Entrepreneurial Leadership
Madame CJ Walker and Anita Roddick are two female entrepreneurs who have made a huge impact on the cosmetics world each using a different entrepreneurial approach. Madam CJ Walker applied the profit-oriented entrepreneurial approach while Anita Roddick used the social-responsibility oriented entrepreneurial approach. I intend to analyze and describe each leader, their leadership style and the major business principles of each of their entrepreneurial approaches. I will then determine the approach and leadership style that I most identify with and explain the reasons for my choice.
Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana plantation, the daughter of former slaves transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into one of the twentieth century’s most successful, self-made women entrepreneurs. (Bundles) During the 1890s when she was in her late 30s, Sarah 's hair had started falling out due to a combination of stress and years of using damaging hair-care products. She was not alone. In fact, most black women of the time experienced the same problem, but there were no hair-care products on the market to correct it. She tried everything that was available, but met with little success, so she started experimenting with her own hair-care products. (Contributors, 2008) In 1905, Sarah married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, a St. Louis newspaperman. After changing her name to “Madam” C. J. Walker, she founded her own business and began selling Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. (Bundles) Realizing that she could only do so much selling herself, Walker recruited and trained a team of door-to-door sales representatives to demonstrate and take orders for her products. With a team of trained sales representatives crisscrossing the country, Walker 's company grew rapidly. (Contributors, 2008) The Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first female, black or white, who
Born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 on a Delta, Louisiana plantation, the daughter of former slaves transformed herself from an uneducated farm laborer and laundress into one of the twentieth century’s most successful, self-made women entrepreneurs. (Bundles) During the 1890s when she was in her late 30s, Sarah 's hair had started falling out due to a combination of stress and years of using damaging hair-care products. She was not alone. In fact, most black women of the time experienced the same problem, but there were no hair-care products on the market to correct it. She tried everything that was available, but met with little success, so she started experimenting with her own hair-care products. (Contributors, 2008) In 1905, Sarah married her third husband, Charles Joseph Walker, a St. Louis newspaperman. After changing her name to “Madam” C. J. Walker, she founded her own business and began selling Madam Walker’s Wonderful Hair Grower, a scalp conditioning and healing formula. (Bundles) Realizing that she could only do so much selling herself, Walker recruited and trained a team of door-to-door sales representatives to demonstrate and take orders for her products. With a team of trained sales representatives crisscrossing the country, Walker 's company grew rapidly. (Contributors, 2008) The Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first female, black or white, who
Cited: Bundles, A. (n.d.). Madam C.J. Walker: A Brief Biographical Essay. Retrieved from Madam Walker Essay” from www.madamcjwalker.com: http://www.madamcjwalker.com/bios/madam-c-j-walker/ Continuing the Legacy Madam CJ Walker Estate. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.madamwalkerestate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:madam-cj-walker&catid=35:history&Itemid=73 Contributors, E. S. (2008, October 10). Madam C.J. Walker From Poverty to Prosperity. Retrieved from Entrepreneur: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197708 El Recon Del Vago. (2002, August 3). Retrieved from Leadership: Encouraging teamwork. Empowering. Styles. Types. Organizations. Coaching: http://html.rincondelvago.com/leadership.html Famous Women and Beauty Featuring Anita Roddick. (2008-2012). Retrieved from Famous Women and Beauty: http://www.famous-women-and-beauty.com/anita-roddick-biography.html Leadership-Toolbox.com. (2008). Leadership Styles: Democratic Leadership Stylies. Retrieved from http://www.leadership-toolbox.com/democratic-leadership-style.html Nosotro, R. (2010, September 2). Madame CJ Walker: First African-American Millionaire of the Early 20th Century . Retrieved from http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b4walkercj.htm US Small Business Administration Local Counseling and Training. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/counseling-training/local-counseling-training