Curricula & Co                                  
  • About Us
    • Partnerships >
      • Accountancy
      • Branding
  • Business Studies
    • Overview
  • Careers Training
  • Visit Our Blog
  • Academy Life
    • Meet Our Clients
  • Contact Us

Boss Ladies - Sara Blakely

18/10/2017

Comments

 
Picture
​Introducing...
​Girl Power our a new series! With a sparkling new line-up of posts following the stories of women who have made it big in the business world, beating odds and surpassing expectations..
Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure you do things differently from anyone else.
Picture
Born in Florida, Sara Blakely is the founder and inventor of Spanx, the famous figure controlling ladies’ underwear range. She graduated with a communications degree. Initially, she planned to follow a career as an attorney, but abandoned this following very low test grades.
We don’t have the luxury of time. We spend more because of how we live, but it’s important to be with our family and friends.
After this, she worked at Disney for three months, while occasionally doing stand-up comedy. Following this, she got an office job at a company called Danka, in which she soon began to show a talent in sales. She was promoted to the position of national sales trainer at the age of 25.
Picture
The idea for Spanx came about by accident, when Sara, as part of her sales role, she had to wear pantyhose, in the hot weather of Florida. She didn’t like the way the seamed foot of the tights showed through her open toed sandals, but she liked the way the top part made her figure appear firmer and erased underwear lines. So she chopped off the feet of the tights, and was pleased with the results even though the fabric rolled up her legs.
Picture
The word “spanx” was funny. It made people laugh. No-one ever forgot it.
Over the next two years, Sara, while still working at Danka, used her $5,000 savings researching and developing her new idea. She pitched it to many hosiery companies, and was turned down by them all, because they only invested in established companies, rather than individuals. ​
Picture
This was a huge let down for Sara, but two weeks later, she was called by a mill operator who kindly offered to invest and help her get the business off the ground. He had been persuaded by his three daughters! 

It took a full year for the prototype to be perfected. This process involved the product being tested by Sara, her mother and her friends. This method of testing was highly unusual in the industry, as most products were tested using machines. 

Picture
Once this was completed, she arranged to pitch to a representative of the Neiman Marcus group. She demonstrated the product herself in order display its benefits to the best effect. As a direct result of this meeting, the product began to be sold in high end department stores across the country. Sara also sent a basket of the products to Oprah Winfrey’s show, and included a gift card to explain her plan of development.
Picture
Picture
In 2000, Oprah Winfrey proudly named Spanx as a favourite product. This endorsement led to a dramatic rise in sales and demand. Because of this, Sara was able to resign from Danka. The following year, she signed a contract with QVC, the TV home shopping channel, selling 8000 items in the first 6 minutes!

From 2014, Sara Blakely was the 93rd most powerful woman according to Forbes.

Comments

    Picture of the team

    Author

    Our blog is supported and updated by the information team here at Curricula & Co, providing you with inspiring stories, quotes and education: ​

    Business
    Careers
    ​Social Change  

    Student Registration

    £4.99
    Shop

    Categories

    All
    Academy Life
    Best Business Books
    Commercial Awareness
    Fun Facts
    Girl Power
    Household Names.....
    Inspiring Stories
    Monday Motivation
    Sharing Success Magazine
    Stories Of Highly Successful People
    Under 25s Business Successors


    Picture
    Picture of our accountants

    Picture

    Picture
    Picture of peach law team

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015

    RSS Feed



Support

Contact
FAQ

Terms of Use
Taster Meeting

Company

About
Partnerships 

Store
​Blog

Services

​Business Studies
Careers
​Advertise
Picture

© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About Us
    • Partnerships >
      • Accountancy
      • Branding
  • Business Studies
    • Overview
  • Careers Training
  • Visit Our Blog
  • Academy Life
    • Meet Our Clients
  • Contact Us