Jerome Rose left behind a business that is still prospering.

The Jersey Journal reports Rose’s wife Louise encouraged him to become an entrepreneur and sell beauty supplies, leveraging his proven capability to scale it effectively.

“I said to him he was knowledgeable enough to go into his own business,” Louise told The Jersey Journal.

Independent Beauty Supply

After losing his job on Christmas Eve in 1973, Rose opened Independent Beauty Supply in Jersey City, NJ, the following year with the help of his wife and Mary Cooper, who would serve as a bookkeeper for over four decades until her retirement.

Independent Beauty Supply began as a go-between for hair product manufacturers and beauticians. Now, it is one of the country’s largest Black-owned and operated beauty products distributors, per The Jersey Journal.

The store sells products like moisturizers, shampoos, and styling foam and carries brands such as Mizani, Zoey Naturals, and The Common Earth Company.

Rose later hired Andrew Penny, Lawrence Frank, Robert Harris, Franklin Rose, and Rudolph Warren, all employees from his former job, to become partners.

“It was easy for him [to convince people to work with him] because we knew the type of person he was,” Cooper told the outlet. “He was a reputable man. He stood behind what he said he was going to do.”

The Rose family credits Jerome with establishing the foundational success of the business. Jerome passed away in 2011; today, his son and co-owner Tyrone leads the business.

“I wanted to be able to do this as long without him as long as he did without me,” Tyrone expressed, according to the outlet. “I think that shows what he built had structure and foundation and could be successful.”

Independent Beauty Supply has existed for 50 years at its brick-and-mortar location and has since scaled its online presence in Scotch Plains, NJ, Irvington, NJ, and Paterson, NJ.

“He would be very proud [of this achievement],” Tyrone explained. “I always say he’s looking down at us saying, ‘You did it, Tyrone. You brought it to where I wanted it.”

What’s more, Independent Beauty Supply is now “one of the country’s largest Black-owned and operated distributorships of beauty products,” and it received recognition from the Jersey City City Council in June 2024.