Most people who dislike a certain outfit simply change into something else. However, Sara Blakely took a different approach. Blakely was 27, working a sales job in Florida for fax machines and preparing for a party when the thought of her cream pants came to her mind. She decided her pants needed smooth, sheer hosiery underneath, with no toe lines showing through her open-toe shoes. Blakely reached for the first thing she could find that would solve her problem: her scissors. She cut off the feet of her pantyhose, according to Forbes, and that led to Spanx. That small act led to the creation of Spanx and made Blakely the youngest self-made female billionaire in the magazines' history by 2012.
The sales job that funded her first idea
Before introducing Spanx, Blakely worked as a salesperson, promoting Danka fax machines. She had enough skill to be promoted quickly and, in her mid-twenties, train other salespeople. Blakely had no experience in fashion, clothing retail, or manufacturing and knew little about the industry. The gap between her prior work experience and her intention to create products for women was immense, and she had no connections to help her. It took Blakely years of hosiery frustrations and several attempts to find a solution while keeping her full-time job.
