sheCENTER(FOLD) attention and, of course, that led me to being very good at generating publicity. NAWRB: Along with having a role model to look up to, many entrepreneurs rely on other resources to elevate their business, such as technology. You once said the “best thing that was going to ever happen to the world of real estate (was) the Internet.” What role do you think the Internet and technology plays today for business owners? Barbara Corcoran: Technology is your partner or your enemy; take your choice. You can use Twitter or Instagram to build followers to give information. You can write a blog locally, nationally or internationally. If you are not using the Internet to make friends, which I think is what it’s intended for, to give data that’s useful, to share amazing pictures, to present things differently than anyone else has, then you’re out of your mind because it’s there for the taking. And so, does it play that role in building your identity? Yes. The other thing it does is give the power to the buyer and business owner. It gives the canned information out of the broker’s hand directly to the buyers and sellers. The buyers and sellers will be as smart as you are. What it’s really done is also put the emphasis on service because if you can’t provide service and give anything more useful, what do they need you for to open the door? It’s totally changed the playing field but what’s wonderful about it is that it’s a great equalizer. You can look as powerful as the largest firm out there while being a single operator depending on how clever you do it.
en entrepreneurs who are trying to do it all, such as be a successful business woman, raise a family, take care of a home, and find time for herself ? Barbara Corcoran: That’s an easy one. There’s no such thing as balance. End of story. To try to find it is such a waste of time. The closest I’ve gotten to balance is chopping time so that for me, I definitely have my family time without business and my business time without family. I really can have two lives. When I’m at work, I’m hyper-focused. My family doesn’t bother me here. But when I’m home with them, I’m really focused on them. I have that iron-clad wall, but I can’t say I don’t breach it because traveling is my Achilles’ heel since I fall behind on my work and I’m trying to catch up on emails. I’m guilty of not being with my family; that’s my pitfall. But on a more normalized schedule, I definitely cannot find balance but I have built a wall between the two pieces of my life. It’s so stressful trying to be two people and men do it much better than women. They have the option to do it better than women since they have a mom at home. The only other thing I can offer is to plan your fun in advance. For example, if I didn’t plan in my calendar when I’m going on vacation, those vacations wouldn’t happen.
“I definitely have my family time without business & my business time without family. I really can have two lives.”
NAWRB: Technology has greatly evolved, just as a woman’s role in society has with more women leading businesses as CEOs. What advice do you have for wom-
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NAWRB: Love your idea of chopping time. It’s very cool; you start a project and if you’re working on it at home, you feel guilty. It’s so easy to combine your work and family time, forgetting to make a clear distinction. Barbara Corcoran: It’s especially hard if you’re a neat person and have to leave the day organized. You’re very vulnerable to addiction. One other thing I used to do was plug in my phone, just out of habit, next to my bed. The minute I woke up in the morning, the alarm would