
Barbara Corcoran
real estate mogul
Have fun. Dare. Never take "no" for an answer. Figure out your best assets and flaunt 'em. All lessons Barbara Corcoran learned from her mother, and all ones she's put to good use.
Failure, she says, is her best motivator ~ and refusing to give in to it has made her career a major success. A less than stellar student due to dyslexia, Barbara had 20 jobs by the time she was 23. Then, she borrowed $1000 to break into real estate with the Corcoran Group. Some 28 years later, that 1000 bucks became $66 million.
After hanging up her signature red suit, Barbara took a seat on ABC's venture capital reality show The Shark Tank where she continues to advise + invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs.
red suits | following her mother's advice to flaunt what she has, Barbara never tried to blend in as a woman in the male-dominated NYC real estate scene. She says she once mailed 14 to her archrival!
fun | known for throwing lavish costume parties and treating her brokers to visits from weekly massage therapists, fun is all about telling people they're loved. An important message, and she gets results.
never taking "no" | once parlaying a disastrous speaking engagement into a series of NYU continuing education courses, Barbara embraces failure as the best motivator
1973 | founded Corcoran Group with $1000 loan from then-boyfriend Ray Simone, who famously provided her biggest motivation 5 years later, when they split {romantically and professionally} and he told her she'd never make it without him
2001 | sold Corcoran Group for $66 million ~ it's safe to say she proved Ray wrong
2009 | debuted on ABC's Shark Tank, where she delivers "tough judgment, but a soft touch"
from | to
diner waitress {her 20th job by age 23} | venture capitalist, media personality + real estate mogul with a razor-sharp wit
born on
March 10, 1949
born in
Teaneck, New Jersey
birth name
Barbara Anne Corcoran
citizen of
The United States of America
daughter of
Florence
~ homemaker ~
Edwin Corcoran, Jr.
~ printing press foreman | washed trucks at night ~
sister of
Denise, Edwin III, Ellen, Jeanine, Johnny, Marty Joe, Mary Jean, Thomas, Florence
~ 10 children in all ~
grew up in
Edgewater, New Jersey
educated at | degree in
St. Thomas Aquinas College
~ B.A. | English | 1971 ~
overcame
dyslexia + stage fright
married to
Bill Higgins
~ former FBI agent | retired real estate agent ~
mother of
1 son | Tom
1 daughter | Katie
advocate for
fearlessness
fun
perseverance
influenced by
her mother
~ who "created a family of entrepreneurs" ~
in her spare time
pet lover | Max {Shih Tzu} is the family dog
tweets
@BarbaraCorcoran
image credit
collapse bio bits"I'd rather make a big mistake and recover than live a lifetime with regret."
At home with ... Barbara Corcoran | january 2006
"Dear Mark, I understand you've asked another girl to dance instead of me. Although I appreciate being reserved as a fallback, I'm much more accustomed to coming in first."
to Mark Burnett, producer of ABC's Shark Tank | 2009
"What drove me was simply my determination not to have anybody laugh at me ever again."
Getting Real TV | april 2011
"The real heroes in life are the people I've met who didn't have the upbringing...and somehow, at some point along the way, just decided that there was no longer an excuse for not making of themselves what they wanted."
Getting Real TV | april 2011
"I have tough judgment, but a soft touch. There's no place for meanness in business."
The Art of Being Barbara | march 2013
"The business was worked by women and owned by men ... I was not welcome, but I was noticed."
From Waitress to Real Estate Queen | june 2013
"It's not how well you sell or talk. It's how well you take a hit and how long you take to feel sorry for yourself."
Business Insider | november 2013
"Pushy people always deliver! Persist past 'no' until 'no' becomes 'yes'!"
@BarbaraCorcoran | may 2014
"The number one rule in sales is everybody wants what everybody wants and nobody wants what nobody wants."
Everbody Wants What Everybody Wants | may 2014
"Don't waste any time thinking about doing it, just get out there when you're young and too stupid to know any better."
ABC News | may 2014
curated with care by Meghan Miller Brawley {may 2014}
Today Show: Al Roker & Barbara Corcoran discuss GreatSchools.org
In 2007, Barbara added The Today Show her growing list of television spots, becoming the real estate expert for the popular morning program. Previously, she appeared on Good Morning America and on Fox as political commentator {an unusual choice for a woman who professes, "Ignorance is bliss," and doesn't read, preferring to be "unplugged"}.
The Today Show | Great Schools
Shark Tank
In 2009, Barbara joined the sharks for ABC's newest reality show, Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a group of venture capitalists. She says she looks for resilience and courage under pressure, particularly the ability to shake off failure and use it as a motivator to improve.
ABC
A Sit-Down with Barbara Corcoran
Barbara's new book Shark Tales came out in 2011 ~ In this video, she talks with real estate program The Real Deal about her life after the sale of The Corcoran Group for $66 million, including television, the book, her decision to stay home with her son and her decision to go back to work.
The Real Deal