We asked Girlboss panelists for the top career mistakes women make and how to avoid them
"If you’re not failing every day you’re not taking enough risks.”
Over a 1,000 women from 31 countries gathered in New York City this weekend for the GirlBoss Rally, a two-day women's career and networking conference organized by Sophia Amoruso's Girlboss platform.
The GirlBoss Rally featured panels on topics ranging from equal pay, building confidence and how to build a side hustle. Female leaders including Arianna Huffington, Brooklyn Decker, actress and co-founder of Finery, and Rent the Runway co-founder Jennifer Hyman, were on hand to answer questions. The goal: to galvanize a community of women in building their career dreams.
Amoruso founded GirlBoss in 2014 after experiencing her own failures at her first company Nasty Gal. The CEO always wanted to create a space for women within the community and provide resources to thrive professionally.
In January, the company is launching its own version of LinkedIn, built for millennial women to network and make connections.
"GMA" talked to Amoruso and panelists about the top career mistakes women make and how they can avoid the traps.
Top mistake women make in being a Girlboss: Sophia Amoruso, Founder and CEO, GirlBoss
“The biggest mistake is thinking our failures are somehow unique,” Amoruso told "GMA." "If you’re not failing every day you’re not taking enough risks.”
Instead, Amoruso suggests, “Reach out, share your story. I’m trying to do that and we want that happening on every stage here and it makes us all feel so much less alone. So find other people and have honest conversations."
Top mistake women make in networking: Landit founder and CEO Lisa Skeete Tatum
Lisa Skeete Tatum's mission is to help women define success on their own terms and help them navigate the career landscape with her company, a technology platform called LandIt. While navigating a career, a lot of women make mistakes when it comes to networking, she said.
“The biggest mistake women make in networking is focusing and looking only for a mentor,” Tatum said. “What I really want women to focus on is getting that sponsor. A sponsor is someone who opens doors for you, advocates for you when you’re not in the room and helps you see opportunities around the corner. It is the difference maker when it comes to your career, opportunities and leveraging your network.”
How to get a sponsor? "You have to be visible and people have to see the value that you are bringing," she said.
She added, "You want to make sure you keep your ask really small. So when you reach out to a sponsor, you are coming to talk to them for 15-20 minutes about something specific that you know they can deliver. And then you follow up."
Top mistake women make in being negotiating their pay: Claire Wasserman, Ladies Get Paid
Ladies Get Paid founder Claire Wasserman, who hosts her own conference, "Get Money Get Paid," said she hears from thousands of women that they're not making what they “deserve.”
"You’re not going to make the money because you deserve it,” Claire Wasserman told "GMA."
You have to make a compelling case about your accomplishments instead, she explained. "Tell the story in a way as if you were talking about a scene in the movie with high stakes and the most important part is to share your impact,” she said.
She went on, "When you make your case, it’s not just 'I worked hard.' Be as clear and detailed as possible to show what you did and how it affected the bottom of the line of the company."
Top mistake women make in building their brand: Jennifer Hyman, Rent the Runway co-Founder and CEO
As CEO and co-founder of the Rent the Runway, Jennifer Hyman changed the way women shop and think about clothes when she introduced her clothing rental business in 2009.
Despite the popularity of her beloved company and brand, you may not know who she is – and she is just fine with that.
"Often ... women feel like they need to put 100 percent of themselves out there and they need their personal lives to become their brands," Hyman told "GMA."
Hyman offers this advice instead: "If I could serve as an example to a set of women, that you don’t have to make that choice if you don't want to. You can have a brand that is all about your company that’s inherently different and separate than the life you lead personally.”
Hyman, who participated in the GirlBoss Rally panel on "Building a Billion Dollar Empire," also noted don't be afraid to fail.
"The realness of failure, the realness of resilience of stepping up after those failures and putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to build something new is the most important human quality," she said. "It’s not just an important quality in business, but resilience is the most important quality in life.”
Top mistake women make in wellness: Hannah Bronfman, DJ, Founder HBFIT and Brand Ambassador
Hannah Bronfman has turned her passion for wellness into a career with HBFIT, amassing over 480,000 followers on her own Instagram page. Her followers tune in to Hannah’s latest ventures on all things heath, beauty and fitness.
“One of the top mistakes women make in their wellness routine is really trying to implement too much at once,” Bronfman told "GMA."
Instead, Bronfman suggests, “I think it’s much easier to implement one thing at a time. You want to be able to understand how your body is reacting to these types of things, these types of changes. If you are doing it all at once you don’t know what’s particularly working or making you feel a certain way.”
She added, “The whole point of wellness and changing your routine is understanding how you feel.”
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