with apprehension, she ventured beyond her familial realm to complete a creation for a non-relative. Her deftness and customer empathy converged, sealing her inaugural sale and birthing the gem that is Precious Henshaw Art. A steadfast commitment to customer satisfaction has remained her lodestar, articulated in her words: “I deeply care about my customers and their experience. I want them to be able to get what they need.”

Even amid the pandemic, her dedication held unwavering. Precious actively surveyed her customer base, seeking new avenues to explore. The inputs she received led to diverse initiatives, from a Patreon page featuring monthly art history videos to offering painting tutorial videos through a membership model. Transforming some of her works into digital files for online sale was her brainchild, streamlining the process by eliminating shipping concerns. Through these adaptations, she adeptly catered to her customers’ needs, navigating the COVID challenges. Astonishingly, her company’s revenue doubled during this period, a testament to her resourcefulness and time management skills.

These traits she champions as essential for budding entrepreneurs and artists. While leaping into uncharted waters may evoke trepidation, resourcefulness facilitates constructing the plane as you plummet. Effective time management is paramount, for it dispels the myth of spending every moment painting. She encourages allocating as little as 10-15 minutes to painting, if that’s what your schedule allows. Precious accentuates the significance of tracking painting time and allocating sufficient slots to accomplish tasks. Embracing criticism and welcoming honest feedback are also pivotal. Catering to specific customer requirements often reveals solutions that can benefit a broader clientele. Recently, addressing a customer’s file format challenge not only assisted that individual but also pre-emptively resolved a common issue for others.

The tale of Precious Henshaw is multifaceted and compelling. She steered clear of tradition to carve a unique path, nourishing her creative and entrepreneurial inclinations. Her journey bestowed invaluable, albeit at times tough, lessons that cultivated her business acumen. Inspired by her insights, she launched the Freelance to Full-time podcast, available for tuning in on Mondays across podcast platforms. As 2023 unfurls, Precious gears up for a shift from self-portraits to landscapes and floral paintings, all accessible as digital downloads. A musical venture is also underway, with her piano skills harmonizing with a friend’s cello talents for a duet. From artistry to music, Precious Henshaw’s ceaseless creative endeavors and entrepreneurial zeal paint her as an exceptional Gem, one we are thrilled to introduce to you.