Shark Tank Star Barbara Corcoran Reveals One Thing She Would’ve Done Differently
Barbara Corcoran of ABC’s Shark Tank is known as a real estate icon. Building her business from the ground up, the mother of two hit pay dirt when she sold her company for $66 million after starting it from a $1,000 loan.
Now a full-fledged reality star, Corcoran has clearly succeeded in many areas of her life. Yet she does have one thing she would change.
Barbara Corcoran comments on the idea of ‘having it all’
With a son Tom, 26, and daughter Katie, 15, Corcoran sees the dilemma many working moms face with striking a balance.
“You can have it all, but I don’t believe it’s possible to build a huge business and at the same time be a doting mother without the guilt and with the satisfaction of raising the child,” Corcoran said in 2018, according to Business Insider. “I’m the most organized person I’ve ever met and, if I couldn’t do it, I’m wondering who could do it.”
Married to husband Bill Higgins since 1988, the Shark Tank star prioritized her career in her earlier years.
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“I had, from 22 to 46, to hyperfocus on building one thing, not a family, but my business,” Corcoran explained. “I worked like an animal, 24-7, long hours. Nothing interfered with my thoughts of where I wanted to go.”
‘Shark Tank’ star says work/life balance ‘doesn’t exist’
When Corcoran welcomed her first child at the age of 46, she found the responsibilities of motherhood were conflicting with her business.
“All my top salespeople [at the Corcoran Group] were nut jobs and I was their mother and their shrink,” she told The Cut in 2018. “They needed me constantly. The moment I had my son, I realized I couldn’t be the best at both.”
With many working parents often in search of that perfect work-life balance, the real estate mogul found more peace when she gave up on the idea.
“It just doesn’t exist,” Corcoran said, according to CNBC. “I searched for it for the first 40 years of my life and then gave up — and I’m a lot happier for it.”
If Barbara Corcoran could turn back the clock …
When asked if there was anything in her life that she would change, the millionaire investor apparently opted for an earlier start in motherhood.
“I would’ve had a baby sooner,” Corcoran told Kiplinger in 2015. “I had my first child at age 46. Becoming a mother is the most satisfying work I’ve done.”
The Shark Tank panelist finds that parenting often overshadows work-related responsibilities, where soon one priority will win out over another.
“If you’re a mom, you’re a mom 150%,” Corcoran remarked. “If you’re a mom and you have a business that you’re serious about, it’s the same thing. Something eventually has to give and it will most likely be you. You’ll always feel like you’re on ‘E.’”
Now thriving in her role on Shark Tank and managing a packed schedule of television and speaking appearances, Corcoran is still trying to find that balance.
“It’s much harder,” she revealed to The Cut. “Here I am again, in business for myself and even worse, being the talent — so I’m the salesman and the manager, and I have a young daughter. I never feel like I’m doing enough for her. I second-guess myself every day of the week.”
Season 12 of Shark Tank premieres on October 16!
