Shhh! Sara Blakely's Business Secrets

Sara Blakely, founder of the super-slimming undergarment giant Spanx, might never have created a multi-million dollar global empire if it had not been for her butt. Frustrated by nature’s imperfections, visible panty lines, and uncomfortable thongs, she set about creating a revolutionary brand that has transformed female body shapes.

Like many women, her body was turning against her. Gravity was taking hold, her thighs were expanding, and cellulite was puckering her once smooth skin. Creams had no effect, thongs restrained nothing, and support hosiery did not stay hidden.

Matters came to a head when she was getting ready for a party, and was shocked to discover that her pale linen trousers revealed all her flaws and blemishes. But a genius flash of inspiration saved the day. She grabbed a pair of scissors, cut the feet off her pantyhose, slipped them on, and the lines and imperfections were masked from the world’s gaze. It made a huge difference to her wardrobe, and at that moment Blakely realized she was onto something big.

Celebrity Spanxing
Since her changing room epiphany Blakely’s range of undergarments have Spanxed the backsides of millions of women. There have been impressive endorsements from celebrity fans on the red carpet, and Oprah says she can’t live without them. And it’s hardly surprising. With Spanx there are no lumps, no bumps, no VPL (visible panty lines) – just a smooth svelte shape that makes women feel like a million dollars. And this has helped to create a company that sold an estimated $350 million worth of products in 2008.

No business background
Yet the brains behind the power panties and hosiery empire started her entrepreneurial career with two major drawbacks – she didn’t know the first thing about the pantyhose industry and had no background in business. After graduating from Florida State University and failing her law school entrance exam, she spent several months dressed as a chipmunk at Disney World before embarking on a career selling photocopiers. She excelled in sales and stayed in the job for seven years, though it was not her passion.

But then she created a product that fulfilled a need among consumers, and despite a lack of formal business training had the courage to embark on her entrepreneurial career. She is the absolute embodiment of the can-do attitude.

It took Blakely a year to create a prototype that she was happy with. She worked on the design at night and on weekends, and at the same time tried to patent her revolutionary product. Patent lawyers turned her down, so she bought a patent book from Barnes & Noble and researched pantyhose patents at the Georgia Tech Library. She wrote the patent herself, and it was approved.

Finding support
The next big challenge was to find a manufacturer. She spent a year cold-calling mill owners – who all reportedly hung up on her. Not to be beaten, she took a week off work and drove around to the mills instead. Without exception they all turned her away. But then two weeks later she got a call from one of the owners who had rejected her. He had run the idea by his two daughters and they loved it.

Then with the product in hand, or on butt, she took it to the buyers. She had 10 minutes at Neiman Marcus, and rather than present a detailed pitch with bar graphs and projection, she asked the buyer to accompany her to the restroom – where she gave a before-and-after demonstration in her cream pants. It worked. Three weeks later the product was on the shelves, and she adopted the same sales pitch for Saks, Bloomingdale’s, and all her other buyers.

At no point did the undergarment guru borrow any money – the company has been profitable since its first day of business. And she had no budget for advertising, many long days were spent giving in-store demonstrations, and her friends were roped in to call newspapers, magazines, and TV stations.

Firm backing from Oprah
The big turning point was when Oprah’s people called. They wanted to feature her on Oprah’s Favorite Things. Usually they don’t film any individuals for the segment, but Oprah loved her story so much that she changed the format, and the crew filmed at the headquarters of Blakely’s operation – in reality, the back of her apartment. It aired in 2000, and the rest is hosiery history. Sales have been stellar ever since.

Blakely has never stopped innovating, and now there are more than 100 Spanx styles. She has an obsessive desire to make life more comfortable for women, and to this end she has also set up the Sara Blakely Foundation, which is dedicated to helping women globally through education and entrepreneurship.
She has created a dream product, something that many women now feel they can’t live without. It’s unlikely that the bottom will ever fall out of her market. – P.A.

Business Ideas to Swipe for Yourself
Blakely create a huge buzz around one of the most boring products imaginable, pantyhose, and it took her all the way to the top. Here’s how:

Keep it secret – She knew her product was a multi-million dollar idea, but didn’t want to hear the inevitable skepticism and cries of “it’ll never work” that greet any discovery. So she kept it quiet.

Use word of mouth – Spanx never hired a PR or sales company. Blakely and her friends spread the word themselves, and they sent a basket of products to Oprah.

Have no fear of failure – Blakely’s biggest fear is not trying, something that her father instilled in her. When she was younger he would ask her what she had failed at that week. If she didn’t have a story, he’d be disappointed. It encouraged her to leap out of her comfort zone without fear. In the two years it took her to develop her first product, she heard the word “no” countless numbers of times, but it never fazed her.

Know why you are different – In every category of her business Blakely always asks herself three questions: “Why am I different?” “Am I better?” “If so, why?”

Have guts and self-belief – Blakely had no business background, just acres of self-belief and the determination to succeed.

Hire the best people – She was taken aback by the complexity of running a business and managing staff. So she hired brilliant people to do it for her.

Come up with a great name – Blakely knew that Coca-Cola and Kodak were two of the most popular brands, and from her time doing stand-up comedy she knew that the “k” sound makes people laugh. She replaced the “ks” with an “x” because research told her that made-up names do very well.

(c) 2010 Ali International