Rebel Girls Presents

Madam C. J. Walker Builds A Business by Denene Millner and Rebel Girls

This book focuses on Sarah Breedlove (aka Madam C. J. Walker). She was quite the amazing person! She was the first person in her family not born into slavery. She was also the first person to go to school in her family, even if it was only for a short amount of time. She learned the importance of education and made sure to send her daughter to a good school and then went to night school herself. It was once she met Annie Trunbo that her life changed forever. Annie had a hair care product that could help regrow hair! It was really a scalp treatment, but Sarah became a representative for Annie and sold her products. Eventually Sarah thought she could make a better product and went out on her own. She moved to Denver and experimented with different ingredients until she found the perfect mixture. She offered demonstrations and started going by Madam C. J. Walker as it had more of a mysterious feel to it which drew people in. Sarah's husband and daughter (who went to a beauty college) started helping with the business. Eventually they were the number one hair care product for black women in the US and had distribution centers around the country. She also offered classes and helped women have the skills they needed to set up their own salons, in which they would sell her products. Sarah was also the first woman to be a self-made millionaire in the United States. She truly was and still is an inspiration for any woman, regardless of background, who wants to start her own business. Sarah faced many obstacles including racial discrimination and sexist behavior from male entrepreneurs, but that never stopped her from reaching her goals! She truly was an inspirational business pioneer of her time! Even now her mansion is owned by an organization who helps women become entrepreneurs!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Rebel Girls, and Denene Millner for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Madam C. J. Walker Builds A Business. I would also like to mention that the illustrations in this book by Salini Perera were great! They were very vibrant and helped enhance the story! I also enjoyed that the back of the book had activities to practice your business skills. I would definitely recommend this book to young and/or aspiring entrepreneurs!