Boss Ladies | Tanesha Awasthi — The Refined Woman

Tanesha Awasthi is the mother of Narayan, her 3-year-old son, an English Bulldog named Kingston and wife to her best friend, biggest supporter and business partner, Dave. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in English, is a licensed esthetician and multi-racial American who passionately supports the body positive and women empowerment movements.

Growing up I really wanted to be

A psychologist, writer, dermatologist and fashion designer. It’s insane that today I get to do almost everything I ever dreamed of through Girl With Curves.

My go-to order at a coffee shop is

ice water! I don’t drink coffee or tea, I’m a strictly H2O girl.

I don’t know how I ever lived without

Lipstick. Up until 2012 I only wore chapstick on my lips. Now I can’t go without a pop of color. It’s pretty much the only makeup I wear on a daily basis unless I’m shooting content.

One thing people don’t know about me is

I’m a major introvert and very shy. My blog lets me come out of my shell and have the voice I’ve never had in real life.

How I got started with my current career

My husband recommended I start a blog. After listening to me complain about how I should’ve gone to fashion or medical school, he suggested I start a blog showcasing my personal style and writing about things I love. At the time I had no idea people were even doing that and I thought it was silly!

What I love about my work is

helping women boost their self-confidence through seeing someone they can relate to, whether it’s my style, my body type, my hair, etc.

My real life hero is

My Grandma Bernice! She raised 5 kids on her own and she tells it like it is, never leaves the house without lipstick and rouge and is a total lady but also a real badass at 86.

The dumbest thing I did when I was starting out was

Compare myself to others.

My typical day looks like

Being the first one in the house out of bed, getting my son dressed, taking out my fur baby, making breakfast which my husband/business partner and I eat over a morning meeting. Then I get dressed and either head out to shoot or go straight to the office to start my work day.

I used to think success meant

Financial freedom from student loads, having excess cash, owning a home.

My current definition of success is

Being fulfilled in every aspect of my life, personally and professionally.

I know my work/life balance is out of sync when

I dream about work because I feel as if I’m not putting enough into my creativity, or burn myself out for working too much, which is quite often. After running my business full-time for the past 5+ years, I still haven’t been able to find a balance.

The last time I created something I was proud of was

Today. If I don’t walk away from my computer every day feeling accomplished, then I’m not being true to my passion, gratitude and love for what I do.