Katie Sturino Is Done Chasing Work-Life Balance

In Bustle’s Quick Question, we ask women leaders all about career advice, from the best guidance they’ve ever gotten to what they’re still figuring out. Here, Katie Sturino, body positivity advocate and cofounder of Megababe, talks about dopamine dressing, redefining success, and what getting fired at 25 ultimately taught her.

Long before Megababe landed in stores like Target, Walmart, and CVS, Katie Sturino was workshopping the body care brand with her sister and best friend in her parents’ garage. “We never raised money or took out a loan from a bank, which is extremely rare in the beauty industry and something I’m proud of,” she tells Bustle over Zoom. “But sometimes I think if I were starting today, I’d tell investors to write me a big check and let me figure it out on their dime.”

Megababe now sells one Thigh Rescue stick every 30 seconds. Yet Sturino hasn’t taken a salary from the company since it launched in 2017. Instead, the bulk of her income comes from the platform she’s spent more than a decade building, where nearly 800,000 Instagram followers tune in for her takes on body positivity and fashion. Last year, she added another title to her résumé with the release of Sunny Side Up, a novel about a 35-year-old fashion publicist navigating life after divorce.

“From the outside, it probably looks like I’m doing a little bit of everything, but the through line has always been the same,” Sturino says. “I’m trying to help women feel comfortable in their own skin. That’s a full-time job. You have to meet them in the beauty aisle, on the bookshelf, on social media, and on TV.”

Still, Sturino didn’t always set out to change the conversation around body image. She began her career as a fashion publicist before an unexpected detour as a self-described “dogager” — managing her dog’s social media — taught her the ins and outs of being an influencer. Eventually, she realized she had something to say herself and started her own plus-size fashion blog, The 12ish Style. “People want to make you feel like if you’ve chosen one path, then that’s your path for the rest of your life — and that’s a lie,” she says. “You might have to start lower or just start over completely, but is it worth it to sit at a job you hate for 25 years?”

As the face of the new “Clairol Dared Me” campaign, which encourages women to try at-home hair color, she’s clearly well-versed in stepping outside her comfort zone. Reinventing herself has become something of a career strategy for Sturino. Ahead, she shares the trade-offs that come with working for yourself, why she’s stopped defining success by outcomes, and the one thing that scares her more than live TV.

What do your mornings look like?

I usually wake up around 5:30, then I meditate on my HigherDOSE mat. My husband makes coffee and lets the dogs out, and sometimes we’ll play mah-jongg. It’s a very mindful morning, but what I’m not telling you is that there’s probably a 15-minute period between when I wake up and meditate where I get on my phone and immediately start looking at stuff. I have not found the balance of putting my phone to bed in another room.

Looking back at the beginning of your career, you were fired at 25. What did you learn from that?

Even as a boss now, I still don’t really understand why I got fired. It was devastating at the time. I thought I was dead in the industry, that no one else would hire me. The fact is, that’s just not true. Sometimes a job isn’t a fit for you, and sometimes you’re not the right fit for the job. You can always pivot. It caused me to launch my entrepreneurial journey earlier than I thought I would. I started my own PR firm at 26 and did that for nine years.

When did you realize you wanted to step out from behind the scenes?

When I started The 12ish Style, I was actually managing my dog Toast. I learned about partnering with brands and growing followers, and that was fun. But I started to feel like I had more to say. My own issues with my body were coming to the surface, and I kept wondering why no one was talking about how hard it is to get dressed as a size 12 or 14. I felt like I could be that voice, which evolved into sharing my own body acceptance journey online, then launching Megababe and writing a book.

You’ve said Sunny Side Up was inspired by your divorce. What was it like writing a novel through that experience?

When I got divorced, all the messaging was about getting a revenge body and getting back on the scene. At the time, I was doing a lot of emotional eating and actually gaining weight. It’s like, you want me to get shredded at Tracy Anderson while I’m at home two pints deep in Ben & Jerry’s with a cigarette in my mouth? My first draft was angry. The second draft got less angry.

We started to separate some personal details and add in some fiction. It was a real process from writing a diary to creating the character I needed to put out in the world, which is Bridget Jones-y but for divorce. Sunny is me, and she’s not. Her experiences aren’t my experiences, but they were definitely based on the emotions I felt.

How has your definition of success evolved over the years?

I’ve learned that success has to come back to why you wanted to do something in the first place. Especially with my book, I had to detach myself from the outcome. I wanted to put this character in the world, and I did. If I place all my value of success on getting one big outcome, I’m not only missing all the wins along the way, but I’m also setting myself up to feel empty at the end. Because once you get across the finish line, if you did it for the wrong reasons, you don’t feel satisfied.

How do you avoid burnout?

There’s no work-life balance, and that’s one of the things I try to be really honest about. If you want this kind of career, it comes with a cost. I travel a lot. As a content creator, I’m working seven days a week. As an entrepreneur, I’m working seven days a week. When you start to throw in things like writing books, that adds a whole new layer.

But please, don’t feel bad for me. The work I’m doing lights me up. It’s my life’s purpose. Every day, I get to connect with women who tell me that I’ve made a difference in how they feel about themselves in one way or another. That’s probably what keeps me from heading too deep into burnout — I remember why I’m doing what I’m doing.

How do you recharge after a workday?

I love going for a walk after dinner, and watching TV with my husband is my favorite. While we’re watching Love Island, I scroll The RealReal. I’m also starting to read more before bed. I just finished Yesteryear and Villa Coco.

Do you ever get nervous before big appearances?

I don’t get nervous for panels, but live TV still gets me every time. I’ll be totally cool about it until, all of a sudden, I’m standing backstage about to go on the set. I black out, say my piece, and then I come back like, “How did I do?” I’m never really present in my body when I’m doing live TV.

What do you wear when you want to feel the most confident?

If I’m going on TV, I wear a Veronica Beard suit because they’re tailored, comfortable, and not fussy. In real life, I am always dressed in toddlercore and bright colors. I do a lot of dopamine dressing. If you ever see me in head-to-toe black, something is very wrong and you should check in.

The “Clairol Dared Me” campaign is all about encouraging women to take chances. What’s something you’re still daring yourself to do?

Karaoke. Coloring my hair at home was a dare too. I was convinced I was going to look like a Lego head, but it actually turned out great. So if karaoke follows that same trajectory, I’ll be OK.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.