How Kim Kardashian West built her $780 million empire

While Kim Kardashian came from a family made famous by her well-known father, she had a few of her own breakout moments along the way.

Her skills as a stylist landed her a spot on TV's "The Simple Life."

Kim told Variety that her career as a businesswoman actually dates back to before she appeared on TV.

She said she developed a love of shopping while working in her father's office.

She said that she saw the opportunity to make money and capitalized on it.

Kim eventually channeled her love for reselling to help build a retail business model.

In the following decade, the sisters opened more locations including one in Miami and one in the Soho neighborhood of New York City.

Kim said her original idea for the reality show, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," was to bring attention to the DASH brand.

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"I was thinking, this might not last very long, but we'll grow a great business and expand online," she told Variety. "I thought it would be great press. I didn't think it would turn into what it turned into."

I was thinking, this might not last very long, but we'll grow a great business and expand online, she told Variety. I thought it would be great press. I didn't think it would turn into what it turned into.

It turned into a larger phenomenon than Kardashian imagined it would.

It was so successful, that several spinoffs happened down the line.

The Miami-based series lasted for three seasons.

But before all the spinoffs came "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

Shortly before the first episode of the family's original reality show, "Keeping Up With the Kardashians," aired in October 2007, Kim became the center of a scandal that some say catapulted her career.

While the tape wasn't technically part of her career path, she did tell Oprah she's "not naive to the fact" that it helped launch her into fame.

At the end of 2007, Kim posed for Playboy, and the shoot was captured on the first season of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians."

In 2008, E! gave fans of the reality show a second season.

In 2009, Kim released a three-DVD workout plan called "Fit in Your Jeans by Friday."

Also in 2009, Kim appeared in the movie, "Deep in the Valley."

In April 2010, Kardashian Glamour Tan was released onto the beauty market.

In 2011 reality TV viewers got to watch what happened as Kourtney and Kim opened their third DASH retail store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.

The pair lived in a suite at the Gansevoort Hotel with Kourtney, her then-boyfriend Scott Disick, and their son Mason Disick.

Their wedding was broadcast into the homes of people all over the US as "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event."

In 2011, Kim debuted a music video at the TAO nightclub New Years party for her song "Jam (Turn it Up)."

She told Andy Cohen she gave herself a hard time about the decision to do a music video for a long time.

Also in 2011, the sisters released a clothing line with retailer Sears aptly dubbed Kardashian Kollection.

In 2013, the brand was said to be "flopping big-time."

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Sears dropped prices to less than $10, according to StyleCaster. The brand officially folded in 2015.

But of course, that wasn't the only thing Kim had going on at the time.

And her third fragrance, "Kim Kardashian Love," was released for her wedding to Kris Humphries in 2011.

In the summer of 2012 Kim launched her fourth fragrance, "True Reflection."

In November 2012, Kim and her sisters launched Khroma Beauty — a full range of cosmetics products.

The line didn't last, and a former employee of the family said the real problem was likely the lack of involvement.

In 2014, Kim released her iPhone and Android game "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood."

Kim covered Paper Magazine in November 2014.

In 2015 Kim published a book titled "Selfish."

The launch of Kimojis for iOS in December 2015 was huge for Apple's App Store.

On the day of the launch, Apple's App Store reportedly crashed.

In May Kim tweeted about her new children's clothing line with husband Kanye West called TheKidsSupply.

Also in 2015, Kim made $500,000 for one sponsored Instagram post about a morning sickness pill.

Kim got back into the beauty business with KKW Beauty in 2017.

She went on to produce more products for the line, including a fragrance that made $10 million in one day.

Her minimalist approach to the marketing process worked in her favor.

Kim also employed similar marketing tactics when she launched her shapewear line, SKIMS Solutionwear, in 2019.

In January 2020, Kim announced that the line would be sold at Nordstrom beginning in February.

For the past few years, Kim has also been speaking at and even headlining conferences.

Kardashian had a hand in a wide variety of businesses and continues to build out her brands — both personal and professional.

In 2019, Kim announced that she's studying up for the 2022 bar exam.

Kardashian told Vogue that she was inspired to study law after she helped Alice Marie Johnson get released from prison in 2018.

Prison reform has been a cause that Kardashian continues to champion.

She spoke at The New York Times DealBook conference about how she uses paid social media posts to support the cause.

Kardashian has reportedly been apprenticing at a San Francisco law firm.