Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Self Made Millionairess

Okay, I'll just say it.

I heart The Black Rose. It is the "based on fact with a lil fiction thrown in" story of the infamous and in my opinion, FABULOUS Madam C.J. Walker.



Mrs. Walker is a true inspiration to any woman thinking that her time has passed to go after her dream of starting her business. She was born to slave parents in a small town and was poverty stricken most of her life. She was a washer woman up through and a little beyond the time she decided to change her station in life, and oh yeah, she was 37 years old.

Yep, you read that right. She was 37 years old when she started what would propel her to the title of the first American self made female millionaire. Some say she was the first black female millionaire, but she was actually the first female millionaire period to have made her own fortune and not married into or inherited her wealth. And I believe that if it wasn't too late for her then it isn't too late for any of us!

She started a hair care business geared toward the black community at a time where most black women tried hard to keep out of harms way and simply survive. Her company was the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.

There are other books based on her personal life as well as business ventures, a few written by her grand daughter. And while the facts stated were interesting I love the spin of the Novel based on her life much better. It was a lovely, inspiring and oh too fast read. I couldn't put it down. And I walked away from that book invigorated and ready to own my future.

Madam C.J. Walker was a visionary, she was daring and bold and she is my new hero.

If you are in need of inspiration, please check this book out. You can read it gratis from your local library or grab a copy on Amazon for about $2.

Looking for fellow Bloggers with a book idea

For those of you that have been following my blog you know that I have been trying to get my E-book publishing business off the ground for quite a while. Honestly, it has been a lot more difficult than others make it seem. Why am I being so honest? Am I afraid that it will make me and my business look like a failure? NO!

Why? Well, because it's the truth and also because I believe my trials and mistakes can help others in their own small business endeavors.

I think that some of the reasons I have found it difficult to get started and go full force are:

Medical reasons which I am determined not to let control my life anymore

Lack of authors

Lack of motivation since as I mentioned above, I have no authors

For a small publishing house, either traditional or E-book, to create a niche and grow, it needs content. Content by quality writers. And this is where I have been stumped. I was mistakenly under the impression that I could "build it and they will come". Alas, this was not what happened.

The reason I believed this is because I when I was the Editor at Duffie Books (now defunct), the owner, Theresa Carnduff was literally batting them away, the authors I mean. I did the same things she did, I posted an open call for submission on my website, I contacted websites that list publishing houses looking for new authors and I even personally contacted people I thought would be a good match for my company.

To date the only viable submission I got was one I had to turn down due to a medical crisis at the time.

So what is different this time? Well, I sat down and thought about ways to build my business and my brand as the go to online publisher for women that want to start a business as well as for women that want to do fabulous things in their lives but are limited by the restraints of very real shoestring budgets. Things like travel and home makeovers and Shopping outside of local thrift stores for Christmas gifts.

Then I brainstormed and realized that there is a literal goldmine of quality content creators at my fingertips every time I log on to the Internet, writers that are not only experts in their chosen niche but also have a solid readership that can translate into sales. Who are these mystery women?

Blogger's of course!

Why didn't I think of this sooner? Well, I thought of it now. And so I am putting this out to all the wonderful blogger's of the world wide web. If you have quality content on your blog and are interested in writing a book, I would love to hear from you. You can visit my website, Boutique Publications to submit your idea, proposal or manuscript. You can also read more about me as well as read our FAQ and submission page.

And if you yourself are not a blogger but know someone who is, please feel free to send them the link to this post.

Looking forward to hearing from you.