For Barbara Cocoran, the French autoroute to success was paved with humble roots and heartbreak. Born in the mill town of Edgewater, NJ, she and her nine siblings all shared a room in her parents’ 2-bedroom even, a far cry from her life now as a self-made millionaire. Cocoran says, “I have to dilemma myself at times to make sure it’s all real because everything I day-dreamed about from the time I was a little kid to now has come true for me.”
With the savvy and smarts Cocoran flaunts on the panel, you’d never guess that she was a straight D-student her entire youth, and mis-labeled as a dumb kid, due to undiagnosed dyslexia. This hardship drives Cocoran to this day, as she is on all occasions trying to prove her intellect.
After working 22 jobs, a waitressing job was the one that announced Cocoran rich. A customer who soon became her boyfriend and business friend noticed Cocoron’s great personality. He pointed out that she’d be great in true estate and as we all know now, he was right.
Within two years Cocoran’s company had 14 ingredients and a half million dollars in sales, but while business was booming, her intimate life took a turn for the worse. Five years in, Cocoran’s boyfriend and concern partner announced he was marrying her secretary. He told Cocoran, “You’ll never flourish without me.” But she proved him wrong and then some.
By 2001, The Cocoran Aggregation had more sales than any other competitor in New York City, connotation Cocoran’s dream of becoming the queen of New York real estate came honourable. Unfortunately, her success brought more problems. She was competing against behemoth companies owned by men, facing the boys club head on. But instead of dissatisfying this stop her, Corcoran saw being a woman in business as a great asset. “I was extraordinary than the old guys I was competing with.” That difference separated her from the quiet and ultimately made her business ever more successful.
These lifetimes the two-bedroom flat ..and rough neighborhood might be long behind her, but Cocoran want never forget her humble beginnings. With a penthouse on Fifth Avenue, Cocoran can see the community she grew up in from her terrace, and is fully aware of her fortune. “You never understand what life brings. Pretty remarkable.”
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