25 Sara Blakely Quotes from the Spanx Founder

By Clifton Sankofa | Published June 10, 2023

Feed your inner business mogul with our Sara Blakely quotes.

Sara Treleaven Blakely is an American businesswoman and the founder of Spanx.

Sara Blakely transformed an idea she was passionate about into a billion-dollar business.

Find out how with our Sara Blakely quotes below.

About Sara Blakely

Before her success in the world of hosiery, she had a diverse career.

Check out these interesting Sara Trelevean facts below:

Sara founded Spanx in Atlanta, Georgia.
Forbes magazine listed her as the 93rd most powerful woman on the planet.
In 2012 Blakely was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people worldwide.

What did Sara Blakely do before founding Spanx?

Before her success with Spanx, Blakely had several different careers.

Her first passion was law, but she changed her mind after taking the Law School Admission Test.

She worked at Walt Disney World, sold fax machines, and even moonlighted as a stand-up comedian.

While she found success in these fields, they did not bring her the satisfaction she was looking for.

How did Blakely come up with Spanx?

Blakely was a successful saleswoman who did very well selling fax machines for the office supply company Danka.

Naturally, she dressed professionally while doing her job, but the hot Florida sun took its toll on her.

Forced to wear pantyhose, she decided to put her energy into coming up with a product that eliminated panty lines, gave the body support, and did not have the seamed foot.

These conditions and her passion for fashion led her to put all her savings and effort into researching and developing her brilliant new hosiery idea.

She drove to North Carolina, America’s hosiery mill capital, and presented her ideas.

She was turned down many times by every representative she met with.

However, Blakely remained undeterred.

She never gave up, relying on the support of her family while keeping an open mind to what was possible.

After years of never giving up, she finally received a call from a hosiery company that wished to support her.

The rest, as they say, is history!

Is Sara Blakely a billionaire?

Today, Spanx is wildly successful and continues to lead the market of body-shaping intimate wear.

In 2012, she became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire.

To learn more, check out our Sarah Blakely quotes below.

The Best Sara Blakely Quotes

These are the top ten quotes from Sarah Blakely.

1. “Don’t be afraid to fail.” — Sara Blakely

2. “My dad encouraged us to fail growing up.” — Sara Blakely

3. “It’s important to be willing to make mistakes.” — Sara Blakely

4. “Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know.” — Sara Blakely

5. “What you don’t know can become your greatest asset.” — Sara Blakely

6. “I feel like money makes you more of who you already are.” — Sara Blakely

7. “Embrace what you don’t know, especially in the beginning.” — Sara Blakely

8. “Failure to me became not trying versus not succeeding.” — Sara Blakely

9. “Most of the reason we don’t do things is because we’re afraid to fail.” — Sara Blakely

10. “Failures are life’s way of nudging you and letting you know you are off course.” — Sara Blakely

Best Sara Blakely Quotes About Fear and Failure

Blakely credits her father for helping her see fear as fuel instead of a setback.

11. “It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome; failure is not trying.” — Sara Blakely

12. “I just made a decision one day that I was not going to do things in my life because of fear.” — Sara Blakely

13. “That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” — Sara Blakely

14. “Failure is not attached to outcome, but in not trying. This way, it is about answering to yourself.” — Sara Blakely

15. “Trying new things and not being afraid to fail along the way are more important than what you learn in school.” — Sara Blakely

Famous Sara Blakely Quotes and Career Advice

Below, Blakely gives some of her best career advice for professionals.

16. “My brain always goes to, ‘Where is the hidden blessing? What is my gift?’” — Sara Blakely

17. “There is a hidden blessing in the most traumatic things we go through in our lives.” — Sara Blakely

18. “Differentiate yourself! Why are you different? What’s important about you? Why does the customer need you?” — Sara Blakely

19. “If somebody can do something 80 percent as good as you think you would have done it yourself, then you’ve got to let it go.” — Sara Blakely

20. “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 Blakely

Sara Blakely Quotes About Life and Success

Here are some of Sara’s astute observations.

21. “I made a conscious decision not to tell anyone in my life.” — Sara Blakely

22. “Everything in our society is so purposeful. Let’s bring joy back to the experience.” — Sara Blakely

23. “Now I tell people, don’t tell anyone your idea until you have invested enough of yourself in it that you are not going to turn back.” — Sara Blakely

24. “When a person has an idea at that conception moment, it is the most vulnerable–one negative comment could knock you off course.” — Sara Blakely

25. “You want to tell the people who can help move your idea forward, but if you’re just looking to your friend, co-worker, husband, or wife for validation, be careful. It can stop a lot of multimillion-dollar ideas in their tracks in the beginning.” — Sara Blakely