Being a Woman and a Small Business Have their Advantages
Written by Stephanie Taylor Christensen Thursday, September 01 2011
Snapshot: Barbara Corcoran, real estate mogul, serial entrepreneur, TV personality 
Successful entrepreneurs have many powerful qualities ranging from passionate trailblazer to persuader to amazing multitasker – but they don’t always succeed within the confines of other people’s terms. Today show real estate and entrepreneurial expert Barbara Corcoran proudly lists failing grades in high school among her accomplishments. Why? Because they fueled her list of successes today, including real estate mogul, millionaire (she sold her Manhattan real estate firm The Corcoran Group for $66 million), serial entrepreneur, and star of the hit show Shark Tank.
Womenetics caught up with Corcoran to find out what she’s learned over the years about building businesses and her own brand.
Womenetics: What makes a successful entrepreneur stand out above the rest?
Barbara Corcoran: How well they handle obstacles and objections. I have seen many women and men starting businesses that fail miserably when they hit a wall and can’t get over it. Entrepreneurs must have the determination to get over walls, no matter what. When I size up entrepreneurs, I’m always looking for that unique quality (I would say one in 30 business owners have it). It’s the ability to take a “no,” pop back up, and say, “Hit me again” – repeatedly.
Womenetics: You have a list of “not to dos” for entrepreneurs? What’s that entail?
Corcoran: It sounds like a ridiculous way to approach business, but the list gives you a heads up as to what you should avoid doing -- for example, spending time on menial tasks that have nothing to do with building a successful business, but make you feel good because you are busy at your desk.
For example, you should have an electronic shipping system at your desk, like Endicia.com, so you’re not wasting time at the post office and can spend more time on important tasks.
Busy can feel good when you have nothing important going on. If you can stay busy, you think you’re in business, but what you’re really doing is keeping yourself busy enough to send yourself right out of business.
Womenetics: What advice would you give a woman business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, who is worried about the current economy?
Corcoran: No. 1: Discontinue reading the papers! It really gets under your skin and affects your mental outlook. Second, don’t even entertain negative thoughts or the fact that something may be stacked against you; with that headset alone, you’ve already surrendered.
I have many different female partners across all lines of business, and I can tell you that women are smarter than men in business. Why? Because they’re better with people. Of course, there are dollars and cents to business, but the truth is, to succeed in business, you really have to be savvy with customer service and figure out what customers want and how you can retool your business to suit the customer.
Women have a much better intuition with people than men do, by their very nature. (And I know I’m not supposed to say that.)
Womenetics: Where would you advise a woman business owner to go for funding options, including your thoughts around become a certified woman-owned business?
Corcoran: Most people start a business with money from friends, family, and their own savings. What women often forget is that they are a minority in the federal government’s eyes. There are many programs that you can take advantage of there as a minority, programs that allow you to get funding when other people cannot. The idea here is to think what “card” can I use to my advantage – and one happens to be that “female card.” Why not use it?
Womenetics: What have your greatest career lessons been – good and bad?
Corcoran: The greatest thing I learned, that I then used to build a powerhouse business, is that there is lots of free press out there. If you don’t have the money for advertising, use the press.
The big guy has the corner on money, but the little guy has the corner on creativity. When your business is young, start publishing industry reports. I published my first one in the real estate business when I had 11 sales, and I appeared on the front page of The New York Times as an expert in my industry.
I had no business being there – but It worked because I got a report out there saying who the customer was, what prices were, and simply averaging out the numbers. Do you know why it worked? The big guys have attorneys and accountants telling them not to do things – the little guy can run with the creative idea and capture the corner on creativity – never lose sight of that.That’s how I built a giant brand and was able to sell my business for $66 million. It wasn’t because I had the buying power – it was because I capitalized on my creativity.
Womenetics: What brought you to the world of TV?
Corcoran: Once I sold my first business, I knew I wanted something where I could be creative again, use my strength of coming up with an idea a minute, and apply it to something. I felt that if I could be an entrepreneur expert on TV – which I am on shows like Shark Tank, I could get in front of a lot of eyeballs and help people. I really wanted a large platform where I could be heard and make a difference in life, and that is the great satisfaction of being on TV. I can’t tell you it was easy getting there at my age, because it is a young people’s business, but there’s no replacement for sheer determination when it comes to building any kind of a business.
Womenetics: What is your latest goal?
Corcoran: To help as many people as I can, especially young entrepreneurs.
Stephanie Taylor Christensen has more than a decade of experience in marketing communications and writes regularly on personal finance, consumer interest, lifestyle, and business news for clients like Mint, Investopedia, Minyanville, and SheKnows. She is the founder of the "Wellness On Less" blog, and she appears monthly on FOX 28 GoodDay Columbus! in Columbus, Ohio.
