So What, Now What

And Why It Means So Much To Me

At my old brand, I had this phrase painted on the wall at my office:

“So what, now what?”

The story behind it really began with one of my favorite authors, Liz Murray, who wrote Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard. When I first picked up her book, I couldn’t put it down. It touched me in so many ways that I reached out to her afterward, and we became friends. Liz was even featured as a model in my Pretty Powerful book. Life and distance have kept us from staying in close touch, but her story and her words have never left me.

In the vein of The Glass Castle, Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard. Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls' home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep. You can find her book here.

Her phrase, “So what, now what?” has stayed with me since I first read this. It’s not just words, it’s a mindset. For me, it shows up in the little frustrations of everyday life and the big challenges in business.

Like the other day, for example, I was sitting in my car, overheated and late for a meeting, and the ignition wouldn’t start. A strange sign on the dashboard told me to restart my key in some hidden spot I couldn’t find. I tried sending pictures of it to my assistants, but none of the messages were delivering. An orange warning light popped up, my phone wasn’t working right, and my brain wasn’t connecting either. So what? I wasn’t going to make my meeting on time and I wasn’t going to get lunch before. Now what? I waited for help, drank some water, and reminded myself that I was exhausted from a late night and just needed to reset. After a few deep breaths, my assistant came to help, I got to my meeting, and moved on with my day.

Or years ago, when we hired supermodel Kate Upton to shoot a gorgeous campaign at my old brand. The images were beautiful, but when it came time for launch, the budget for a proper media tour wasn’t there. So what? The traditional rollout was off the table. Now what? I told the team we’d try this brand new thing called Facebook Live. We got to the Soho office early, hair and makeup done, ready to launch in front of the world, only to find out the Wi-Fi was terrible. The live stream didn’t work. So what? Another hiccup. Now what? We laughed, regrouped, and found other ways to get the word out.

That’s what Liz’s phrase means to me. It’s not about brushing things off, it’s about accepting the moment for what it is, and then asking yourself, “Now what can I do next?” It’s a practice in resilience, adaptability, and grace, whether in the middle of a car mishap, a business setback, or simply a hard day.

Life is never perfect, and neither is business, but that’s where the magic happens. You learn, you pivot, and you keep going. For me, it’s a reminder that the little things don’t have to derail you, and the big things don’t have to define you. So what? Now what? You figure it out, you laugh when you can, and you always keep moving.

I’ve had a ton of these moments, all of which you can read in my new memoir, Still Bobbi, out September 23. Be sure to preorder!