#Girlboss Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

In a world where higher education is often seen as the primary vehicle to personal and professional success, Amoruso encourages readers to be driven by their passions--and their strengths--rather than by the letter grades they receive. She aims to teach budding entrepreneurs that experience with failure is a critical piece of achieving success and that she has created highly implementable strategies to help you go after your goals, beyond what it says in your textbook.

About the Author

Sophia Amoruso--author of #GIRLBOSS--is a high-school dropout turned multimillion-dollar business CEO. Amoruso was born in 1984 in San Diego, California before re-locating to San Francisco, California where she founded her hugely successful women's fashion retailer--Nasty Gal--which went on to be named one of the fastest growing companies in the United States. Unfortunately, Nasty Gal's prosperity was short-lived, as the retailer was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2016.

However, Nasty Gal was not Amoruso's only claim to fame. In addition to penning #GIRLBOSS--her autobiography--Amoruso founded Girlboss, a company and community that develops editorial content intended to empower and inspire success among ambitious women--in 2017. To this day, Girlboss Media serves as a diverse resource for motivated women, delivering articles and videos on topics including work, money, wellness, and identity.

Amoruso's popular book, #GIRLBOSS--which was published by Portfolio in 2014--was picked up by Netflix in 2016 and adapted into Girlboss, a television series that was eventually canceled following its first season.

Currently, Amoruso resides in Los Angeles, California where she continues to lead Girlboss in supporting women worldwide.a

Topics

Biography & Memoir

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Key Insights

In #GirlBoss, Sophia Amoruso presents her personal story as anecdotal evidence that entrepreneurial success can be achieved by unconventional means. She emphasizes the value of creativity, confidence, positivity, and failure, as pathways--and teachers--in the pursuit of one's personal path to their goals. Arguing that school is not for everyone and that figuring out your individual strengths is the most important step to take, Amoruso details the winding—and often daunting--path she has walked to become the businesswoman—and person--she is today.

Discovering Natural Strengths

In this section of the text, Amoruso writes about how parents often equate success in school with success in life--when, in reality--one does not beget the other. Instead, she acknowledges that there are many types of people in the world, some of whom excel academically, and others who are not skilled in the classroom, but who add value to society in a different way.

She calls these non-traditional ways of adding value “special talents” and she believes that by focusing on innate abilities rather than a dictated path, individuals are able to perform at a high-level and ultimately succeed.

Personally, Amoruso knew she was strong when it came to retail skills. She knew how to haggle for a discount on vintage clothing and, in turn, she was able to sell her acquisitions in exchange for a sizable profit.

Additionally, Amoruso was aware that she was not a natural extrovert and in knowing this, she was able to leverage her skills--and build connections--online rather than in person.

Finding Value in Odd Jobs

When we are children, we are often taught that the easiest way to complete a task is the best way. However, Amoruso argues that there is no linear path to achieve success. Instead, taking the “easy route” will limit you and the twists and turns add to the adventure, sometimes changing its course entirely.

For example, think of an astronaut who spends years in training to reach outer space, only to discover that he is prone to severe motion sickness. If he had considered other career possibilities earlier on, maybe this individual would not have pigeon-holed himself into such a specific role. Similarly, students occasionally make it half-way through medical school before recognizing that they cannot stand the sight of blood.

Becoming an Expert

Amoruso identified her passion for working with retail early on. But, as she discovered, succeeding professionally would require more than a strong interest--she would also need experience. In fact, she would need several experiences pertaining to her field that she could use to learn everything she possibly could.

When experiences did not go as planned--such as when items on Amoruso’s clothing site were not selling--she experimented with her marketing approach, ultimately gaining critical knowledge about her consumer base through her willingness to adapt.

Amoruso was committed to thinking outside the box. She encouraged customers to connect not only with her product but with both each other and with the community the company had built. Through her developed expertise, Amoruso was able to achieve investment from consumers that extended beyond the physical products that she...