Barbara Corcoran’s Most Outdated Piece of Advice (But Can It Still Work?)

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Real estate investor and “Shark Tank” personality Barbara Corcoran is an example of what you can achieve if you work hard, spot opportunities, and pursue them. She has shared valuable advice with people who want to grow their careers.

While a lot of the advice has been spot on, not all of her tidbits are timeless. These are some outdated pieces of advice Corcoran has shared over the years.

Work Long Hours

Corcoran worked long hours build a successful business. Entrepreneurs tend to work more than the average person, especially when their companies are just getting started. However, working that long can lead to fatigue and reduce your average productivity per hour.

While Corcoran’s point about the work-life balance being a fantasy still holds true, overworking can come at the detriment of your company. Finding time to exercise each day and making time for loved ones can ensure that you are more productive when you are working.

Artificial intelligence can make it easier to get the same tasks done in a shorter amount of time. If you work smart, it’s possible to get more done in 40 hours than someone else does in 80 hours. However, people can get closer to 60 to 70 hours per week if they are willing to work on weekends. You don’t even have to maintain a grueling work schedule forever. Some weeks will require significant hours, while you will be less busy in other weeks.

Social Media Is Essential

Corcoran believes you have to be on social media to grow your personal brand, Team Lally reported. She only invests in companies that understand social media, but these platforms aren’t the only path to success. The social media landscape has changed, with AI content dominating many algorithms.

Billion-dollar businesses existed before social media. It always comes down to finding your customers, starting a relationship, and selling products. Social media can help with all three of those things, but you can use other marketing channels like SEO, outreach and local events to reach people. Social media can help any business, but it doesn’t help every business. Some business owners pour hours of time into social media each day and comment on posts for more visibility, but likes and shares don’t translate into sales.

Do More Than Required To Get Hired

Corcoran believes interns should show loyalty to a company and perform additional tasks that go beyond their job description to get hired, according to a TikTok video on her account. Loyalty mattered more in previous generations because it was more valued, but younger workers and employers have increasingly shifted away from this mindset.

More employees realize they can boost their salaries much faster by job hopping. Their employer might give them a 3% raise every few years, but by developing their skillset and applying for jobs, a worker might secure a 50% raise by working with a different company.

Employers also fire workers without any warning, even if it wasn’t their fault. A worker can get fired if they underperform, but the same worker can also get fired if the employer makes a few mistakes or wants to boost their profit margins. They have demonstrated that they won’t hesitate to fire thousands of workers on a whim, regardless of how loyal they were, even if the companies are making billions of dollars in quarterly profits.

Gen Z can insulate their finances by pursuing side hustles instead of putting all of their eggs in one basket. Loyalty is a function of pay, and even then, a company can fire you at any moment, even if it’s unjustified, and you’ll have no say in the matter.

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