Thetime in your twenties is a chance to really pursue your dreams

-Marla Malcom Beck

Inspiring Women Issue

Sophia AmorusoEntrepreneur, creator,

designer and #GIRLBOSS

The Anatomy of a selfie

Wha

t’s in

side “Be your own idol”

How entrepreneur, Sophia Amoruso created Nasty Gal from nothing and what it means to be a #GIRLBOSS

THE ANATOMY OF A #SELFIE

A photo essay on selfies: why we take them, who takes them, and how they make us feel

FROM THE EDITOR: Inspiring women and what makes them inspiring

From the EditorThis quote, more or less, is the inspiration behind “21.” Being 21 is a pivotal time; having inspiration, whether it’s a mentor, art, fashion, or otherwise, is crucial to our development as women. At this point in a woman’s life, some chose to further their education, some are in cosmotology school, others are serving our country or raising a family. No matter what she is doing, she is strong andbeautiful. They are the strong and powerful women who inspire this magazine.

“The time in your twenties is a chance to really pursue your dreams.”

Being 21 is all about finding your place in this world. You have been a kid long enough to learn from your mistakes and you’ve been an adult long enough to know that making mistakes is something we will never grow out of. “21” will provide a variety of information from how to land your dream job to how to cope with stress as a woman. This magazine’s sole purpose is to give women something to relate to and find inspiration in. After all, we are all just trying to find a little inspiration, right?

“Your 20’s are your ‘selfish’ years. It’s a decade to immerse yourself in every single thing possible. Be selfish with your time, and all of the aspects of you.”

Sophia Amoruso is someone I look up to and aspire to be like. She is someone who had a passion, made it into a plan and took action. After reading her book, “#GIRLBOSS,” I was inspired. The book made me want to get up and go accomplish all that I’vealways wanted to accomplish. This is why I chose to include her in the “Inspiring Women Issue” of “21.”

Part of being happy with who you are is being comfortable in your own skin. The average 21 year-old is obsessed with taking selfies and I think that confidence plays a huge role in that. This is what inspired my photo essay, “The Anatomy of a Selfie.” I wanted to highlight the reasons why women (and men) take selfies. Get inspired.

Her power and “don’t care what anyone thinks” attitude makes her the perfect representation of this magazine. It’s all about finding yourself and not caring who doesn’t like it, as long as you are happy with who you are.

-Annie

I’m notBOSSY...

“ ophia Amoruso is by definition, a bad-a%$. A lot like many women, she was a 17-year old, shoplifting anarchist when she decided to change her ways. Living as a drifter and a free-loader, she would steal to get money; not for lack of skill, but from boredom. If you were to meet her in 2003, you would have met a completely different woman than the one you would meet today.

She began to change her ways after finding out she had a hernia; she had to figure out a way to pay for a surgery, so she decided to get a job. At this point, she had moved to San Fransisco. What she didn’t know then, was that she was about to change her life forever. Sophia’s mistakes led her to the success she has today. It all started with an eBay store where she sold vitage clothes.

S

After getting into a virtual fight with another eBay seller, she was kicked off of her online store. As it was a pattern of hers, one door closed and she busted another one open. This is when she created Nastygalvintage.com. Being a community college drop-out, Sophia learned everything she needed to know about running a business by actually running a business. She learned PR by connecting with her customers through social media sites like Myspace and Facebook.

Amoruso took her passion and put it to work: she created Nasty Gal, named after a song/album by Betty Davis. She began selling vintage clothes that she would purchase at second-hand stores. This gave her experience with directly working with her customers. She also experienced competition with the other retailers on eBay. Sophia had a leg up on the competition because she knew how to display her products to attract customers. She would put items of clothing together to make outfits to help her customers make purchasing decisions. She met with other vintage retailers via

“I learned the hard way that taking shortcuts and living for free is not really living free”

BOSSY... I am aBOSS” In an industry run by mostly men, Amoruso is fearless and knows how to get what she wants. She is proof that this generation isn’t as lazy as the baby-boomers say. She saw an opportunity and grabbed it. Her book, #GIRLBOSS is full of inspiration for young women. She provides insight as to how to go after your dreams. She shares how she became successful by not caring what others thought of her. She is confident in who she is. By age 22, she was a successful entrepreneur with a growing business. Now, a $110 million dollar business, she was

profitable early on, which gave her the luxury of running her business exacly how she wanted to. She was able to be picky when it came time to choose investors (a very difficult decision in the first place). “When I decided to raise money, every guy was on to the fact that women like to shop as if it was the newest thing.” She said, skeptical and critical about each investor who walked into her door. Amoruso waited for the right investor who believed in her brand and who fit into the culture that she had created at Nasty Gal. Sophia is innovative in all that she does, so bigger things are to come from the vintage store, Nasty Gal. As she grows her company, she continues to grow her following, especially after writing her memoir #GIRLBOSS.

“Every other fashion brand out there... are run by mostly old white men, and thecustomer knows it”

Story by: Annie Lambert

opportunitieshidden inside every failure

There are secret“”

An important skill that any good leader posses is the ability to recognize when someone can do a better job than him or her. Sophia Amoruso lives this characteristic; recently, as Nasty Gal is a global e-commerce company with $100 million in revenue, she hired a new CEO to take her place. She recognized that she had limited experience and knowledge in how to run a company of that size. She hired President of Nasty Gal, Sheree Waterson to take over as CEO. Sophia will still be a present figure in the company. She will be working closely with the brand that she so fabulously created. She will remain in her role as executive chairwoman and stay on the board. Her presence will now be in the marketing area. she will be overseeing the creative and brand marketing work for Nasty Gal. Amoruso knows her strength in the company and she will continue to inspire those that work for her fierce company. Sophia hired Waterson last year with the intent to promote her to CEO one day. “In the past 11 months alone, we have already seen the impacts of Sheree’s strategic thinking and approach in our product offering and experience,” An important lesson for all #GIRLBOSS’ is to know your strengths and know when to collaborate with others. You can still be a boss without actually being the boss.

“Don’t act like you’ve arrived when you’re just receiving the invitation”

Be your own

Idol

Founded in 2006 as an eBay store

Named fastest growing e-retailer by

Inc magazine in 2012

$100m in revenue

in 20131.2 million Instagram,

and 300,000 Twitter followers

One million Facebook

AnatomyOf A

Selfie

The

By: Annie Lambert

A snapshot of why we feel the need to

stop and take a selfie

“I take selfies to make people laugh”

“I take selfies to capture the

moment”

“I take selfies when I feel confident”

Selfies are our generation’s way of expressing ourselves. People

take selfies for a variety of reasons.

Some take them when they’re lookin’ good, others when they want to send a goofy snapchat

to thier friends.

When we feel accomplished, we want the feeling to last and we want to share it

with everyone we know. What better way to do that then to take a quick selfie?