fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com article, spanx.com photo credit
No good deeds should go unrewarded.
Particularly when someone is willing to stick their life savings and neck out to cover your rear.
Especially if you are a woman.
It’s always honorable to give cover to a damsel in distress.
There is no one who covers a woman’s rear better than Sara Blakely and her company Spanx.
Have you hear of her? You should have. She is one of the youngest self-made female billionaires in the world.
That’s certainly worth a pat on the back and in the appropriate cases, a pat on the bottom too.
Sara Blakely is an American billionaire businesswoman, and founder of Spanx, an American intimate apparel company with pants and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia.
Spanx, Inc. is an American underwear maker focusing on shaping briefs and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The company manufactures mainly pantyhose and other underwear for women and, since 2010, produces male underwear as well. Spanx specializes in foundation garments intended to make people appear thinner.
In 2012, Blakely was named in Time magazine’s “Time 100” annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
As of 2014, she is listed as the 93rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
Sara’s early story is the perfect inspiration for those of us who didn’t score high on the typical society barometers because they were not compatible with our strengths or personality.
Sara taught us, if we follow what we love, we can still win anyway.
Although she initially planned to become an attorney, Sara reconsidered after placing very low on the Law School Admission Test.
She instead accepted a job at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where she worked for three months.
Guess what else she did? She hopes that you laugh at this one.
She was once a Standup Comedian.
Guess who is laughing all the way to the bank?
After her short time at Disney, Sara accepted a job with the office supply company Danka, where she sold fax machines door-to-door.
That’s’ what you always wanted to do right? Can’t you just imagine yourself standing and sweating on one porch after another extolling the virtues of fax machines in humid Florida?
Sara apparently did and she was super great at it.
A married mother of four, she seems to be fantastic at everything.
She was very successful in sales and was promoted to the position of National Sales Trainer at the age of 25.
Forced to wear pantyhose in the hot Florida sun for her sales job, Sara disliked the appearance of the seamed foot while wearing open-toed shoes, but liked the way that the control-top model eliminated panty lines and made her body appear firmer.
While attending a private party, she experimented by cutting off the feet of her pantyhose while wearing them under a new pair of slacks and found that the pantyhose continuously rolled up her legs, but she also achieved the desired result (the original pants are now enshrined at Spanx headquarters).
At age 27, Sara relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and while still working at Danka, spent the next two years and $5,000 in savings researching and developing her hosiery idea.
Her story gets even better and it speaks to innovation.
Upon inquiring, she found that there were no female patent lawyers operating in the entire state of Georgia. Unwilling to spend the $3,000-$5,000 quoted in legal fees, she instead wrote her own patent after purchasing a textbook from Barnes & Noble.
This is why you never give up.
Sara later drove to North Carolina, the location of most of America’s hosiery mills, to present her idea. She was turned away by every representative.
Sara? Please don’t give up.
You knew she wouldn’t let that stop her.
Part of her challenge was in that 2011, the hosiery manufacturing industry was overseen solely by men who were not using the products they were producing.
The industry sorely needed Sara.
Sara’s research revealed that the industry had previously been using the same-size waistband for all hosiery products to cut costs, and a rubber cord was also inserted into the waistband. For her product development, Ms. Blakely created different waistbands to suit different-sized consumers.
Sara is so impressive that we could gush about her forever.
Let’s pause for a second and politely allow Sara to speak for herself at spanx.com. “SPANX founder Sara Blakely was getting ready for a party when she realized she didn’t have the right undergarment to provide a smooth look under white pants. Armed with scissors and sheer genius, she cut the feet off her control top pantyhose and the SPANX revolution began! With a focus on solving wardrobe woes, the SPANX brand has grown to offer bras, underwear, leggings, active and more. SPANX has secured its place in women’s hearts and in pop-culture with daily mentions everywhere from CNN to SNL.
In March of 2012, Founder Sara was named the world’s youngest, self-made female billionaire by Forbes Magazine and one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA and opening retail shops across the United States, SPANX can now be found worldwide in more than 50 countries. In addition to keeping butts covered from Savannah to Singapore, SPANX also shapes the world by focusing on our mission: To help women feel great about themselves and their potential.”
What an incredible resume.
They love her at abc.go.com. “Sara Blakely is the founder and sole owner of Spanx, the brand that is constantly inventing more comfortable undergarment options for women that just happen to also make your butt and gut look amazing, and now, thankfully, makes killer leggings, too!
The brand was born from a simple goal – find something to wear under white pants to make them more flattering.”
Sounds simple enough but as life has taught most of us, everything is easy until you try and do it.
The love keeps pouring in.
In November 2000, super star Oprah Winfrey named Spanx a “Favorite Product”, leading to a significant rise in popularity and sales.
White pants will never go out of style. We know that. They are so sexy and revealing.
Through the wonders of Sara Blakely, her under garments have made them, as well as other women’s outer wear, sexier than ever.
Who said you could never improve on perfection?
You always can, especially if you look to Sara Blakely for inspiration.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanx
https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5915f04831358e03e5590811/c%C3%A9line-dion/#2e2728ef47c4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Blakely
https://www.forbes.com/profile/sara-blakely/
https://www.spanx.com/about-us/
http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/cast/sara-blakely
