Sara Blakely – founder of Spanx, one of the biggest intimate apparel brands on the planet – believes “Every person, in their life, has had a million-dollar idea, no doubt.”
So why aren’t we all millionaires, you ask? According to Sara, the difference is taking action.
And that’s exactly what her Self-Made Entrepreneurship Masterclass will help you do.
“This is a roll-up your sleeves, get out there and make something happen on your own course,” she says in the intro for the online class.
Sara is one of dozens of celebrities taking part in Masterclass, a streaming platform where you can learn just about anything and everything!
Tennis? Serena Williams will teach you how to serve.
Acting? Natalie Portman is sharing her wisdom.
Writing a novel? R.L. Stine has loads of advice.
In this post, I’ll explain who Sara’s Self-Made Entrepreneurship course is for, what you can expect to learn and – the big question – whether it’s worth the money.
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Is this course for me?
Sara uses her platform to teach you how to go from thinking about your business idea to execution, pricing, sales and everything else you need to grow, grow, grow!
This course is for anyone who has a great idea niggling in the back of their mind and wants to take the next step. But it’s also just as useful for those with established businesses who want to take it to the next level.
Sara’s advice covers everything from conception of an idea, to putting in place the right foundations, to growing once you’ve launched.
Plus her presentation style is very personal and direct so it’s kind of like sitting back and sharing a coffee with a mentor. A really good mentor.
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What will I learn?
The program consists of 14 classes, each between 10 and 15 minutes long. Yep, it’s actually doable and won’t feel like one of those overwhelming online classes with hour-long tutorials. Sara gets right to the point:
- Get Started (Lessons 1 – 5)
If you have an idea brewing or just know you want to work for yourself one day, then you need to settle in for these first few modules, because Sara shares with us how she started from nothing.
“I had no experience, $5,000 in savings, I had never worked in fashion, I had never worked in retail and I have never taken a business class. I just simply wanted to be able to wear white pants to a party and have nothing show underneath it,” she says.
What comes next is a real-life lesson in not just thinking about that big idea and the money you want to make but finding the purpose in what you’re doing. You’ll learn to set goals, aim high, develop your idea and determine the right third parties (like manufacturers) to work with from the start.
- Develop and Grow (Lessons 6 – 10)
This is where Sara gets down to the real nitty gritty of running a business. Of course, her advice centres around product-based businesses but there are many valuable lessons that owners of service-based businesses can learn and ponder too.
“Everything in life is sales. It’s so important that you get comfortable with how to sell,” she says.
And from there she hits the ground running with high value advice. In particular she shares how important it is to sell the “problem that you’re solving, not the product.”
You’ll learn how to build brand awareness, word of mouth marketing and pricing as well as two great case studies.
- Learn and Lean (Lessons 11 – 14)
Now you might think that Sara has it easy these days and that she could just sit back on her pile of billions (yep, billions not millions! In 2012, she was named the youngest self-made female billionaire by Forbes!) but she is thriving inside and out of her business.
These modules will teach you a whole lot about growing your team and finding the right kind of support.
Plus another surprise insight that Sara shares: two out of her first three hires did not have experience in the roles they held. Instead, she identified their passion about the product and their skills. And this is still, largely, how Sara grows her team these days.
You’ll also figure out how to embrace mistakes and learn from them, continue developing products to grow your business and even learn how to survive the business world while giving back to the community.
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Is it worth the money?
Simply put – yes! If you want to feel empowered and energised to start your business or take it to the next level, you’ll definitely find this Masterclass useful. Perhaps the important thing to remember is these lessons from Sara are real life, not notes from a text book.
The downloadable worksheets are a great bonus for use during and after the modules have finished.
So how much exactly is this going to set you back?
The annual class pass is AU$280 or $23.33 a month – that’s less than $1 a day for some invaluable lessons. Plus you’re free to enrol in the numerous other Masterclasses too. There’s more than 85 to choose from!
There’s also the option of purchasing Sara’s Masterclass alone which will cost $140.
Keep an eye out for regular offers on the site too that’ll allow you to try before you buy or offer big discounts.
There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee so if it turns out Masterclass just isn’t your thing, you can request a refund.
How do I sign up?
Easy! You can sign up to “Sara Blakely Teaches Self-Made Entrepreneurship” by clicking here where you’ll be directed to create a login, or you can do so through your Google or Facebook account.
(Feature Image Credit: courtesy Masterclass)