As collegiate women, we’re laying out a foundation for our futures and finding our place in the world, hoping to be strong, independent and successful. By now you might have figured out that getting from point A to point B is not a straight shot, and that obstacles or even failure is all part of the process. Sophia Amoruso is preaching this to women everywhere in her podcast, #Girlboss Radio.
The podcast was launched in late 2015 and spotlights topnotch girlbosses who have made their mark in creative, cultural and business ventures. In each episode, Sophia interviews these aspirational women to get the scoop on how they climbed the success ladder and everything they’ve learned along the way. Listeners get a glimpse into the life of girlbosses such as Anne Fulenwider, Editor-in-Chief of Marie Claire, Brit Morin, Founder & CEO of Brit+Co, Jenn Hyman, Co-founder & CEO of Rent the Runway and Alli Webb, founder of Drybar. The stories are incredible and inspiring, to say the least.
Sophia Amoruso’s own success story might be the most fascinating of them all. If you don’t recognize her name you’ll probably recognize the multi-million dollar empire she started from the ground up, NastyGal. Like most of the other #Girlboss success stories, Amoruso had to take a long dirt road detour to end up where she is now.
Sophia didn’t have a leg up on anyone and success certainly wasn’t handed to her. Both her parents lost their jobs when she was young, so she started working at 15 making sandwiches at a Subway shop with her father’s advice in mind: “Show up. Don’t stop moving. Sweep the floor even when they don’t ask you to.” She left home at 17 to live a free lifestyle, supporting herself by shoplifting which put her in hot water in 2003. While she did attend a community college, she ended up dropping out, and by 22 had already worked 10 retail jobs. It wasn’t until she started selling vintage clothing on eBay that Sophia got on her feet. When that started to take off she began hyping up a website called NastyGal through her eBay traffic (which ended up getting her banned from eBay for the conflicting interest.) At 28, she launched her own website. She relied solely on specific communication and social media outlets to develop a renowned brand and loyal consumers to drive NastyGal sales upward. Now at 32 years old, she is one of America’s richest self–made women, according to Forbes Magazine. You could find out more about Sophia Amoruso’s story in her New York Times best-seller, #Girlboss, her life bible Nasty Galaxy and the Netflix original series GIRLBOSS coming in 2017.
Sophia Amoruso uses her own experience and that of her fellow girlbosses through #Girlboss Radio to prove that it’s possible for all women to succeed. The podcast seeks to empower women, motivate them to strive for what they dream of accomplishing and encourage them to take risks through all the struggle and unconventionalities that come with life.
“When you begin with the finish line in mind, you miss all the fun stuff along the way. The better approach is to tweak and grow, tweak and grow.” –Sophia Amoruso