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Everyone
with a toe-hold into business writes business books. Financial advisors write like the
accountants they truly are, marketing gurus write books with attention-getting titles,
and successful coaches tell stories about managing their athletes that at the very least
will be bought by team fans.
So into this crowded mix of author-experts
walks Barbara Corcoran, a NYC real estate success story. Corcoran, a small-town girl,
entered the city as so many other hopefuls, but she managed to become a millionaire. From
her first successful apartment rental, she went on to build her own business from next to
nothing until it became a market leader.
And what was the secret of her
success? An ivy league degree? No, thanks to her dyslexia, she was a D student and only
attained a high school education. Was it her personal or family connections? Her wealth?
No, she hails from a large, working class family with little money but strong ties to
each other. No, no connections. Instead, Corcoran built her own company, The Corcoran
Group, out of an initial investment loaned to her by her first boyfriend. After they
split their joint business, she learned how to recognize good sales people in job
interviews, how to face down tough negotiators like Donald Trump, and how to survive in
tough economic downturns with everything at stake.
This book describes how
she did it in some very easy- and fun-to-read stories. All of her principles are based
on lessons she learned as a kid from her mother’s advice. You don’t have to have a
college degree to read this book, just an interest in stories about a businesswoman with
nerves of steel. Honestly, why look for adventures on Mount Everest or in the Kalahari
desert when you could risk everything you own in the post-1987 real estate market?
That’s Corcoran’s idea of adventure.
She tells her story here in an
entertaining, self-effacing way, and she’s as generous with stories about her mistakes
as she is with those of her successes. I also like the way she credits the people around
her for their contribution as well. For some quick business lessons and more than a few
smiles, give this simple paperback a try. No regrets here. This is a book I’d buy and
read again in a New York minute.
