It’s 1996. A sweltering day in Florida. A 25-year-old woman is selling fax machines door-to-door. Remember those? 😆 In pantyhose. (Yuck). Because that’s part of her uniform, and she has no other choice. I can’t even imagine wearing those in that Florida humidity! But a young Sara Blakely didn’t complain. Instead, she grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off the feet of her pantyhose, making her uniform much more breathable (not to mention way more comfortable). “Okay, and?” you’re thinking. That fraction-of-a-second decision wound up becoming a billion-dollar idea; a prototype for something huge. 🌱 Something that would end up in department stores across the world. 🌱 Something that Oprah Winfrey would call one of her favorite things. 🌱 Something that would revolutionize the fashion industry. 🌱 Something that not a single celebrity would be caught dead on the red carpet without. 🌱 Something that made Sara Blakely the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world. Here’s why I love Sara Blakely (and her story) so much: 🌱 Problem > solution > determination Sara’s success is the classic inventor’s story. She encounters a problem. She finds the solution. She never gives up on getting that solution out to the world. Persistence is key. 🌱 She thrived in a male-dominated industry Sara quickly found that the hosiery mill operators were mostly men, meaning they weren’t wearing the products themselves, meaning it took longer for someone to see the value in her new-and-improved pantyhose. As Sara was sitting in one mill operator’s office, trying to convince him this was the next big thing, she noticed a family photo on his desk. And that in that picture was three young women (his daughters). Sara brilliantly said, “will you do me a favor and just take these home to your wife and daughters and hear what they think?” The hosiery mill operator said yes to Sara after hearing his wife and daughters rave over the product. And just like that, SPANX® had a manufacturer. 🌱 She gave it everything she had Sara worked a full-time job selling fax machines and poured every cent of her earnings into her pantyhose vision. And guess what? It paid off. Sara Blakely is an inspiration to businesspeople and women everywhere. Have you been neglecting a follow-up lately? Figured it is just not worth it? Let Sara’s story inspire you to keep persisting. Go get it!! (And if you are new here, I’m kind of obsessed with Sara!) Let’s grow! 🌱 #Spanx #Marketing #fashion #SaraBlakely #entrepreneur #CEO
Jon Davids
10mo
Is that really where she got the idea for Spanx?! So cool. Necessity is the mother of invention.
Alice Draper
10mo
Her story is fantastic!!! I watched an Instagram reel she shared this morning on why she kept her product idea a secret for a full year of working on it, to prevent her ego from taking over. I've always had a similar approach to writing ideas: keep it a secret until you have something on the page, but I never thought of it as the ego getting in the way (which makes total sense!)
She’s one of my favorites
Thanh Dinh
10mo
Talk about turning discomfort into a success! Sara's decision to chop off the feet of her pantyhose shows that sometimes the best solutions are right under our noses, Brooke
Preston Hay
10mo
Such a good one. Always like being reminded of it!
Investor, Serial Entrepreneur. Founder of My Everything Store, Online Medical Supply Canada, and Canadian Medical Marketplace.
10moIt certainly didn't hurt being on national TV with a billionaire backer. She has done amazingly well, just saying she didn't bootstrap her way to where she is now.