“A #GIRLBOSS is someone who’s in charge of her life. She gets what she wants because she works for it” (11). #GIRLBOSS shares the expertise of Sophia Amoruso; founder, CEO, and creative director of one of the fastest growing fashion empires, Nasty Gal. Through experience, this fashion mogul advises girls on how to take control of their lives and lead on their own terms to success. From humble beginnings to making wise choices, Sophia was able to curate a humorous business manual for the modern working woman. Amoruso successfully reaches a niche audience of entrepreneurial young women by sharing her business warnings, her rags to riches story, and her advice on self-improvement.
As a CEO of a 100 million dollar business, Sophia shares…show more content… At a young age, Sophia was diagnosed with depression, ADD, and Tourette’s syndrome due to the stress of school. When her parents divorced in 2001, she took the opportunity to drop out of school and move away to Sacramento, California. She took on a life of dumpster diving, petty thievery, and even hitchhiked up the west coast to Portland, Oregon with complete strangers. After almost being arrested for stealing from a small chain craft store, Sophia grabbed her things and moved down to San Francisco, California. Which is very strange for someone who would later rule over her own brand. Then in 2006, she got a hernia and decided she needed a job for health insurance to pay for her medical bills. Sophia got a job as an Art School’s receptionist, checking people in for about ninety days. In her free time, she began surfing the web and found vintage clothing community on eBay. After a few short weeks, she opened her very own store, which she named Nasty Gal Vintage. Many would, oddly, consider Sophia as Cinderella and eBay as the Prince. Later, Sophia moved from San Francisco to Pleasant Hill, California to focus on her rapidly growing store. Her small studio, also known as her headquarters, was flooded with bins, vintage, and packing supplies. She spent almost two years selling clothing and promoting her store, but after a while work became…show more content… Sophia believes in tossing out what does not work and doing what does. She shares, “Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities. Know that there is no finish line; fortune favors action. Race towards the extraordinary life that you’ve always dreamed of, or still haven’t had time to dream up. And prepare to have a hell of a lot of fun along the way” (14). She also explains that believing in one’s self is essential to success because it will deceive others into believing one too. In #GIRLBOSS, Amoruso explains her red string theory. Once, when she was young, Sophia ran around her neighborhood with a red string. When people asked what she was doing she explained that she was flying a kite. Soon most of the kids joined her with their very own ‘kites.’ She asserts, “If I, and this book, have anything to prove, it’s that when you believe in yourself, other people will believe in you too” (16). Lastly, this entrepreneur feels that one should focus on the positive because, then, other positive opportunities will come his or her way. For example, when Sophia decided to leave her life of theft and dumpster diving in Portland and moved back to California, she discovered her true passion in retail management. Becoming a #GIRLBOSS is not just about being a leader, it is about keeping a positive mind and having the confidence to
