“One night I had a dream, and in that dream, a big black man appeared to me and told me what to mix for my hair. I made up my mind I would begin to sell it” – Madam C.J. Walker
Hello ICON,
I want to share some business and life lessons I garnered from the 4-episode movie series Self Made(available on Netflix). I highly recommend watching this series.
The movie series Self Made is based on the true story of the rise of Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919), portrayed by the legendary actress Octavia Spencer. Madam C.J. Walker was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. She is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in the Guinness Book of World Records. She founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, a hair care and cosmetics company established to serve African American women.
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.” – Madam C.J. Walker
Here are the 13 lessons I learned from the series Self Made:
Lesson 1: NEVER LET ANYONE TALK DOWN ON YOU OR BELITTLE YOU
“If I have accomplished anything in life, it is because I have been willing to work hard”. – Madam C.J Walker
Madam C.J Walker’s hair was breaking and pulling off. It was that bad her husband at the time, John Davis mocked her. This affected her self-confidence as a woman, which made her cry a lot. Addie Munroe was a lady who had developed a hair care product that solved this embarrassing problem for Sarah (later referred to as Madam C.J Walker). In exchange for this hair treatment for Sarah by Addie Munroe, Sarah did her laundry. Addie refused to allow Sarah to sell her hair treatment.
She believed Sarah was made for the laundry, and didn’t have the brains and looks to be a salesperson. It was so bad that Sarah took some hair products and sold all of them, yet she didn’t give Sarah the approval she needed to become a sales agent.
Sarah decided to make things happen by starting her own hair care products. She didn’t allow Addie’s opinion about her to keep her down, she created her own opportunity.
Lesson 2: DON’T BE AFRAID TO START
“I had little or no opportunity when I started out in life.” – Madam C.J Walker
Sarah aka Madam C.J Walker started her own hair care manufacturing company. She had to relocate to another city- Indianapolis far from her competitor (Addie Munroe) to start her company. She left her comfort zone, friends, and a few clients and moved to a different city. She had her doubts but she was never afraid to start. She just did it.
Lesson 3: DREAM BIG
“When God dreams, He dreams big. I only just follow His example”- Madam C.J Walker
Despite her little exposure and limited formal education, Madam C.J Walker always thought big, talked big, planned big, dreamed big, and took massive action toward the realization of her dream. She wanted her products to be listed in the big departmental stores across America. She actually thought on a global scale. She once planned an advertising campaign which had the tag ‘WHOLE WIDE WORLD’.
If we must succeed in life and business, we must take a cue from Mama C.J Walker.
Lesson 4: DON’T GIVE UP. BE DETERMINED TO SUCCEED
“Perseverance is my motto.”- Madam C.J Walker.
She had a lot of challenges but she was not willing to give up. Once she planned & prepared for a product launch and no one showed up at the house despite the fact that they shared flyers with many people. This didn’t stop her from continuing with her brand. At another time, she invited Mr. Booker T. Washington to her house, organized a big party for him, and invited a lot of guests but he didn’t show up. But that didn’t stop her from launching out.
Lesson 5: TURN YOUR CHALLENGES TO BIGGER OPPORTUNITIES
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them”.- Madam C.J Walker
At a certain point, Madam C.J. Walker’s factory was gutted by fire. Everyone around her tried to put out the fire to no avail. Addie Munroe came to the scene to make fun of her and also tried to woo some of her customers. This really provoked Mama C.J Walker, she walked up to Addie Munroe and openly declared she was going to build a bigger factory. Did she do it? Yes, she did.
Lesson 6: ALWAYS ASPIRE TO ENLARGE AND EXPAND YOUR ENTERPRISE
“The girls and women of our race must not be afraid to take hold of business endeavor and, by patient industry, close economy, determined effort and close application to business, wring success out of a number of business opportunities that lie at their very doors.” -Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C.J Walker always wanted to enlarge her enterprise, she didn’t think or believe her customers were only in the location where she resided. She strove to put her products in some departmental stores across America and succeeded. She leveraged this distribution window to get more customers to purchase her products.
Lesson 7: LEAVE A LEGACY
“I am not merely satisfied in making money for myself, for I am endeavoring to provide employment for hundreds of women of my race”-Madam C.J Walker
Madam C.J Walker wasn’t just interested in making money for herself, expanding her business, etc. She was also interested in impacting the lives of black women across America. At a point, she enlisted some black ladies as sales representatives in her business. Another move she made, was to empower her daughter to take over the business operations in New York.
Lesson 8: GO GLOBAL
“Always make your own money”- Madam C.J Walker
Madam C.J Walker never herself as a local champion. She saw her brand as a Global One. At one point, her husband- Charles Joseph Walker designed a logo I think “The Walker Girl” (not very sure again), but it did not fit into the vision Madam C.J Walker had about her brand. She declined to use it and made a statement about the brand she envisioned which ended with “whole wide world”.
Lesson 9: DROP THE BURDEN
“My advice to everyone expecting to go into business is to hit often and hit hard; in other words, strike with all your might.” Madam C. J. Walker
Charles Joseph Walker, husband to Madam C.J Walker had an extramarital affair with one of her top sales agents. This hurt Madam C.J. Walker so much that she had to divorce him. She just could not deal with such a betrayal and hurt. The man later went on to leak some secrets about Madam C.J Walker to her enemies.
We have to know when to “drop the burden” irrespective of whose horn is gored.
Lesson 10: BE OPEN TO WISE COUNSEL
“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it!” -Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C.J Walker had a trusted and loyal advisor who was a lawyer by the name of Ransom. He believed in her and in her dream. At a point, her invested some amount of money in her corporation although there was a twist to it, which he could have avoided.
Madam C.J Walker did not think or believe her counsel alone could take her forward. We relied on the counsel of great men like John D. Rockefeller who was her next-door neighbour.
Lesson 11: A GOOD NAME CREATES OPPORTUNITIES
“I want to live to help my race.” – Madam C. J. Walker The Holy Bible states “a good name is better than riches”. We sometimes downplay the relevance of a good name.
Once Madam C.J Walker was having a business meeting over a meal with some potential investors. The investors were talking with her when a gentleman, a friend of the investors came over to their table. He recognized Madam C.J Walker and spoke highly of her. That was all the endorsement/recommendation she needed to get this partnership deal with the investors sealed.
The investors immediately agreed to do business with her.
Like Madam C.J Walker, we must learn to do business with honesty and integrity. Our “good name” might be the key to opening the next door of expansion for us.
Lesson 12: ALWAYS MOTIVATE YOUR TEAM
“Ain’t no reward without risk”- Madam C.J Walker
Madam C.J Walker always motivated her staff. She never talked down on them. She always supported them in whatever way possible.
Lesson 13: WORK WITH A TEAM, YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE
“I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race.” Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C.J. Walker had an army of sales representatives across America. They were mostly females she recruited to sell her products as well as create an opportunity for them to be financially empowered. There was no way she could have built such a big corporation alone. So, you can’t do it alone. Get a team.
Also at some point, several ladies led by Booker T Washington’s wife gave some money to invest in her manufacturing business.
These are some of the life and business lessons I learned from the Netflix movie series- SELF MADE. Again, I highly recommend you see it immediately and when you do, share your lessons in the comment session.
Until I write to you again, like Madam C.J. Walker, GO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
