Reading Reflection No. 3

Assignment 27 - Reading Reflection No. 3

Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life, by Justine Picardie

1)    You read about an entrepreneur:

a.     What surprised you the most?

Coco Chanel told many varying stories about her past, often confusing, vague or blatantly incorrect, such as her date of birth and multiple lovers.

b.     What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

She was born into poverty but she was determined to look after herself, “what she did want was to earn her own living” in a time when convention made this hard for women. She drew on her skills, such as learning to sew in the convent orphanage then later working as a seamstress, and her own experiences, such as altering her lover’s clothes for herself, or stopping wearing corsets when one was so tight she had to undo it in public and then could not refasten it.

c.     What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

Her ability to be unkind. It was unclear whether she was anti-Semitic and bigoted. She used the anti-Jewish laws of the German occupation to try to get rid of her business partners who had escaped the German invasion.

d.     Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

Yes, she did. She grew up in poverty, rejected by the males in her life as her father deserted them, and lovers wanted to be with her but were unfaithful and never married her. She handled this by creating her own financial security. She managed to climb the barriers of class as she started as a peasant girl and then became a patron of the arts and ended up employing aristocrats to make her jewelry. She also socialized in wealthy educated circles with her fashion items in huge demand. When she felt threatened in her business, she tried to get rid of the Wertheimer brothers and was unsuccessful at first but persisted and managed to obtain 2% gross royalties of the perfume sales. She and her business also survived the Depression and the War.

2)    What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

Chanel had confidence in her own style, tenacity, and ability to defy convention. She was also incredibly creative and used it to succeed financially.

3)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

There was so much in her life that was not clear, when it was described in the book there was a lot of information that it was easy to become a bit confused and feel like you were jumping forward and back in the timeline.

4)    If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

1.     You used the anti-Jewish laws of the German occupation to try to get rid of your business partners, this was unsuccessful. In hindsight would you handle this differently? It has also been said that you are anti-Semitic and that you collaborated with the Germans? There has been so much controversy surrounding this, what is the truth?

2.     You wanted financial security but you showed incredible creative ability. Which was the biggest motivator for you with your business? Did the drivers change as you became more financially secure? Did you ever feel really secure financially? I want to ask this as she constantly seemed motivated and persisted, I want to know what drove this.

5)    For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

I think she was very driven. She was incredibly hardworking, but she still managed to do fun things such as fishing and partying. She was working the day before she died in her 80s and she could not have created this empire unless she was that hardworking and driven. I believe in hard work and focus but I like that she still ha