If you're going to build something from nothing, you've got to know what really works.

I took a thousand dollar loan and built a five billion dollar business, and now I make smart investments in new businesses on Shark Tank. This is Barbara

Corcoran and you're listening to Business Unusual presented by On Deck Business Loans.

This week on Business Unusual I'm going to be answering all of the

great questions you guys keep sending me in on business life how to move forward

how to jump over obstacles come on I'm good at it and I want to share my advice. But first

we recently celebrated small business on small business Saturday and today we're going to talk about why you must grow your business. There's no such thing as staying small.

If your business is up and running and relatively successful,

there always comes a time when you're faced with an important decision to make.

I like what I'm doing. Is it smarter to stay small as I am or must I go big?

I came to the same crossroads when I was building my business and I

thought long and hard about which way was better to go. I had a dream on the very

first day of opening my business that I was going to be the

Queen of New York real estate and a long gown with everybody waiting in line to kiss my

ring much like I had seen on TV with my very Catholic mother watching the Pope get his ring kissed.

And I decided I was going to be the Queen of New York real estate.

I had no idea what that would involve or how big a business I would have to build to accomplish that.

But I came to a crossroad one day sitting in the office with my business partner Esther we were

thinking about opening a third office and everything in my bone said don't do it

because I love the business we had built, we had two offices that we managed,

we knew everything about the individuals we worked with and I love them dearly.

The things I loved about staying small indeed was the coziness, the friendly environment, having more

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