#Girlboss: one of my favorite books for 2016.
Who is Sophia Amoruso and why is she the one to tell us how to become a #Girlboss?
Sophia Amoruso is not your typical millennial girl – she tried a lot to become exactly the opposite. However unwillingly she had to get into the system – even for the most selfish and practical of reasons – she ended up thriving in it and becoming one of the most phenomenal rags to successes stories of 00s.
She created the unconventional clothing line and vintage clothing website Nasty Gal, has her own fund for women and girl bosses and managed to become in a short period of time what most 20+ and 30+ girls want today: financial independence, personal fulfilment, professional success, creativity. Easier said than done, so let’s take a look at Sophia’s 10 steps to that, according to her book #Girlboss.
.
And how did that happen? Let’s see 10+1 steps as described in her book:
- Hard work
“A #girlboss is someone who’s in charge of her life. She gets what she wants because she works for it. You’re a fighter – you know when to throw punches and when to roll with them. Sometimes you break the rules, sometimes you follow them, but always on your own terms”.
- There are secret opportunities hidden inside every failure. […] Take the opportunity to seek out what you are good at and find a place where you can flourish. Once you do, you’re going to kill it.
- Υou have to compromise a little if you want your dreams to take you high.
“I think it’s worth putting up with making some compromises and even playing by some of the rules, in order to see how long the red string of your imaginary kite can get”
- It’s not always about the money (It never was about the party or the clubs /It never was about the money or the drugs που λέει και η Lana)
“I believed in what I was doing and fortunately other people believed in it as well. I cared as much about the process as I did about the results”.
“Spend money because it’s an investment in your personal well-being not because you’re bored and have nothing else to do”.
- Believe in (a little bit of) magic: “Magical thinking is the alchemy that you can use to visualize and project yourself into the professional and personal life that you want. I’m talking about visualization that works when we actually get off our asses and do stuff”.
Fortune favors the bold who get shit done.
- Don’t be afraid to be different.
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”. – George Bernard Shaw
But beware #Girlboss: It’s not cool to get drunk on your own success.
- Do a good job, keep your promises and give your customers (clients, whatever) something to share.
“Nasty Gal felt like the best-dressed girl’s best kept secret – except it was a secret she wanted to share”
- Listen to your customers, tweak and grow. “The best entrepreneurs know to listen along the way and adjust things, including their business plan”
- Creativity in everything – you can find a creative spark in the most boring jobs. If not, try to make a game out of it.
- Own your style like you own your used car. And be the girl you would admire.
“A #girlboss should have a sneer and a smile in her back pocket, ready to whip either out at any moment”
“Cool is the girl at a party who strikes up a conversation when she notices that you don’t know many people there”
- Sophia Aspires to Steve Job’s “Stay hungry. Stay foolish” and adds: “Compete with yourself, not others” and ends by saying that today, more than ever:
“There’s a chance for you #Girlboss. So take it”
However, in 2016 it was announced that Sophia will step down as Nasty Gal CEO and the company would file for bankruptcy protection. Due to logistics and or other errors, the company could not fulfill its obligations. You can read more details here. As of 2 days ago, BooHoo.com the clothes selling website has acquired Nasty Gal for 20$.
Amoruso’s story will also be a Netflix series in 2017. What we have learned from her life and business so far is that:
#girlboss means that if you fall down 9 times you can still get up 10
and if you don’t believe in yourself don’t expect anyone else to do it!
Here are some inspirational quotes by powerful and successful ladies:
“To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.”
-Bette Davis
“When women work together, it’s a bond unlike any other.”
-Victoria Principal
“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.”
-Ann Landers
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
-Maya Angelou
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
-Estee Lauder
“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work, and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”
-Lucille Ball
“My experience has been that work is almost always the best way to pull oneself out of the depths.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
“No one can arrive from being talented alone; work transforms talent into genius.”
-Anna Pavlova
“Work, work, work, work work.”
-Rihanna
In Greek you can find more information at the women support network Women on Top and read about new Greek entrepreneurship at the amazing platform Living Postcards.
Go on, girlbosses! Love your life or change it 😉
xoxoxo
Foteini
ps. You can read the article in Greek here.
What do you think?