Success often depends on finding a way to stand out from the crowd. Barbara Corcoran nailed the creative approach. She took it after her mom.

Corcoran’s mother, Florence, was managing a household with ten children. This difficult task required patience, organization, and the ability to see the best in each child. She helped her children believe in themselves by encouraging them to find and use their talents. This lesson became especially useful for Barbara when she faced challenges in her early career.

While working at the Fort Lee Diner, Barbara was overshadowed by a colleague, Gloria, who attracted customers effortlessly. Young Barbara turned to her wise chancellor—her mother. Instead of using Gloria’s tactics, Florence encouraged Barbara to lean into her own unique, friendly, and cheerful nature. Inspired by this, Barbara decided to win people over with her character and started by wearing red ribbons in her hair. This simple change created a new image that appealed to customers. Very soon, she started attracting customers and became as effective as her colleague Gloria.

Later, Barbara took up a new role in the real estate world. It was an unexpected twist in her life since she met a handsome, wealthy aristocrat, Ramòne Simòne from the Basque Country, who convinced her to move to New York. He helped her settle into a new life and secure a job with the Giffuni Brothers. Soon after, Ramòne gave Barbara $1000 to start her own thing, and she took her chance.

With this limited budget, she had to find an affordable way to attract attention in a competitive market. She realized that traditional advertising was too expensive and ineffective for someone just starting out. Instead of focusing on what she lacked, she found a clever way to present her listings. She told her boss, Mr. Giffuni, that apartment 3K’s living room was just like any other in New York. She suggested adding a wall separating the living room from the dining alcove.

Initially hesitant, Mr. Giffuni agreed and had the wall installed within a week. Barbara wasted no time, placing a simple but strategic ad: "1 BR + DEN $340." Why settle for a standard one-bedroom when you could have a den, too? That Sunday, the calls were non-stop. By Monday, Barbara had rented her first apartment.