Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business

221 Pages·2011·1.36 MB·English

by  Barbara Corcoran

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN
SHARK TALES
Barbara Corcoran’s credentials include straight Ds in high school and college,
and twenty-two jobs by the time she turned twenty-three. It was her next job,
founding The Corcoran Group real estate company, that would make her one of
the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. She is the real estate
contributor for NBC’s Today show and is a Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank. She
lives in New York City with her husband and two children. Visit her at
barbaracorcoran.com.
Bruce Littlefield is a best-selling author and lifestyle expert. His brand of
American fun is seen on the Today show, The Early Show, and The View. Visit
him at brucelittlefield.com.
Praise for Barbara Corcoran and Shark Tales
“[Shark Tales] will leave you laughing and crying, but most of all confident that
you too can make this world of business work for you.”
—Gail Evans, author of Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman
“Corcoran is a lightning bolt of energy caught in a five-foot-six frame.”
—USA Today
“Barbara Corcoran may be New York’s real estate diva, but it’s her homemaker
mother to whom she looks for inspiration.”
—Crain’s New York Business
“A witty memoir and a powerful guidebook on how to get ahead…. An
emotionally charged and intellectually energetic book, which will give people
ideas on how to motivate, invigorate and otherwise encourage any group that
they lead, and organization they build.”
—Bookreporter.com
“Entrepreneurs’ visions don’t always translate well to the page, but Corcoran’s
book…is cleanly written and humorous. The squeaky-clean Waltons-esque
descriptions of Corcoran’s family lend it an almost folksy feel.”
—Fortune Small Business
“Her manner is frank and energetic, a team captain who gives total commitment
and expects it in return. But for all her drive, she has no airs.”
—The New York Times
“When once a waitress, real estate queen Barbara Corcoran complained to her
mum that the ones with the big breasts were the ones getting the big tips. Mama
told her: ‘So, in the absence of big breasts, wear pigtails and put ribbons on
them.’ She did, and it worked.”
—Cindy Adams, New York Post
“In Manhattan, where real estate is not just a major industry but also a full-
contact sport, Barbara Corcoran is hall-of-fame material.”
—Inc.com
“Mom takes the cake here, but you have to toast Barbara Ann for applying her
dictums. The business she’s in is almost beside the point: Corcoran could be
selling plumbing supplies, and the story would still fly.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“A funny handbook for professional sales savvy—that works…a likable and
worthwhile book, an honorable contribution with heart.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A hot entry on the business-book lists, chronicling twenty-eight years’ worth of
sass, savvy, and street smarts…”
—BusinessWeek online
“Corcoran has taken what others consider a liability and turned it into an asset.”
—ADDitude
“As you might expect from such an overachiever, her book [Shark Tales] is on
the New York Times bestseller list.”
—Sunday Times (London)
Barbara Corcoran
with Bruce Littlefield
Also known as Use What You’ve Got and If You Don’t
Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails

PORTFOLIO / PENGUIN
PORTFOLIO/PENGUIN
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London
WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland
(a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria
3124, Australia
(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre,
Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi – 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New
Zealand
(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank,
Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in the United States of America as Use What You’ve Got by Portfolio, a member of Penguin
Putnam Inc. 2003
Paperback edition with the title If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails published
2004
This revised edition published 2011
Copyright © Barbara Corcoran and Bruce Littlefield, 2003, 2011
All rights reserved
Illustrations by John Segal
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Corcoran, Barbara (Barbara Ann).
Shark tales : how I turned $1,000 into a billion dollar business / Barbara Corcoran; with Bruce Littlefield.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Use what you’ve got : and other business lessons I learned from my mom / Barbara Corcoran
with Bruce Littlefield. 2003
Includes index.
ISBN: 978-1-101-51327-9
1. Corcoran, Barbara (Barbara Ann). 2. Women real estate agents—United States—Biography. 3. Real
estate business—United States. I. Littlefield, Bruce (Bruce Duanne) II. Corcoran, Barbara (Barbara Ann)
Use what you’ve got. III. Title.
HD278.C67A3 2011
333.33092—dc22
[B] 2010045012
Set in Avenir
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For Mom, who taught me to believe in myself,
and for Dad, who taught me how to have fun.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE
10 Kids, 1 Bath
MOM’S LESSON #1
If You Don’t Have Big Breasts,
Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails
MOM’S LESSON #2
Paint the Rocks White and the Whole
Yard Will Look Lovely
MOM’S LESSON #3
If the Sofa Is Ripped, Cover It with Laughter
MOM’S LESSON #4
Use Your Imagination to Fill In the Blanks
MOM’S LESSON #5
Offer the Bigger Piece and Yours Will Taste Better
MOM’S LESSON #6
Put the Socks in the Sock Drawer
MOM’S LESSON #7
If There’s More Than One Kid to Wash,
Set Up a Bathtime Routine
MOM’S LESSON #8
If You Want to Be in Two Places at Once,
Borrow a Reel-to-Reel
MOM’S LESSON #9
It’s Your Game; Make Up Your Own Rules
MOM’S LESSON #10
There’s Always Room for One More
MOM’S LESSON #11
Go Play Outside
MOM’S LESSON #12
When the Clubhouse Is Quiet, They’re Probably
Not Making Spaghetti
MOM’S LESSON #13
If You Want to Be a Cheerleader, You Better Know the Cheers
MOM’S LESSON #14
Go Stand Next to Nana and See How Big You Are!
MOM’S LESSON #15
If You Want to Get Noticed, Write Your Name on the Wall
MOM’S LESSON #16
Sweep the Corners and the Whole House Stays Clean
MOM’S LESSON #17
In a Family, Everyone Helps Mash the Potatoes
MOM’S LESSON #18
Moms Can’t Quit
MOM’S LESSON #19
When There Are Ten Buyers and Three Puppies,
Every Dog Is the Pick of the Litter
MOM’S LESSON #20
Jumping Out the Window Will Make You
Either an Ass or a Hero
MOM’S LESSON #21
You Have the Right to Be There
MOM’S LESSON #22
You’ve Got to Bully a Bully
MOM’S LESSON #23
Never Be Ashamed of Who You Are
MOM’S LESSON #24
The Joy Is in the Getting There
PART TWO
Swimming with the Sharks
Seven Years Later…
SHARK LESSON #1
Trust Your Gut
SHARK LESSON #2
You Can’t Fake Passion