Podcast Summary
Making Business Travel and Career More Enjoyable and Innovative: Using the right rewards card, exploring opportunities in tech innovation, and staying confident as an entrepreneur can enhance business travel and career experiences.
Whether it's traveling for business or building a business, finding joy and innovation can make all the difference. For business travelers, using the right rewards card like the Delta Sky Miles Platinum Business American Express Card can help make the journey more enjoyable. For those seeking a career in technology and innovation, organizations like the National Security Agency offer exciting opportunities and perks. And for entrepreneurs, staying confident and optimistic, even when ideas are at their most vulnerable, is crucial for success. Listen to the latest interview from the How I Built This Summit with Sarah Blakely, founder of Spanx, for inspiring stories and insights on these topics. Plus, Wondery Plus subscribers can access early and ad-free content, including this interview, by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Keeping ideas a secret can aid in their development: Waiting to reveal an idea until it's solid can help overcome initial criticism and skepticism, allowing for focused growth.
Keeping ideas a secret in their infancy can be beneficial for their development. Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, shares her experience of pursuing her idea for a year before revealing it to anyone. She believes that the initial response from loved ones, out of concern and skepticism, could have discouraged her and prevented her from moving forward. Instead, she waited until she was ready to present a solid plan and faced potential criticism with confidence. This strategy allowed her to focus on the idea's growth rather than defending its merit. Additionally, having a clear intention and belief in the idea's potential, as Sarah did from her experience selling fax machines, can help overcome initial setbacks and doubts.
Determination and clear vision led to Spanx invention: Determination, clear vision, writing down ideas, and learning from rejection are essential skills for entrepreneurs to bring new ideas to life despite challenges and rejection.
Having a clear intention and belief in an idea, combined with resilience and persistence, can lead to great inventions and successful businesses. Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, shares how her experience in selling fax machines door-to-door and her determination to create a product that improved women's lives, led her to invent Spanx. She emphasizes the importance of writing down ideas and learning from rejection, which she believes are essential skills for entrepreneurs. Sarah's story illustrates that facing challenges and hearing the word "no" is a natural part of the innovation process, and with determination and a clear vision, one can overcome obstacles and bring new ideas to life.
Lack of industry experience can lead to fresh perspectives and risks: Being courageous, not fearless, and taking calculated risks can lead to innovation and entrepreneurial success.
Having no industry experience can sometimes provide an intuitive advantage, as it allows individuals to approach things with a fresh perspective and be more willing to take risks. Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, shares how her early experiences of selling fax machines door-to-door and moving her products next to the cash register at Neiman Marcus without asking for permission, were driven by her desire to stay miserable and take risks that terrified her. She emphasizes the importance of being courageous, not fearless, and continuing to face fears to build courage. Entrepreneurship and innovation require individuals to ask for forgiveness, not permission, and Blakely's persistence and dedication to her product's success are testament to this. Despite early challenges, she was confident in the product's potential and took bold steps to ensure its success, such as selling it to department stores and encouraging friends to buy it.
Persistence, creativity, and human connection fueled Sarah Blakely's early Spanx success: Sarah Blakely's early Spanx success was driven by her determination, innovative thinking, and the power of human connection. Encouragement from strangers at a critical moment gave her the confidence to keep going and build a successful, ethical business.
The early success of Sarah Blakely's Spanx brand came from a combination of persistence, creativity, and the power of human connection. Sarah recounted how she would ask friends to help her sell the product in department stores by standing nearby and showing interest. This "energy begets energy" effect drew in shoppers and helped launch the brand. Despite the slow development of the product and the initial challenges, Sarah's breakthrough came quickly once Oprah Winfrey featured Spanx on her show. In the midst of the sudden success, Sarah shared an act of kindness that stood out to her. At a cocktail party just three months after starting the company, three men approached her and, instead of dismissing her as a novice, offered encouragement and support, saying "business is war, but it doesn't have to be." This moment of kindness and belief from strangers gave Sarah the confidence to keep going and build her successful, ethical, and collaborative business.
Realizing unique strengths and weaknesses: Self-awareness and hiring the right team to complement weaknesses are crucial for business success.
Running a business is about finding your unique strengths and weaknesses, and building a team that complements them. Sarah Michelle Gellar shared her experience of realizing she didn't want to go to war with competitors and instead chose a different business approach. She believes that kindness, vulnerability, empathy, and intuition are valuable qualities in business, and it's important for founders to believe in themselves and hire people to fill their weaknesses. Sarah identified her weaknesses early on, such as day-to-day management and sales, and invested in hiring an operator to help her focus on her strengths. Her story highlights the importance of self-awareness and building a strong team to run a successful business. It's not necessary to be charismatic or extroverted to be a successful founder, but believing in yourself and hiring the right people to support you is crucial.
Managing Self-Doubt: A Continuous Process for Success: Identifying and reframing negative self-talk can help control self-doubt and improve focus and motivation. Everyone experiences imposter syndrome, but learning to manage it can lead to greater success.
Managing self-doubt and negative self-talk is crucial for success. The speaker shares her personal experience of feeling overwhelmed in the early days of her business and dealing with self-doubt. She emphasizes the importance of identifying and being aware of negative self-talk and reframing it to stay focused and motivated. The speaker also shares how she learned to control her thinking and train her mind to process things in a positive way during a difficult time in her life. Despite appearing successful, everyone experiences self-doubt and imposter syndrome, and learning to manage it can lead to greater success. As Wayne Dyer once said, "self-doubt will kill more successes than failures ever will." The speaker's story serves as a reminder that managing self-doubt is a continuous process and an essential component of achieving success.
Empathy and customer focus build successful businesses: Founders like Sarah Blakely and companies like Amika prioritize empathy and customer focus to create personalized products and services, while podcasts like Life is Short inspire us to connect with others and live fully.
Empathy and customer focus are key to building successful businesses. Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, shared her story of how she wore her product constantly and eventually gained recognition, inspiring her friends from high school. Now, Amika, a mutual insurance company, embodies this principle by asking about their customers' lives and needs to build personalized policies. Meanwhile, in the world of podcasts, Life is Short with Justin Long invites listeners to explore the thoughts and experiences of various personalities, reminding us that life is short and we should make the most of it. Empathy, whether in business or entertainment, can go a long way in creating meaningful connections.
