PROACTIVE

OPRAH WINFREY

An entrepreneur who is proactive able to create or control a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened. An entrepreneur with this trait tends to take action and preserve in challenging situations, particularly when they perceive opportunity. Proactive person are able to minimize stress levels by effectively planning ahead. The less stress they have, the more successful they become. They also will have specific goals in mind and by controlling various situations they will gain various accomplishments.

Oprah Winfrey is one the entrepreneur who shows proactive behaviour. She is an American television host, actress, producer and entrepreneur. She was born on January 29, 1954 in Mississippi. She entered Tennessee State University in 1971 and began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville.

In 1976, Oprah Winfrey hosted a TV chat show People Are Talking which becomes a hit and she stayed with it for eight years, after which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, A. M. Chicago. Winfrey succeed to win the viewer with her open, warm-hearted personal style.

She launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed $125 million by the end of its first year. She soon gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new production company, Harpo Productions. Winfrey also signed a multi-picture contract with Disney. The initial project, 1998's Beloved, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison and starring Winfrey and Danny Glover, got mixed reviews and generally failed to live up to expectations.

The media giant contributed immensely to the publishing world by launching her "Oprah's Book Club," as part of her talk show. The program propelled many unknown authors to the top of the bestseller lists and gave pleasure reading a new kind of popular prominence. With the debut in 1999 of Oxygen Media, a company she co-founded that is dedicated to producing cable and Internet programming for women, Winfrey ensured her place in the forefront of the media industry and as one of the most powerful and wealthy people in show business.

In 2009, Oprah Winfrey announced that she would be ending her program when her contract with ABC ended, in 2011. Soon after, she moved to her own network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture with Discovery Communications.

In March 2015, Winfrey announced that her Chicago-based Harpo Studios would close at the end of the year to consolidate the company’s production operations to the Los Angeles-based headquarters.

Oprah started as a television host but she expanding her career to the very top level by owning her own production company which brings more profit to her. It is not only that she is very proactive on her career but she has her owns style that wins the heart of the people.