Martha Matilda Harper

Martha Matilda Harper (September 10, 1857 – August 3, 1950) was an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and inventor who launched modern retail franchising and then built an international network of 500 franchised 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. She worked in that profession for 25 years before she saved enough money to start working full-time producing a hair tonic 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.

Early years Martha Matilda Harper was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, on September 10, 1857. Her date of birth is sometimes disputed because she also used the year 1868 on occasion to reportedly make herself seem younger. However, she is said to have sworn in an affidavit that her true birth year was 1857. She received little formal education as a child. Harper's father sent her away at age seven to become a domestic servant for relatives in Orono, Ontario. While a servant, Harper developed her own hair tonic after becoming concerned that the hair products on the market did more harm than good. She saved enough money to begin producing the hair tonic full-time, and, upon leaving domestic service three years after her immigration to the United States, opened the first public hair salon in the region in order to help market it.

Company Harper's salon, the Harper Method Hair Parlour, and many of her innovations underlie the modern concept of the hair salon. Before Harper, hairdressers used to make home visits. Her first franchise was in Buffalo, New York. Palmer wanted Harper to open her unique hair salon in Chicago in 1893 in time for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which Harper did.

Each salon was owned by a woman; the first 100 shops only went to poor women like Harper. She trained the franchisees and inspect their salons to ensure quality. They ran the company together for 15 years until Harper retired at the age of 78 and gave control of the company to McBain.

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.

The last Harper Method franchise shop operated in Rochester, New York, as the country's oldest, and longest-running, beauty shop until the early 2000s. It was owned by a woman named Centa Sailer who died in 2014. The site of Harper's former laboratory is now a tire warehouse.

Harper was the first woman member of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce. She was a member of the Rochester Country Club and Oak Hill Country Club. She also studied at the University of Rochester for a few classes.

In 2001, Harper was posthumously honored with the Bonny LeVine Award by the International Franchise Association which recognizes women leaders in franchising who have placed an intentional focus on growing and mentoring future leaders. In 2003, Harper was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame for her achievements in business. She is considered remarkable for helping other servants live the American dream by hiring them as staff and allowing them to become franchisees.

A documentary about Harper, The Marvelous Martha, premiered in 2022 at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, where many of Harper's artifacts are preserved.

In popular culture A young adult book, Martha the Hairpreneur: From Servant to Business Empress, and Martha's Magical Hair, a children's picture book, have been written about Harper.