Martha Matilda Harper was a Canadian-American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and inventor who built an international network of franchised

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

 hair salons that emphasized healthy hair care. Born in Canada, Harper was sent away by her father when she was seven to work as a domestic servant

Domestic worker

A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...

. She worked in that profession for 25 years before she saved enough money to start working full time producing a hair tonic

Hair conditioner

Hair conditioner is a hair care product that alters the texture and appearance of hair.-History:For centuries, natural oils have been used to condition human hair. These natural products are still used today, including essential oils such as tea tree oil and carrier oils such as jojoba oil...

 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.

Company

Harper’s salon The Harper Hair Parlour, and many of her innovations, including the Harper Method, underlie the modern concept of the hair salon. Her floor-length hair also served as an effective marketing tool and appeared in many advertisements for her products. In 1891, she became one of the first businesspeople in America to start franchising, allowing franchisees to open salons under the Harper name. She would train the franchisees and inspect 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.

Franchising Her Concept

She also sought to use her business to help other women out of poverty, hiring only former serving women. Her business helped thousands of women to better socioeconomic conditions, either by employing and training them or by helping them open franchised salons with flexible financing. Harper employees had access to flextime, paid personal leave, and profit sharing

Profit sharing

Profit sharing, when used as a special term, refers to various incentive plans introduced by businesses that provide direct or indirect payments to employees that depend on company's profitability in addition to employees' regular salary and bonuses...

, which few business owners provided to workers of the time.

Famous Clientele

At the height of its success, her company had 500 franchises and produced a full line of hair care and beauty products. Among the Harper customers were Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...

, Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

, Calvin Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

, and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Company Legacy

The Harper Method Inc. has operated under a variety of different owners. In June 1956, Robert McBain, Harper's husband, sold the enterprise to Earl Freese and Gerald Wunderlich who then made three different attempts to sell the business throughout the 1960s and 70s.

“In 1971, Robert Prentices, then manager of the Harper manufacturing centre in St. Catharine’s, Canada, purchased the factory assets along with Harper manufacturing and distribution rights, renaming the company Niagara Mist Marketing Ltd, also known as The Soap Factory.

On March 10, 1972, other Harper Method Inc., assets were bought by PEJ Beauty Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wilfred Academy. At the time, PEJ was one of the largest operators of trade schools in America. According to Philip Jakeway, then President of the Wilfred Academy, he hoped to expand his operation by marketing the Harper products and shops. An agreement was reached whereby Prentice would supply Harper products to Jakeway for U.S. distribution. Jakeway was unsuccessful.”

April 6, 2006 Winning Brands Corporation announced that it was entering into a Merger Agreement and Plan of Reorganization to acquire environmental cleaning products company Niagara Mist Marketing Ltd.

Today, Winning Brands Corporation manufactures its portfolio of brands, including its product Winning Colours® Stain Remover, which is sold world-wide.

As for The Harper Method Founder’s Shop, it continues to operate in Rochester, New York as the country’s oldest, and longest running, beauty shop.

Death

Martha died on August 3, 1950, one month short of her 93rd birthday, survived by her husband Robert MacBain, who later died on April 30, 1965, at the age of 83.