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CNN Live At Daybreak
Talk with Barbara Corcoran
Aired March 06, 2003 - 05:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk money now, though, and how to make it. Lots and lots of it. The queen of New York real estate is with us this morning. Her company made $2 billion last year and she claims you, too, can be rich if you use what you've got.
Barbara Corcoran, welcome to DAYBREAK.
BARBARA CORCORAN, AUTHOR, "USE WHAT YOU'VE GOT": Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So your book is called "Use What You've Got and Other Business Lessons You Learned From Mom."
CORCORAN: Yes.
COSTELLO: So can the lessons that you learned from mom really make you rich?
CORCORAN: Yes, they can. You know why? They're kitchen table wisdom, totally common sense, and things that applied so well from my mother raising 10 children and making each of them enormously successful. And she never was in business, but my mother had common sense that I've applied to work every day of my life and it is a sure formula, I believe, for making money.
COSTELLO: Yes, but how can common sense turn into $2 billion a year for your company?
CORCORAN: Well, other than the fact that it's a heck of a lot of work, my mother taught me enormous lessons on marketing, making yourself heard, making yourself known and seen, and it really does -- because in a city like New York City, which is not that different than any other city in America in terms of building a business success, it's just a fancier version of every other city, or so we think we are, the fact of the matter is...
COSTELLO: OK, so people...
CORCORAN: ... it's, you have to compete to get noticed.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
CORCORAN: And my mother was a genius in that regard.
COSTELLO: OK, everybody's asking like what can we do? And one of my favorite bits of advice for your book, if you don't have big breasts, put ribbons in your ponytail. What does that mean? CORCORAN: Pigtails.
COSTELLO: Pigtails. I'm sorry.
CORCORAN: Tsar, either way, as long as you get the ribbons up there is what counts. And my mother was teaching me when I was a young waitress, right after college I was waitressing. And I couldn't compete with the big-chested Dolly Parton look-alike lady who was cleaning up at the next counter. And when I complained to her she simply said listen, if you don't have big breasts -- because I certainly didn't -- she said just put ribbons on your pigtails and stay as sweet as you are.
And you want to know the men came to my counter because I offered an alternative to that big chested blonde bombshell. But what I had is a sweet innocence that was nearly, not nearly, just as attractive. And so my mother constantly doled out these little lessons that were so applicable to making yourself known within the business community.
COSTELLO: And you're talking about coming up with creative ideas that no one else has. And by doing that, you just stand out from the crowd. The other piece of advice that I liked is it's be yourself. You don't have to be anyone else to impress people, no matter what station in life they may be.
CORCORAN: Absolutely. You know, I don't care who you are, everyone recognizes genuineness in people. And people so often try to mimic what they think is a successful formula or how you are, if you're going to act a certain way. And it's such a line of baloney because people will recognize and cherish someone a mile away if they're authentic. And that's always the easiest thing to be is to yourself and play up whatever advantages you have.
And, again, and that was something that my mother was great at teaching her children.
COSTELLO: Well, you've got, you have a good mother.
Thank you very much, Barbara Corcoran, for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
CORCORAN: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: The book, "Use What You've Got and Other Business Lessons I Learned From My Mom."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 6, 2003 - 05:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk money now, though, and how to make it. Lots and lots of it. The queen of New York real estate is with us this morning. Her company made $2 billion last year and she claims you, too, can be rich if you use what you've got.
Barbara Corcoran, welcome to DAYBREAK.
BARBARA CORCORAN, AUTHOR, "USE WHAT YOU'VE GOT": Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So your book is called "Use What You've Got and Other Business Lessons You Learned From Mom."
CORCORAN: Yes.
COSTELLO: So can the lessons that you learned from mom really make you rich?
CORCORAN: Yes, they can. You know why? They're kitchen table wisdom, totally common sense, and things that applied so well from my mother raising 10 children and making each of them enormously successful. And she never was in business, but my mother had common sense that I've applied to work every day of my life and it is a sure formula, I believe, for making money.
COSTELLO: Yes, but how can common sense turn into $2 billion a year for your company?
CORCORAN: Well, other than the fact that it's a heck of a lot of work, my mother taught me enormous lessons on marketing, making yourself heard, making yourself known and seen, and it really does -- because in a city like New York City, which is not that different than any other city in America in terms of building a business success, it's just a fancier version of every other city, or so we think we are, the fact of the matter is...
COSTELLO: OK, so people...
CORCORAN: ... it's, you have to compete to get noticed.
COSTELLO: Definitely.
CORCORAN: And my mother was a genius in that regard.
COSTELLO: OK, everybody's asking like what can we do? And one of my favorite bits of advice for your book, if you don't have big breasts, put ribbons in your ponytail. What does that mean? CORCORAN: Pigtails.
COSTELLO: Pigtails. I'm sorry.
CORCORAN: Tsar, either way, as long as you get the ribbons up there is what counts. And my mother was teaching me when I was a young waitress, right after college I was waitressing. And I couldn't compete with the big-chested Dolly Parton look-alike lady who was cleaning up at the next counter. And when I complained to her she simply said listen, if you don't have big breasts -- because I certainly didn't -- she said just put ribbons on your pigtails and stay as sweet as you are.
And you want to know the men came to my counter because I offered an alternative to that big chested blonde bombshell. But what I had is a sweet innocence that was nearly, not nearly, just as attractive. And so my mother constantly doled out these little lessons that were so applicable to making yourself known within the business community.
COSTELLO: And you're talking about coming up with creative ideas that no one else has. And by doing that, you just stand out from the crowd. The other piece of advice that I liked is it's be yourself. You don't have to be anyone else to impress people, no matter what station in life they may be.
CORCORAN: Absolutely. You know, I don't care who you are, everyone recognizes genuineness in people. And people so often try to mimic what they think is a successful formula or how you are, if you're going to act a certain way. And it's such a line of baloney because people will recognize and cherish someone a mile away if they're authentic. And that's always the easiest thing to be is to yourself and play up whatever advantages you have.
And, again, and that was something that my mother was great at teaching her children.
COSTELLO: Well, you've got, you have a good mother.
Thank you very much, Barbara Corcoran, for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
CORCORAN: My pleasure.
COSTELLO: The book, "Use What You've Got and Other Business Lessons I Learned From My Mom."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
