It’s been quite a while since I published an edition of The Posh Spotlight.  In the past, we’ve featured both new and established users of the Poshmark application, giving readers some insight on their Posh experience.  I’ve decided to take a different route and opted to have a guest author. Lyn McLaughlin Cromar (@lynemma) is a seasoned and well-respected Poshmark user.  While many of you may not know her, you are likely familiar with one of the methods she created.  Meet Lyn, and learn how she came to be an “Accidental Mentor”.

In the last two years, I have become a mentor to thousands of Poshmark users. It was definitely an accidental journey. My passion for ushering kindness and optimism in an unjust world has led me to a pretty incredible place. How did this happen?

In the summer of 2015, I registered for my first Poshfest (Poshmark’s annual event) and the Poshmark community became real. Until then, I was alone in Colorado, poshing in a void. During Poshfest, I came to know the warmth and brilliance of dozens of individual Poshers.

In the startup days of Poshmark, there weren’t hours of content on YouTube, hundreds of experts giving advice, and countless Facebook groups. The early online communities were frequently stuck in a feedback loop of complaints about people making low offers, endless USPS grumbles, and recurring debates of the value of thank you notes and tissue paper. At one point, I remember thinking, where did the Poshfest brilliance go?

Eventually, I came to realize that if I wanted to recapture that brilliance, I needed to foster its development. That’s how Poshmark Analytics, the Facebook group, was born. The first recruitment effort was simple: “Are you positive, friendly, and smart? Do you want to figure out how the Poshmark algorithm works?’ Within days, we had dozens of wonderful women, most painfully well-educated. The call for nerds spoke to their souls.

In Poshmark Analytics, we came up with some pretty effective tools and resources. I invented “The Thirty Minute Method“, now so ubiquitous in the Poshmark community, people don’t even know how it originated. In the spring of 2016, I personally studied Poshmark trends for weeks and then Poshmark Analytics did hundreds of hours of testing to prove the method. It’s easy to say about the 30MM, “but that’s how everyone works Poshmark, you just wrote it down.” I respectfully disagree. If you do the 30MM out of order, in pieces, or too slowly, it doesn’t work. Computer science is awesome!

Our most successful theories and experiments have been spread far and wide, including on this blog. In fact, the post about the 30MM remains one of the most popular blog posts to date. In Poshmark Analytics, we work, we learn and we share.

In the last few years, I have become far more than Poshmark’s resident nerd. Mentorship was never my intent, but today I find myself helping dozens of Poshers weekly. At first it was all Posh related, but it soon quickly morphed. As a woman of faith, I have come to accept this unexpected role as an opportunity to bring sincerity and kindness back to daily life.

In the last two years, I have walked side by side with many, as they navigated life and Poshmark. Poshmark isn’t just a selling app and an opportunity for entrepreneurship. It’s a way to escape abusive relationships, a way for the disabled to earn income, a way for the mourning to connect to the world, a chance for tough women to be soft and beautiful, a way to lift up families, and a way to escape crushing debt. In Poshmark Analytics, we Posh, we Posh with purpose, and we Posh smart!

Poshmark will meet you where you are. Your Poshmark experience doesn’t need to emulate anyone on YouTube or other high profile Poshers.  It needs to work for you.  I will encourage you to be the best damn Posher you can possibly be, for you and your needs. What’s your purpose?  Why do you Posh? How can you break from mediocrity and surprise yourself?

My sincerest thank you to Jennifer for allowing me to guest blog (and being a passionate and active member of Analytics.) My gratitude also extends to the tireless Poshmark Analytics admin team, their efforts are Herculean as they manage thousands of curious Poshers. The Poshmark Analytics Sandbox is our training group and open to all. Welcome.