#GirlBoss Rally in NYC

You guys! I attended the second ever Girlboss Rally in NYC on November 11th! I had the most amazing time. I’m a regular listener of the Girl Boss podcast and totally appreciate their mission in uplifting women and girls so naturally, I really wanted to attend this awesome event, but was not planning on it. Then one day I randomly received a direct message from the Girlboss (GB) Instagram account about a complimentary ticket to their Rally in NYC. I was so confused, I thought it was a joke – like seriously; I even replied to their message asking if it was a joke. I was excited and confused at the same time: I was more than happy to accept this awesome invitation but I didn’t know how or why. I later realized when I had posted a photo on my IG account in alignment with their #WhatIfWednesday conversation from the GB Podcast (you should totally give it a listen if you haven’t yet), they used that as an opportunity to invite a few lucky women to attend the rally. How awesome is that? I literally had just brought it up to my husband because I wanted to attend, but it was just out of my price point at the time. This was literally right on time you guys. I was so excited.

What is Girlboss?

Have you heard of Sophia Amoruso? If you have – awesome. If you haven’t – no worries! Sophia is an entrepreneur that started selling vintage clothing via an online eBay store called Nasty Gal Vintage which later became an online fashion retailer. Nasty Gal performed ridiculously well as one of the fastest growing businesses and Sophia was recognized as one of the richest self-made women in the world by Forbes in 2016. Unfortunately, the excitement came to an end when Nasty Gal filed for bankruptcy and later sold to a British based online retailer. Circumstances like this would be difficult for anyone to deal with – this was more than just a business failing, it was something she was passionate about. However, Sophia did not allow this to discourage her. She channeled her energy into something positive by writing a book titled #GIRLBOSS that highlighted her achievements and shared the obstacles and failures she faced as a woman and a businesswoman. This inspirational book – which was on the New York Times Bestseller list for nearly 20 weeks – was the start of Girlboss Media. Girlboss Media is a community dedicated to uplifting and uniting women of all ages and races by creating an unapologetically shame-free and encouraging atmosphere.

In March of 2017, Girlboss Media launched its first Girlboss Rally in Los Angeles and in November, they held their second Girlboss Rally in NY. They are planning another rally which will be in LA again this upcoming March, 2018.

What exactly is the Girlboss Rally & what was it like?

Girlboss Rally is a full day of women coming together to network and inspire one another while discussing real life shit that affects us as a community. The atmosphere was certainly not one of your typical business conference. For starters, the venue, Industria in West Village, was colorfully decorated and had motivational quotes splashed along the walls, doors and even hung from the ceiling to catch your attention as you walk down the halls. And honestly, it was like a mini-runway show. Everyone was dressed so incredibly well expressing their unique style and putting their own twist on the latest trends. As a fashion enthusiast, this definitely got me excited.

When you first walk in, you walk up this ramp with a pink carpet and are welcomed by their very friendly staff to check in. We had cute lanyards with our schedule along with a mini notebook to take notes. If you pre-registered for the break out sessions those times were also listed. I didn’t confirm my attendance online early enough to pre-register, but they offered a waiting list which was perfect. I got into every break out session I wanted to be a part of which included one on leveraging social media to bring your brand or blog to the next level.  Here’s a quick video of the entrance I shared on my snapchat.

There were over 20 different speakers with so many different backgrounds including entrepreneurs, corporate leaders social media influencers and models. They shared stories of their successes, failures and obstacles as well as how they manage to remain humble and motivated each day juggling the responsibilities of a working professional and balancing a family / relationship. They also touched on financial ignorance that has lead us to lose on so much potential money. I think this session made me the most upset with myself, but in an inspiring way. I suddenly felt empowered to seek out tools that can better explain financial investing. No topic was untouched guys, we even discussed the sexual role of a woman or man in their relationship(s) as well as *dun dun dun* the other woman. We even chatted about why you don’t typically hear of a man willing to place himself in a situation where he is knowingly second to another man. It was… different, but eye opening. And I think some people just needed to have a blunt conversation with those sensitive topics.

Each woman on that stage shared how adversities were building blocks that has lead them to where they are today and they were so inspiring. They each had their unique messages to share with us and I probably looked up once or twice because I kept typing their stand out messages on my phone – I should have just recorded the whole thing! There were also break out rooms with more intimate educational sessions sponsored by Google and the dating app, Bumble, offered makeovers that included hair and make-up for stylish LinkedIn profile photos.

I think one of my favorite parts was the Pinterest inspirational board – it was like the most perfect board. They even provided postcards so we could write ourselves a motivational message to receive in the mail. I haven’t received mine in the mail yet, but I’m looking forward to when I do and I hope I reached my goal and then some by that point 🙂

It was an extremely long day that kicked off at 8am with breakfast. Lunch and snacks were also served and a cocktail party was the official closing. I am so happy I had the opportunity to attend the rally. Not only did I hear so many inspiring women tell their stories, but I also met so many inspiring women throughout the day with amazing stories and inspiring goals they’re working towards. We all shared what we hoped to receive from this rally and connected through social media; I’m looking forward to maintaining our connections.

Not to mention, the goody bags they handed out were so stylish and filled with so many useful freebies from books to makeup products to even super cute shades.

Looking forward to hearing about the next Girlboss Rally and hopefully you’ve been inspired to try to make it out!

This Instagram post is what landed me in NYC! Whoop whoop. And I was feautred on the Girlboss website!

Ruffled Blouse | Leather Skirt | Tights | Booties (also in caramel!)

With exception to my shoes and shoulder bag, my entire look, no joke, is from H&M and I purchased it all the night before. lol I had a totally different look planned but glad I went with this simple and sophisticated yet chic look.

Not only did I get to hear Elaine Welteroth, Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue, speak, but I also got to take a picture with her! I have to admit, I purposely wore my hair in a slicked down ponytail for the rally because I was nervous my big, curly hair would end up bringing unwanted attention but she totally made me wish I had let them lose! It’s amazing even at my age (21, of course), that seeing someone that looks like me in a position like Elaine’s is truly inspiring and such a confidence booster. She’s no more than a few years older than me and yet is so ridiculously impacting. What a moment.

Had an opportunity to snap a photo with Linda Wells, Chief Creative Officer for Revlon after the Lead Like a Woman panel with Deborah Curits, VP Entertainment Market, American Express. Here are some of my take-aways from the panel:

• The biggest challenge to yourself is yourself. How many times have you stopped yourself from pursuing a dream, volunteering for a project or asking for a promotion? Stop doing that to yourself!
• Be a leader by creating an environment to nurture your team. To be trusted by your team will improve your ability to lead your them even in the toughest of times when they don’t exactly see your vision the same way you do.
• Nurture other leaders. This is in sync with my personal leadership philosophy. A true leader provides challenges to further develop other leaders on their team. And if an opportunity comes around for that person to leave 
• Avoid making assumptions. Listen to the people you are working with and build off of those conversations.
• Ask questions when you don’t know something. Asking questions does not mean you are incompetent. It’s always best to submit a deliverable completed correctly versus something that does not properly meet  expectations.
• Treat yourself with the same compassion you treat others: be more forgiving. This aligns with the first bullet point – we are so tough on ourselves and that is not OK. Just like you’ve forgiven others for their mistakes, be sure to forgive yourself and move forward.
• Redefine who you are with your next success; not by your past failures. While it is important to remember what not to do in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, a short term memory is needed to focus on your next goal and future successes. You may fall down seven times, but always get up eight. 

L to R: Priya Malani, Founding Partner at Stash Wealth; Sarah Kunst, founder & CEO of Pro Day; Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest with host Deena Drewis leading the It’s Complicated: Our Relationship with $$ panel. This was such an important and often times avoided topic that needed to be discussed. Here are some interesting statistics provided by Sallie Krawcheck:

• 90% of women manage their own money rather than using financial service tools
• Women end up with 2/3% of the total wealth men have upon retirement
• Women live 6-8 years longer than men
• 80% of women die single
• $1M — lifetime gender pay gap if you are making $85-100K per year as a woman
• $1M — money not earned aka lost potential income because women lean on safe managing with banks
• Paycheck breakdown of how to allocate your money:
  • 50% to needs (food, shelter, miscellaneous bills)
  • 30% to fun
  • 20% to investments including 401(k) / IRA

Tasty cocktails to bring the day’s fun to a closing were curated by none other than Women & Whiskies – check out their site for events, recipes & to learn a few things about different whiskeys.

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