The Girl’s Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch)

Fed up with the cubicle life, nasty bosses, shady co-workers, crappy lunches, mind-numbing meetings and 3 a.m. print deadlines, I took a leap of faith and started my career as a freelance writer at age 29. It was an entirely frightening experience but my gut and intuition — which are always spot-on— were steadfast companions during this scary metamorphosis. This being said, there’s been a lot of banter as of late about being a “Girl Boss” thanks to fellow Greek Sophia Amoruso of NastyGal fame (an e-commerce site which has sold over $100 million in clothing sales from L.A.). As an independent contractor myself, I like to think of myself as a Girl Boss (I mean, how profesh do I look in the above headshot?), and wanted to share a few tips I learned from my own experiences in the rough-and-tumble world of freelance and with a little help from Sophia’s best-selling book, #GirlBoss.

Do the Dirty Work (as Though You’re Nose-Deep in Fabuloso): When Sophia began her business, she was a one-woman merchandising, photographing, copywriting, and shipping machine. She got up at the crack of dawn to make 6 a.m. estate sales, haggled with thrift stores down to the cent, spent glazed-over hours Photoshopping the images she styled and shot herself (with models she recruited herself), and even ensured that the tedious packaging was high-quality. “I’d grab an item and inspect to make sure it was in good shape. I’d zip zippers, button buttons, and hook hooks, then fold it and slide it into a clear plastic bag that I sealed with a sticker…Then I’d put it in a box and slap a shipping label on. Only I didn’t slap anything—I took a lot of pride in how carefully I affixed those labels. I had to assume that my customer was as particular and as concerned with the aesthetics as I was.” In other words, give every realm of your brand and business 100% of your love and energy. Period. End of story. Anyone can spot a half-ass job from a mile away.

Keep Your Goals in Sight, Literally: Velveeta Cheeseball alert: I have a vision board. On this board, you’ll spot images of my family, my “Blogging 101” class curriculum, fashion pieces I covet, homes I adore from afar, vacation spots I yearn to visit and even magazine covers I dream to see my byline appear in. I know that by surrounding myself with these concrete visuals, they stand as constant reminders to work harder. Strive more. Because you know what? These “dreams” always materialize sooner or later. Manifesting goals works. Swear!

Leave Your Entitled ‘Tude At the Door: A lot of young people I come into contact with don’t seem to grasp the notion you have to work your way up. I’m always flabbergasted when I meet younger “professionals” with all these crazy demands and limitations toward what they’ll do on the job. You know what? I don’t care if filing invoices is beneath you. If you don’t do it, who do you think is going to? 

Get Your Shit Together: I’ve been to 1,239 networking events where I stumble into peeps without business cards. Without Twitter handles. Without Facebook accounts. Without resumés, for chrissakes! Do yourself a solid and whip up a business card with all your contact info. Gussy up your resumé. Have a professional headshot on hand. Create your own bio. As obvious as these tools seem, they’re money in the bank and too few people have them readily available at the drop of a hat.

Small Milestones Can Add Up to a Giant Enterprise: Sophia admits that she never would have created a multimillion dollar business if that’s what she set out to do. Instead, she started small: buy clothes, take photos, upload them on eBay. “Starting it was as easy as picking a name and uploading the first auction. That instant gratification would never have come had my first step been to write a business plan. And without that instant gratification I might not have kept going,” she wrote. But luckily it did, and one auction led to another, which led to her own site, which led to her own designs, which led to her power brand. Baby steps, people! That’s what it takes.

Headshot by moxiemavensphotography.com