Sara Blakely is a self-made
billionaire, who took a savings of $5,000 and transformed it into a billion
dollar company. She did it by starting her very own undergarment company called
Spanx. This high level of success helped lead her to become the world’s
youngest self-made
female billionaire. Sara is a graduate from Florida State University, with a degree in
Communications. What lead her to success was that one day she wished her
pantyhose didn’t have leg selves, so she cut them off. In doing this, this
changed her outlook in life, and that’s when her life changed in becoming an
entrepreneur. Her plan in designing these Spanx’s pantyhose was to design a
garment that hide the women’s panty line, but her design and creation did a
little bit more that. Sara’s Spanx Company is believed to have helped and
inspired women to feel more comfortable and happy with themselves.
While
developing her company, her business plan was very different and unique. Being
a Communications major from FSU, her degree wasn’t going to play a major role
in leading her to success. So Sara read books on marketing, she designed her
own logo, and saved $3,000 in legal fees needed to trademark the Spanx name.
She also used books from Barnes & Noble and she learned how to do it
herself. In 2000, she launched the company from her own home. She worked full
time, taking all initial calls and marketing the Spanx product herself across
North America.
With a
positive attitude, Sara never gave up on becoming something and making something of
herself. Her original plan was to attend law school to become and attorney.
After taking the LSAT twice, and failing it horribly, she felt as if becoming
an attorney wasn’t her calling. But when looking at the bigger picture, she was
able to do more with her abilities and skills. In 2006, she started and
launched the Sara Blakely Foundation to help women with education and
entrepreneurial skill training.
