An Evening with “GirlBoss” Sophia Amoruso
Updated: Apr 27, 2020
By: Leaha Kahsay
On November 14th , I and a number of women across Ottawa were afforded the opportunity to listen to “GirlBoss” Sophia Amoruso speak at Algonquin College! Sophia Amoruso is an entrepreneur, the founder of Nasty Gal, and best-selling author of #GirlBoss, and most recently founded Girl Boss media. She is the ultimate boss and such an inspiration to myself and an infinite amount of people, which is why this was an exciting moment for women across Ottawa to listen to Sophia speak about what it takes to be a successful woman or better yet a “GirlBoss”.
As a communication and media student trying to navigate myself through figuring out how to immerse myself in this industry, I found Sophia’s advice to be invaluable. For those who missed out on seeing Sophia, here are some major questions and answers from an Evening with “GirlBoss” Sophia Amoruso.
Q: How do I grow myself as a young professional? A: Learn to be okay with discomfort. Being uncomfortable means your growing, get out of your comfort zone because nothing is gained being on that side of the fence! Realize you need to always put yourself in a beginner’s mentality. Never get too cocky and think you know everything, because the world is ever so changing and developing and you don’t want to be left behind thinking that you’re too good to learn something new and continue developing your skills. “Nature mutates. You have to too.”
Q: What do you, as an employer, look for when hiring someone? A:
1. Persistence. Someone that demonstrates this is someone that asks more than once, puts in thought into their cover letter 2. Be as resourceful as you can. A simplified tip on doing just this is find someone that works there, and take them out to coffee. 3. Know the employer. Know why you want to work there, don’t show up to an interview not knowing about the company, show the employer what you can do for them. 4. Learn to articulate step 3. Learn to articulate this well, and be better in communicating what you want to get across in general because this is an important skill that can make the difference in whether you get that job or not.
Q: I don’t know what I want to do with my life, how do I figure this out? A: Throw yourself into as many things as you can, while experiencing everything you can. The beauty of being young, is that you have time to figure things out, with having a lot less to lose. “The great thing about experiments is that there is no failure.”
Q: How can we all start being a girl boss today?
A: 1. Express gratitude. Be thankful for what you have instead of thinking what you could have more of or allowing it to weigh you down. 2. Rid yourself of anything toxic. Anyone that is toxic friend or sucks the life out of you is not someone who deserves your energy.3. List thing you want to accomplish. But, start doing them or making steps how to accomplish your goal. Don’t be the dreamer, be the doer. 4. Finances. Stop being scared to discuss your finances or remain ignorant about it because it isn’t glamorous to talk about. You don’t need to understand numbers to become financially literate, learn the ins and outs of how much debt is too much, when you should start saving for retirement, etc.