从女招待到地产女王

    2009年，我收到马克伯内特制作公司（Mark Burnett Productions）打来的电话，问我是否有兴趣成为《创智赢家》的一名投资人。我毫不犹豫便签署了期权协议。我给马克•伯内特发去了邮件，告诉他应该让我参加一次试镜。他同意了，于是我被录用了。后来他告诉我，我是唯一发邮件告诉他自己有兴趣参加节目的嘉宾。

    总是有人问我，怎样才能成为一名优秀的创业者。我很好奇如今都是哪些人在美国创业。于是，我们推出了“柯克兰创业报告”（Corcoran Entrepreneur Report）。2012年的报告显示，之前一年创业的所有人当中，有67%是美国移民。目前，38%的创业者没有高中毕业，这也引起了关于重视MBA的问题。

    我认为，商业计划书的作用被高估了。到今天为止，我也没有读过一份财务报告。你最好能在自己脑海中规划出自己想要什么。一半靠规划，另一半则靠临场应变。因为一切都在不断变化之中。所以把自己想要的东西形象化，并始终保持为梦想而奋斗的动力。

我的建议

    拥有抓住机会的勇气。第一次遇见唐纳德•特朗普（美国投资人，真人秀《学徒》主持人——译注）时，我准备了一份名为《纽约市十大公寓楼调查》（Top 10 Condominium Survey in New York）的报告，其中他的大楼几乎垫底。他非常不满，但我很快就想出一个解决方案。我们可以不看一个房间的出售价格、出售的方式等等，而是可以计算每平方英尺的价格，这样就能让他位居榜首。于是，他成了我的头号拥趸。

    不要让拒绝阻碍你前进的脚步。我花了71,000美元录制了所有挂牌房产的视频。但我的销售员却不愿意播放这些录像带，因为他们担心买家会将这些录像带转给其他经纪公司，这样他们就会丢掉业务。于是，我把录像发布在Corcoran.com上，结果一个礼拜之内就产生了第一笔在线销售。我从另外一个角度，打开了一个更大的市场。

    保护公司的乐观情绪。一旦我发现经常抱怨的员工，肯定要把他辞退，不论他能给公司赚多少钱，因为消极情绪会扼杀乐观的氛围和对未来的信心。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    In 2009 I got a call from Mark Burnett Productions, asking if I'd be interested in being one of the investors on Shark Tank. I signed the option agreement without even reading it. I e-mailed Mark Burnett and told him he should fly me out for a tryout. He did, and I was hired. Later he told me I was the only shark who e-mailed him about their interest in being on the show.

    I'm always asked what makes a great entrepreneur, and I was curious about who's starting businesses in America today. So we did the Corcoran Entrepreneur Report, which shows that in 2012, 67% of all people starting a business during the preceding year were immigrants. Thirty-eight percent of those starting a business today didn't graduate from high school, which begs the question of the emphasis put on MBAs.

    I think business plans are overrated. To this day I can't read a financial report. You're better off having a picture of what you want in your head. Half of business is planning, and half is reacting. It's always changing. So visualize what you want and stay motivated by your dream.

My advice

    Have the courage to seize opportunity. The first time I met Donald Trump, I'd produced a report called the Top 10 Condominium Survey in New York, and his building was near the bottom. He was so upset. I quickly thought up a solution. Instead of looking at what a room would sell for, the way it was done then, we could calculate price per square foot, which would put him on top. He became my biggest advocate.

    Don't let rejection stop you. I spent $71,000 to videotape all our listings. My salespeople wouldn't show the tapes for fear a buyer would take them to another broker, and they'd lose the sale. So I posted the tapes on Corcoran.com, and we had our first online sale within a week. I'd stepped into the next big thing by trying another angle.

    Protect the optimism of your firm. The minute I spotted a chronic complainer, I'd fire them. I didn't care how much money they brought in because negativity kills optimism and belief in the future.