Paula Blankenship

In 2013, Paula Blankenship found herself in a relatable position: she was in a rut. In her 50s, she was  coming out of a bad marriage and living in a new town as a single mother, taking care of a teenager who seemed to really want to become a redneck. At the time, she worked as a commercial interior designer. Before that, she had owned and operated retail furniture stores in her hometown in Tennessee. Her passion for home interiors, DIY projects, and design culminated into the unique way she got herself unstuck: To keep her son busy after school, Paula started revamping furniture around the house. One small project led to another, and the magic of seeing her impact around her place did the rest. She came up with a paint business to engage her son with something entrepreneurial—then realized that there should be a product that eliminated the need to prep surfaces before painting. Paula’s original invention, the Finish All and All-In-One paint lines, allowed customers to simply wipe off a surface and proceed with painting. Armed with a high-quality product and significant social media savvy, she expanded her business, Heirloom Traditions Paint, which remains one of the very few women-owned companies in the industry and is now worth millions.