Meet Janice Howroyd, first black woman to own billion dollar business

theGRIO REPORT - Janice Bryant Howroyd started out with $900 in her pocket when she left her home in North Carolina in 1976, and now she is the first African-American woman to own a business worth billions of dollars...

Janice Bryant Howroyd started out with $900 in her pocket when she left her home in North Carolina in 1976, and now she is the first African-American woman to own a business worth billions of dollars.

Howroyd went from being one of 11 children in segregated North Carolina to becoming the founder of Act1 Group, which does business across the world in 75 different cities. She has overcome much to find her success, and she shared her tips for reaching her dreams with TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager on Wednesday.

She has four tips for success:

1. Make sure you’re prepared.

2. Understand what the goal is.

3. Understand that all of those around, particularly family, are part of that success.

4. Always find a moment of gratitude and be grateful along the journey.

Howroyd also talked with Hager about her business, which she began in 1978 in an attempt to help others find jobs and which is now the largest woman minority-owned employment agency in the United States.

“I never imagined this,” she told Hager. “I always imagined success though. You see the evolution in technology, you see the transparency that the world offers, but the fundamental things that we built the business from have stayed the same, and I really think that’s more the secret to the success.”

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE