A CEO in the United States has given each of her 5000 employees two-plane tickets to anywhere of their choosing and $10,000 to spend on the trip however they wish.
The move was made by Sarah Blakley, the CEO of clothing company 'Spanx', to reward her employees for all of their hard work in building and running the company.
Blakely set up Spanx when she was still in her late 20s while she was working selling fax machines door-to-door. With just $5000 dollars to her name, she invested the money into what would become a multi-billion-dollar empire. She says:
"When I started this company in Virginia Highlands on the whiteboard in my room, I wrote a goal down and I said, this company will one day be worth $20 million. And everybody laughed at me, and I said, 'you know what, I believe that'. I started this company with no business experience and very little money, but I cared the most about the customer, and that gave me the courage to launch the company."
Blakely began building the company from her whiteboard with minimal investment and absolutely no experience in the business world. Despite obstacles, 20 years later, Spanx is one of the market leaders in the industry, built on high-quality products, dedication and teamwork.
In 2012 Blakley was named by Forbes magazine as the youngest self-made female billionaire and is currently estimated to be worth around $1.2 billion.
It was her humble beginnings that she says inspired her to make sure that all of her employees were correctly compensated as the business grew. It was at a party that she announced the gift to employees, much to their delight. On an Instagram post, she announced:
"Behind the scenes @spanx telling the employees (some live and some on zoom) about the sale and partnership with Blackstone. It was an emotional announcement filled with happy tears acknowledging how far we've come. And then the tears really started to flow when I surprised everybody with 2 first class @delta plane tickets to anywhere in the world and $10,000 cash to spend on the trip. I really want every employee to celebrate this moment in their own way and create a memory that will last them a lifetime! Cheers to 21 years of magic and many more to come."
A post shared by Sara Blakely (@sarablakely)
[Based on reporting by: Higher Perspective]
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