(May 15, 2014) “Confidence is more attractive than anything you could put on your body.” – Sophia Amoruso

I LOVED this book! Sophia Amoruso has a wonderful life story to tell – a fascinating journey for someone who is just 30 years old, a high school dropout and the CEO of her own multimillion dollar online fashion business called Nasty Gal. She started her business on MySpace selling vintage clothing back in 2006, then moved to Ebay, then to her own website. She now employs over 300 people and her annual revenues are well over $100 million dollars. 

I like her style in telling her own story. She offers practical advice on everything from LinkedIn, cover letters, resumes and interviews to wisdom that rings true on what makes a person “cool.” She thinks of herself as “anti-fashion” in the traditional sense of following fashion dictated by fashion designers. She thinks clothes should be an expression of who we are. A bit of Sophia’s wisdom: “So embrace all the things that make you different. Alter your clothes all you want, but don’t you dare alter your inner freak. She’s got your back as much as I do.” 

I thoroughly enjoyed the book as both a coming of age story and as a business book. This is a millennial who is showing us a future that others can have. She did it without a lot of what many of us believe is essential to being successful in business. Reading this on the heels of “The Innovator’s DNA” and “The Confidence Code,” I can see how this came together the way it did. Or rather, I can see how Sophia pulled it all together. 

A thought I loved from the book: “Clothing is ultimately the suit of armor in which we battle the world. . . Owning your style, however, is much more about your attitude than it is about what’s on your back.” Amen, sister!