#GIRLBOSS ( PDFDrive )

company you work for and it’s your job to empathize with them. Though
you may be paid minimum wage, to the customers you are the face of the
entire company. It’s this kind of accountability that gets people raises,
promotions, and eventually careers.
As a teenager and into my early twenties, I thought that I would never
embrace capitalism, much less be a public champion for it. I was certain
that I’d live my years out trying to make a career as a photographer,
getting by holding jobs because I had to, not because I wanted to. I’m not
that cynical anymore. I’ve learned that it’s typically the larger companies
out there that provide the template for employees to chart a path for
themselves and continue to develop in their respective fields as well as in
their management skills. At Nasty Gal today, we have a little something
we call “Our Philosophy” that’s posted around the office. We employ an
amazing Human Resources and Benefits team to ensure that our
practices are fair and that our employees are well taken care of. Before
Nasty Gal, I hardly knew what HR stood for (high rise, as in jeans? Or
HR, the lead singer from Bad Brains?), and a philosophy was something
that I would have fully rolled my eyes at. But when a company is on a
trajectory as crazy as Nasty Gal’s, and becomes as big as Nasty Gal,
these kinds of things are more than just corporate mumbo jumbo—
they’re integral to having a positive company culture.
My stint at Borders, even though I liked it, only lasted about six
months. After that, I practiced more job promiscuity at the local factory
outlet mall, working at a couple of different shoe stores (both specialized
in orthopedic shoes) and at another bookstore. Then I worked at a dry
cleaner’s, where I sat alone, in the back, scrubbing ring-around-the collar
out of men’s shirts and separating them by starch level.