At 10X Growth Conference 2019, I had the honor of interviewing an absolute icon in business. Record-breaking youngest self-made billionaire woman. One of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People in the World. I’m talking about none other than Sara Blakely, founder of the highly successful shapewear brand SPANX…
When I sat down to interview Sara Blakely, I knew everyone in Marlins Stadium was in for a real treat.
As the creator of a brand that has touched the lives of women around the globe, Sara is the embodiment of heightened levels of success.
At 10X Growth Con, the self-made billionaire didn’t shy away from sharing the challenges, failures, and sacrifices she made in her empire-building journey.
And today, I’m excited to share some of the most powerful insights from our conversation…
Top 5 Lessons from Self-Made Billionaire Sara Blakely at 10X Growth Con 2019
1. “I’ve got to rewrite this script.”
Several years before founding SPANX, Sara found herself at a crossroads in life. For seven years, she had been selling fax machines. Doors slammed in her face. Business cards ripped to shreds.
She wasn’t living in her purpose, and her potential was wasting away…
All until one day that changed the trajectory of her entire life.
Sara was driving home after hours of closed doors and difficult clients. She pulled to the side of the road, tears streaming down her face, wondering how her life ended up this way.
Right then and there, she made a commitment to rewrite her script…
2. “I’m spending all day […] selling somebody else’s product. What if I could sell my own?”
That same day, Sara went home to her apartment and wrote down her strengths and weaknesses on a piece of paper. The skill which stood out the most was selling, and now she was determined to sell her own product.
“I’m going to invent a product that I can sell to millions of people that will make them feel good.” This is the very statement Sara noted in her journal that night.
Two years later, she found herself cutting the feet off control-top pantyhose so she could solve her own undergarment issue.
And her billion-dollar idea began coming to life before her very eyes…
3. “Failure [isn’t] about outcome, it [is] about not trying.”
When I asked Sara about the best advice she has ever received, she brought up her father’s views on failure.
“When I was growing up, my dad actually encouraged me to fail,” Sara said at 10X Growth Con.
“At the dinner table, he would ask my brother and me what we had failed at that week. […] If we couldn’t tell him something we failed at, he’d be disappointed. […] What I realized is that he was redefining my definition of failure.”
Today, Sara embraces failures as a journey — not a destination — and opportunities to try.
4. “As soon as you can afford to, hire your weaknesses.”
Later on in life, Sara collected more priceless lessons as a woman in business. When she emphasized the importance of building a trusted team and delegating your weaknesses, I couldn’t agree more.
“As an entrepreneur, you’re every department,” Sara said. “You learn very quickly what you’re good at and what you’re not good at, what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy. And there’s usually a correlation between these two. So, as soon as I could afford to hire the things I wasn’t the best at, it allowed me to stay in my lane.”
Thanks to Sara’s courage to grow her team, she was able to expand her empire to the billion-dollar brand it is today.
5. “Aim high.”
Finally, the business mogul’s last success secret is possibly the most powerful of all.
When I asked Sara if she had a life motto, she mentioned several. However, what stood out to me the most were two simple yet impactful words — “Aim high.”
“A lot of people talk about aiming high… It sounds a little cliche, but it is so incredibly true,” Sara said. “Wherever you’re aiming, 10X it.”
And if you’re ready to aim higher than ever before, join me, Grant, and a panel of five-star speakers at the next 10X Growth Conference in Las Vegas.
Build an empire,
Elena Cardone
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