Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream; How One Woman Changed the Face of Modern Business

Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xviii, 184, [6] pages. Frontis illustration. Illustrations. Works Cited. Index. Inscribed on the title page by the author. Inscription reads 6/00 To Jean & Gail, May you be inspired by her story. May your dreams come true too! Jane Plitt. Jane Plitt is a curious, determined entrepreneur who stumbled on a brief clipping about Martha Matilda Harper. She had to find out more and spent six years uncovering her buried tale. What fun to travel across the United States and Canada and be warmly embraced by relatives, former and active Harper shop trainees and owners. The author is proud that Harper's story is now spreading across the world because we need to know more about our amazing women whose accomplishments have been buried. Imagine, she was a servant for 25 years and ultimately created modern franchising so that other poor women like her could change their lives by associating with the Harper Method. She even invented the first reclining shampoo chair to delight customers. Martha Matilda Harper (September 10, 1857, Oakville, Ontario - August 3, 1950, Rochester, New York) was an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and inventor who launched modern retail franchising and then built an international network of 500 franchised hair salons that emphasized healthy hair care. Harper was sent away by her father when she was seven to work as a domestic servant. She worked in that profession for 25 years before she saved enough money to start working full-time producing a hair tonic she invented. The product, and the creation of special hair salons that utilized it, was successful. Harper began franchising the salon model to low-income women, and by its peak the company included more than 500 franchises and an entire line of hair care products. Harper's salon, the Harper Method Hair Parlour, and many of her innovations underlie the modern concept of the hair salon. Before Harper, hairdressers used to make home visits. She used her hair tonic on herself to advertise. Her floor-length hair also served as an effective marketing tool and appeared in many advertisements for her products. She hired former servants to staff her salon. In 1891, at the urging of Bertha Palmer of the Palmer House fame, Harper became the first to start modern retail franchising, allowing franchisees to open salons under the Harper name. Her first franchise was in Buffalo, New York. Palmer wanted Harper to open her unique hair salon in Chicago in 1893 in time for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which Harper did. Each salon was owned by a woman; the first 100 shops only went to poor women like Harper. She trained the franchisees and inspected their salons to ensure quality. Emphasizing customer service and comfort, Harper invented reclining shampoo chairs, which became a common feature of salons worldwide. The salons offered scalp massage and child care, and they provided evening hours. The hair products her company produced were intended to be healthier than those widely available at the time and were made largely with natural products. Harper salons did not carry synthetic dyes or do chemical perms. Among the Harper customers were British royalty, Susan B. Anthony, Woodrow Wilson, Grace Coolidge, Joseph P. Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, George Bernard Shaw, and Ladybird Johnson.