Sara Blakely has achieved success through perseverance
Sara Blakely is the founder of the American corrective underwear and clothing brand Spanx. She is one of the most influential women in the world, according to Forbes. The businesswoman is worth more than USD 1 billion. But Sara’s road to success has been an extremely difficult one.
The woman was born in 1971 into a family of artists and lawyers. After school, Blakely wanted to enter her father’s business but failed the LSAT law exam twice. Sara worked at the Walt Disney World theme park for a few months and tried her hand at stand-up comedy.
First steps
Blakely’s first serious job was with a company called Danka. Here, she sold fax machines and, by the age of 25, had achieved national sales trainer status. One of Sara’s most significant inconveniences was the dress code. She had to wear tights, which were uncomfortable in the hot climate. On top of that, she wanted a slimmer silhouette in business suits. So, she began experimenting with underwear to correct her figure visually.
From idea to successful business
Creating her own comfortable clothing gripped Blakely, and at 27, she moved to Atlanta. With USD 5,000 in capital, she focused on making her idea a reality. After 2 years, Sara created corrective tights that hid imperfections and were comfortable to wear. She travelled and offered her product to textile factories, but no one was interested. Soon, however, Sara received a call from a representative of one of the companies proposing to work with her. He explained that his daughters liked Blakely’s idea. At the time, almost the entire industry was controlled by men, and it was difficult for them to understand the nuances of quality in women’s clothing.
In 1999, the Spanx brand was on the market, and Sara’s development was the subject of a patent. With no education, the girl took over the new company’s management. She worked hard to make it a success:
– Sara called everyone she knew and asked them to buy her products;
– she self-distributed her products to a chain of stores;
– Blakely trained sales staff in various incentive techniques;
– the woman sent a basket of corrective underwear to Oprah Winfrey, hoping for publicity.
Their efforts paid off. In just one year, sales reached USD 4 million. But the real success came when Oprah named the brand’s underwear her favourite. This happened in 2000; by 2011, sales had grown to USD 10 million.
Since then, the brand’s product range has expanded considerably. The company now makes underwear, clothing and footwear. All products focus on customer comfort. The company remains under Blakely’s full control: she owns 100% of the shares.
Like Spanx, Sara is a significant lender to a women’s microcredit company. She also runs masterclasses, participates in social projects and is involved in charity work.
