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. Today I'm Business Unusual

I'll answer your questions about business motivation life or anything else on your mind

But first here's today's tip the big guy always has the corner on money, but the little guy always has the corner on creativity.

The very first listing I was able to advertise was a small one bedroom on the third floor in the back of the building without any light.

When I opened the New York Times to see what I should advertise, I found that there were over 300 apartments just like it advertising, and I didn't know how the heck I would compete.

So knowing I only had a thousand dollars to start my business and it wasn't going to go very far

I decided to become creative. I went back to the owner of the

building and convinced him to build a small wall that would divide the L of the

living room from the rest of the room. That enabled me to advertise that one bedroom as a one bedroom

and den. And that's exactly what I did. One bedroom and den, $340.

Although there was so many ads in that Sunday's paper,

no one had a den for the same $340.

I rented that apartment right out and used that money to continue advertising a one-bedroom

den as the developer constantly added the walls.

What I didn't have in money I had in creativity and it was a creativity that beat out all

the ads in the paper that day why I got over 200 calls on my little one bedroom

den while all the other competitors were wondering why their phone didn't ring.

When I was lucky enough to get my first condominium project, a whole building of apartments

to sell in the East 50s in Manhattan, I was thrilled. I thought I could

sell anything, but I was wrong. Not a single person I showed the units to made any kind of an offer.

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