Joe L. Dudley, Sr. was born May 9, 1937, in Aurora, North Carolina. He is an American businessman, hair-care entrepreneur, and president and chief executive officer for Dudley Products Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of hair and skin care products for the African American community.

Dudley was the fifth of 11 children. When he was in the first grade, he was mistakenly labeled as being mentally retarded because of a speech impediment. He was twice held back by the time he reached the eleventh grade. However, Dudley persevered in his education, eventually gaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T)in Greensboro, NC.

In 1962, Dudley graduated from NC A&T with a B.S. in Business Administration, and he moved to New York City to become a full-time employee of Fuller Products. As a troubleshooter for Fuller Products, Dudley traveled to cities with poor sales to determine how to improve sales. In 1967, Dudley moved back to Greensboro and became an independent distributor for Fuller Products. He invested $10 in a Fuller Products sales kit in 1957 and began selling hair care products door to door in African American neighborhoods. In 1960 he met Eunice Mosley, who was also selling Fuller products on a door-to-door basis. They married the following year.

The Dudleys settled in Greensboro, where they opened a Fuller distributorship. When there was a shortage of Fuller products in 1969, they began manufacturing and selling their own line under the Dudley Products label. Unlike many hair and skin care providers, Dudley chose to market his product line directly to salons rather than to retailers.

By the end of the 1960s, sales were low, and Fuller Products was struggling overall; so Dudley decided to make his own products at home. Joe and his wife, Eunice, began their business by mixing shampoo and hair care formula in their kitchen. Local regulations prevented this, and the entrepreneur was forced to stop home production of hair products. To continue producing hair care products, Dudley bought space in a strip mall for his new business, Dudley’s Beauty Center and Salon. From day one, Dudley’s successful business experienced more success.

By 1975, he had started Dudley Products Company and employed approximately 400 sales people. His initial success also enabled him to start a beauty school, and a chain of beauty supply stores throughout southeastern United States. At the request of company founder S.B. Fuller, Dudley moved to Chicago, Illinois, and took over Fuller Products in 1976. In 1984, Dudley bought the rights to Fuller Products. As of December 2003, with annual revenues of $30 million, the company offers 400 hair and skin care products. It also operates the Dudley Cosmetology University, with six locations in North Carolina and two schools in Zimbabwe.

Dudley and his company were featured in Chris Rock's 2009 documentary Good Hair; the company is one of only a handful of African-American-owned companies manufacturing hair products for the African-American community.