9 Inspiring Quotes From Self-Made Billionaire and Spanx Founder Sara BlakelySeeking inspiration? Sara Blakely's entrepreneurial story will motivate you.
ByRose Leadem•
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Before launching the billion-dollar company Spanx, its founder Sara Blakelywanted tobecome a lawyer. However, after scoring too low on the law school admissions test, she switched gears and went intosales.Selling fax machinesdoor to door for the company, Danka, Blakely realized her knack for business, and quickly rose up thecorporate ladder. It was also during her time at Danka that Blakely came up with her billion-dollar idea for Spanx.
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Disliking the way the feet of her pantyhose looked in open-toed shoes but loving the way pantyhose provided a firm top, Blakely not only decided to cut off the bottoms but came up with a biggeridea. What if there were pantyhose with a control-top but without the annoying feet? From there, Blakely saved up to research and eventually launch her hosiery idea.
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For more inspiration from Blakely and her entrepreneurial journey, here are nine quotes from the self-made billionaire.
On mistakes
"It's important to be willing to make mistakes. The worst thing that can happen is you become memorable." -- Sara BlakelyOn failure
"My dad encouraged us to fail growing up. He would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn't have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome -- failure is not trying. Don't be afraid to fail." -- Sara BlakelyOn being different
"Differentiate yourself! Why are you different? What's important about you? Why does the customer need you?" -- Sara Blakely
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On the future
"You've got to visualize where you're headed and be very clear about it. Take a Polaroid picture of where you're going to be in a few years." -- Sara BlakelyOn resilience
"In business, you're going to hear the word "no' a lot. The importance of trusting yourself and your own rear end is what's going to keep you going. Recognize that failure or the word "no' is not the end." -- Sara BlakelyOn trust
"Trusting your gut is like a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger it gets." -- Sara Blakely
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