When I was in my mid-twenties, I was working for a very popular hair salon in Cleveland, Ohio at a place called, Reyarpsdrol. It’s the Lords Prayer spelled backwards. It was located in Shaker Hts, Ohio. It was staffed with over 80 employees and was booming back in the 90’s. The owners name was Helena and she was a great woman entrepreneur and she taught us how to manage a salon, how to do our taxes, work with customers and so much more.
It was big change going from a basic checking account to managerial finances but I took each new challenge in stride. I loved learning from her and I would just sit and watch her do her magic. I was a nail technician but dreamed of one day owning my very own nail salon. Back then you didn’t see manicurist work outside of hair salons but I had so much clientele back then that I thought to myself, that I could do it. So one day after building up my clients and getting my nerves up, I opened my very own salon…Nails By Tammie. It was located in Cleveland Hts, Ohio and I was so scared but I stepped out on faith.
The customers came in droves and I was busy as a bee. I had four other nail techs working for me as well and business was great! When I first started out, I had naysayers and family tell me that I wouldn’t make it because that was unheard of, how would I make money and pay the rent just from doing manicures etc lol. I still was confident that I would make it and never looked back. I owned that successful nail salon for 10 years!
That’s why this movie from Netflix Self Made inspired me so much! Madam C.J. Walker never gave up the fight and she dreamed outside of the box! I ask you to do the same and after this pandemic is over, go out there and be the very best you can be. Check out some Inspirational Quotes from Self Made and watch the film if you haven’t seen it yet. Stay Blessed everyone!
- It came to me in a dream.
- I refuse to give up the fight!
- Hair is beauty. Hair is emotion. Hair is heritage. Hair tells us who we are, where we’ve been and where we are going.
- Find somebody that will make your life better.
- Always make your own money.
- Everything we do as Negroes reflects back on us.
- Never get your money where you get your honey.
- Dreams are Gods way of showing us his plans.
- The good Lord don’t want us to just sit around and wait for things to happen.
- Ain’t no reward without risk.
Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer stars as Madam C.J. Walker, the trailblazing African American haircare entrepreneur who was America’s first female self-made millionaire. Inspired by the book, On Her Own Ground written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles, the Netflix original series, SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM C.J. WALKER brings the uplifting story of this cultural icon to the screen for the first time. Against all odds, Walker overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, personal betrayals, and business rivalries to build a ground-breaking brand that revolutionized black haircare, as she simultaneously fought for social change. The four-part limited series also stars Blair Underwood as her husband C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish as her daughter Leila, Carmen Ejogo as Walker’s business rival Addie Monroe, Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law, Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer Ransom and Bill Bellamy as Ransom’s cousin Sweetness. SELF MADE: INSPIRED BY THE LIFE OF MADAM C.J. WALKER was created by Nicole Jefferson Asher with co-showrunners Elle Johnson & Janine Sherman Barrois, directed by Kasi Lemmons and DeMane Davis, and executive produced by Barrois, Johnson, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, Eric Oberland, Christine Holder, Mark Holder, Kasi Lemmons, LeBron James and Octavia Spencer.
Images via Netflix
