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Barbara Corcoran of ABC’s Shark Tank has built her empire from scratch, using good ‘ol hard work and street smarts as her main ingredients in her recipe for success. The millionaire investor has previously revealed some parts of her daily routine, including how she gets revved up before a long day on the set of the hit reality show.

Barbara Corcoran | Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Early riser

Corcoran knows how to start her morning off right. Rather than rushing to the coffee maker, the reality star heads to a different part of her home. “I get up at 6:30 and fill myself a really hot bath,” she revealed to The Cut. “Then I make my daughter breakfast, pack her lunch for school, and make sure her bag is at the door. She has to get out for school at quarter to 8.”

The millionaire investor dines with her daughter for her early morning meal. “Whatever breakfast I’m cooking for Kate, I eat too,” Corcoran said. “I can’t say we’re the healthiest eaters. I either make pancakes and bacon or scrambled eggs and toast.”

The real estate mogul also manages to work in some alone time and a workout before heading out for the day. “I have one hour and 15 minutes to get her [Kate] fed, packed, and out the door and then I get my precious ten minutes,” Corcoran shared. “I have a rope swing in my kitchen, and I sit there in the morning light from 7:45 to 8:05 a.m. and have my cup of coffee. That’s the best part of my morning. Then my trainer Margaret walks in the door — thank God, or I would never work out. We do the mat downstairs for an hour, and then I throw my clothes on and walk over four blocks to the office.”

Morning motivation

Though Corcoran resides in New York City, she flies to Los Angeles to film Shark Tank four weeks out of the year. “We go for two weeks in June and two weeks in September, and we get it all in the can. It’s a long day,” she said. “It’s very hard work, but when you consider how well we’re all paid and how little taping we do to get a year of great showmanship, we have no right to complain.”

While the real estate mogul isn’t against the glamour treatment, Corcoran revealed someone on the Shark Tank panel is pickier than she is when it comes to making sure every hair is in place. “I get picked up at 5:30 a.m. The men get picked up at 6:30 a.m.,” she shared. “But my hair is shorter than most of the men, so I’ve argued against that, like ‘Come on, my hair is easier than Robert Herjavec’s!’ Robert’s so fussy with his hair. I can get up at 6:30!”

The Shark Tank star turns to one of today’s hottest rappers to get her pumped for a day of filming. “Before hair and makeup starts, I always have my boom box and I play Nicki Minaj,” Corcoran revealed. “For whatever reason, she gets my blood going, so I play her loud in my trailer and get ready with Tommy, my stylist. And then we’re on set at 9.”

A day in the tank

Since filming is condensed into four weeks, shooting days go long with few breaks and include hearing from various entrepreneurs hoping to make a deal. “Typically, we hear ten to 12 pitches a day. They’re anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes,” Corcoran said. “It’s amazing the editing job they do. We get 45 minutes for lunch, then we get a half hour to touch up makeup and hair, but other than that, they don’t let us leave our seats. They ask us not to go to the bathroom if we can hold it. I’m good at that.”

After filming wraps, Corcoran does her best to unwind. “Once the day is over, we are headed home at roughly 7:30, 8 o’clock at night. When I get back to the Beverly Hills Hotel I take a hot bath and then I have a masseuse come and give me a massage,” she said. “I’m either snoring within a minute or I will not sleep because I’m too wired.”

Throughout each pitch, Corcoran is very careful when considering an investment. “You’re spending your own real money, and I value money, because I know how hard I’ve worked for every buck I’ve ever made,” she said. “When you say to an entrepreneur, ‘I’ll give you $200,000,’ it’s not just a line. Two-hundred thousand dollars would put a kid through Ivy League school for four years. Would I rather put a kid through an Ivy League school, which is a kind of charity I do for myself, or would I rather give it to this entrepreneur? Are they worthy? So, I think long and hard about that.”

Watch ABC’s Shark Tank on Sunday nights!

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