Janice Bryant Howroyd, One of America’s Richest Self-made Women, Shares Her Keys to Success

Janice Bryant Howroyd left her rural North Carolina hometown about 40 years ago with less than a thousand dollars to start a company that would help people find work. And in 1978, out of a small office in Beverly Hills, she founded ACT-1 – an agency that provides temporary staffing, HR services and consulting to businesses. Today, Howroyd’s company is now the largest female minority-owned employment agency in the country with offices in about 80 cities across the world.

She’s done well for herself financially, ranking #24 on Forbes’ most recent list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women – a list that includes such other wealthly women of color as Oprah Winfrey (#5), Shelia Johnson (#22) and Beyonce Knowles (#29). On the list, Forbes lists Howroyd’s net worth at $610 million, and her company, ACT-1, is valued at more than a billion dollars.

“I’ve always imagined success,” Howroy said in a recent interview with NBC’s TODAY. “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.”

To help others. Howroyd shared her four main keys to success:
Make sure you’re prepared.

Understand what the goal is.

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

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

Watch video of Howroyd discuss her road to success.