✨Is the boss babe really dead?

[Lovewell]

We have seen over the last year or so little tidbits on the internet that “Gen Z killed the Boss Babe” 

Found this so interesting! I’m Emily and I’ll be 30 next week & my sister, Andrea and Business partner is in her early 40’s. Technically we are millennials haha. 

We remember when you’d go to target and boss babe would be on a t shirt, post it notes, mug, or tote bag. 

How do we all feel about it now? All views obviously welcome! 

We believe in working hard! Owning 2 coffee shops in California isn’t easy. But we have found that working until we have mental breakdowns and don’t allow space for others to also lead just doesn’t work.

What are our thoughts on this?? Would love to have insight from a variety of age groups on this.

[MsEhrin]

Hi 👋🏾 there!

I believe like the woman the boss babe has and will continue to grow. Our society is changing. Women and men both are finding new truer identities. The boss babe is, was all of us at some point. She will always exist, just not to the same degree in all of us at the same time. She is like a wave. I don’t think it matters how old you are. The boss babe represents a “time” in femininity that I believe all women will phase through. We can’t live there. She’s too much. Like you said mental breakdowns and not allowing others to lead isn’t cute. I like being cute. I like the balance of cute and powerful. Maybe she’s the extreme version of ourselves we must all meet and say ok we see you now can you please stop. She can be a bit like anxiety from inside out two. She has her place we just have to help her find it.🤗 Happy Friday 🥰

[Lovewell]

Thanks so much for sharing! 

What a beautiful point of view. 

I shake her hand every once in a while but then tell her she needs a vacation 😉 

[MudFire_Dex · Accepted solution]

I think the idea of the entrepreneur in general is an "overwork" ideal - including boss babe. My role in my business is still that of entrepreneur and I still overwork - because I have to but also because I truly do want to - giving back to our customers and to my staff is so important to me on top of being part of a rarity in business ownership as a non-binary trans masc person. Our mentorship program strives to empower the future in business ownership. @PessoAlumni and @CareyJo and I have had some rousing conversations about age and work.

I've done a lot of reading and I think for a lot of workplaces Gen Z's questioning of overwork is valid and challenging to ideas of inclusivity (like Boss Babe and how that translates to folks like me or non-femme identifying folks). Buttttttt......Gen Z is killing the boss babe in more ways than one in my opinion. I don't have a single employee willing to work for themselves or for my business for over 30 hours right now that is under the age of 30. Entrepreneurship and starting your own business sometimes requires 'overwork' time though and I don't know how to navigate a 30 hour week ideal when people are just starting out. Instagram influencers and social media have offered a 'reality' that is so unreal that I am seeing so much mental and physical issues popping up in an 8-30 hour work week. Struggling to help them find something to attach to that buoys them - I think the boss babe has/had its place to allow women to ask for equality and respect in the workplace. The show Younger is really appealing for the millenial boss babe mindset and I am worried about the current political climate and how to cheer on young women in the workplace. This is such a great topic @Lovewell  what are y'all doing to cheer on the younger generation and let them find their power?

[Lovewell]

Okay thank you SO much for your amazing insight. I was hoping people would engage with this! 

Also, SUCH insightful questions. We really focus in on each person on our team and find how they each have unique interests and passions. It isn't a one size fits all. Really encouraging their gifts has created a team that really is willing to step up (even beyond 30 hours or maybe an extra long day) Now this is NOT the norm. We really try to respect boundaries. We try not to put what we put in as an expectation on our team. At the ned of the day- they aren't the owners. But I remember we had sicknesses and just chaos of scheduling and I kid you not no one even batted an eye. We had people working 6 day weeks for a couple weeks or working both locations in the same day. We are a *very* small team but they feel seen and respected so they take ownership in the moments we need the gaps filled in. If that even makes sense? We try to ask about that they enjoy outside of work and how we can encourage it. We had a gal who makes earrings on our staff so we sell her earrings in the shop! 

One of our other guys wants to open his own shop one day- we are always encouraging that! We wouldn't be able to encourage these things if we didn't take the time to get to know them. 

Going to be thinking about your questions and response a lot this week! 

[CareyJo]

@MudFire_Dex - yes, we certainly have had some convos!  You definitely live in a unique world where the young people in your business encounter society in such a strange way.  I think of Remy in Monster-In-Law - he's exhausted and all he did was go to the post office.  Like, I can't fathom how people can work 8 hours and be like "I'm done for this week, I can't adult anymore".  I still cannot grasp where this mentality comes from.  I wonder if it is geographically specific where the population is in higher concentrations or if it's just a generational thing that I'm not experiencing.  The 'kids' I know in that age gap are definitely not like this which is why I ask if it's area specific.  In MT you cannot live that kind of life and survive.  No joke.  It doesn't work.  Our state is blue collar.  You don't work, you don't eat.  Yes, we have far too many people collecting unemployment and sitting on their couches doing nothing but they are mostly older than these kids.  (I call them kids cuz I'm old enough to be their mom - my oldest is 34, youngest 23).  I truly do not know what it's going to take to get them away from their screens and fully integrated into society again...

As far as boss babe goes - @Lovewell I still live it.  Yes, I'm Gen X.  For me it is the mentality that I'm hittin' it and workin' my business and striving to grow - not that I'm someone else's boss or that I'm going to run people over.  For me, it is simply a personal statement that I'm the boss in my world and I have the power and authority to run my own life and work on attaining success and kill it!  I'm a very creatively inclined person and my datebook - yes, paper - is covered in motivational stickers, including the boss babe tagline.  It's motivational to me.

I think one thing I can relate to that @MudFire_Dex is saying is that we cannot import on others, especially millennials, that they must absorb one way of thinking/acting or another.  It can no longer be taught and I don't know why.  I don't know what motivates them to step out and be a business owner or overwork themselves to achieve something.  It really seems like most of them don't have the desire to achieve something and going to the post office is exhausting because of it.  If something that insignificant is that overwhelming, then obviously the idea of achieving something and working hard for it sounds massively incomprehensible.

I don't think boss babe is good or bad.  I think it depends on the environment it's used it and how it's used and by whom.

[Lovewell]

Love love LOVE the insight. I deeply value multigenerational view points. 

Thank you so much for sharing. You ARE a boss babe and we as (millennial business owners) look up to incredible women (or any awesome humans) like you! 

[CareyJo]

❤️❤️❤️

Thank you!!

[CareyJo]

PS - sorry for the late reply - I was out for the month of February.

[DinaLRosenberg]

I am GenX- I hate the term boss babe- it feels like infantilizing women... I'm not. boss babe- I'm just a boss LOL

[Lovewell]

100%! 

[sugarlab]

I've never really loved the "boss babe" label. It felt almost diminishing, like "oh look at this cute girl business", taking away from what we actually do as business owners. Same as when I was called "bossy" in kindergarten and my mom told my teacher, "no, she's just assertive". We don't put those same labels on boys and men. I think especially after the initial beginnings of Boss Babe, it became more synonymous with MLM's and that ickiness. 

All that to say, I think the idea of women starting their own businesses is amazing. I don't think there's any doubt about it. Maybe it's just my FYP on TikTok but I see so many Gen Z starting their own businesses. If we're talking boss babe as more of an idea of hustle culture, than a label, I think it has the ability to be damaging. People were working themselves to breakdowns and burnout and physical illness or injury. But I think there has been a mind shift post-COVID. There are so many things outside of work that are more important. Granted, I LOVE what I do and I enjoy working. But not everyone needs to be working 60 hour weeks. 

[CareyJo]

It truly is all about perspective isn't it?  Definitely interesting to hear your take on it.  Not something I would have thought of.  Thanks for sharing!

[DinaLRosenberg]

This is such an amazing perspective. I too feel like the boss babe culture is tied in with MLM- which I fell into for a while (ugh). I think we need to have a real understanding of who we are as business people, what it is we're willing to do (how hard do we want to work, how many hours, what do we want our life to look like- why are we even doing this)? 

I work a lot harder than most people I know but it isn't a badge of honor- it's because I genuinely LOVE what I do and it really doesn't feel like work at all.... but not everyone has that mentality or the personality I do- and to expect that is delusional.

[CareyJo]

You know, one thing I haven't mentioned in previous replies is the image that I see when I think of the term Boss Babe.  Maybe the reason I don't really see it as derogatory is because to me, she resembles someone who's willing to work her **bleep** off in a man's world and look good doing it.  I see her dressed as a professional, fighting against the status quo.  I spent the better part of 30 years in direct sales but never heard this term during that time.

How do you see her?  What is your image?

[Lovewell]

This! 

[Lovewell]

You are one of the HARDEST WORKING PEOPLE! 

We’ve seen it first hand. Hair up, crocs on baby!! 

[CareyJo]

For everyone who's replied here - what is your image of the Boss Babe?  I'm curious because I think that how you feel about 'her' is based on how you see her or vice versa...

[Lovewell]

We are confident enough in our business and our identity not to get too salty about a boss babe title 😂 call me whatever you want and mean whatever you want by it. HOWEVER it does irk us when some says “oh look at your cute little coffee shop and your cute little business” Feels small. Feels belittling. 

So what our image of a boss babe is? Just look at our profile photo 👯‍♀️ Whoop. There it is! 

I think the broader question is has the idea of being a hardworking entrepreneur no matter what dying? Are we all just going to become influencers? 😂 not sure. I hope not! We need hard working humans standing up against the man. Standing up against big business. 

We need to be making moves! 

[CareyJo]

I agree about the cute little coffee shop - it's the equivalent of saying "Oh, bless your heart!"

[Lovewell]

EXACTLY 😂