For 25 years, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿 worked in other people’s homes. Martha knew how to work hard. She also knew what happened when every hour of work belonged to somebody else. So she saved. She studied hair care. And in 1888, she used her $360 in savings to open a salon in Rochester, New York. There was a catch though... Back then women generally had their hair done at home. Martha was now asking customers to come into a shop for something they had always done in private. However... They came... and lots of them did. Now, Martha could have stopped at one successful salon... but Instead, she asked a bigger question... "𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳?" Martha trained women in her method and helped them open Harper shops of their own. Many had worked as domestic servants, as she had. They knew how to serve customers. What they had lacked was a way to turn that skill into a business in their own names. At its height, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝘀. The women running those shops owned their businesses. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. Martha did not hand them a prettier job title. She created a way for women to take a skill they already had, learn the rest, and open their own doors. If you have spent years doing valuable work for someone else, please do not mistake that experience for a lack of assets. Somewhere in what you know may be a service you can name, a method you can teach, or a business you can build. What have you learned while building someone else’s dream that could become the beginning of your own? With love, Vickie Helm