Warren Buffett gave her one piece of advice. She turned it into a licensing empire.
Kathy Ireland was 39 years old.
Kmart was her only retail partner. Her entire revenue stream.
Then they filed for bankruptcy. The largest retail bankruptcy in history.
She had 37 employees depending on her. Families counting on those paychecks.
Everyone said she was done.
“You started with socks. That was your mistake.”
“Models don’t build real businesses.”
“Just go back to what you know.”
She didn’t listen.
Here’s what Ireland knew that everyone else missed:
She hadn’t built her business on Kmart. She’d built it on trust with busy moms who needed quality and value.
One failed partner wasn’t the end of the brand.
So she went back to work.
Completely pivoted the business. Expanded beyond fashion into home furnishings.
Because Warren Buffett told her something smart: fashion changes constantly, but home products have stability.
She took that advice and ran.
Here’s the part most people don’t know.
Ireland wasn’t supposed to be a businesswoman at all.
She was a supermodel. 13 consecutive Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. Three covers.
Her 1989 cover is still the best-selling SI swimsuit issue of all time.
But at 30, the modeling work dried up.
That’s when someone asked her to model socks.
Model them. Not own them.
Most people would have taken the gig. Made a few thousand dollars. Moved on.
Ireland made a different choice.
She went to John and Marilyn Moretz and said: I don’t want to model your socks. I want to partner with you and build a sock brand.
People laughed. Called it stupid.
“You can’t start a brand with socks. It’s never been done.”
She did it anyway.
Launched kathy ireland Worldwide in 1993.
Started with socks because they were the perfect litmus test.
If busy moms trusted her with something as basic as socks, they’d trust her with everything else.
She was right.
After surviving the Kmart bankruptcy, she kept expanding.
Home office furniture. Rugs. Crystal. Wedding dresses. Jewelry.
Elizabeth Taylor became her mentor. Taught her about design and giving back.
Ireland built relationships. Took feedback seriously. Listened to what women actually needed.
She never stopped.
Today, kathy ireland Worldwide licenses over 17,000 products.
In 2021 alone, the company generated retail sales of $3.1 billion.
Ranked as one of the top 20 most powerful licensed brands in the world.
Ireland’s personal net worth hit $420 million by 2015.
Forbes created a new term just for her: “Super Model turned Super Mogul.”
She’s considered the wealthiest former supermodel in the world.
All because a 30-year-old woman refused to just model socks when she could own the brand instead.
She turned a dying modeling career into a global empire.
She proved that reinvention isn’t just possible. It’s powerful.
What career are you treating like it’s over instead of the setup for your next chapter?
What opportunity are you taking the safe route on when you could own it instead?
Ireland started with socks because everyone said it was stupid.
She survived bankruptcy because she understood diversification and resilience.
She built a billion-dollar empire because she never let anyone put her in a box.
Not the people who said models can’t be moguls.
Not the bankruptcy that should have ended everything.
Not the critics who laughed at socks.
Stop listening to people who think your past defines your future.
Start thinking like Kathy Ireland.
Find your socks. Build your brand. Survive your bankruptcy.
And never let anyone tell you that you can’t start something because it’s never been done.
Sometimes the greatest empires start with the simplest products.
Because when you trust yourself and listen to your customers, you can build anything.
Think Big.
