“The Mother of Franchising” Receives Long Awaited Recognition

Mother of Franchising

The road to becoming “the Mother of Franchising” was no easy feat for Martha Matilda Harper. Born into a working-class family in Canada, Harper spent the first twenty-five years of her life as a domestic servant before opening her first Harper Hairdressing Parlor in 1888 in Rochester, New York.

Harper soon realized she needed capital and motivated business operators before she could expand her new concept of hair and skin care to other cities. To solve this, Harper began to offer business ownership opportunities to poor women and former domestic servants if they would operate under the “Harper Model.” Like modern franchising, Harper’s model provided her business owners with comprehensive training and continuing guidance.

At the height of her operations, Harper had franchised over five hundred hair salons worldwide and counted U.S. presidents, first ladies, and famous suffragists like Susan B. Anthony among her clients. Through the delicate weaving together of innovative business practices and social entrepreneurship, she was able to create a truly pioneering franchise system that lives on through our modern-day franchise business model!

This year, Martha Matilda Harper was recognized by Congressman Joe Morelle (NY-25) when he introduced a resolution encouraging Congress to issue a commemorative stamp to honor “the Mother of Franchising’s” incredible achievements. At a time when entrepreneurial ventures were largely founded by men, Harper impressively developed a successful franchise system of independently owned hair salons on her own.

In hopes that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee will recommend that this stamp will be issued, IFA applauds Rep. Morelle’s effort to honor such a franchising superstar. The core elements of the franchise business model, inspired by the hard work and determination of Harper, has continued to prosper today. America’s 733,000 franchise establishments have directly created 7.6 million jobs and contribute more than $404 billion in GDP, which can all be traced back to Martha Matilda Harper – “the Mother of Franchising.”

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