She didn't build that, WE did, and we want it back
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Sarah Blakely
Ms. Blakely may well be a screaming liberal, in which case, she may be on board with the Democrats’ proposed “wealth tax” on unrealized gains, a tax that will take funds away from entrepreneurs like her as they try to build and grow their companies, but I hope would-be billionaires take note that her type of success will be made harder, if not impossible when the seed corn is stripped away by politicians.
Blakely’s privately-held company was valued at $1 billion in 2012, which under the Democrats’ plan would have subjected her to special wealth tax. So far as I can see, there’s no provision in the tax for refunding that money when, as here, competition hit Spanx and drove its value down below the billion dollar mark. “Oops! Tough luck, but think of all the beltway loot you generated — thanks!”
Blakely said when announcing the sale last week, and as reported by Forbes, “People have asked me for 20 years, ‘When will you sell Spanx?’ And for 20 years I would say…‘I’ll just know.’ Well, that day is today,”
She made the decision when to sell, and for how much, not some people’s committee of New American Socialists. Would they have had the patience to see the company grow?
For that matter, what, other than the force of the state, would give them a claim on this woman’s success?
Here’s how this enemy of the people exploited the poor and got rich doing so:
Although she initially planned to become an attorney, she reconsidered after scoring very low on the Law School Admission Test; she instead accepted a job at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where she worked for three months. She also occasionally worked as a stand-up comedian during this period.After her short stint at Disney, Blakely accepted a job with office supply company Danka, where she sold fax machines door-to-door. She was quite successful in sales and was promoted to national sales trainer at the age of 25. Forced to wear pantyhose in the hot Floridian climate for her sales role, Blakely disliked the appearance of the seamed foot while wearing open-toed shoes but liked the way that the control-top model eliminated panty lines and made her body appear firmer. For her attendance at a private party, she experimented by cutting off the feet of her pantyhose while wearing them under a new pair of slacks and found that the pantyhose continuously rolled up her legs, but she also achieved the desired result.
At age 27, Blakely relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, and while still working at Danka, spent the next two years and US $5,000 savings (equivalent to $7,900 in 2020) researching and developing her hosiery idea. Blakely then drove to North Carolina, the location of most of America's hosiery mills, to present her idea. She was turned away by every representative; these companies were used to dealing with established companies, and did not see the value of her idea. Two weeks after arriving home from her North Carolina trip, Blakely received a call from a male mill operator based in Asheboro, North Carolina, who offered to support Blakely's concept, as he had received strong encouragement from his three daughters. Blakely further explained in 2011 that the experience of developing her idea also revealed to her that the hosiery manufacturing industry was overseen solely by men who were not using the products they were producing.
The creation of the initial product prototype was completed over the course of a year.
Blakely then returned to a patent attorney to finalize her application prior to her submission to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and he agreed to assist her for a sum of $750. Following the submission of the online application, she then worked on the packaging of her product. Blakely used her credit card to purchase the "Spanx" trademark on the USPTO website for $150. She managed to arrange a meeting with a representative of the Neiman Marcus Group, at which she changed into the product in the ladies restroom in the presence of the Neiman Marcus buyer to prove the benefits of her innovation. Blakely's product was sold in seven Neiman Marcus stores as a result of the meeting; Bloomingdales, Saks, and Bergdorf Goodman soon followed. At around this time, Blakely sent a basket of products to Oprah Winfrey's television program, with a gift card that explained what she was attempting to develop. Blakely initially handled all aspects of the business, including marketing, logistics and product positioning, preferring the location of Spanx alongside shoes in retail outlets, rather than in hosiery sections; however, her boyfriend at the time, a healthcare consultant, later resigned from his job and joined in the running of the nascent business. Blakely was contacting friends and acquaintances, including those from her past, and asking them to seek out her products at select department stores in exchange for a check that she would send to them by mail as a token of appreciation. In November 2000, Winfrey named Spanx one of her "Favorite Things," which led to a significant rise in popularity and sales, as well as Blakely's resignation from Danka. Spanx achieved $4 million in sales in its first year and $10 million in sales in its second year. In 2001, Blakely signed a contract with QVC, the home shopping channel. In 2012, Blakely landed on the cover of Forbes magazine for being the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world.
