#GirlBoss

Nasty Gal, founded by Sophia Amoruso started as a small eBay store that sells vintage clothes and accessories (under the name Nasty Gal Vintage) to earning nearly $100 million in sales within a span of six years. The success of Nasty Gal also paved way to #GIRLBOSS, Sophia’s autobiography which accounts how she became a successful entrepreneur.

About the author.

Sophia Amoruso was diagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) and depression during her adolescent years which was the reason why she dropped out from school and began homeschooling. Her first job as a teenager was at Subway (sandwiches) and many other jobs thereafter which were just short-lived. At 23, she started selling stuff on eBay and her first sale was a book she stole. Sophia is an artistic young adult with a flair for photography and fashion which later on worked to her advantage. She took thrifting to a whole new level.  She was a one-woman-business at first and did everything from styling her models down to packing and shipping her items. One of the most expensive stuff she sold on eBay was an original Chanel jacket she sold for $2500. Sophia’s ladder to success wasn’t easy because as her career on eBay is beginning to take flight, other eBay sellers, possibly envious of her success, conspired and reported her for violating eBay policies.

Nasty Gal’s success and downfall.

Sophia claimed she left eBay because as per policy they do not allow sellers (like herself) to leave a negative feedback against buyers no matter how unfair some customers are. To make matters worse, other eBay sellers accused her of ‘shill-bidding’ (that she was allegedly in ‘cahoots’ with another eBay seller to manipulate her product’s bidding price) and also for adding external links to her eBay site  which is another violation of eBay policies (although other sellers were also guilty of such practice). Sophia denied these allegations though.  Her disappointments with eBay also served as an impetus for her to launch her own website called Nasty Gal. It was a risky move but since she already gained a huge following (through her avid customers who followed her when she left eBay) she went ahead bravely launched her very own e-Commerce site. 

Nasty Gal became a huge success for many years because Sophia worked her ass off to build her empire considering she doesn’t have any formal business background just 100% passion. Nasty Gal’s revenue sky rocketed from $223,000 (2008) to almost $23 million in 2011 which landed her as one of the richest self-made women in the world by Forbes last year. It wasn’t really an easy path because Sophia started out her young adult life broke and hopped from one job to another and at one point worked at the San Francisco's Academy of Arts University just to get a health insurance and have her hernia treated. Sophia quit her job at the Academy thereafter to follow her heart’s desire, to be her own boss by selling vintage items on eBay since she despised the idea of working for corporations. However, the company filed for bankruptcy last February and Boohoo Group bought Nasty Gal for $20 million. According to analysts, Nasty Gal’s downfall were attributed to lack in product quality which then led to customer dissatisfaction and heavy spending in advertising and marketing.

Girlboss on Netflix.

I was really squeamish to know what happened to Nasty Gal after I finished the book so I scoured Google and was shocked when I found out that Sophia already stepped down as CEO last February. I also found out that Netflix even had a series based on the book however, due to Nasty Gal’s insolvency, Netflix had to cancel the show and eventually only lasted for one season. I thought the show was alright though except they portrayed Sophia like a sociopath or some girl with anger issues lol. 

SO, what’s my take on the book? 

I thought it’s very inspiring and quite addicting to read (except the business stuff during the latter part when Nasty Gal is gradually becoming a corporation). it’s very interesting as well how Sophia worked her way up from being a one-woman-company to a millionaire. I learned so many things about the book from personal finance, feminism, to being a non-conformist, to doing something that you’re passionate about down to the magic of mind-power and optimism just to name a few. Anyways, let me share some of my favorite excerpts from the book:

Sophia Amoruso
photo from Google

“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 balls-out toward 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."

“Chaos magic is the idea that a particular set of beliefs serves as an active force in the world. In other words, we choose what and how we believe, and our beliefs are tools that we then use to make things happen . . . or not.”

“I also think you can end up ignoring, and even losing, the positive things in your life by focusing too much on the negative. That’s a huge drain, as well as a waste of time”

Ah oh, I particularly like the part when Sophia spoke for all the “introverts” (myself included). She also cited that psychologists now believe that social media is a really valuable tool which allows introverts to convey and communicate in their own terms. Here are some of the things that Sophia mentioned about introverts which resonated to me:

“A lot of the world’s great artists, thinkers, and even businesspeople are and were introverts (Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, and J. K. Rowling, to name a few), so in no way does being an introvert doom you into a life in the shadows.”

“Introverts are naturally more sensitive because they don’t need a ton of dopamine, the “feel-good” neurotransmitter that your brain produces in response to positive stimuli. 

“There’s a certain freedom to being an outsider. You do what you want, say what you want, and move on when you’ve worn out your welcome.”

(so true 👆🏼)

As of last August, Sophia Amoruso was reported to have raised $1.2 million to grow Girlboss Media, her new venture. Girlboss Media include an editorial website, Girlboss.com, and an email newsletter to promote the website content which focuses on personal finance, beauty and fitness.