Mademoiselle Chanel A Novel
1) You read about an entrepreneur:
· What surprised you the
most? I know about Coco Chanel perfume but I never knew her story. Gabrielle “Coco”
Chanel had such a heart breaking life. She went from having nothing to having
everything. I never imagined it like that, rather, I thought she came from a
wealthy family and always had money and luck.
· What about the
entrepreneur did you most admire? She always strived for perfection. If she did
not do something correctly the first time, she made sure to go back and do it
until it was perfection.
· What about the
entrepreneur did you least admire? I think it is unfortunate
that she took drugs to make herself feel better. She lost her mother, her
father, and her lover so she had a lot of pain that she was trying to cover up.
· Did the entrepreneur
encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it? From early
on Gabrielle was encountered with obstacles. Her mother died when she was young
and her father left Gabrielle and her sisters at an orphanage. Gabrielle did
not let any of this stop her. Once she was told that her sewing work was
excellent, she continued working hard at it.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur
exhibited?
·
Gabrielle was a hard worker and perfectionist. She ran her own
shop and competed against men in a world that women did not attempt this often.
She was a leader—making decisions for her business and taking control. In one
instance, her boyfriend informs her that she has been in debt for the past few
months but he has been covering it. She immediately tells her employees that
there will no longer be expenses unless she allows them and they will not be
giving away free hats (like they were doing prior).
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing
to you.
·
One part of the book that was confusing to me was about a fourth
of the way through. The author says, “I pitied him for his inability to
understand that we had just spent an evening with the future.” I never entirely
understood what he was referring to.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the
entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
·
I would ask Gabrielle how she had such courage to leave jobs and
homes and towns that she lived in for something new and unknown. Also, I would
ask her how would I get people to notice my product. These questions would give
me more insight into who she was and give me advice from a very experienced entrepreneur.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of
hard work? Do you share that opinion?
·
I think Gabrielle enjoyed hard work. Maybe it got her mind off
of her troubles, worries, and losses. It probably made her feel accomplished
and in control. Although I fortunately have not went through the harsh losses
that Gabrielle did in her life, I have overcome obstacles. I enjoy working towards
a goal and completing it.
I think it is definitely eye-opening to see the amount of time and effort that went into the making of a brand that we all know today, especially considering the entrepreneur's background. Certainly, her ability to keep moving forward and build upon her strengths is what allowed her to keep striving for excellence and create a brand that reflected that.
ReplyDeleteHey! That is so surprising Coco Chanel had a hard life. I always assumed
ReplyDeleteGabrielle Chanel came from a wealthy family as well. I read about the Wright Brothers, and they had a hard early life as well, which I had no idea about. It seems like we always remember notable people for their notable works, but often forget they had a life before they became notable.