Sarah Breedlove, later Madam C.J. Walker, worked as a laundress before building an Indianapolis hair-care company that made her a millionaire

Sarah Breedlove, known later as Madam C.J. Walker, started her career as a laundress before founding a successful Indianapolis hair-care company that made her a millionaire. Breedlove, born in 1867 in Louisiana, spent years washing clothes to support herself and her daughter. In her thirties, she began experiencing hair loss and found existing products ineffective.

A dream led her to develop a formula for her remedy, which she later sold to friends and family. Breedlove enrolled at Annie Turnbo Malone's Poro College in St. Louis, where she learned about hair and scalp products. She began selling Malone's products before launching her own line, drawing on her personal experiences with hair loss.

In 1906, Breedlove married Charles Joseph Walker and adopted her new name. She reinvested profits into ingredients and advertising, with her husband assisting in promotion and mail orders. Walker's business expanded rapidly, with agents trained to develop home beauty businesses and her Indianapolis operations established in 1910.

By 1919, she had 5,000 agents across the country and generated $7,000 weekly in revenue. Walker opened a Harlem, New York base in 1913, and permanently moved to Harlem in 1916, while Indianapolis operations continued under new management. Despite earning over $500,000 annually, Walker never considered herself a millionaire. After her death, her daughter oversaw the completion of the four-story Walker Building in Indianapolis, which housed her company's headquarters.

The Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company employed 3,000 African American men and women in its manufacturing and sales operations.