Madam C. J. Walker Mission Statement

Background Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur given the title of “the nation’s first woman self-made millionaire”, due to her successful line of hair care products. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867- four years after Abraham Lincoln enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and two years after the Civil War had ended (Bundles 2016).

Walker’s early life endured countless obstacles before her business achievements. Her parents were sharecroppers on a cotton plantation in Delta, Louisiana, and like many children at that time, she began working in the cotton fields at a young age. It was not until her parents died after contacting a severe case of the yellow fever outbreak, that Sarah moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to live

Walker wanted to create a competitive advantage. In order to do so, she challenged herself to create a unique value proposition with her products, this was through advertising and product distinctiveness. It was evident that Madam C.J. Walker understood the power of advertising. To defy the beauty standards at the time that idealized European hair texture and facial features, she boldly presented her own face on her products in order to appeal to her core market which was African American women. In addition, she wanted to set herself apart from her competitors by including “before and after” photographs and testimonials from customers, to indicate that results were beneficial. This strategy allowed her to expand into the Caribbean’s (Bundles

Walker’s success has significantly influenced the view of female entrepreneurs in the past and present day. Being the first of her kind, she was able to lead the path for woman hesitant to start a business due to societal norms.

Firstly, she has taught me to take initiative. By doing so you develop an internal locus of control in which you believe you can influence the events and outcomes of your life. In her experience, she faced numerous adversities, including becoming an orphan at such a young age, facing emotional and physical abuse, the loss of her first husband, and hair loss. However, she did not allow such circumstances to stop her from wanting more for her life (History.com Staff 2009). Along with hard work and perseverance she was able to overcome her adversities.

In addition, her determination showed that you have to be ahead of the curve. Being an African American woman in her time was exceptionally difficult as equality between race and gender were heavily unmet. However, she did not allow such a challenge to stop her from going after an idea, which was to start her own venture. As she quickly began to grow her business, Walker began making 10 times the average amount of an American weekly and twice the amount of a white male made weekly (Menzel