The only place I could get a moment of peace was the bathroom, so I moved my desk into mine, and that’s where I tried to figure out what was next for me. I had sold Bliss Spas and just had my son Louie. Sitting there ruminating, and feeling my bottom getting bigger, I thought, I’ve got to go to the gym! then I thought, When?! For lots of moms, working out gets pushed to tomorrow’s to-do list. There’s so much running around; so much you need to do. Then it came to me: wouldn’t it be great to have a flip-flop that tones your muscles?

No special trips to spin class; you could walk your dog and take your kids to school. these walks would work a little bit harder for you. And if you’re doing one thing that’s positive, you might do other things to take care of yourself. Your shoe might inspire you to walk faster and pass up that chocolate bar at four o’clock.

Proud of my aha idea, I met shoe designers for coffee, asked them to sign a nondisclosure agreement and explained that I wanted to make a shoe that tones your legs. They’d say, “I just draw shoes.” But I suppose I’m quite good at staying on course without much regard for what others think.

I started researching biomechanics, and I must have spent 100 hours on grim British trains attempting to find someone to design my shoe. Finally, at London South Bank University they said, “We know how to do that.” They could make a prototype for $11,400.

I waited on pins and needles. And my heart sank when I first saw it; it looked like a chunk of coal with two ropes on the sides. Then we started to test it, and it was firing muscles 10 percent more. It worked! knowing no one was going to wear it looking like this, I remembered that I knew someone who made shoes. We married the engineering with aesthetics, and finally I had the shoe I first envisioned.

It was December of 2006, and we ordered 15,000 pairs for the U.S. and 15,000 in the U.K. we got 135,000 hits for “the flip-flop with the gym built in” on our site in that first weekend. Since then, the design has evolved, offering running shoes, sandals—lots of looks for whoever you are.


Top Lessons
1. Get it all in writing. People change when they’re stressed and often don’t remember things clearly.

2. Do the deathbed test. When faced with two important things to do at once, I ask: On my deathbed, which of these am I going to wish I did?

3. Accept that every choice is also a sacrifice. Make choices knowing what you’re giving up, accept it and don’t complain. Own your decisions and you’ll create a life you are totally in control of.

4. Ask “So what?” That’s what I ask myself when I have an idea. It’s a way to test its strength. Very objectively I say, “So what?” If I can’t answer that question in a single sentence, the idea isn’t honed enough.

Marcia Kilgore, 42, is the  founder of FitFlop.