13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

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1) Coco Chanel
  • What surprised you the most?
    • When I think about Coco Chanel, I think of glamour and expensive clothing.  I was shocked to find that she grew up very poor.  I assumed that she had always been wealthy and turned her wealthy taste into a reality with her own brand. 
  • What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
    • I admired that Ms. Chanel was very flexible with her work and tried out different items to sell.  For example, she tried selling hats, couture, jewelry, and perfume, slowly evolving her brand.   I understand the importance of diversifying your product mix and respect her ability to not stay stuck on one idea.
  • What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
    • I did not admire her belief that dresses should not be shorter than a woman's knees because she thought that not all women had bodies that were good enough to pull it off.  I think that this idea is very toxic and is shocking to be coming from another woman.
  • Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
    • Coco Chanel struggled with maintaining her business during World War II.  She was forced to close her company for 10 years and decided to leave Paris.  Remarkably though, she ended up keeping up her brand after the war and decided to reopen while facing criticism that her products were nothing new.  
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 

  • Coco Chanel exemplified the ability to maintain the status of a brand and represent the image.  People always think of her as a wealthy and classy women, largely due to the fact that these are the type of people that she marketed her products to.  Additionally, she portrayed the ability to adapt to the times, and did not give up following the craziness of World War II. 
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

  • Something that was a little confusing for me to read was reading about her business' gap during the war because I honestly did not know about this part of the company's growth.  I did not realize that designers were so affected during this time in history and was amazed that she was able to start her work back up again afterwords.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

  • I would ask her about what she would change about the company today and her view about whether or not it has changed with the times.  I feel that this question is so important because she played such an important role in the image of her business and still does, even beyond her death.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

  • I think Coco Chanel's opinion of hard work is going beyond your comfort zone and fulfilling your business idea, even if you did not necessarily grow up with the luxury you desire.  Ms. Chanel was not always a wealthy woman but got to that position through dedication and a passion for her classy brand.  I would like to embrace this idea to an extent because I want my ideas to apply to people that are not only like me and push beyond what is simply easy and the most convenient.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 14, 2018 at 12:15 PM

    Coco Chanel's history is definitely very interesting, especially with how much her business contrasts from her early personal life. I agree that her statement about dress length is "off-brand" and very negative for Chanel. The opinion of hard work you suggested, and the idea of stepping out of our comfort zones, is one that is very difficult for a lot of people, myself included, but is very vital to creating a successful business. Overall, you presented a detailed reflection on Coco Chanel's life. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 15, 2018 at 7:08 AM

    Hey Emily,
    Great job on your reading reflection. I learned a lot after reading your post and I also did not know that she grew up poor. Coco Channel was definitely hardworking and never gave up like you mentioned when she had to close her business down for 10 years. I am interested in learning more about her experiences as an entrepreneur. Nice work.

    ReplyDelete

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