Sophia Amoruso has taken the women's business-book world by storm with her book #GIRLBOSS (it helps that the title is terribly Instagramable and Facebookable too...).
"I stopped feeling like I didn't belong anywhere, and realized that I actually belonged anywhere I wanted to be."
—Sophia Amoruso
Emerging from being a high school dropout, flaky shoplifter, unbalanced home life runaway and with multiple diagnoses for her short attention span (depression, ADD, the usual grocery list for teens who don't feel satisfied or who appear to be "lost") - Sophia Amoruso found something that grabbed her attention: vintage shopping and eBay ... (and hashtags, obviously)
From the illustrious confines of her now ex-boyfriend's apartment, Sophia Amoruso started an eBay store selling a highly curated selection of vintage pieces - which were also meticulously styled and, when sold, packaged and delivered to her quickly growing band of eBay customers. In just five years, the shop became an international style source that outgrew both eBay and multiple, ever-expanded warehouse facilities. #GIRLBOSS tells the story of how Sophia had her moment of clarity - during a moment of sloppy shoplifting and the possibility of a criminal record taking prime position on her CV - and her subsequent propulsion to starting her own international online store (www.nastygal.com) with loads of staff, a cult following, and of course lots of shiny gold coins in her bank account.
I am 3/4 through the book, and loving the frankness of her story, and the energy that so obviously oozes out of people with entrepreneurial flair. Although it doesn't offer up as many gems of wisdom as, say, Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office, I think it's a pretty great story about how you can turn around your position in life, if only you try. She is clearly one brave mo-fo, doing most things by the age of 19 that most of us will never do in our lives. I also like the unconventional nature of her life - I think lots of people in the modern world feel constrained by how we're "supposed" to do things and Amoruso's path has been anything but conventional. I do like that she says she wishes she'd gone to university, but the reality for many is that they don't get that chance. It's great to see a story of someone spinning relative adversity into an ability to see clearly where life may take her, to change that course and to identify a talent that became a genuine passion (and happily a great money spinner).
I also really like her attitude to money - she's proudly frugal, doesn't pay for anything she can't literally pay for in that moment, and notes that she was too busy building her empire to be out on crazy spending sprees anyway.
If you're looking for a fun way to wile away a rainy afternoon, this book may just be it. Also, check out the #GIRLBOSS blog for some more great #girlboss stories.
Happy reading!
