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Sara Blakely is a highly successful businesswoman and philanthropist who founded the popular intimate apparel company Spanx. Hers is a true American dream story — starting Spanx with five thousand dollars in personal savings and bootstrapping the business to the billion-plus dollar enterprise sold in over 50 countries that stands today.
Sara has achieved remarkable success as an entrepreneur, becoming the youngest self-made female billionaire at 41 in 2012. Even more remarkable is that she had not taken any business courses nor worked in fashion or retail before she started Spanx at age 27. But she knew what she wanted to accomplish, setting her goal and intention. In an interview with Forbes Magazine, she described how she started:
I grew up on a beach in Florida and I’d never taken a business class in my life. I’d never worked in fashion or retail. I actually wanted to be a lawyer but I bombed the LSAT not once but twice … and I was not able to really get into a law school.
So, I ended up, you know, where most people would do if you bombed the LSAT and dashed your dreams of being a lawyer. I drove to Disney World and I tried out to be Goofy. But you have to be 5’ 8” to be Goofy (who knew, I’m only 5’ 6”). I was the perfect height of a chipmunk. So, I worked at Disney World for a few months.
I then ended up selling fax machines door-to-door in Clearwater, Florida for seven years. I got a lot of business cards ripped up in my face; I did a lot of being escorted out of buildings. And one day I pulled off the side of the road. I had had a really tough day: I was crying and I just remember thinking, “I’m in the wrong movie, like call the director, call the producer, cut! This is not my life!”
I went to my apartment and I wrote down a goal and I said: “I know that I like to sell. I like offering something to someone that they didn’t already have or might help their life.”
Once I identified that, I wrote down: “I want to invent a product that I can sell to millions of people that will make them feel good.”
I didn’t know what it was going to be; I just knew I set that intention. I looked up in the sky and I said to the universe: “Universe you have to give me this idea and I will not squander it.”
Blakely came up with the idea for Spanx in 1998 while getting ready for a party and realizing she didn’t have the right undergarment to wear under a pair of white pants. She cut the feet off a pair of pantyhose, creating a smoother look under her pants. She then spent the next two years researching and developing her product, which she eventually launched in 2000 with just $5,000 in savings.
Since then, Spanx has become a highly successful brand, with products sold in over 50 countries worldwide. Blakely has been recognized for her entrepreneurship and philanthropic work, including being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world and Forbes’ list of America’s Self-Made Women. She has also donated millions of dollars to various causes, including education and female entrepreneurship.
Sara loves sharing nuggets of wisdom with other entrepreneurs. Her Instagram feed is full of success quotes and tips. Here are some of Sara Blakely’s most inspiring quotes on success:
On Being Bold:
“Fear kills more dreams, than failure ever will. Let that sink in… What is your dream? Now get out a piece of paper and start writing all your fears. keep writing… When you see it written down on the paper it will become clear what’s holding you back. It will also become clear how to move forward. And I guarantee you one of your biggest fears on your list will be the fear of failure. And here’s the good news. If you try, you can take that one off your list because the only real failure is not trying. And here’s more good news. You don’t have to make radical life changes to start pursing your dream. Commit to do something every day that gets you closer to your dream. Buy a book on the subject, do research, make calls, just start. I kept selling fax machines for two more years while quietly taking steps toward my dream of @spanx. The small steps will build momentum… and then one day it will become clear when you should jump. So what are you waiting for…? Fortune favors the bold. Be bold.”
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (April 3, 2023)
On Being Ready
“If you keep waiting around until you feel “ready” to do something, you’ll never do it. Feel the fear, the uncertainty and the doubt and do it anyway! No one ever made anything revolutionary because they were ready… they changed the world because they were brave enough to accept that they never would be … and did it anyway.”
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (March 27, 2023)
On Not Fearing Loneliness:
“Here’s something self-help books won’t often tell you… growth is lonely. That’s why so many people become stuck… and stay stuck. It takes constant commitment, day in and day out to see real growth in your life. When I was building @spanx, I spent years, almost a decade, mostly alone… Getting your shit together comes with a price. And not many people are willing to pay it. But if you are, it’s one of the greatest investments you will ever make.”
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (March 13, 2023)
On Being Underestimated:
“People have often asked me what’s the best thing about being a girl in business, and what’s been the hardest? My answer is the same… being underestimated.”
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (March 6, 2023)
On Investing in Your Future Self
“In life, you will become many different versions of yourself. How much time do you spend investing in that future self? We tend to focus a lot on our physical appearance, but how much time do we invest on our mindset or learning something new? When we aren’t working, working out, or managing day-to-day life, how do we spend our downtime? Typically we just want to be entertained. Binge watch the latest show. Zone out. Myself included. There’s nothing wrong with that, just carve out a portion of that time to invest in your future self. You have to be intentional. schedule it into your day. Ask yourself… who do you want to listen to or read from that can improve your thinking? For me it’s Wayne Dyer…) What’s the best place for you to work on mindset? For me, it’s in the car… ) And then schedule the time in your calendar. If you don’t schedule it, it won’t happen. It’s not about can you or can’t you. It’s… will you or won’t you?“
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (January 9, 2023)
On Life’s Many Obstacles
“There will always be wind. In business, life, relationships, goals, vacations etc… there will always be wind! And like so many things in life, we can’t control the wind. But we can learn how to respond to it. And it’s always a choice. We can complain about the wind, we can wish and hope that it changes, or… we can adjust the sails. Life is full of obstacles and resistance. The measure of true success is never about victory or perfection … it’s how good are you at navigating the ever changing winds? When you get really good at responding to situations in a way that propels you forward instead of holding you back, you will find a way. And if things are “windy” for you right now… take a deep breath and adjust the sails.”
Sara Blakely’s Instagram / (December 12, 2022)
On Making Mistakes:
“It’s important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you become memorable.”
On Failing:
“My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome — failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.”
On Not Knowing Everything:
“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
“Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning, because what you don’t know can become your greatest asset. It ensures that you will be doing things differently from everybody else.”
On Her Attitude to Failure:
“I think failure is nothing more than life’s way of nudging you that you are off course. My attitude to failure is not attached to the outcome but to not trying. It is liberating.”
“The more you experience failure, the more you learn, and the more you grow.”
On Embracing the Hustle:
“I think there is something about embracing the hustle and the struggle that is really empowering and that is something that I feel really proud of.”
On Perseverance:
“Perseverance is the key to starting a successful business.”
On the Whys of Your Actions:
” I think it’s critical for you to share the why behind what you’re doing. People are really focused on the what, but consumers get very connected to the why. And so from the very beginning, I was like, here’s my product but let me tell you why I did it. I kept staying very focused on the why. I always say. you know sell the problem you’re solving not the product. People are far more emotional about that and why.
Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Shares Secrets To Building A Billion-Dollar Business
Sara Blakely’s success as an entrepreneur and philanthropist is a testament to her hard work and perseverance. Follow her on Instagram, learn from her, and get inspired by her tips, personal anecdotes, and more. Her quotes inspire others to embrace failure and be willing to take risks to achieve their goals.
