After moving to St. Louis, Walker worked as a washerwoman, earning less than $1.50 a day. While she worked, she began to consider what her future would become as she aged and started to suffer from back stiffness and other physical limitations. While also suffering from hair loss, Walker began to devise a master plan.
Shortly after, she met fellow Black woman Annie Malone, an entrepreneur who sold hair care products. Madam went from using Annie’s “Wonderful Hair Grower” to becoming an independent agent and selling Annie’s products to Black women all over the country.
During this time, and between 1883 and 1913, about 10,000-40,000 Black-owned businesses launched in a time where economic mobility was uncommon for Black folks.