“I never saw myself as a woman. I never saw it as a disadvantage or a real advantage. I saw myself as a competitor, just a competitor. And boy, if they treated me badly, or spoke down to me, or didn’t give me any credence that I could possibly make it in their world — they thought I was a passerby — I would say to myself, ‘You just wait, I’m going to become your biggest rival.'”

— Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran (@BarbaraCorcoran) has been an investor/Shark for the past 15 seasons on ABC’s four-time Emmy-award-winning show, Shark Tank, investing in more than 100 businesses to date. 

She is also the founder of an eponymous real-estate company, which she started with a $1,000 loan after leaving her job as a waitress in New York City. Over the next 25 years, she would parlay that $1,000 into a $5 billion real-estate business.Barbara is the author of the national bestseller Shark Tales: How I Turned $1000 into a Billion Dollar Business and host of the top business channel on Patreon, Barbara in Your Pocket, which provides exclusive content created for entrepreneurs at every level.

On Patreon, Barbara will dive deep into the topics most important in business today, give an inside look at how she runs her business and works with her Shark Tank companies, and join members live to answer their toughest questions.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform. Watch the interview on YouTube here.

Brought to you by Eight Sleep’s Pod Cover sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating; AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement; and Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business.

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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

Want to hear an episode with someone else who’s spent some time in the Shark Tank? Listen here to the time Chris Sacca joined us to talk about DJ handles, keys to success for an amazing disco night, situations where startups should not take investor money, advice for getting down to business when the going gets tough, future utopia vs. dystopia, cultivating an empathetic perspective toward business, and much more.

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

• Connect with Barbara Corcoran:

Website | Patreon | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn | YouTube

• Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business by Barbara Corcoran and Bruce Littlefield | Amazon
• Barbara in Your Pocket: No-Nonsense Business Advice | Patreon
• Shark Tank | ABC
• ‘Shark Tank’s’ Barbara Corcoran Stages Mock Funeral for 70th Birthday | Today
• Barbara’s 70th Birthday Party! | YouTube
• Storytelling and Cultural Traditions | National Geographic
• Storytelling in the Wild — A Guide for Culture-Shifting Storytelling in Natural Settings | UNHCR Innovation
• Check Out New York’s Highest Greenhouse on East 57th | Curbed NY
• The Benjamin Guggenheim Mansion | Daytonian in Manhattan
• NYers Dope Pets, Use Stunt Doubles to Get Dogs past Co-Op Boards | The New York Post
• Four ‘Shark Tank’ Stars on How to Shake Hands Like You Mean Business | Entrepreneur
• Edgewater Borough, NJ
• How to Play the French Escargot Game | Homeschool Companion
• How Being Dyslexic and ‘Lousy in School’ Made Shark Tank Star Barbara Corcoran a Better Entrepreneur | Entrepreneur
• Fort Lee, NJ: ‘Like Being in the City Without Being in the City’ | The New York Times
• Vintage Photos of Diners in NJ | NJ
• When the Barbizon Gave Women Rooms of Their Own | The New Yorker
• How the Greatest Insult Barbara Corcoran Ever Received Inspired Her to Become Hugely Successful |
• Luxury International Real Estate | The Corcoran Group
• Barbara Corcoran: Turning $1,000 to $1 Billion! | The Diary of a CEO #204
• Barbara Corcoran: My Landlord Thought I Was a Prostitute | Entrepreneur
• Barbara’s Bergdorf Goodman Coat | Instagram
• If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails: And Other Lessons I Learned from My Mom by Barbara Corcoran and Bruce Littlefield | Amazon
• Multiple Listing Service (MLS): Definition, Benefits, and Fees | Investopedia
• ‘How Did They Do It?’ With Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran! | The Fileist
• Jack Russell Terrier Rescue | Russell Rescue, Inc.
• Barbara Corcoran: How an Introverted Job Candidate Changed My Mind | CNBC
• Taxi Fare | NYC TLC
• What is a Reversal Close? | Simplicable
• A World for Every Beaujolais | Beaujolais Wines
• Barbara Corcoran’s Morning Routine: Habits for a Productive Day | CNBC
• Barbara: “I Hate to Work Out, But…” | Facebook
• Barb Wired | New York Magazine
• Donald Trump Has a History of Not Paying His Bills. That Offers Some Insights Into His Personality. | Intelligencer
• How Barbara Corcoran Beat Trump | MSNBC
• From $1,000 to $2-Billion: How One Person Grew Into a Shark | CU Today
• Shark Tank Star Barbara Corcoran Shows off Her $1 Million Mobile Home | Daily Mail
• Barbara: “Complainers Are Like Thieves…” | Twitter

SHOW NOTES

• [05:56] Barbara’s fake funeral.
• [08:23] Where Barbara’s knack for PR originated.
• [10:02] Storytelling.
• [11:25] Early business wins.
• [14:29] What Barbara learned about competition as one of 10 kids.
• [17:27] Early jobs: Barbara’s real education.
• [20:04] Dyslexia and dodging the victim mindset.
• [22:50] Barbara’s first company.
• [26:47] Why Barbara didn’t begrudge her first business partner’s romantic betrayal.
• [28:41] The value of enthusiasm.
• [29:44] From almost-evicted to exclusive agent.
• [33:29] Early recruitment gimmicks.
• [35:36] Being the only woman in the room.
• [39:14] Rules and systems.
• [41:46] Experiments, innovations, and mistakes.
• [44:17] Homes on Tape and puppy sales.
• [49:06] Esther Kaplan’s persuasive purse.
• [51:23] Sales 101 with Barbara.
• [57:37] How Barbara stays active.
• [59:37] Butting heads with Donald Trump.
• [1:05:21] Picking battles.
• [1:08:00] How Barbara fell in love with trailer park life.
• [1:14:14] Why Barbara only hires happy people now.
• [1:15:36] Barbara In Your Pocket.
• [1:17:47] What gives Barbara the most energy these days?
• [1:18:51] Barbara’s billboard.
• [1:19:58] Parting thoughts and proposals.

MORE GUEST QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“People just don’t have enough fun. I’m sure I’m everybody’s most fun friend, and I like that, because I think it’s so worthy to introduce fun, and joy, and memories into people’s lives, whether you’re at work or whether you’re at home. I think about it afterwards and I get so much satisfaction out of it. Even some days I think to myself, ‘Well, if I die today, I’d be happy, because I really had a good time last night.'”
— Barbara Corcoran

“Moms are powerful creatures.”
— Barbara Corcoran

“I learned everything in my jobs. Nothing at school — not a damn thing at school — but I learned everything in my jobs and I found my confidence there, and I also found out what I wasn’t good at.”
— Barbara Corcoran

“I never saw myself as a woman. I never saw it as a disadvantage or a real advantage. I saw myself as a competitor, just a competitor. And boy, if they treated me badly, or spoke down to me, or didn’t give me any credence that I could possibly make it in their world — they thought I was a passerby — I would say to myself, ‘You just wait, I’m going to become your biggest rival.'”
— Barbara Corcoran

“Exercise and pulling weeds, in my mind, are the two best therapies in the world. I don’t think you really need much more than that. You straighten out all your problems that way.”
— Barbara Corcoran

“I don’t like to fight. I’ll walk a mile to avoid a fight. But when someone insults me, it brings out the fight in me.”
— Barbara Corcoran

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