C.J. Walker, the first woman to become a self-made millionaire.

Madam C. J. Walker, the first woman to become a self-made millionaire: orphaned at 7, married at 14 and mother at 17.

Her life story is very interesting, being the first woman to become a self-made millionaire at a time when women like her did not have many chances in life. Her life is very interesting, this being the first woman who became a millionaire by her own efforts in the history of the USA, at a time when women, and especially those of color, did not have many chances in life.

Sarah Breedlove was born on a cotton plantation in Louisiana and had five siblings. Like most children of that time, Sarah started working alongside her parents from an early age.

Sarah was the first child in her family to be born free, after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in all Confederate states free.

Madam C. J. Walker, orphaned at 7, married at 14 and widowed at 20.

Sarah was orphaned when she was only 7 years old. Her mother died of a cholera epidemic in 1872. Her father remarried but died a year later. She remained in the care of her older sister and her brother-in-law, Jesse Powell.

Because of the contemptuous behavior she endured from her brother-in-law, Sarah married a laborer named Moses McWilliams. He was only 14 at the time. Three years later, Sarah gave birth to her daughter, Leila, at which point she decided to make any sacrifice for her daughter to have a better life. But life was against him. Shortly after Lelia turned 2, Moses was killed in an accident, and Sarah was left alone with a child, only 20 years old.

Sarah remarried in 1894, but separated from her second husband, John Davis, in 1903.

The young woman moved to the city of St. Louis, where he worked in a laundry. She earned a little over $1 a day. Working up to 14-hour days, Madam C. J. Walker managed to save enough money to send her daughter to Knoxville College.

In 1906, Sarah married Charles Joseph Walker, who worked in advertising. Thus she became known as Madam C. J. Walker. This would be the beginning of her success. Her own problems led her to open her own business

When Madam C. J. Walker was about 30 years old her hair began to fall out. The cause was an accumulation of stress and years of using poor quality hair products.

But she was not alone. In fact, most black women of that time had the same problem, but there were no hair care products on the market for those women.

Madam C. J. Walker tried various products for her problem, but without success. Finding nothing suitable, she began experimenting with her own hair care remedies.

Madam C. J. Walker later told a reporter that she had a dream in which she was told what ingredients to use to create the miracle product. In just a few weeks, his hair problems were visibly improved. Because her friends showed interest in that cure, she realized that she could sell the product and start a business.

Thus, Madam C. J. Walker prepared a larger quantity of that miracle product at home, after which she began to sell from door to door to friends and neighbors, offering free samples. Her husband contributed with practical advice, which the new businesswoman put into practice.

This technique worked, and black women from St. Louis began to buy the products with enthusiasm. It was around this time that Sarah learned that her brother in Denver had died, leaving behind a widow and four daughters. For this reason, he decided to move there to help them, where he continued to sell his products door-to-door with continued success.

In 1910, Madam C. J. Walker moved to Indianapolis, where she built a factory, a hair salon, a laboratory for her products and a beauty school. It’s employees were mainly women, even in important positions, which was totally unusual for those times.

By 1917, the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company had around 3,000 employees and over 20,000 salespeople. They used the model that companies like Avon or Oriflame adopted decades later. The company founded by Madam C. J. Walker became the most successful American business of black people. Also, Madam C. J. Walker became the first self-made millionaire woman in the US.

After becoming a successful woman, Madam C. J. Walker did not forget where she came from. He gave back to the community more than he received. He opened social and educational centers and offered scholarships to black students to encourage them to follow their dreams.

Madam C. J. Walker died in 1919, at only 51 years old, due to complications related to hypertension. The company remained in the management of his daughter, A’Lelia Walker.

Translated from Romanian to English.

Source DespreLume.ro

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