February is both Black History Month and Women Inventors Month. This week we’re talking about Black female entrepreneurs and the gifts they’ve given us.

Madame C.J. Walker

She was not only the first Black woman to become a millionaire, but the first female entrepreneur to make a million dollars. She created her own hair care to treat her scalp disorder, and eventually her business had 3,000 Black saleswomen who sold direct to consumers.

She was financially independent at a time when many women, Black or otherwise, were not. She marketed her products as health care, not just hair care.

Madame Walker is a particular inspiration to us at Lift Your TableⓇ folding table risers, because in addition to being a successful entrepreneur, she was also a philanthropist. 

She could very easily have hoarded her wealth (as some billionaires continue to do today) but instead she chose to donate where she knew her money would do some good. 

She donated money to the Tuskegee Institute to fund scholarships for women. She also gave money to the NAACP, Black YMCA and a number of other charities. 

Oprah Winfrey

Like Madame C.J. Walker, Oprah came from a hardscrabble childhood and became an outstanding success. Her ability to genuinely engage people in conversation first led her to showcase her talents as a TV reporter, and then host her own TV show. Eventually she grew her business into a media behemoth, including her OWN television network.

Oprah measures her worth in the billions, and still devotes a lot of time and energy to her philanthropy. While we might give a side eye to some of the television personalities she’s championed (Drs. Oz and Phil come to mind), she also helped elevate Brene Brown, whose work has also helped many people.

Morgan DeBaun

She may be less well-known than Oprah now, but give her time! She’s a serial entrepreneur and most recently founded Blavity, which is a media platform for and about Black millennials. More than half her staff are women. Late in 2021, Blavity launched a channel aimed at Black Gen Z.

Even though many media outlets, including Blavity, had a tough time during the pandemic, she and her platform have come through even stronger and ready to continue taking on the world through Black journalism.

Rihanna

Though she began as a powerhouse musician, she entered the business world with several different concepts. She’s a co-owner of Tidal, a music streaming service, and also co-owns a stylist agency. 

She co-created her beauty line, Fenty, with the backing of fashion house LVMH (which includes Louis Vuitton among other brands.) Later she became the first Black woman to have her own fashion line, Fenty, under the LVMH umbrella. She recently launched a lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, and Fenty Skin.

Even before her successes with business, she was focused on charitable endeavors. She’s created a foundation for terminally ill kids, as well as one in honor of her grandparents that’s aimed at medical research and education. In addition, Rihanna has personally donated to programs to combat AIDs, help Hurricane Sandy survivors, those suffering from COVID-19, and a host of other causes.

Lisa Skeete Tatum

As one of the few Black women venture capitalists, she co-founded Landit. It’s a business dedicated to helping women and diverse groups attain greater success at work, and also to help companies find and retain diverse talent. 

She serves on a number of boards and speaks about personal branding, the art of negotiation and finding your own path in business.

We hope you found our Black women entrepreneurs as inspiring as we do! They help keep us motivated for our mission to ease back pain everywhere folding tables are used. 

If you need to lift up your folding table so you can work comfortably while standing, check out our full product line at the Lift Your TableⓇ folding table risers store.

Lift Your TableⓇ … SAVE YOUR BACK!