Madam C. J Walker Essay

One of the most famous entrepreneurs from the twentieth century, Madam C.J Walker once stated, "I got my start by giving myself a start.” Most entrepreneurs can agree with the statement, but in Walkers case, I found that she was more of a superhero entrepreneur than any other person I would have selected. Walkers upbringing was anything but glamorous. Against all odds, she was still able to become one of the most, if not the most successful business women, black or white of her time. After researching her career and business ventures of providing hair care products to African-American women, I found that she carried many of the core competencies discussed in our class. Opportunity identification, opportunity assessment, risk management, creative

(Gates, 2013) According to the biography website, her parent both died by the time she was seven, making her an orphan. After her parent’s death, she went to live with her sister, who had a husband she did not care for. Moving away from her sister because of issues with her husband had caused Walker to marry by the time she was fourteen years old. She had one daughter A ’Leila, from this marriage because when Walker was twenty years old her husband would die in an unknown accident. She moved to St. Louis where she met Charles J. Walker, who she would later marry and he would help Walker promote her business in the future and helped her promote her name Madam C.J Walker. (Entrepreneur website, 2008) So, as you can see Walker had a lot of adjustments to deal with in her life at an early age. I found that these events in her life are some of the reasons she became the first the first black self-made millionaire. (Entrepreneur website, 2008) Walker was able to adapt, move in a swift matter get her business off the ground, and never allowed any obstacle stop