Wondering why you're not there yet?

Wondering why you're not there yet? In 2021, Sara Blakely became the youngest self-made female billionaire. But here's why her story could have very easily never happened.

Am I, you're smirking at me.

I just realized my hand was touching the top of this, so you may not have heard the first three words that you said because I was…

Ay.

Anyway, welcome back to Useful Not Famous. This is a show where we, I always forget what my intro is supposed to be, so this is just a show where we help small business owners figure out what the hell to make in the wild west of content creation. I'm Amara Andrew.

And I'm Jeff Sarris.

So, before we get into it, if you are listening to this show and if you are listening to this specific episode, it's probably for a number of different reasons, but primarily because we have all had that imposter syndrome of well, what if I did this? Or what if I did that? Or, "Oh, well, somebody else is already doing this.

I couldn't possibly do this." So, you're probably struggling with those questions or you have struggled with those questions at some point in your life, or maybe somebody has sent this episode to you, and then they're just saying that, you know, it's going to be okay. Here's what to do. So anyway, without further ado…

And persevere.

Yes. Persevere? Persevere.

Persevere.

Whew!

Okay, so, Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx and she is the—in 2021 became the youngest, self-made, female billionaire in history. So, can you—oh, you want me to put the timer on? Ay, so we have—we do five minutes…

Also, we should explain this. It's like 8:00. We never record this late, but we've had a full, full day.

Yeah, three five-minute segments. The first one is "Why", the second one is "What", the third segment is "How", how you can apply it to your world. Well, let us start with the "Why."

You heard that bump? That was me bumping my head into the…

Bumping.

…the mic.

So, first, Sara Blakely in 2021, the world's youngest self-made female billionaire ever in history. But can you, being a lady, explain what Spanx are real quick?

I kind of like how you said that. So, Spanx, if you're not familiar, I personally have never tried them, just because it actually scares me a little bit to put them on. I know that sounds crazy, but I definitely could have used them for high school prom, but I digress.

Spanx are basically just a control top hosiery. So, essentially from the bottom of your bust all the way down to basically your ankles. I think there are different lengths as well, so it can do your—what?

It comes from where to where?

Your bust to your ankles.

Your what?

Your ta-tas.

Okay, go on.

Your boobie-loobie-loopies. So, from boobies down to ankles, it is a control top hosiery, so essentially, it just sucks everything in and makes everything smooth. So, whether it's that weird donut that you can get from like your bra down to your underwear, like when you're wearing like a high skirt or something, you get that little donut around, anyway, or it can be like your thighs, maybe they're not as smooth as you would like, or maybe your butt's not super smooth.

Anyway, it just literally you're like a sausage in casing and it makes everything so smooth.

So, this existed before Spanx? Right?

This idea?

Yeah.

Oh, in varying degrees. So, there was like a girdle that you could wear. I mean, corsets had been around.

Like there are a lot of historical precedents to this, but this was like a modern way of being able to wear essentially a corset, kind of.

Well, and what—what else happened is in, it was like 1998 when Sara Blakely, she already had the control top whatever, hosiery, or whatever, but they had feet on them. So, she couldn't wear the shoes she wanted to wear because you would see that she has these weird, smushy-looking feet that aren't normal.

Those are just her toes.

Yeah. So, what she ended up doing is she cut the ankles and the feet off of the hosiery that she had so she was able to wear the pants she wanted and look the way that she wanted and feel the way she wanted to feel. But here's the thing: there's the that one idea made her a billionaire, but that one idea today, say, she could have easily come up with that idea in 2025 and been like, "This works well.

Let me make a TikTok and tell people to do this." And that could have been the end of the story. Like the 1998's before YouTube and TikTok, but you still could blog and do all these things where you could tell your friends and spread the news about whatever. And she could have easily just been like, "Oh, yeah, people can just do this." So, that was the first time she could have just quit and said, "There's nothing, there's nothing here.

This is just a this is an idea and something that's helpful to me." But she realized this should exist because there were a few refinements that could have been made, like elastic around the ankles, things to hold it in place so it doesn't just roll up your leg as you're like walking around. So, she spent years trying to figure out what type of elastic to use and how to actually hold the ankles in place to have everything smooth and work the way she wanted to.

Once she started to find things that worked, she went to manufacturers and she was turned down every single time when she was trying to get anyone to try to make a prototype for her. And without actually having a prototype, how can she sell to anyone? So, she was sort of dead in the water.

And then, I think it was about two years after she had the idea and had been working on it, she just worked in sales, she still had her day job this whole time she's trying to do this. There were many roadblocks in the way where she could have easily quit and been like, "Oh, it's not worth it, just tell people. Tell people to use scissors," you know, kind of thing.

And strapping elastic around your ankles.

Yeah, yeah. It was about two years in when she had Oprah on, and Oprah's on her show saying exactly what Sara Blakely figured out.

Wouldn't that just be gutting?

So, she just said, she's like, "You see what I'm what I'm wearing here?" Why is this stupid thing so long? Your little handle on your cord, your handle on your cord. There, okay, there we go.

Okay.

No more recording at 8:00 p.m.

No, but it's the camera's right here and the little strap keeps hitting me, but. So…

You keep hitting the strap, the strap is not moving.

On Oprah's show, Sara Blakely's watching, and on the show, she's just like, "Look, I'm able to wear these shoes, blah, blah, blah, because look, I cut the bottoms off of the hosiery." That easily could have been a moment where time, that easily could have been a moment where Sara Blakely was like, "Okay, now it's really out there.

Like everyone knows, like this is the biggest show in the world in like 2000." Everyone has heard this now, why would I keep going? But she used that as inspiration to be like, "No, that I have an idea here. Clearly, now someone else who I respect came to the same conclusion, so it tells me there's something I need to actually make happen." So, that was the point she sort of pushed the pedal to the metal again and kept going, and her story goes on from there and like it's several more years until everything's clicked and it's sold at like Neiman Marcus and all these other stores and then by 2021, like 20 years later, is when she becomes a billionaire.

But the whole company could have never happened if she just sort of kept thinking small and let all of the obstacles stay in her way, rather than sort of the Stoic perspective of like, "The obstacle is the way", and knowing like, "No, I need to keep pushing through this because there's something better on the other side."

Yep. Yeah.

Any feedback here at all? Any—

I'm waiting for my section.

You're like, "I wasn't listening at all."

I was doing my grocery list. No, it's very true, though, cuz it's it's difficult to not get discouraged by especially seeing fucking Oprah in the '90s. Like that was huge.

Like that was like I mean, I never watched Oprah, but like I know that she was a very big thing, like personality, presence, the show was huge, which also was here in Chicago. So, having literally one of the biggest daytime TV talk show host celebrities of the time period be like, "Oh, just do this." That would be so gutting to see.

And that's something, too, in the social media spesh space, which is where one of our businesses, MAVEN, is based. Like we film social media content with Realtors and small businesses around the country. If you ever see something that is like, "Oh, well, I thought of that, but I didn't have time, or I didn't get to do that," or whatever, that's like the worst feeling, because it's like, "Well, shit, I should've like doubled down on that, because look at this like asshole.

Like they're doing so much better with it, because they stuck with it, or they tried it, or they took the they shot the shot," or whatever. It's gutting.

Yeah, you just can't let that hold you back to be like, you mentioned imposter syndrome, like just because you haven't yet pushed through doesn't mean you're an imposter. You just haven't gotten to the point where you're a full pasta. Oh.

Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want feedback on that, too? Lasagna!

Well, little sassy pants over there.

Oh, what was I heard a rap lyric the other day and it was…

Oh, from one of the "a rap songs"? The way you said "a rap lyric".

Oh no, I was trying to remember what song it was. I think it was "6 Foot 7 Foot"? I forget.

Anyway, but I was listening to it and it was "Moving silent like the G in lasagna." I totally butchered that, but it was so good! Anyways, speaking of pasta. What have you been up to?

What have I been up to? Okay, so this is now I need to see what time. This mid section five minutes is yeah, it's "What", so just what we're up to right now, and then we'll get to the how you can apply sort of the big thinking and pushing through obstacles to your life and content creation.

"Real Gs move in silence like lasagna." Get it? "Real Gs." That's what was so brilliant. See, I totally messed it up, but…

It was good.

Oh, it was so good. I heard it and I paused it, and I like replayed it. Whenever there are lyrics like that, I'm just like, "God, that's so fucking brilliant." Anyway.

Not like…

Now, I'm not even gonna say…

Oh!

I was gonna say different lyrics, like, "I'm not repeating that."

Okay, so what, what have we been up to?

Right now, we're podcasting.

Oh, okay.

We seriously can't record this late anymore. I'm like punchy. Yeah, this week we recorded with one of our Top Bananas, which is very fun.

We try…

And Top Bananas are the people we film, Realtors and small businesses we film hyper-local social media content for and with.

Yes, so lost my train of thought.

So, we filmed here in Chicago.

Oh, but we tried something new. We tried a new type of filming, which is very interesting and it's something that's being it's very prevalent in the real estate space right now because…

They're called scoops and it's sort of a news anchor type delivery.

Yeah, so what we're always doing is trying to iterate and sort of improve our business consistently, because nothing Evolve. Nothing is just stagnant and the same. It's like things are always changing and things are always evolving, so you need to actually do the changing and evolving, otherwise, if we were doing the same thing we were doing two years ago, it could work, but that's not how the landscape is.

And then, I don't know, just continuously building and trying to make new and better things.

When you said it's almost a running joke, every time you email a Top Banana before we're filming that you're like, "So everything's new again!"

I just leave that part at the top of the email, because spoiler, I copy and paste from the last email, because it's like, "Well, your name's in there." There are like certain things that I just don't change, and I just change out the date, but, obviously, I change out all the copy and all the ideas, but it's always just like, " hey, like blah.

As usual, everything's changed again!" And that's like the thing that I have at the top of every email, which I find funny. They may or may not even care or notice, but I find it very funny.

Well, no, everyone has said everyone says that they love how we're always evolving. Like it depends.

Yeah, well, the people that have stayed with us for a very long time, like almost since the beginning, they've seen this complete evolution of different things, but like that's a necessity.

Well, yeah, it's what works now and sort of the evergreen approaches always work, but then there's always what we talked about, tactics versus strategy. The strategy always works. Our strategy has never changed, but the tactics we're using for that strategy are constantly evolving.

. So, yeah. So, we did that, and then just a lot of editing this week.

Going to sneeze? Do you need a doctor? I can play one on TV.

And I'm making some music, which is always fun.

Yeah, do you want to talk about your songs?

No, we don't need to.

Are you sure? You want to play one right now?

I mean, you know I'd like to play one. They're very they just they make me so happy and make me laugh.

They're so weird.

But they're silly. I feel like the description would always just be "songs that make me laugh." That'd be the way to describe what I everything I make. Anyway, so, we are also like still working on Hyveway and our products, and trying to bring our Top Banana experience, what?

I'm not even gonna ask, when is that coming out?

Trying to bring the Top Banana experience to sort of the product space, to let people create their own content without having to figure out what to create.

Well, yeah, Hyveway itself has even evolved tremendously since the beginning of what it was going to be, because like just with technology and everything, it's like, okay, well, this is what we were thinking, and then now, it's just pivoted to such a different product, and I know it's going to keep growing into something else.

Well, yeah, it's and it's still the same where it's content prompts and giving you exactly what to make, but the depth of it is so much richer.

Well, yeah, and just different types of content. Oh, I have so much I need to do for that. Constant reminder.

Silly.

So, yeah. That's what we've been up to. To be honest, you hit record before I thought you were going to hit record, and I feel all flustered.

I was not ready, and you're just like, "So today," and I was like I wasn't. I thought you were going to be like, "Okay, are you ready?" You're just like, "We're doing this now." So, I was like, "Oh, fuck, my notes are everywhere." So, that's why I'm a little off game right now. I'm trying to catch up.

Well, I'm sorry. You said something and I was like, "Oh, she's ready," so I clicked it and then damn.

I was just like, "Okay, typing out notes. Okay, that'll be good. Oh, fuck, we're recording, hi!" And that's why I was going like this.

Well, we'll put five more minutes on the clock. Okay, it's mustard time. So…

Ketchup is way better. I love ketchup on my hot dogs.. In Chicago, that's like saying I love Hitler.

That was perfect! I wonder how that sounds, cuz we said that precisely at the same speed and cadence and timing.

You know what's going to happen? It's just going to be silent. "I love…" Cuz we matched each other's so To be We're not laughing about Hitler, we're laughing at us saying anyway.

Delete that part.

No edits, we only do one pass through.

I know, that's the problem!

So, what's the what's the how? So, how can someone apply sort of this thinking, pushing through obstacles, thinking bigger, and sort of really deciding like is this a moment to accept that, "Okay, maybe I am feeling imposter syndrome, maybe I am out of my depth," or, "No, this is something I need to push through," and how do you decide?

I mean, I know it sounds really trite and like what everybody says, but if you have the passion or the belief behind it, you're not going to stop. And I think that's what Sara Blakely had. Like I've never listened to any interviews with her, to be fully honest, like I don't really know much about her, but to almost like obsess over making hosiery for women to feel confident and good in whatever they wear, that's like a severe passion, and like thinking about the outcome of like, "Wow, I could make at least 10 women feel better in their evening gowns when they go out for a night with their husband or partner or whatever, like wearing this, like whatever it is." So, anyway, just, I guess, first, figure out if you do have that passion and that like, "Yeah, I want to do this," like, cuz you have to at least love a little bit of what you're doing, otherwise you are going to hate it.

And that is what burnout is, is when you just don't like what you're doing, point blank. Like I know this is kind of controversial, but I don't believe that burnout exists. I believe that you hate what you're doing, and that's it.

Like you don't get burnt out on something that you love, it's purely just, "I hate doing this, and I'm just pushing through," and maybe that's a time when you should reflect and be like, "Maybe I don't want to be a baker. Maybe I don't want to be a pirate." Maybe I don't want to do this. Like I really feel like burnout is only if you hate, hate, hate what you're doing, and you need to change.

Can I add one little bit?

No.

Okay.

Go ahead.

So, I think it's also if something is too easy or too hard. Because if it's way too easy, and you have to keep doing it, it's just like monotony, and it's like, "Oh, I hate this." Or if it's way too hard, you can never get the sort of positive outcome feedback, cuz you've dialed the knob way too far. So, you're you're sort of in a no man's land on either side of too easy, too hard.

It's like a I think there's a non-burnout sweet spot somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, that could be, cuz yeah, then you would need to work on your balance a little bit better, instead of just being like, "Well, let's just do like three things," or, "Let's just do nothing," or, "Let's do all the things." Like that is a very good point. Excuse me, I had to burp. I had a burp.

If we clipped this show just for audio clips, I'd like, "I had a burp."

"Like Hitler." I don't even remember what it was for.

I don't either.

Maybe we should record at 8:00. But getting back on track, how What the hell is even the episode? But no, just trying to not get discouraged is also very important.

So, not only do you have the passion, but then you need to actually have the practical of like being able to like balls to the wall, get it done, cuz that's also very important, like act on what it is that you want to do. Try not to get discouraged. It's very, very difficult, especially nowadays with globalization.

Everybody can connect and talk and have ideas together, and maybe you'll meet somebody who has the same exact as you like same exact idea as you do of having a topless donut shop, and you're like, "Well, I wanted to do that." And then it's like I actually know someone who wanted to do that, which is crazy. But somebody could have your same exact idea.

Time! Perfect, dramatic pause. But what you need to remember is even if somebody has the same exact idea as you, you are what's going to make it different.

How you go about solving that problem, making the product, all these things, that is what's going to make it a different product altogether. So, like in our episode last week, where we were talking about fluency, which is familiarity, versus disfluency, which is the unfamiliar, the like the stuff that makes you uncomfortable a little bit.

Disfamiliarity! Disfamiliarity. Where like we love the fluency, we love the familiar, because it feels familiar to us.

When you have something disfluent where it's like, "What the fuck is that?" You don't really like it. Like Lil Nas X, he's very weird, but I like him, but not a lot of people may like him for a number of reasons, but…

I mean, but the reason everyone…

…he is familiar also in a way.

…the reason everyone loved his first ever song…

Oh, yeah.

…is because how familiar it was.

Yeah.

That one. But we also, because it's so familiar, it was like rap, hip hop with country, and very just exp- there was nothing really shocking about it except blending these two genres together.

Yeah.

And we also talked about it earlier, the when it comes to like art, and how looking at just a random piece of art doesn't really give you much, but as soon as you have context for it, that changes how you look completely look at all of it.

. So, the same is for your ideas of what you want to be. So, for example, because we work with a lot of Realtors, using Realtors as an example, there may be certain markets that you want to tap into, but you don't feel like you can, because either somebody or a whole team is already there, and that's, quote-unquote, "their territory." I've heard this verbatim from numerous Realtors, and my immediate thought is, "So what?

You go in there, you be unique, and you take over. Like, what's the fucking problem?" I don't get it, but it's it's an unspoken Realtor code, I guess. There's there's a there's sort of a block there that I personally don't understand, where I'd be like, "Fuck it, I'm going to burn it down to the ground." Not the houses, because you need to sell those, but just don't be afraid to go in there.

Don't feel discouraged if it's like, "Well, Bob and Susie have been there for 700 years, and they're like a generational real estate family." Okay, cool. Maybe Todd and Bob, who live down the street, running out of names! How many names are there?

You've run out of all the names. Like, "Well, maybe Todd and Bob down the street are new to the area, they don't know who Susie and Kelly, whoever the fuck I said before, are." And they're just like, "Oh, well, I'll work with you because you're cool and you ride a motorcycle. Like, I want to work with you."

That's the part right there, because everyone's different.

Yeah, it's finding the stuff.

Like, when we first started, we filmed with some people who were in the exact same neighborhood in Chicago, like…

Yeah. Literally down the street.

…complete polar opposite people.

Yeah.

Yeah, they are they were such different people. And like we had been asked, we've been asked since, like, "Are you ever afraid of filming with the same people in the same market?" And it's like, we don't typically film with people in the same market out of respect to our other Top Bananas, because like it's not something that they always would want.

But there's no actual practical reason why we don't, because we work with people that we like, people we relate to, people who we are fluent in, like if you're a religious mother of three who dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, like this whole like sort of laundry list of things, there's certain people who are like, "That's my person."

But then, the established people in the market might be 73 years old and they've sold houses since they were 16, like, and that's a different type of person who would go for them.

Yeah. So, don't be afraid to, well, be you, Matt Nagy. Thank you.

And also, to be you and to also go for it. And the same thing with social media content, too. If you see that something's working, which, again, as we always say, followers and views do not equate to business or any monetary anything.

Yeah, Useful Not Famous.

Yeah, no monetary value there whatsoever, and I've seen so many people be like, "I have so many views now!" No business, none. Drives me nuts. But, if you see somebody doing something on social media and you just personally want to do it because you're like, "I think that would be fun," or whatever, do it.

Don't be afraid that somebody else is doing it, even if they're in your market, like just do it, copy it. Steal like an artist, best book. Just steal it, make it your own, put a little flavor on it, put a little cayenne, a little bit of cumin, whatever.

You're like, "Ew, that tastes like armpits." but just put a little bit of zest on it that is your own zest, that sounds disgusting, and make it yours.

Yeah, and that book is by Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist, and the whole… Who is it? The whole premise of the book is that art is stolen 100% of the time, because everything we make is influenced by everything we've consumed.

So, if we're if we want to make a movie, and we're like, "This'll be so much fun," you're going to make a movie similar to the movies you like, because that's what influenced you. That doesn't mean you stole in like a bad way, but you have taken those ideas and thoughts and molded them into something new. We could go down a whole AI rabbit hole with this, but I will keep this as human Steal Like an Artist, because that's all of anything ever made is just a remixing of the past and our experience with it.

Are you a robot? Boop. Well, on that note, folks, this was Useful Not Famous.

If you found this insightful, or you have a friend who is struggling with imposter syndrome, or just that, "Well, yeah, but they're doing it," definitely send this to them, or even if they just want a nice little giggle.

And if you hate this show and hate us, please tell everyone how much you hate it, because that's the only way we can grow is by you telling people about this show.

Oh, yeah, haze us in your stories, but make sure to tag us. Okay, bye!

Bye.