Barbara Corcoran Quotes

I was well motivated. What I wanted to do was work for myself. I had twenty two jobs before I started my business at the age of twenty three and I didn't want one more boss telling me what to do. So I was motivated simply because I didn't want a boss.

Harebrained schemes often lead to great discoveries.

The power of publicity is more important than advertising.

If someone doesn't fit in your company, you have an obligation to get rid of them, because you're holding them back from excelling elsewhere.

The story of my billion-dollar business starts like this. I borrowed $1,000 from a friend.

If you get labeled a winner, people come along for the ride. Might as well enjoy it and they should too.

I was a hot-dog stand lady, I was an orphan housemother, I was a waitress 3 or 4 times. All of those jobs did not have good bosses. They basically told you what to do, when to do and when to hop. And I just didn't like that very much.

Buyers decide in the first eight seconds of seeing a home if they're interested in buying it. Get out of your car, walk in their shoes and see what they see within the first eight seconds.

What people ask for has nothing to do with the value of a property. You might see a listing for $300,000 and think you should make a $250,000 bid. But hyper-focus on what the house is worth. You should know what the house is worth by looking at comparable properties. Base your bid on that.

The joy is in the getting there. The beginning years of starting your business, the camaraderie when you're in the pit together, are the best years of your life. So rather than being so focused on when you get big and powerful, if you can just get the juice out of that ... don't miss it.

Every single thing I learned about marketing and building my business, I learned from my mom, and she had never been in the workforce. She just had great practical sense.

That ability to pop back up is true of anyone who succeeds in their field.

Great sales people [don't] have the ability to feel sorry for themselves.

My greatest strength as a child, I realize now, was my imagination. While every other kid was reading and writing, I had seven whole hours a day to practice my imagination. When do you get that space in your life, ever?

I became a larger than life figure for one reason only. When you're quoted in the 'Wall Street Journal', the 'New York Times', constantly as the expert in the business people assume you're a lot bigger than you are. And then I had to run like hell to catch up with my own image.

If you're having fun, you wind up innovating.

Home staging is no longer optional in this real estate market, it is a must!

When you're building a business, you're either all in, or you're not.

My mother is an amazing woman. Not only did she manage the entire household, she noticed a gift in each of her kids and instilled confidence in all of us that that gift would take us wherever we wanted to go.

Money is not the only thing that motivates employees. It's about making them happy.

If you want to have a creative culture, you can't get it by reading books. You get it by example.

When you're a big money earner and your husband isn't, it makes you question how feminine you are. I felt I was less feminine than if I was a supporting wife, or a second fiddle, or 'Mrs. Higgins.'

The biggest challenge in business is not the competition, it's what goes on inside your own head

Finding opportunity is a matter of believing it's there.

It's rumored that doing well in real estate is to be able to close a deal. I did not find that to be the case for myself, I was probably the worst closer out there and I didn't find that was true of my top super stars either.

The most effective way to build a brand is not by spending millions in advertising, but by finding a clever way to keep your name in the press.

If you have an idea, immediately move on it. To start that fire and get it burning immediately ... it's everything.

The best mistake I ever made was believing that I was stupid. It was a childhood thing, but it played out big-time as an adult. It scorned me the rest of my life - in a good way.

I've been in real estate for my whole life, I've been trying to sharpshoot the market with my investments, I'm never right. All you need to do is get near the bottom. That's good enough.

People stayed with me and worked extra hard for me because I could see the potential in them - I'm not so sure they could see the potential in me.

The difference between the real winners is how long they take to feel sorry for themselves. My winners feel it ... but they come back up and say 'hit me again.'

I wanted to be a 150% entrepreneur and a 150% mom, and I found that I was having a very hard time doing both. I was about 75% and 75% - still better than 100%, but not what I was accustomed to at work.

If a house is priced appropriately, make a bid 10 percent below that amount.

When you're in business, if you have some sort of gimmick it's a huge advantage.

Confidence is overrated. It's when we're uncomfortable and looking for answers that we learn and grow the most.

Empathy for the people you're working with and being aware of their needs ... that's the "big kahuna" in managing people.

Failure is my specialty.

Sometimes very successful people appear to be winging it, because they look so comfortable on their feet. But don't be fooled; there ain't no such thing. They just come across that way because they practiced so many times.

In business, you're the Chief Salesman. Create a sense of demand, rather than waiting to have demand.

Whatever you got you have to accentuate. I ran my female card up and down the ladder my whole career, because I was in a man's world. It was worked by women but owned by men. I was the only female owner in my field at that time.

People want to do business with someone they like. If people like you, they're going to want to do business with you. And if they don't you're going to have an almost insurmountable obstacle to overcome.

I think of my business and investments as extension of my family.

No one tells salesmen what they can and can't do.

I don't invest anymore in entrepreneurs who don't have charisma.

I gave up years ago on the concept that you could actually have balance in your life, I think it's a phantom chase.

The most expensive hobby a rich man could have is a boat, and the second most expensive hobby he could have is a very old house.

Don't be afraid to go for positions, jobs or take on clients just outside of your knowledge base. It's when you're uncomfortable that you learn and grow the most.

Most great entrepreneurs I know are nothing like the other kids. They're almost like tangent lines - those lines that seem to go nowhere. Nothing connects them, until they get out in the real world. Then they connect just fine.

Innovation and creativity are the juiciest parts of running a business.

The productiveness of any meeting depends on the level of thought given to the agenda in advance, and you should never leave a meeting without writing a follow-up list with each item assigned to one person. And go outside. All the big ideas are on the outside. You'll never have a creative idea at your desk.

Figure out what past efforts amounted to nothing and label them your "not to do" list. Post the list where you'll see it.

I'm never in control of my time during the workday.

All the best things that happened to me happened after I was rejected. I knew the power of getting past no.

I have found, whether you have a tiny business or a big business, if you don't jump on something right away, it's like a bird flying by-it flies off.

My husband had a very strong identity and was successful in his life. Thank God for that. There's no way I can control him. I wouldn't stay married to him if I felt I could. I can readily take my business personality into the home. But he forces me to be a partner rather than the boss.

If you stand back and analyze the best way to do something, you'll be standing there forever. Follow your gut and jump right in!

I sat down and collected all of our eleven sales for the past six months and I added them all together and divided by eleven. I then took that average and presented it as the average price for a Manhattan apartment. The media ate it up.

The wheels of justice - they're square wheels.

Stop putting it off! Procrastination breeds guilt, guilt breeds depression, and depression breeds failure.

You steal the limelight, you steal the market share

A good organization is like a box of crayons. You need different colors of the spectrum, but all the crayons should fit in the box.

Sex appeal is in the workplace every day of the week. I'm not saying that's the only calling card, but it's a whole crayon box.

I hadn't learned to read by third grade, which wasn't unusual for some kids. I knew something was wrong because I couldn't see or understand the words the way the other kids did. I wasn't the least bit bothered - until I was sent back to the second-grade classroom for reading help after school.

My best successes came on the heels of failures.

I did everything in my power to give my brokers brand identity and clout in the market. I saw my job as parent to build them up and if I took care of them, then they would take care of their customer.

People imitate their leader. Lead by example.

Instead of assuming everything you're being told is the truth, ask plenty of questions.

Good salesmanship is nothing more than maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative.

You may not like the idea of putting money into a home when you're moving out. But it's demanded by the market. You need to show it off. You don't have to rip out the kitchen and bathroom. But maybe replace the tiles or the countertops. Get professional advice.

Your business is a part of yourself. Should it be? Who knows, but it sure feels that way. You can never really leave it.