Inspiration from Barbara Corcoran
You may have seen her on ABC’s Good Morning America or on NBC’s Today Show. You might have noticed that she’s the only female in a group of investors on a show known as Shark Tank.
I saw her on all these programs, and each time I said, “I know her from somewhere. I’ve seen her before.” I had no idea what a sharp, powerful, business-savvy woman she was. All I knew was that I wanted some of her “smarts”.
But who was she? I did some research to learn that the woman who had so impressed me was named Barbara Corcoran.
I figured there had to be a book. After all, everybody has a book; right? So off I clicked to Amazon.com. Sure enough, there she was with a book entitled, Use What You’ve Got, and Other Business Lessons I Learned From My Mom,( later published under the title If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons On Your Pigtails – and Other Lessons I Learned From My Mom). Oh, boy. I had to read that!
I ordered it, as well as the audio book. I actually ordered both versions in audio format – one to keep in my office, the other to keep in my car. I am so glad I did. I’m on my second round of listening to them in my car.
Barbara Corcoran grew up in the 60′s with nine siblings and a mother who had more business know-how than most people have today. Her mother dispensed business advice in common-sense format, and I’m betting she didn’t even realize how apropos it was. Barbara never mentions that her mother had any conventional business experience, but the lessons Barbara learned, and how she applied them, made her into a billionaire.
Barbara held 20 jobs by the time she was 23-years-old, had made straight D’s in high school, and no one would have thought that she would hit on the formula that would catapult her into the league of Donald Trump, then surpass him as a leader in real estate. She took a $1,000 loan and turned it into a billion dollar real estate business known as the Corcoran Group.
If you’re looking for real-life examples and old-fashioned common sense advice that you can use to apply to your business, I recommend Use What You’ve Got. . . It wouldn’t hurt to get the audios, too.
I’m making notes to find ways I can put her mother’s lessons to work in my business. Who knows? I might make a billions dollars, too!
