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 Things.

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

every successful investment I've ever made was a partnership and I'm here to tell you

why partnerships are so effective if you want to build a business.

First, let me tell you my story. I started my business all by myself,

but by the second year I realized very well what I was good at and what I wasn't.

The things that I was good at were all the outside things like marketing, a publicity, and

recruiting, all the things I took that kind of big personality to draw people in and lead a business

But I sure understood that I wasn't very good at some of the other things that were really needed if I was going to grow a business.

Like getting financing, doing legal reviews, handling personnel, these are all the inside jobs

that are key to any business today, but I wasn't very good at them.

That's when I realized I needed a partner, and lucky for me, I found my opposite in Esther Kaplan.

She did all the stuff that I didn't like doing and I did all the stuff

she didn't like doing and together we built a huge business.

I've invested in dozens of businesses that were in partnerships, but I can tell you not what is a big success.

And the reason for that is I'm putting my money all in one basket.

If that one person doesn't have everything and how many of us have

everything. Very few. I'm going to lose my money and that's exactly what happens.

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