the woman behind spanx becomes a billionaire, and a mom preneur pitches her line of baby bibs. women and business is coming up next. ♪ >>> small businesses are revitalizing the e kconomy, and american express open is here to help. that is why we are proud to present "your business on msnbc." >>> hi there, everyone. i'm j.j. ramberg and welcome to "your business" where we give you tips to help your business growth. this is international women's month and oso so the focus is to help women succeed in their businesses and how to achieve and overcome obstacles. and our first story is about a woman who understood that the market had a hole, and she set out to fill it. >> we do not focus on the high end at all. we really have an amazing quality product that we want accessible to as many people as possible. for me as a business owner, i want to have a product that is where you are as a consumer. >> debra myers didn't intend on selling her organic bath and body line infusia in grocery stores. >> we really thought about who our customer is, where they are at, and what they can afford. >>

. >>> the woman behind the slimming undergarment phenomenon, spanx. we caught up with her a while back to find out what she thought were the key elements to her success. >> you know, it's funny, because i always say be careful about telling your friends and family your idea out of the gate, because they have the best of intentions for you but often times hearing their love and concern, you know, right up front can stop people in their tracks. so for me, i waited an entire year. i worked on spanx at night and on the weekends before i told my friends and family what the idea was, and that's really helpful and part of the reason why spanx exists, because then by hearing all their love and concern and objections did not stop my path. if you are on a limited budget, i always give people the advice, get the prototype made and make sure it can be mass produced, and that's the most important place to put your money there, and in the packaging and marketing of it. you have to be different and make it stand out, and worry about the pattant and protect yourself

the spanx alert. >>. [ laughing ] >> let's show everyone, yeah, the old spanx. >> thank you for taking care of me. >> all in good fun, sarah blakely, founder and owner of spanx, joins us now, congratulations on forbes magazine, how did you do it? this is a big deal. tell us about the inspiration. >> do not under estimate the woman that does not like how her butt looks like in white pants. >> that is the sound bite of the day, honey. >> i had never taken a business class, i just wanted an under garment that did not exist. a frustrated consumer, i cut up the pantsy hose and i decided that shapers were thick and felt like we were wearing work out clothes until spanx. >> first of all, let's talk about oprah and the influence that oprah had in all of it. >> yes, so, i am in my apartment and i invented the product, it took me two years to work on it at night and on the weekends. i wrote my own patent and i sent a gift basket to oprah and she chose spanx as the best product of the year. i quit my job selviging fax machines door to door -- job selv selling fax machines. >> you have never adver

my elastic -- >> good bra and a pair of spanx. >> i triple spanx. >> that's why you need baby spanx.hem out. >> i'm not ready for this. >> one of the best bodies here. >> he's wearing spanx. >> i know the jokes go on and on. guess what? some of us are wearing them too. good morning, i'm gayle king. >> i'm charlie rose with erica hill. forbes magazine, new list of billionaires highlight one of the newest names. sarah blakely, the inventor of spanx. >> she's the youngest woman to make the forbes list on her own with no help from an inheritance or a husband. >> her slimming garments have done countless help to women. hello to you. >> good morning. >> thank you to you. >> thank you. >> congratulations. when sarah sat down, tv viewing audience, she said charlie, i'm going to make you blush. >> that's a story there. i really didn't. congratulations. i have never seen the two of them so enthusiastic about somebody they wanted to pay homage to. >> thank you. >> explain to me what it is you created ha that has all these people a twitter. >> thank god for panty lines. that's how it all started

they're the moguls behind spanx, under marmour, you never heard f a few years ago. the world's newest billionaires. how did they get there so fast? >>> good evening. i'm terry moran. it's not just for the rich and famous anymore. nasty breakups, exposed for all the world to see, online and on facebook and twitter. now, it's easy to read up on the sordid details of the battles being fought by couples you barely know. all that tmi can come as a price. and christie brinkley and peter cook are prime examples of what can happen to a breakup gone viral. here's abc's elizabeth vargas. >> reporter: christie brinkley's world-famous for her stunning beauty. but the brawl between brinkley and her ex-husband, peter cook, is getting pretty ugly. they could have kept it all private. but their personal battle is now a public spectacle. it's a war of words between a famously feuding former couple. she's requesting you be put in jail? >> at the front page of the motion. >> reporter: before she was set to star in the musical "chicago," brinkley smacked cook with new legal pars. this

so spanx just created madershirts for men, charlie. we have come out with spanx for men.omen loo activewear that make you look slimmer at the gym. swimwear, i'm inspired to make spanx a life style brand and gories. er the different categories. ween new york there's a summit this week, and it's about women stores from around the world. y?at does your story say? > well, first of all, i'm grateful i'm a woman in america. i have always had that gratitude that i had the opportunity to so i pursue my potential, so my story says when women are given the chance and the opportunity we can achieve a lot. we we deliver. we can make the world a better pl place one butt at a time. >> did anybody but your father make a difference in this journey you have take than has led to great results and in terms of y terms of you handling it so well? >> my mom, she's an artist, so i ative sidreative side from her. verylose to my grandmother, nanny, i had a wonderful family, trah winfrey has always been an tspiration to me and wane zyer, i've been listening to his tapes since i was 16 years old. t

i come bearing spanx.om, but i am with a lot of people on their prom day. >> yes, you are. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> more power. >> who has spanx on right now? >> i do. >> i took mine off because i knew she was coming. >> you have them on underneath those pants. >> i do. these are the ones that i cannot live without. i wear them under all my pants. you adjust the band. no panty lines, nice and firm. >> congrats on forbes by the way, and the billion dollars. >> crazy. >> every time there's a spanx alert, there should be -- >> a check, baby. >> she's such an inspiration to young women that what she did with her business -- >> with no training in that area. >> look up to you tremendously. >> thank you. >> real spirit. >> thank you. >> always good to see you. >> thanks so much. >> thanks a lot. up next, how to clean up your gadgets. and how to zap those germs that make you squirm, right after this. >>> here's a look at your forecast as we kick off the weekend. we'll be doing it on a wet note in texa

not even was initially convinced spanx would be a hot-selling item.n she reached out to get a copyrig copyright, her tern scoffed and asked if he was on candid camera. >>> coming up, the secret life of a soccer mom madam and mother of four who says she earned up to $10,000 a night. >>>ed a new details on how demi moore is doing and how it's affecting her family. (bell rings) hi. good morning. big news. we're spreading the word about new honey bunches of oats fruit blends and their unique taste combinations. like peach/raspberry... and banana/blueberry. we're telling everyone. with one flavor in the granola bunch and one on the flake. try some. mmm! two flavors. in harmony. yummy. four nutritious grains and two big fruit flavors to make your day bunches better. hey officer how's it going? [ horns honking ] not a talker. cool, i'm not either, most times. passport... yes. passport. passing them to you. driver's license... yup. here you go... past five years tax returns... high school report cards... and i'm gonna need to see a receipt for that watch you'

i'm wearing my spanx right now. >> are there spanx for pen?> there are. >> we'll see you at 6:00. >> i can get you some. ♪ ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ ♪ no more, no more, no more ♪ hit the road, jack ♪ and don't you come back no more ♪ [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds and puts down a barrier to stop new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control spray once. stop weeds for months.

and from there, invented the slimming underwear called spanx. but it wasn't always easy., she wants to send a message, this is a night to believe in yourself. all week, as we saw sara blakely smiling from the cover of the magazine, we had no idea the journey that brought her here. how much she failed and had to get back up. something she says her father daughter as a kid at the dinner table. >> we would sit at the dining room table and say, okay, kids. what did you fail at today? i would say i tried out and i was horrible. and he would go way to go. and high-five me. and it completely reset my definition of failure. so, for my brother and me, failure is not trying. it's not the outcome. >> reporter: it was still early in life when people close to her died. and her parents separated. so, again, her dad asked his heartbroken daughter to listen to some motivational tapes. she was 16. >> it was the wayne dyer series of cassette tapes, "how to be a no-limit person." >> you have to understand, you're not going to get healed if you're asking someone else to heal you. >> i listen

spanx i never would've guessed you know years ago when spanx came out that she would be a billionaire but they pretty much are the best thing ever but seems like dunes were kind of trying to capitalize on this to tell you design houses have a leaning designer range of tights that it says are unisex and they're being snapped up by by men i don't buy that sorry he's trying to design houses or trying to ride this bank you know wave but what i actually where he might have you seen the infomercials for like they make the white that are kind of like yeah it's pretty eyes that suck it on your nose for men and evidently really popular according to the sales associate i spoke to the last time i was at nordstrom but those are actual tights to be worn outside your clothes with stars on them so what's your experience of space i mean. would you want to talk to or do. you know. it's going to be marks. somebody knows i'm sorry i'm not going to be alone here that's not just me don't embarrass me here don't you know they don't love you they don't know why they're there booty is good when they do the d

saying the idea for spanx came to her after watching her show. years later, she found herself on oprah's show, as a favorite thing. >> spanx has revolutionized our lives. >> it was the most exciting moment ever. the sales just went crazy. i mean i just -- it all became about keeping up with production, and i then got into all of these very amazing retailer, and hit the ground and stood in department stores for two years promoting spanx and lifting up my pant leg and shaking my back side for any woman who would listen. >> reporter: she was 29 years old when she invested her entire life savings, a whopping $5,000 into her little idea. 12 years later, the 41-year-old is a self-made billionaire, turning that $5,000 investment into a $350 million a year company. get this. not everyone was convinced that spanx would be a hot-selling item. when asked about it the attorney scoffed and asked if he was on candid camera. >>> coming up, the secret life of a soccer mom madam and mother of four who allegedly earned up to $10,000 a night. >>> and new details on

♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: i got spanx! >> steve: joan, you're gonna start out on this one. >> the password is -- [ audience ohs ] [ laughter ] >> i don't want to say it. >> it's so vicious. [ laughter ] so vicious. >> jimmy: joan, i didn't write these. >> yeah, sure. [ laughter ] >> hold it on this side. i don't want to look. >> younger. [ laughter ] >> creepy. [ laughter ] [ scattered applause ] >> steve: almost. almost. >> jimmy: all right. ready? [ laughter ] yeah, yeah, yeah. jenner. [ audience ohs ] [ cheers and applause ] >> facelift? >> jimmy: yeah! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> steve: okay. >> jimmy: oh, my gosh. >> steve: this one -- >> the password is -- >> jimmy: i'll let stacy go. >> steve: okay, stacy, you go. >> oh. oh, no. okay. >> jimmy: this is it. this is for all the marbles. >> steve: this is for all the marbles. >> i don't know which one -- okay. sweet. [ laughter ] >> jimmy: sugar. >> steve: no. >> hole. [ laughter ] >> doughnut? >> jimmy: yes! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> steve: wow! >> jimmy: you guys

>> with spanx too, i have a little bit of problem with spanx because i like coffee and i have a touch slit. but really -- >> it's not big enough. not for me.o6k you know, what this company has done -- of course it's great that she's successful. but she's successful on the?7v theory that we hate ourok $xbod. we want to minimize them as much as we can. weu want to suck it in, shove i in andi] make sure we don't sho >> right. >> it endorses women's invisibility. like we compress ourselves shall then somehow we're more womanly ,yet moret( pw.úi it's a strange thing they're selling. >> to kind of take up as little room on the planet as possible, right?t( to have the soft he's voice and the smallest body. you take upe1 as little room in this little space. >> right. >> you'll often see male political leaders take up a lot of room at a table. but there's ways in which we teach girls to just -- >> compress themselves. especially in my culture, in korean american culture, it's very different. it still remains old world where my family, even though they wanted me to be successful, they wanted me

is there spanx for men. a lot don't know men are in the market, too. >> there is spanx for men.se the men's undershirt is the same as it has been for 100 years. it's boxy, bulky, doesn't look great under suits. we tapered it in at the waist and gave a little lycra yarn in it so it hugs in at the tummy area and gives men low back support and much cleaner look for them under their suits. >> we will have to let some of the guys on our team to know about this. you're the youngest person to get on this forbes billionaire list. you're only 41 years old and started 12 years ago. what advice would you give young entrepreneurs looking at your example? >> the advice is trust your gut. you have to differentiate yourself. everyday i wake up and ask myself and the team why are we different and does the customer understand why we're different and how do we differentiate ourself to the customer. important to explain it in 30 seconds or less and be your own focus group. you don't have to go out and seek a ton of different people's opinions. i didn't tell anybody my idea for validation in the be

. >> she is the inventor of spanx. she's a billionaire at age 41.s you might remember, someone else at this table, not me, said they invented spanx. >> first of all, i'm happy for her. i think anytime you take an idea like that and you run with it, good for you. i'm the idiot because i had the idea and didn't run with it. >> what was the idea? when did you have it? >> years and years ago with regis. used to wear those body smoothers. they were tight and held you in. but i didn't want to wear nylons on the bottoms of my legs. i would cut them off at the knees. and that that's what it is. here's what i'm doing. i'm calling her today. she owes me a little something. throw me a bone. i'll ask her to invest in my musical. the least she can do. >> ready for fun? get ready. >> this is not going to be fun. >> if you want to dance, i'm telling you right now, you'll want to put your dancing shoes on or get up off the couch. >> or go home. >> if you're still sitting on the couch when you hear this song, i don't even know you. cnc music factory, old school, cal

. >> spanx helps you look smoother and slimmer in all the right places. >> reporter: the creator of spanx was only 29 when she invested her entire life savings, $5,000, into an idea. inspired when she heard oprah saying she made her own version of a tummy-flattener. kevin plank, the self-proclaimed sweatiest guy on the football field, turned that sweat into gold. >> we're going to be a billion dollar bet. >> reporter: coming up with underarmour, a moisture-on absorbing sports apparel line. car aficionado elon musk, racing his way to a cool $2 billion, thanks to his electrifying electric car, the tesla. his next project could take him to the moon. literally. rumor has it he's looking into space rocket engineering next. and less than a year after the death of steve jobs, his widow, laurene, enters the list with an estimated $9 billion. that's $2 billion more than jobs was worth before he died last october. out of the 128 newly-minted billionaires this year, 2 out of 3 are self-made. inspiration for all of us. bianna golodryga, abc news, new york. >>> and in indianapolis today, a farewell th

newcomer to the list, though, sara blakely, she is the creator of spanx the undergarments that womennd men -- >> not nodding. >> i'm not saying who is nodding. i'm not confirming the nods, but i also can confirm that men wear these, too. i'm not saying -- but blaky came in on the list at number 1,053. >> what does that say about our great nation that she's a billionaire, the woman who makes spanx that just basically sucks it all in. >> you're a tragic, tragic man. >>> still ahead this morning, the earth right now, don't want to scare you, but the earth right now is being blasted by the largest solar storm in years. if you have to catch a flight or on the phone or even if you just have a fridge, you might feel it today because it affects the power grid. we'll bring in the nasa scientists to talk about the possible fallout. >>> how do you wash these pants? look at the label. give it to a woman because it's her job. that's what the actual label says. happy international women's day, everybody. >>> we get right to my playlist before we go to commercial. this is shakira. ♪ oh! [ baby cryi

sarah blakley, thanks to spanx, she is the youngest self-made female billion mayor. ladies everywhere thank her! >>> coming up, two last-second nba thrillers. the world's greatest soccer player goes goal crazy. an emotional day for peyton manning. >>> plus, last night, the woeful washington wizards slammed hollywood's heroes. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> as we head towards the weekend, a beautiful warm weather is going to come to an end. with it some rain. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." >>> good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." >>> in sports, last night, the nba's lost lakers blew a 21-point lead and lost to one of the league's worst teams. here is fred roggin with an early look at all of your sports headlines. >>> good morning. after beating the heat on sunday it appeared the lakers were once again an elite team in the nba. wait a minute, not so fast. back-to-back losses toted pistons and wizards have basketball fans scratching their heads. here we go to washington. wizards looked li

spanx for men.to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king. spanx for men. sarah blakley was here and she made the offer of spanx for men. >> did you take her occupy that offer? >> no, i have not. i would like to take her up on the offer to invest in her business. >> yes. charlie rose is in good shape. it's a joke. >> i'm charlie rose with erica hill. yesterday on this broadcast chief investigative correspondent armen keteyian followed the path of counterfeit versions of avastin into the united states. >> this morning armen is with us to tell us about canada's largest internet pharmacy. good morning. >> good morning. it's estimated there are some 40,000 internet websites that sell prescription medications and the majority claim to be canadian. but as we found out, more and more, it's buyer beware. >> reporter: canadadrugs.com bills itself as the largest and most trusted online canadian pharmacy. based in this office building in winnipeg, minnesota, it says it sells medications to people in 135 countries, i

but this is like spanx for your lids.the word spanx, we need money every time she uses that. >> a little less expensive options? >> you can get them at any price point and really any shade that matches your skin tone. >> you should throw these things out after a while. what would you say, six months? >> six months, get rid of them. >> hody, that means you. get a whole new bag. >> get a whole new ziploc. thanks, hon. we have christine here on the end, and we're talking lips. we need this one, don't we? >> yeah. the other thing that happens as you get older is that you lose color in your lips. and so the best way to look really youthful is to have sort of a rosy glow. and you can use kind of a sheer formulation like this revlon. >> that's so natural. >> pinky rosy glow really gives you that kind of young, sexy, juicy-looking mouth. >> she was talking about you. >> juicy. >> thank you so much. >> thanks, ladies. >>> up next, we're tasting the wild flavors of south africa. >> really? >> i know. this is "today" on nbc. >>> it

think spanx. the shape inducing panty hose alternative that launched in 2000. the founder at 1153. that's a net worth of $1 billion. think underwear again. under armour. the sweat-wicking garment developed by a former college football player. puts kevin plank at 1075. worth $1.1 billion. go to 634 and there's ilan musk. his baby is this, the tesla car. he's 40. he's worth $2 billion. and then this consumer product. anything with this logo on it. his wife is worth $9 billion. at number 100 is one of only two newcomers on the list to break into the top 100. who is way up there? some familiar old faces and we could list their products, though all of them, what they really make, no matter what, is money. i'm john donvan,

there's no marketing budget for her spanx.h and it's just taken off. >> who has the biggest number of billionaires, i guess, globally? is it china, is it russia? who? >> it's the united states. we've got 425 billionaires out of that 1226 total you mentioned. and u.s. has basically, for the 26 years that forbes has been tracking global billionaires, the u.s. has been number one in all of those years. number two is russia this year and number three is china. >> and in terms of, you know, which sector these billionaires fall in, i understand it's social networking and the tech sector, right? is that still the case and in today's list, is something else cropping up on the horizon? people are making money? >> i would say a lot of the new fortunes are coming from social media. we've got seven people on the list from facebook, the richest, of course, who is mark zuckerberg, the ceo and the biggest shareholder of facebook. he's at 17 and a half billion dollars, that's $4 billion richer than last year. the company hasn't gone public ye

do you know how much money donnie has invested in spanx products. >> we call these spanx on the outsidere supposed to put clothes over the spanx after you put them on. looks good on you. on monday we will bring in steve schmidt. and meredith vieira has a new documentary. up next here as the republican race for president swings south mitt romney says he feels like he is playing an away game when he runs down there. that's next on "morning joe." [ woman speaking indistinctly over radio ] home protector plus from liberty mutual insurance... [ alarm blaring ] where the cost to repair your home, replace what's inside, and stay somewhere else if you need to are covered. because you never know what lies around the corner. to learn more, visit libertymutual.com today. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not...that... we'd ever brag about it... turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how did that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety

notable newcomers to the club including spanx founder. wants to be part of the billionaire list? an eye out on that. barbara, back to you. >> spanx is making a lot of money. >> i know. >> like us. not yo-- in this week's "wednesday's child," i reintroduce to you rhonda. she is waiting for a loving adoptive family. i took her out for a very special day. here at the aveda institute the world of beauty taught in beautiful surroundings that echo it is emphasis on the environment. enhancing what's natural. anna took us to meet one of the trainers at the school. >> rhonda, i would like to introduce aliaal czar. >> she offered to give her an idea of some of the things she would learn here if she decides she really wants to become a stylist some day. >> what we want do show you how to determine if your customer wants hair color. >> right now, at 16, rhonda is enjoying high school. and in spite of challenges, she says she's really doing well. >> what kind of grades are you making? >> all as. >> really? >> yeah. >> that means you must be working pr