Barbara Corcoran’s 3 Tips for Being a Successful Entrepreneur

Real estate mogul and business expert Barbara Corcoran, one of the “sharks” on the hit ABC show, “Shark Tank,” has a few words for budding entrepreneurs.

She appeared recently on the Cheddar network to share some encouraging words of advice for anyone thinking about starting a new business.

Start Young

For Barbara, the trick is to enter the business world at a young age.

As she puts it, “If you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. You have nowhere to go but up.”

When you’re young, there’s little fear holding you back from taking risks and facing down challenges. When you’re older, however, you start to analyze things too much. Sometimes, this can prevent you from doing what you need to succeed as an entrepreneur.

“There’s no substitute for the wild-ass enthusiasm of youth,” she says.

Start in College

There’s absolutely no better environment in which to be an entrepreneur than when you’re in college.

Colleges are the perfect incubators for the next great business idea. There, you’re surrounded by hundreds of students who have different skills from you.

And Barbara recommends tapping into these different skill sets and working them to your advantage. If you’re a computer whiz who’s not great with people, join forces with someone who is. If you’re a salesperson with the perfect idea but no tech skills, find someone who can fill that critical gap in your knowledge.

“If you’re in school, you should be out interviewing everyone … with an eye toward what they’re good at.”

Don’t forget, of course, your professors. You can rely on them for more mature help or for a more seasoned view on your potential business ideas.

Become Indispensable

Want to get ahead as an entrepreneur? Prep for it at your job by becoming indispensable.

Want to become indispensable? Take away your boss’s stress.

Barbara suggests that, whether you’re working for a team of two or 2,000, you should make your boss’s life easier.

“Make your boss less stressed, and you’ll get promoted,” she says. “It’s as simple as that.”

Valuable employees, successful employees – they always handle the job well, and they never pass the buck up to their boss.

“It’s a great measuring stick,” Barbara says.

 

Learn more about the Digital Entrepreneurship MBA from Strayer University and Cheddar CEO Jon Steinberg.

 

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