7 Badass Creative Women to Celebrate for International Women's Day
Happy International Women's Day!
In case you haven't yet heard, it's International Women's Day and a lot of people have a lot of thoughts on the topic. Organizers of the Women's March in January have decided to use the day to encourage women to participate in A Day Without Women - a strike on society's treatment of women. Ladies are being asked to stay home from work, not spend any money (unless it's at a local business owned by a badass woman) and wear red in solidarity.
Since taking a day off of work is much easier said than done, I don't own a lot of red (black & white wardrobe, anyone?), and I don't usually go shopping in the middle of the week, I wanted to show my celebration of International Women's Day in a different way.
When was the last time you reached out to your girl friends and told them how awesome they are? Today is as great a day as any to shoot a quick text over to your fellow ladies and say, "hey, I just think you're a bad ass. Thanks for everything you do."
This day is about appreciating other women - not putting them down. It's about standing together as a community of super cool peeps and saying "we're choosing how we want to live our lives, and we're doing it together."
“Today is about standing together as a community of badass women and saying, ‘we’re choosing how we want to live our lives, and we’re doing it together.’”
These Creative Women are Inspirational as Hell
Telling your girlfriends they're awesome is one way to celebrate today. Another way is by honoring those who have stepped up and made an impact on women in our community. Although there are thousands of badass women out there, for the purpose of this blog, I'm just going to stick to my top seven favorite creative women as of late.
These women have accomplished truly amazing things in our industry and they deserve a little shout-out once in a while. So, without further ado, here's seven seriously badass women we should be celebrating for International Women's Day (in no particular order).
1. Jen Sincero (@JenSincero)
Jen Sincero is most notably known for her bestselling book "You Are a Badass." She's also a coach and motivational speaker.
My sister gave me her book for Christmas, as it was listed among the extremely long book wishlist I have on Amazon (lots of reading to do, so little time!). I remember unwrapping the gift, and smiling so big because I was so excited to read the book.
Once I finished the book, I knew I needed to kick myself in the ass and get started making my life truly awesome. I decided there would be no more waiting around and complaining about the aspects of my life I'm currently not happy about. Instead, I'm going to work hard to take those things and either fix them or throw them away to pursue better opportunities.
Essentially, Jen Sincero is the reason why I'm working as hard as I am to get my life into gear, and she's done that for many other women as well. That's why she's a badass.
2. Kathleen Shannon (@andkathleen)
I actually stumbled upon Kathleen while listening to The Busy Creator podcast where she was featured on an episode (ep. 91). I became inspired by her story and looked into her a little bit more. That was when I discovered she runs a business called Braid Creative and co-hosts a podcast called Being Boss.
Kathleen is inspirational to me because she seems to know how to take something she's passionate about and not only go after it, but also make money off of it. Isn't that what we desire as creatives - to do what we love? I have been following along with her via Twitter, the Being Boss podcast, and her newsletters - and loving every step of the way.
3. Emily M Thompson (@EmilyM_Thompson)
Emily M Thompson is Kathleen Shannon's business partner in Being Boss and has also founded Indie Shopography. Her company is, according to the website, "a boutique studio specializing in helping creatives build online businesses."
She's also truly inspiring because, like Kathleen, she's taken her passion and pursued it. So far, they've also both been successful which is something to say in itself. Both her and Kathleen offer excellent advice on their show which is designed for creative entrepreneurs (and entrepreneurial-minded people).
4. Brittany Berger (@thatbberg)
Brittany Berger is self-explained as "an inbound marketer, by day, freelance content marketer at night, and solo blogger on the weekends." She has been published on sites such as HubSpot, Buffer and CoSchedule.
I actually discovered Brittany on Inbound.org - a forum for inbound marketers. As I'm browsing the site, I often run into her comments and posts which are usually insightful. With a little bit of research, I discovered she very much embodies who I'm working to become. Therefore, she has been inspiring me to push myself a little bit more to become a badass content marketer like herself.
5. Jessica Walsh (@jessicawalsh)
Jessica Walsh is a designer & art director in New York. She has been quoted in 33 Women Doing Amazing Things in Graphic Design and yes, she's truly amazing.
Not only is she a total badass, but she's also coming to Seattle on Friday and doing a lecture for Civilization's Designer Lecture Series. I can't wait to see what she has to say and end the week more inspired than ever to be super awesome.
6. Lauren Hom (@homtweethom)
Ever since hearing Lauren Hom's interview with Josh Miles on the Obsessed with Design podcast, I haven't been able to get her or her story out of my head. This awesome lady is a designer, illustrator, and a world traveler. Basically, she's able to travel the world and create super awesome stuff. How great is that?
Lauren is inspirational to me because she's able to not only do what she loves, but also explore the world at the same time. As this is a goal of mine, it inspires me every time I see someone be able to accomplish this. Plus, her work looks really good. I love how she started out: creating chalkboard signs for restaurants and gaining recognition from there. It's great because her back-story is just as inspiring as her current one.
You can learn more about her and her work on the Obsessed with Design podcast.
7. Clara Benson (@clarabenson)
Clara Benson is a freelance writer and author of "No Baggage," a memoir of her baggage-less travels overseas published in January of 2016.
Honestly, this chick is awesome. According to her memoir, she took a leap and traveled the world for three weeks with nothing but the clothes on her back and a small purse. Not many people would opt for this minimalistic style of travel, but I am tempted to try after reading her book. Not only did the trip sound like a blast, but it clearly jump-started her writing career by giving her something really unique to write about.
Get Inspired by Women
If you want to get inspired by even more awesome creative women, check out Canva's listing of 33 Women Doing Amazing Things in Graphic Design
Who are you inspired by? Tell me in the comments below. I'm always looking for new inspiration - bonus points if they're a badass creative woman.
Ashley Hoffman is a creative marketing professional who specializes in digital marketing with an emphasis on content marketing. She has experience in the fashion, pet and marketing industries and loves good books, awesome design, and caffeinated hot drinks.
Find her on Twitter: @ashhmarketing