Brianna Bailey | Lifestyle Editor | @BriannaBailey14
As we are all pursuing our education at this time, we have goals we’d like to meet after graduating. Our hard work in academia, jobs and personal life is all, hopefully, going to get us somewhere we are aspiring to be, following our college degree.
Though campus has several guest and motivational speakers come each semester that all have great advice and takeaways of much value, there’s someone insanely successful that has pages of advice waiting to be read for students’ benefit.
This motivator would be Sophia Amoruso, the Founder and CEO of Nasty Gal. She recently published the book “#GIRLBOSS”.
For those who are not familiar with the company, as described by the website, “Nasty Gal is an online destination for fashion-forward, free-thinking girls.”
Amoruso did not come by her success in the way many CEOs have. In #GIRLBOSS, she admits to many faults and mistakes she made throughout her younger years and what she learned from them.
From years of dumpster diving for bagels, being fired from jobs repeatedly, hitchhiking her way to Washington from California, shoplifting, dropping out of high school and not obtaining a college degree, she has massive years of insight and inspiration of how she came by her success and has kept it.
She did not one day dream that she would have gained the success and a large multi-billion corporation that she established. She even admits that she would have brushed the idea aside and thought it would have been too much work.
Her achievements began by starting an eBay account selling vintage clothing. She did everything from photographing the items to doing the styling and shipping and everything else it entailed. She took pride and precision in her business and focused her emphasis on her customer service.
As Nasty Gal turned into what it is from a vintage eBay account, Amoruso tells young women everywhere what a #GIRLBOSS is and exactly what it takes to become one.
Amoruso defines one as this: “A #GIRLBOSS is someone who’s in charge of her own life. She gets what she wants because she works for it. As a #GIRLBOSS, you take control and accept responsibility.”
To entirely understand how to be a #GIRLBOSS and what it entails, you’ll have to read the book, but there are key takeaways that are major inspirations you need to know now.
Nasty Gal was built entirely debt-free and Amoruso counsels you to take financial responsibility, and stay on top of your bills. She strongly emphasizes that your bills are a problem that will never go away. You have to deal with them and you have to be able to manage them.
Amoruso says, “#GIRLBOSS, when your time spent making money is significantly greater than your time spending money, you will be amazed at how much you can save without even really thinking about it.”
She proceeds to share with readers that no one is the exception and to work your butt off. Everyone has to start at an entry-level job and at one point in time, someone high up had to do your job. Have confidence and take pride in every task you are assigned, whether it’s glamorous or ridiculous.
Do not assume yourself to be the exception or that you are more qualified than everyone else. You are not. Do not assume that as a college graduate you deserve a raise or promotion within four months. You don’t. Even after a year, unless you sweat blood and tears for your job, you probably still shouldn’t ask for one and don’t deserve one.
Take pride in not only your work but also your resume, cover letter and interview preparation. Don’t be lazy and do your homework. Don’t go to an interview underprepared and always have questions to ask. Be thorough and follow through and write or e-mail a thank you, there’s great value in that.
Once you have your job, do not become comfortable. Always seek opportunities to increase your work ethic and go above and beyond. Do not ever think you have perfected your responsibilities, always strive to be better.
She said it best as she closed the book: “You can’t have it all, and nothing comes easy. You will make sacrifices and compromises, get let down and let other people down, fail and start over, break some hearts, take some names and learn to pick up and continue when your own heart gets broken. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible, and out of the bajillions of things in this universe that you can’t control, what you can control is how hard you try, and if or when to pack it in.”
Take all of this in, apply it to school, work and your relationships surrounding you and you will be well on your way to becoming a #GIRLBOSS.
