Barbara Corcoran: Turning $1,000 to $1Billion! | E204

1. 0:00 – 2:04

   Intro

   1. BCBarbara Corcoran0:00

      What I would love to do is call someone into my office on Friday. I love firing people on Friday. Barbra Korbut in the house. (cheering)

   2. SBSteven Bartlett0:07

      My next guest is one of the biggest names in real estate, a successful entrepreneur and star of a hit TV show. Now the Female Titan is getting some heat.

   3. BCBarbara Corcoran0:16

      The minute a woman cries, you're giving away your power. Barbra is definitely over the top. If I wasn't dyslexic and I didn't have a hard time in school, I don't think I would have been successful. I think I had 22 jobs before I started my own business.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett0:29

      Every person I meet is in real estate in New York. So how'd you become the best?

   5. BCBarbara Corcoran0:33

      I was competing with the old boys' network, and they were asleep at the wheel. Nobody was thinking of new ideas in real estate. I would think of the greatest bullshit to create publicity. Did I manipulate them? I played my cards. Everything I've done in my life has been one long attempt to show the world that I'm not stupid.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett0:52

      Ramon Simone.

   7. BCBarbara Corcoran0:53

      He was my boyfriend at the time, and he offered to loan me $1,000 to start a business with him. He was my 51% business partner. He ran off with my secretary the seventh year we were in business. Yeah. He said, "You'll never succeed without me." You know, insult can really be a wonderful motivator. I knew I was gonna succeed. I had to, just because I had to show him that he was wrong.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett1:16

      If you're driven by these unhealthy insecurities, you need to go and see a shrink.

   9. BCBarbara Corcoran1:21

      I'm afraid to see a shrink.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett1:22

       Why?

   11. BCBarbara Corcoran1:23

       Why? Well, you ask good questions. Damn you. I had an issue. I felt...

   12. SBSteven Bartlett1:33

       Before this episode starts, I have a small favor to ask from you. Two months ago, 74% of people that watch this channel didn't subscribe. We're now down to 69%. My goal is 50%. So if you've ever liked any of the videos we've posted, if you like this channel, can you do me a quick favor and hit the subscribe button? It helps this channel more than you know, and the bigger the channel gets, as you've seen, the bigger the guests get. Thank you, and enjoy this episode. (upbeat music)

2. 2:04 – 14:44

   How did your childhood shape you?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett2:04

      Barbra, we always start this conversation in the same place on this podcast because it's, it seems to be inescapable that the earliest context of our lives seems to shape us in a way that then changes the trajectory of who we are but also molds our character and really, like, hones our motivation. So my question for you to start is, what is that context from your earliest years that I need to understand to understand you?

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran2:29

      Um, first off, I'd say competition. I ha- I was one of 10 children. We, of course, only had two parents to share. Uh, we were in very tight quarters, a two-bedroom, and just to get the attention of a parent w- was very hard to do. (laughs)

   3. SBSteven Bartlett2:44

      Mm-hmm.

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran2:44

      So I think everyone in my family, certainly myself, uh, grew up very competitive, competitive for attention, uh, competitive to do something better than the next kid. And what also came with it, we grew up in a team, so we never knew what it was like to be alone. My idea of doing anything is "Who's with me? Who's with me?" And I think we all, I shouldn't speak to everyone in my family but I'll speak just for myself now, uh, I think I'm phenomenal at building a team, but it's second nature to me. It was so easy, uh, for me to think of who would go with who, who wouldn't go with who, who would get along, who had the right task. I could just size somebody up really fast and make a great, tight team. And I don't think that would've happened if I didn't grow up in a very crowded household, looking for more attention and competing.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett3:34

      That ability to suss people out and understand them, you're saying that came from having nine siblings?

   6. BCBarbara Corcoran3:39

      I certainly think it did, yeah, because, um, you see all kinds of dynamics when you have a crowded household. Um, so you know who the leaders are, on what category. You know who's gonna squeal to the parents. You know who's gonna shut up. You know who can do your work for you when you don't wanna do it yourself. You knew who, you know who you could snow. You get, you develop all the talents to get life in a form that you want it in, and you come out of the household at 18 years old, uh, with a lot of skills that other kids really haven't had the opportunity to do.

   7. SBSteven Bartlett4:12

      What about the role of your, or sort of the influence of your mother and father?

   8. BCBarbara Corcoran4:15

      Oh, they, um, I was... Thank God I had a mother and father who loved us. Um, I think that's the most important gift in life. It makes you, somewhere deep inside, secure if you feel loved. And I had two parents who loved me, you know? And, um, my mother was a phenomenal role model. I never saw her sleep. She worked 24/7. She just never sat down. I don't know even when she slept. I've never seen her go to bed, ever in my life. And my father worked two jobs his whole life to support us, so we were, uh, very much influenced, uh, by each parent as needing to work hard. I mean, we were all having jobs when we were 11 years old. I think I had 22 jobs before I started my own business, uh, because we were out working to contribute to the family. And think about the life skills you get outside a household when you're working young. I don't think anybody ever has any job, uh, where they didn't learn something about themselves. So even though when I went out into the workforce when I started my business at 23, I may have looked 23, but inside I felt like I was 53 based on experience.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett5:19

      (laughs) Mm-hmm.

   10. BCBarbara Corcoran5:20

       And so there was nothing naive about me at that point. I had had already an awful lot of experience.

   11. SBSteven Bartlett5:26

       When I was reading through your story, I, I, I read that your father struggled with work and struggled with, I think, having a boss, it sounded like.

   12. BCBarbara Corcoran5:32

       He certainly did, and he set up the pattern that we all share in my family. Nine out of the 10 kids have their own business. My father was a printing press foreman and a very good worker, uh, but he didn't like someone telling him what to do. So he would regularly come home, sit at the din- dinner table, and tell us he was fired from his job. It was a regular event. We all asked him to tell us the story, and it was the same story. He would basically (laughs) ... He said, "I, I told Mrs. Stein we're gonna shove the job where the sun don't shine." That was what... And we'd all clap for him and say, "Dad, our hero." And my mother of course would not even know how we were gonna be fed until he found a new job. Uh, but he was our hero, and so we grew up-Even though he never worked for himself, the fact of the matter is, is we knew we wanted to work for ourself. We didn't wanna work for a boss. And honestly, I never had a boss I liked, even though I had so many. And I'm sure they were perfectly fine people. But I didn't like the fact that I wasn't the boss. It was clear to me.

   13. SBSteven Bartlett6:32

       He, um, your father drunk, drank sometimes.

   14. BCBarbara Corcoran6:35

       Yes, he did drink sometimes. And, uh, I'll tell you how that played a role in our family. He was a social drinker. So, he was probably the best father in the world, played with us, was, our playmate, our ... We adored him, everything he did. Uh, but then when we went out to a party, which wasn't that often, a family party, he would drink too much and he would come back, and he was a different person. He was a gorilla. And we all feared him. Uh, what that does, uh, is it makes you very fond of control. When you're with a parent who drinks, I think as a child, you never really feel like you're in control of things 'cause you don't know when the lion might come out. And so, it made us insecure and very fond of control. And I'm a control freak. I like to control everything I do. And I credit my dad with that. I don't want any curveballs or surprises. (laughs)

   15. SBSteven Bartlett7:29

       Hmm. The way that he spoke to your mother sometimes, it seems, from reading throughout your story, and the person-

   16. BCBarbara Corcoran7:34

       Mm-hmm.

   17. SBSteven Bartlett7:34

       ... you went on to be, seemed to be pretty consequential to how you did respond to men who would talk down to you in your career.

   18. BCBarbara Corcoran7:44

       Oh. God, you do your research. Good for you.

   19. SBSteven Bartlett7:46

       (laughs)

   20. BCBarbara Corcoran7:46

       Really. That's a nuance, but good for you. Um, I'm at my best if a man talks down to me. I credit my father with that. Because I adored my mother so much, there was nothing to talk down to my mother about. But when he was drinking, he would talk down to my mother, and I hated him for it. And it scars you so deeply that I'll never get rid of that. So, if a man actually dismisses me or talks down to me, particularly in business, I'm at my best. It's like, "Oh, no, you're not going there." I get like this iron rod through my soul. (laughs)

   21. SBSteven Bartlett8:23

       Hmm.

   22. BCBarbara Corcoran8:23

       Showing someone, uh, that they're wrong is probably not the best motivation, I gotta believe. Probably not a healthy way to be, and you probably need a shrink on that one. Uh, but it certainly works well in business, I think. It pushes you and makes sure that you make sure that things work out.

   23. SBSteven Bartlett8:40

       I really resonate with that because, as I've talked about probably too much on this podcast, my, my mother and father had a very, um, loud way to communicate, to say the least.

   24. BCBarbara Corcoran8:50

       What a lovely way of putting it. (laughs)

   25. SBSteven Bartlett8:52

       (laughs) I've become more and more like diplomatic with how I frame that. But yeah, a loud way of communicating, and I've, I learnt that as I s- s- stood there as a little kid and watched my mother shouting at my dad, when I got older, my response to being shouted at was the response I always wished I'd seen in my dad.

   26. BCBarbara Corcoran9:11

       Oh.

   27. SBSteven Bartlett9:11

       Which was like, "Run and don't take it."

   28. BCBarbara Corcoran9:13

       Ah.

   29. SBSteven Bartlett9:14

       So, when you were saying that, I was wondering if you could relate in the sense of when a man puts you down because, uh, you saw your mother be put down in such a way-

   30. BCBarbara Corcoran9:22

       Mm-hmm.
3. 14:44 – 18:45

   School & Dyslexia

   1. SBSteven Bartlett14:44

      was-

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran14:44

      Oh, school sucked. School is tough on kids that can't learn. I was one of those kids, you know, myself and my two brothers. The other kids were A students, but we just couldn't read, we couldn't write, we couldn't learn. And what happens to a kid when you're in a- in a school situation is you judge yourself based on school grades. What else do you have? You- you- someone could say, "She's such a nice girl." Well, that might sound good, but if you're getting all Fs, you feel terrible. You just feel terrible. And so, um, your s- your sense of self, I think, is formed very much by how good a student you are, in all school systems. And it shouldn't be because it's just one kind of intelligence, of course, but it is that way when you're a student. You sum yourself up based on whether you could get good grades or not. It's as simple as that.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett15:33

      Were you bullied in school?

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran15:34

      No, not at all. I was too quiet to be bullied. You know, I was quiet and lovely, and that's what the Sisters of Charity always told my parents. "She's not very smart, but she's quiet, and she's lovely." Quiet and lovely, (laughs) I heard it my whole life, and I was. I never said a word 'cause I didn't have the confidence to say a word. I wasn't gonna speak up and be found out. And, uh, th- those aren't the kids that were bullied.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett15:58

      The reason I asked about the- the question about being bullied-

   6. BCBarbara Corcoran16:01

      Hmm.

   7. SBSteven Bartlett16:01

      ... is because I- I- I know that you're dyslexic.

   8. BCBarbara Corcoran16:03

      Mm-hmm.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett16:04

      And often, especially in- in that day and age, we didn't understand dyslexia.

   10. BCBarbara Corcoran16:09

       Mm.

   11. SBSteven Bartlett16:09

       So, we just thought those kids were dumb.

   12. BCBarbara Corcoran16:11

       Odd. Dumb. Hmm.

   13. SBSteven Bartlett16:12

       Yeah. Did you ever feel that kind of criticism from your peers or your teachers?

   14. BCBarbara Corcoran16:19

       From the teachers, yes. I had one teacher in third grade that really gave me a label that stuck with me till I got out of high school. She said to me, "If you don't learn to read, you'll always be stupid." And she said the word "stupid" with such disdain. That was the first time I really heard that word. Before that, no one told me I was stupid. Stupid? Stupid? That's what's wrong with me? I'm stupid? And that's when I got quiet. That's when I just shut up and never talked again in school 'cause I didn't wanna be called on to read out loud. I mean, for me, my idea of hell on Earth was being told to read out loud, which was typically how you learned to read those days. You go up and down the aisles, your turn to read. I mean, nothing was worse than me going, "Tha th- tha tha tha tha them," and all the kids laughing and snickering. Uh, so I wouldn't call that bully. I mean, they- I was a show. I was a show, so I guess I would've laughed if I was them too. Uh, but it's so painful when that happens because it takes your confidence and demolishes it. But thank God, thank God we all worked. Thank God I worked by 11 'cause every job I had, I did a great job. I used my mouth. I didn't have to write. I didn't have to read. I could do any job, and people always told my mother what a great worker I was, so I was proud. So, uh, you know what? I think in hindsight, if I wasn't dyslexic and I didn't have a hard time in school, I don't think I would have been successful, believe it or not, because I think everything I've done in my life has been one long attempt to show the world that I'm not stupid. So, I'm driven, uh, because I'm always- there's a piece of me that always thinks I might not be smart. I mean, I know it's bizarre 'cause I'm smart, but in an insecure situation, I doubt myself sometimes, but I've learned to replace the tape. I don't have Sister Stella Marie in my head anymore telling me I'm stupid. I have a tape of my own telling me I'm incredible.I'm beautiful. Boy, you could do this. This is nothing, you know? I've got that tape that I had to replace over the years. But let me tell you, it took me a lot of years, a lot of years, to... No, I can't say I totally replaced it, but mostly put a nail through its head. Uh, but it takes a lot to get over the damage done if your self-perception is a negative one from the get-go. 'Cause we all don't leave our childhoods behind so readily. They stay with us, I think.

4. 18:45 – 21:58

   Do you need a shrink?

   1. BCBarbara Corcoran18:45

   2. SBSteven Bartlett18:45

      And you, you credit it there for your drive, that, that down-

   3. BCBarbara Corcoran18:48

      Oh, absolutely.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett18:49

      But also-

   5. BCBarbara Corcoran18:50

      Yeah.

   6. SBSteven Bartlett18:50

      ... you said earlier, if you're driven by these kind of unhealthy insecurities, you need to, at some point, go and see a shrink.

   7. BCBarbara Corcoran18:59

      I'm afraid to see a shrink.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett19:01

      Why?

   9. BCBarbara Corcoran19:01

      I'm afraid they'll straighten me out. And would I be successful then? (laughs) I stay a mile away. I know it's crazy. I've read a few books and self-analyzed. (laughs) But no, no, no. First of all, they're very expensive in New York, and then that way-

   10. SBSteven Bartlett19:14

       (laughs)

   11. BCBarbara Corcoran19:14

       ... I'm too cheap to pay. (laughs) My shrink is working out. If I work out or if I weed my garden, I'm straightened out for the moment, okay? But that's the way it is.

   12. SBSteven Bartlett19:27

       I, I, I ask for selfish reasons. I find myself at one point for the s- same sort of insecurities and feeling like I wasn't enough-

   13. BCBarbara Corcoran19:33

       Mm-hmm.

   14. SBSteven Bartlett19:33

       ... being very driven to, like, prove to the world that I was.

   15. BCBarbara Corcoran19:35

       Mm-hmm.

   16. SBSteven Bartlett19:36

       And at some point, that comes at the cost of, like, this other set of things which are important for happiness-

   17. BCBarbara Corcoran19:40

       Mm.

   18. SBSteven Bartlett19:41

       ... relationships and balance and whatever else.

   19. BCBarbara Corcoran19:43

       Mm-hmm.

   20. SBSteven Bartlett19:44

       So, when you said about some point you need to go see a shrink-

   21. BCBarbara Corcoran19:46

       Yeah.

   22. SBSteven Bartlett19:46

       ... I get it, because at some point, you can be a bit too dragged by your pursuit to prove the world that you are enough, that you-

   23. BCBarbara Corcoran19:56

       Of course it's too much.

   24. SBSteven Bartlett19:57

       ... compromise a bunch of other things.

   25. BCBarbara Corcoran19:59

       Of course you do. I mean, if you're strong in one arena, something's gotta give, right?

   26. SBSteven Bartlett20:03

       What, what, what, what had to give for you?

   27. BCBarbara Corcoran20:06

       Relaxing. I don't think I've ever relaxed in my life. Uh, but honestly, when I'm relaxed, uh, reading a book, it's fine for a half hour, and then I gotta get up and accomplish something. I'm very driven to accomplish, to see the difference I've made in the world, to an individual I just spoke to, to a business I've been involved in, uh, to a neighbor I've befriended-

   28. SBSteven Bartlett20:29

       Why?

   29. BCBarbara Corcoran20:29

       I've gotta, I've gotta s- Why? Because I wanna know for sure, without a doubt, that I haven't wasted a minute, and that my existence makes a difference.

   30. SBSteven Bartlett20:38

       Why? What-
5. 21:58 – 29:10

   What did you learn from your 22 jobs?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett21:58

      22 or 23 jobs before you started your own business.

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran22:00

      Yes, I did.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett22:01

      D- jobs ev- from everything from being a receptionist to a waitress to, um, everything in between. We often look back at those jobs-

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran22:09

      Mm-hmm.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett22:09

      ... that didn't pay us a lot and that the world doesn't hold in high regard as-

   6. BCBarbara Corcoran22:13

      Mm.

   7. SBSteven Bartlett22:14

      Some people might think that they are a waste of time, or they were, like, necessary.

   8. BCBarbara Corcoran22:17

      Oh, wow.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett22:19

      What's your view on the, when you were a receptionist and a waitress, how, what role did that play in your overall success?

   10. BCBarbara Corcoran22:24

       I think, uh, whether you have a menial job or an important job, it's what you're learning. I mean, I, there wasn't a job where I didn't learn a lot. For me, I would take any job, not based on pay, but Gee, what could I learn? What could I learn? Because that made you more valuable. I never really thought it made you more valuable to be paid more. But, hey, I haven't done this before. Let's see what this is about. And you learn skills. I think I learned more through my waitressing jobs, because I always had a few at once, you know? You could always get a waitress job behind a counter. I think I learned more about people waitressing than building my business, honest to God. You have to size someone up. Your territory is your counter. You have to make them happy. You wanna upsell them a little bit. Maybe you say, you know, you give the second cup of coffee for free, but how about a slice of cheesecake? It's really good today. You learn how to hustle. You learn how to be organized, how to get the containers in order, how to make sure they're filled when the customer steps out, how to get the, that p- (laughs) person something to drink while you're working on this person. I mean, I learned so much in every one of those jobs. And you know what's great about having a lot of jobs? You start to get a profile of what you're good at and what you're not. And I, in short order, after maybe seven or eight jobs, not that I knew what I was gonna do for a living, but I knew what I was good at. I knew I was good at getting along with people and making them smile. I could talk to somebody and make them happy. Absolutely. And I also knew that I was efficient. I could create a system in anything. I would see the diner counter all wrong, not running right, I would talk to the boss, say, "You know, if you did this with the maple syrup and changed the sugar," and I could, like an executive, I could rearrange the whole counters, you know, in an efficient manner. And I started learning that those were my two gifts, people and efficiency. And if you think about any business, those are really big ticket items. If you could choose people, motivate people, get along with people, make them get along with each other, plus create systems to grow a big business. I mean, the minute you have more than a half dozen people, you need systems. And my companies were always so well organized that it, they ran like-They just ran like a Swiss clock? Is that a good analogy? Everything was in its place. Nothing had to be duplicated. It was fast-forward. And so, I was able to build very quickly, which I had to do because we had big people in my market, and if I had built and replicated systems at a normal pace, I would never catch up to them. So, I had to do double, triple time. And what's your answer on that one? Systems. Systems get you moving forward, get you a, get, get a business like a machine, you know. And that was a gift I got from my menial jobs. Thank God I worked. Imagine if I hadn't worked and went out into the real world thinking I was dumb, that I couldn't do anything just 'cause I couldn't read or write. Thank God I learned I could be a lifeguard. I learned I could be a tent salesman. I could be Barbara Buttons calling for solicitations eight hours a day. I could be all those menial jobs, a hotdog salesman, sell more hotdogs than the next guy. I mean, I had confidence from every one of those jobs, like, "Look how cool I am." Maybe I wouldn't win respect by everybody, "Well, who cares about the hotdogs?" But in my book, I knew I sold more hotdogs than he sold on his, you know... So, so no, thank God for the jobs. You learn so much by trying different jobs on, you know. It's so important.

   11. SBSteven Bartlett25:52

       At that age, if, if I'd asked you what you wanted, what your dream was, what would you have answered?

   12. BCBarbara Corcoran25:56

       I wouldn't have answered the question. I wouldn't have answered the question. I had no idea. I would say, "I just wanna work." I just want to, quote, "work." It didn't make a difference what I was working at. I just knew that when I was working, I felt capable. That's all.

   13. SBSteven Bartlett26:11

       And conversely then, what are you bad at? I think, as you've said, it's very important to know strengths-

   14. BCBarbara Corcoran26:16

       Oh.

   15. SBSteven Bartlett26:16

       ... but also weaknesses.

   16. BCBarbara Corcoran26:17

       You know what I'm bad at? I'm bad at math, numbers. Terrible. Just terrible, really. I don't even understand... I n-... I took algebra four times, four times, two years in summer school. Never passed it. They finally just gave me the grade to go through (laughs) . Um, I'm very bad at math. I'm bad at legal. I'm bad at committee meetings. I'm bad at listening to a blowhard who just goes on and on, doesn't cut to the chase. I'm very bad at impatience. I wanna know what you want from me, and then you tell me how you got there. I don't wanna hear how you got there and then what do you want (laughs) . I always wanna cut to the chase, uh, so I'm impatient. Uh, I've learned to hide it 'cause you can't be so visibly impatient with people. But as long as they tell me what they want on the front end, I could hang in there for the long explanation after 'cause I've already concluded what I'm gonna do, you know?

   17. SBSteven Bartlett27:07

       (laughs)

   18. BCBarbara Corcoran27:07

       Yeah. So that's what I'm bad at. But lucky for me, I've always surrounded myself with people who are opposite to me, you know. And by the way, I shouldn't really say I'm bad at numbers because I had a business partner, my 10% business partner, Esther, my whole life, I made her my partner. She was great at legal and finance, and she used to spend hours when we wanted to open one or two new offices doing the numbers to see if we could afford it. And I used to come into her office and say, "What do you think?" She says, "I don't think we should really do it." I said, "Well, let me tell you why we're gonna do it, 'cause we really need to beat the next guy." (laughs)

   19. SBSteven Bartlett27:41

       (laughs)

   20. BCBarbara Corcoran27:41

       "And let me tell you, if we have $80,000 and the desk produces only 40, 42, it's gonna take us about nine months to actually meet our overhead, and we'll have to cut back on the advertising, and we'll have the managers work for free." And she'd say, "What?" And it worked every time. So I must have had a, a taste for numbers in that kind of a way. I could always see the picture on numbers, and I'd be right. Uh, which bugged the crap out of her 'cause she had all the numbers, you know (laughs) . But, um, yeah. But I'm not good at, um, adding up the numbers at all.

   21. SBSteven Bartlett28:14

       A lot of people think, and I think it's really liberating to hear that, they probably exclude themself mentally a- of being a businessperson because they are bad at numbers.

   22. BCBarbara Corcoran28:22

       Oh, gosh. I think numbers are the least important thing in business, by far. I look at all the entrepreneurs I've invested in Shark Tank. I am telling you, the most successful... I hope I'm not giving anybody a sh- uh, the short haul here, but the most successful are not good at numbers. They're exceptional at people. I think if you're great at people, and you have ambition, you have the two magic cards to succeed in business. You do. That's what it's about. People and ambition, the drive to get to the finish line. Yeah. Then you find a way. You hire the people you need. You borrow the people you need. You exchange your gift for their gift, part-time if you have to, to get what you need. But you always get what you need if you know what you need (laughs) . You know?

6. 29:10 – 36:04

   Becoming the best residential estate firm

   1. BCBarbara Corcoran29:10

   2. SBSteven Bartlett29:10

      (laughs) Talking about borrowing, you borrowed $1,000 off Ray.

   3. BCBarbara Corcoran29:13

      Yeah, Ramon Simone, yep.

   4. SBSteven Bartlett29:15

      Ramon Simone.

   5. BCBarbara Corcoran29:16

      Nice name, huh?

   6. SBSteven Bartlett29:17

      Ramon Simone, wow. Okay. And he was your boyfriend at the time?

   7. BCBarbara Corcoran29:20

      He was my boyfriend. I met him at the diner. That was my last diner job. And he offered to loan me $1,000 to start a business within three months.

   8. SBSteven Bartlett29:28

      Did you ask him for the money?

   9. BCBarbara Corcoran29:30

      No. Uh-uh. He said, "You've got a great personality. You'd be great in real estate sales. Why don't you start a business?" And that's how it happened.

   10. SBSteven Bartlett29:38

       Really?

   11. BCBarbara Corcoran29:39

       Yeah. So he had a gift for seeing talent, obviously, you know.

   12. SBSteven Bartlett29:44

       And then off you go. 24 years old, you started your own-

   13. BCBarbara Corcoran29:47

       23, but let me-

   14. SBSteven Bartlett29:48

       23.

   15. BCBarbara Corcoran29:48

       Let me tell you something, thank God. At 23, you don't know what to be afraid of. Uh, you don't know what falling off a cliff's about, and at 23 and poor, you have nothing to lose. There was no risk involved. I could always get my diner job back or any waitress job or pool hand or... I had millions of jobs I could get. I wasn't afraid of being unemployed. So I figured, "What the heck? I'll try it. Let's see where it goes." However, what I didn't know, and when the light went on in my head, was I didn't know how much I would like being a boss. First day, I'm like, "I love this." Did I like real estate? Nah, I didn't really care about real estate. Did I like the people I was meeting there? All nice, but I had been meeting nice people my whole life. But I love the fact that I was in charge. And so I loved real estate. I loved the people. I loved the paint on the wall. I loved everything because I was the boss. I was bent- meant for being a boss. I felt so freed.... so free to dream and do whatever I wanted, and nobody could tell me what to do. It was just, it was the greatest gift of all, freedom, freedom. I'm getting juicy just talking about it.

   16. SBSteven Bartlett30:59

       (laughs)

   17. BCBarbara Corcoran31:01

       (laughs)

   18. SBSteven Bartlett31:03

       That real estate company became very big. Am I right in thinking it became the, the biggest, um, real estate-

   19. BCBarbara Corcoran31:10

       Residential firm in New York, yes.

   20. SBSteven Bartlett31:11

       Became the-

   21. BCBarbara Corcoran31:11

       Before I sold it, we were number one.

   22. SBSteven Bartlett31:13

       The biggest residential-

   23. BCBarbara Corcoran31:15

       Yeah.

   24. SBSteven Bartlett31:15

       ... real estate f- firm in New York?

   25. BCBarbara Corcoran31:16

       Mm-hmm.

   26. SBSteven Bartlett31:18

       Why? Because there's so many residential firms in New York. There's so many, like, real estate people, they're everywhere. I mean, every person I meet is in real estate in New York.

   27. BCBarbara Corcoran31:27

       Oh.

   28. SBSteven Bartlett31:27

       So, how'd you become the best?

   29. BCBarbara Corcoran31:29

       Honestly, I think, uh, there's a lot of reasons how you succeed, right? But I think the major cards were, I was competing with the old boys' network, and they were asleep at the wheel. It's not that they didn't do good work, but you have to realize, real estate brokerage in New York when I was started, a- and I guess is somewhat the same, was controlled by rich guys who inherited the business from their father, or their grandfather before them. So, they were very important, very self-important, very well-educated, very, uh, good at what they did, uh, but they did the same old thing. They did it the same old way, and they also hired people like themselves. They were white, privileged, and they hired white, privileged women to work for them. That was their whole cast of characters. When I came in, I couldn't get those white, privileged women to work for me, 'cause I was a kid, I didn't know anything, and it was, it would... no status associated with it. We were a new kid in town. We had three people. Who was gonna work for me? I had to beg, bar, and steal to get anybody to work for me. And so, they were cocky. And the minute I smelled that they were cocky, which happened to me about the third year in business when I went to a large Real Estate Board of New York meeting, I, I was, I remember I went home, and I said, "I'm gonna beat these guys." And I knew it, because they were very cocky that they were in charge. (laughs)

   30. SBSteven Bartlett32:52

       And what weakness did that create?
7. 36:04 – 38:44

   Work culture

   1. SBSteven Bartlett36:04

      That company culture and that, like, philosophy, you're citing that as being really pivotal to, to why you were successful. Well, what, what does that mean, like, culture, and how do you go about creating that culture?

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran36:14

      Ah, the main, the main card is having fun with your people. All right? I put fun before anything. I mean, I certainly wanted to drive sales hard, open new offices, hire new people, uh, nurture a great management system, all the things that go into any business. But more than that, I wanted to make sure everybody loved each other. And the way you get to break down barriers between people who all compete with each other... Remember, in sales, you like who you're working with, but you don't really totally like them, because they're after your market. So, you have friend enemies, really, in a way.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett36:46

      (laughs)

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran36:46

      And so, I believe that you, uh, if you had enough fun with your people, it was a great equalizer. When people laugh together, they come up with new ideas. When people laugh together, they loosen up. I used to have people, uh, dress for my parties, or they couldn't come in. I would have them dress 1940s, 1950s. I had them cross-dress. Oh, what a rebellion at the kingdom. The straight guys, "I'm not cross-dressing for her." Of course they cross-dressed for me. I had a party where everybody dressed as a nun. "I'm not going as a nun." Of course they came as nu- Do you know how exciting it is to be in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom and see a thousand nuns at a party? It's-... a blast and so much fun. So, we would have picnics, parties. I would take the women, uh, spontaneously, "Hey, come with me. We're going downstairs to Barneys and buying you a new underwear." Why? Because it's so bizarre. And they all go down and pick out the most expensive underwear they could find. I mean, this bizarre stuff made them tell everybody who wasn't in the company, "Oh, God. Guess what we did?" It was an adventure. And sooner or later, what happened after about, I guess, maybe 10, 12 years, I didn't have to recruit anymore. Our reputation as being the best place to work started recruiting for us. My salespeople recruited for us, just by repeating stories that happened every day. And so, I do believe you create a great, imaginative culture if you could insist on giving as much attention to planning good fun. I don't mean a boring Christmas party where you drink. Nothing like that. Some bizarre means of having fun. Everybody doesn't have enough fun and they wanna stay with you. I had no turnover in my company. None. In a business that's loaded with turnover. Of course, I fire a third of my staff every year because they couldn't sell, but other than the f- ones that couldn't sell, no one ever left for another firm. They had too much fun at us. Why would they leave? For the same commission spread? I don't think so.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett38:40

      (laughs) Five years in, um, to that business, to

8. 38:44 – 56:07

   Leadership & firing negative people

   1. SBSteven Bartlett38:44

      that venture, Ramon Simone runs off with your PA.

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran38:47

      Yes. She was much prettier than I. 10 years younger. I don't blame him. In hindsight, I don't blame him. At the time, I didn't like it. (laughs)

   3. SBSteven Bartlett38:55

      (laughs) He's your, he was your boyfriend at the time?

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran38:58

      He was my boyfriend at the time. He was my 51% business partner, 'cause he took 51%, he said, 'cause he was financing the firm, which is fair. I was the managing partner. I liked the way that sounded. Uh, yes, but, uh, he ran off with my business, with my secretary, uh, the seventh year we were in business. Yeah. That was shocking. I didn't expect that. But you know, those blows that happen to your ego seem the worst at the time, but it ta- doesn't take you long to realize what, why they happen and why they're the best things. I mean, if he didn't run off with her, I would've never started the Corcoran Group. I'd still be Corcoran-Simone, working with him. I mean, that got me off my butt to start my own company without his help, right away, because I was a scorned woman. And I couldn't stand seeing them throw kisses at each other during the work day. It drove me crazy. And so I left. I just left. We cut the company in half. At the time, we only had 14 people. He took seven, I took seven, and off I went. Thank God that happened. And then, he gave me those wonderful parting words. "You'll never succeed without me." Thank you, Ray. (laughs)

   5. SBSteven Bartlett40:08

      Did that drive you, those words for-

   6. BCBarbara Corcoran40:10

      I was-

   7. SBSteven Bartlett40:10

      ... the facility?

   8. BCBarbara Corcoran40:11

      ... pissed. When he said that, I was like, vicious. I hated him for it. But I walked out the door hating him for it. I hated him for it the next month, the year after that, and the year after that, and then I started thanking him for it. (laughs)

   9. SBSteven Bartlett40:25

      Really?

   10. BCBarbara Corcoran40:26

       Yeah. I realized it was a gift. You know, insult, uh, can really be a wonderful motivator. Um, with my entrepreneurs that I invest in on Shark Tank, I love it when I can find an in- an entrepreneur that had a horrible dad, had this go wrong or that go wrong, uh, because they're angry. They're angry and they have more to prove. I love an entrepreneur like that. I relate to them.

   11. SBSteven Bartlett40:52

       That prejudice you, you experienced in, in that male-dominated industry-

   12. BCBarbara Corcoran40:56

       Mm-hmm.

   13. SBSteven Bartlett40:56

       Is it easier to manipulate people when they have a prejudice against you?

   14. BCBarbara Corcoran41:00

       First of all, you have to realize, they didn't see me. I was invisible to them. They didn't take me seriously. Why would they take me seriously? Even the day I realized I was invisible, I realized I had an advantage. I said, "Nobody's watching me."

   15. SBSteven Bartlett41:13

       Does that make them easy to manipulate, these men?

   16. BCBarbara Corcoran41:17

       Well, I don't know if it meant I manipulated them-

   17. SBSteven Bartlett41:20

       I don't think that was-

   18. BCBarbara Corcoran41:20

       ... but it was easier to compete with them.

   19. SBSteven Bartlett41:22

       'Cause the word manipulate is like a, it's like a dirty word.

   20. BCBarbara Corcoran41:26

       Mm-hmm.

   21. SBSteven Bartlett41:26

       But at the end of the day, if someone is s- thinking that you don't matter and they're like-

   22. BCBarbara Corcoran41:30

       Mm-hmm.

   23. SBSteven Bartlett41:30

       ... disrespecting you or they are sexist towards you-

   24. BCBarbara Corcoran41:33

       Mm-hmm.

   25. SBSteven Bartlett41:33

       ... their underestimation seems like an opportunity.

   26. BCBarbara Corcoran41:36

       It's a great opportunity. Um, you know who was easy to manipulate though? Because when the business got large, we were more dependent on huge development sites where they had 3, 400 condos for sale. We'd have to get control of that building. And I was the salesman who got the control. I went out after the developers. Uh, the developers you could manipulate easily as a woman. They had all men working for them. It was a man's world, real estate. Uh, the developers, uh, didn't take me seriously at all, but I flirted, I cajoled, I wore short skirts, I dressed well in tight suits. I played my cards. I wore high heels even though my feet were killing me. Yeah, did I manipulate them? Of course I did. Did I tell them they looked handsome? They were all handsome. Did I tell them they were brilliant? "You're brilliant." They were all brilliant. Did I manipulate? Yes. I don't even think I'll go to heaven I- if you wanna call it manipulation (laughs) .

   27. SBSteven Bartlett42:30

       (laughs) Um, and then your, y- their, your workforce. If I, if I spoke to one of your employees and said, "What's Barbara like to work with?" What do you imagine they would say to me?

   28. BCBarbara Corcoran42:40

       I know what they would say, and you won't believe me.

   29. SBSteven Bartlett42:42

       Okay.

   30. BCBarbara Corcoran42:42

       They would say, "I love Barbara." She's perfect.
9. 56:07 – 1:06:05

   As a shark tank investor, what advice would you give me?

   1. SBSteven Bartlett56:07

      (paper crinkling) Shark Tank, um, where I'm a dragon on Dragon's Den, you're a shark on Shark Tank.

   2. BCBarbara Corcoran56:12

      All the same.

   3. SBSteven Bartlett56:13

      Yeah. Well, yeah.

   4. BCBarbara Corcoran56:14

      Means you're a sucker.

   5. SBSteven Bartlett56:15

      Does it? Uh, to be fair, I mean, I think dragons are slightly more impressive than sharks, gotta be honest.

   6. BCBarbara Corcoran56:20

      You think so? I think sharks are more impressive than dragons.

   7. SBSteven Bartlett56:22

      Sharks are real. Dragons don't exist. We're kind of mythical.

   8. BCBarbara Corcoran56:25

      Dragons are silly. It's an old-fashioned word. Sharks are sharks.

   9. SBSteven Bartlett56:28

      Well, sharks, well, pfff, I mean, other than Jaws, what have sharks really done for society? Wh- whereas a dragon is you- you're someone of great imagination. To, to, to be a dragon, you have to have great imagination 'cause they don't exist. It's like being a unicorn. So can we agree that dragons are better?

   10. BCBarbara Corcoran56:43

       Uh, no, I'm afraid not. (laughs)

   11. SBSteven Bartlett56:46

       (laughs) Okay. Okay. Well, you're on Shark Tank, and link to what we just said about quickly assessing if a person is, is legit and worth-

   12. BCBarbara Corcoran56:56

       Mm-hmm.

   13. SBSteven Bartlett56:56

       ... investing in, what have you learned? You've been on the show longer than I've been on th- the UK version of the show.

   14. BCBarbara Corcoran57:00

       Mm-hmm.

   15. SBSteven Bartlett57:01

       What advice would you give me as a new dragon to be successful, from your experience?

   16. BCBarbara Corcoran57:07

       I would say keep your money in your pocket for a little bit.

   17. SBSteven Bartlett57:10

       Okay.

   18. BCBarbara Corcoran57:11

       Yeah. I... My first few seasons of Shark Tank, I spent so much money, threw money at the wall at anything that moved. Yeah. So I hope you haven't made that mistake.

   19. SBSteven Bartlett57:19

       I only did like 11 investments in my first-

   20. BCBarbara Corcoran57:21

       Yeah.

   21. SBSteven Bartlett57:21

       ... season, so.

   22. BCBarbara Corcoran57:21

       But, uh, for me, I... What I have learned in 14 years, and I've learned it a good 10 years ago, I'd say, is, uh, never choose a business, always choose the entrepreneur. Uh, I have sat there and listened to business plans that I don't even know what they're talking about. I... It makes no sense to me what they're talking about, uh, because it's not a business I know or I don't understand the terminology, and in the old days, I would have thought I was too stupid, but now I know I'm smart enough that if I'm not understanding, it's okay, I'm s- probably still smart. Uh, but I have to be really smart in making the choice of the individual. Do I trust this person? Can I visualize them going through a wall? What's their background? Are they good at getting back up? Do they have ambition? Not passion. Passion's so overrated. "I feel passionate. This, we really wanna do this." Like saying you're excited about your first date. Who cares? You know, wait till you marry the lady and see how you feel. But I think the commitment and the drive and the ambition is what I'm always looking for. I'm looking just, just trying to smell it out.

   23. SBSteven Bartlett58:28

       If someone says they were poor and they didn't have a father, let's say.

   24. BCBarbara Corcoran58:32

       I'm biased right away, I wanna buy the business.

   25. SBSteven Bartlett58:34

       You want to invest straight away?

   26. BCBarbara Corcoran58:36

       It doesn't mean I will, 'cause I have to hear more about how they handle things, what kind of an individual they are. But no, um, I'm very biased, or I should really say I'm, I'm not very nice or fair-minded with rich kids. The problem with investing in a business owned by a rich kid, he's usually raised money already rather easily. It's not sweat equity. So you got a chunk of change to get started. Okay, that's nice. Now you would think that would make things easier. I think it makes things difficult. You don't spend your money wisely. It's papa's money or your f- or your parents' friends' money, or wherever you got it from. So it's not valuable money. And I've seen more people stand and say, "Well, we pivoted. We lost that. We pivoted." What happened to the guys that gave you the cash?

   27. SBSteven Bartlett59:21

       (laughs)

   28. BCBarbara Corcoran59:21

       What happened to them? No regard at all. Okay?

   29. SBSteven Bartlett59:24

       (laughs)

   30. BCBarbara Corcoran59:24

       When you get a poor kid, uh, they typically have something to prove. They really have to stretch every penny. It's their own money. They're dying just to get a little bit more. There's so much a greater need, and there's also a desire to do well in living in their life. They wanna go on vacations. They, too, want to get a sports car. They want to get a nice apartment. These rich kids have had it all before. They've been on vacation everywhere. They've always had rich cars, rich parents, so... So I think it's so much harder for a rich kid to succeed as an entrepreneur. I just love poor kids. And, and I have to tell you, out of my whole portfolio, I don't have a single rich kid who succeeded. Well, most of it is because I don't invest in them in the last five years. But even when I did years ago, none of them succeeded. No, they went on to do something else. My poor people, ah, those are my winners. Yeah.
10. 1:06:05 – 1:09:32

    Your husband & out earning him

    1. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:05

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:05

       Bill.

    3. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:06

       Bill. Oh shit, Bill. (laughs)

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:09

       (laughs)

    5. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:10

       You know what all my friends call Bill? Poor Bill.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:12

       Why?

    7. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:13

       Isn't that a shame? I'm the nice person. Bill is a difficult man, and yet everybody who knows us both calls him Poor Bill, like he married the wrong person. You know-

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:24

       Bill is your husband?

    9. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:25

       Yes, 37 years.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:27

        He said he's the nice one, and you're the difficult one.

    11. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:29

        Who said that? You spoke to Bill?

    12. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:31

        Bill.

    13. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:31

        You spoke to Bill?

    14. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:32

        Yeah.

    15. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:33

        Don't believe Bill.

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:33

        (laughs)

    17. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:34

        (laughs) I can't believe he even answered the phone.

    18. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:37

        Uh, no, I didn't speak t-

    19. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:37

        He's always watching TV.

    20. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:38

        I didn't speak to Bill.

    21. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:39

        Oh, gosh.

    22. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:40

        I'm j- no, I'm, I'm lying. I was alone.

    23. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:41

        You know, ironically, if you did speak with Bill, Bill adores the ground I walk on, can never say anything negative, and all I do is complain about Bill. And all I do is say negative things about him.

    24. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:54

        (laughs)

    25. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:55

        (laughs) I really mean it. I'm a terrible wife.

    26. SBSteven Bartlett1:06:58

        (laughs)

    27. BCBarbara Corcoran1:06:59

        I really am. I'm not just saying that.

    28. SBSteven Bartlett1:07:01

        The thing I-

    29. BCBarbara Corcoran1:07:01

        You should talk to Bill. He'll confirm this.

    30. SBSteven Bartlett1:07:03

        I did, and he confirmed it-
11. 1:09:32 – 1:11:55

    Last guest’s question

    1. BCBarbara Corcoran1:09:32

       (laughs)

    2. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:32

       We have a closing tradition on this podcast.

    3. BCBarbara Corcoran1:09:34

       Yes. (laughs)

    4. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:34

       The last question is always left by the-

    5. BCBarbara Corcoran1:09:36

       Okay.

    6. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:36

       ... the last guest. The last guest left the question for you. What did you learn from your greatest failure?

    7. BCBarbara Corcoran1:09:44

       I learned that you get back up and all the opportunity is in getting back up. Just gotta be a habit of getting up. You get up and you're gonna find some shit that you can do something with. Just get up. That's a habit. You have to make that habit.

    8. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:58

       Barbara, thank you.

    9. BCBarbara Corcoran1:09:59

       My pleasure.

    10. SBSteven Bartlett1:09:59

        Thank you for the inspiration, thank you for the humor. You're hilarious and brilliant in equal measure.

    11. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:03

        Really?

    12. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:03

        And you're- c- y- you absolutely are, you absolutely are.

    13. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:06

        (laughs)

    14. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:06

        Um, and you're, you're definitely in my top two favorite Sharks. You and Damian are my favorite, so-

    15. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:11

        Oh, forget about Damian.

    16. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:13

        ... the years I've been- Okay, Mark. (laughs)

    17. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:13

        He's no good. Mark, Mark's no good. (laughs)

    18. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:17

        Thank you so much for your time.

    19. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:18

        And I don't wanna be among your favorite Sharks, I wanna be among your favorite people in the world.

    20. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:22

        You're my favorite Shark now, now that I've met you and you're so funny. But, so, for sure, for sure.

    21. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:26

        I don't believe you.

    22. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:26

        Thank you for the inspiration.

    23. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:27

        I don't believe you. (laughs)

    24. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:27

        I'm looking you in the eyes. You can trust me. (laughs)

    25. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:30

        I do trust you.

    26. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:31

        Oh, good.

    27. BCBarbara Corcoran1:10:31

        You're very trustworthy, I can tell.

    28. SBSteven Bartlett1:10:32

        Thank you so much, Barbara. It's an honor. Quick word from one of our sponsors. I've got a tip for all of you that will make your virtual meeting experiences, I think, 10 times better. As some of you may know by now, BlueJeans by Verizon offers seamless, high-quality video conferencing. But the reason why I use BlueJeans versus other video conferencing tools is because of immersion. Their tools make you feel more connected to the employees or customers you're trying to engage with. And now, they're launching one of their biggest feature enhancements to impact virtual events so far called BlueJeans Studio. I actually used it the other day. I did an, a virtual event using the studio, which I think about 700 of you came to. TV-level production quality, all done by one person with very little technical experience on a laptop. So, if you've got an event coming up and you're thinking about doing it virtually, check out BlueJeans Studio now. Let me know what you think, 'cause I genuinely believe ... I know this is an advert and I'm supposed to say this, but I genuinely believe it's the best tool I've seen for doing really immersive, simple but high-quality production virtual events. (instrumental music)

Episode duration: 1:11:55