Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran on how local entrepreneurs can rebound after the COVID-19 crisis

The real estate mogul shares 4 tips to help struggling businesses

HOUSTON – For years, Barbara Corcoran has been investing in companies trying to make it big on her hit TV show “Shark Tank”, but after the COVID-19 shut down, she’s now helping regular folks keep their businesses afloat.

The real estate mogul and founder of The Corcoran Group, talked to Houston Life about her remarkable story to become a millionaire and her advice for local entrepreneurs.

Corcoran quit her job as a waitress to start her New York City real estate brokerage businesses on a loan. Years later, she sold The Corcoran Group for $66 million.

“Not only did I sell it for $66 million; I put in my checking account so that every time I went to the bank machine, I could get a receipt out that said $66 million on it,” said Corcoran with a big smile, before sharing indispensable tips for small business owners during this time of financial uncertainty.

View this post on Instagram

The two jobs of a good leader. #BusinessUnusual

A post shared by Barbara Corcoran (@barbaracorcoran) on

1. Choose the right business partner

“I’ve always learned in my life, that If I had the right partner in anything, I could accomplish anything. I’ve never worked alone. Everything I’ve ever did I had the right partner who had an opposite skill set to me. And together, we’re one on one equal about a five in any business that I was in,” said Corcoran.

2. The worst times are the best times

“The only thing you’re lacking in a bad time if you’re a small business and you want to get ahead is the attitude or belief that that’s really the way it is. That’s the way business life is. The worst times are the best times and if you can get through you can come out of it bigger and stronger with less competition that you’ve ever dreamed would be possible,” said Corcoran.

3. Act now

“You have to bear in mind the fruits of that energy now, what you’re running for, rather than thinking let me wait it out,” said Corcoran.

4. Change your mindset

‘I’ve noticed the minute that an entrepreneur says ‘Oh, poor me,’ it’s over. You can’t blame your problems on someone else or shirk that responsibility. You have to get busy or get going. So, it’s really a headset thing,” she said.

Corcoran launched a series of webinars, starting on July 22, called “Business Unusual with Barbara Corcoran,” to help businesses adapt as they seek to recover from lost revenue.

“We’re going to teach people what they have to do to get their head on straight and what they have to do go get back to the workplace and really get their engines going. What steps they have to make their business bigger and stronger, so that when we get out of this, whenever the thing ends and none of us know that, you’re going to have fewer competitors and be a bigger business that they started off with,” said Corcoran, who’s also the author of the best seller “Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business.”

To access the webinars, click here.

To see Corcoran’s complete interview, watch the video above.


About the Author

Beatriz is a producer for Houston life. She’s a dog mom who enjoys traveling and eating her way through new cities and cultures.

Recommended Videos