Short Red Skirt and High Heeled Shoes: The Woman Advantage

Anne Perschel — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:55:52 +0000

The Woman Advantage

I was driving…

and barely listening to the radio, when this came through the speakers.

” … just a thousand dollars to start you business. Where did that money come from?”

“I slept with my boyfriend and he gave me a thousand dollars. But let me tell ya, I woulda slept with him anyway. He was so handsome, 10 years older than me, so sexy. He didn’t have to give me the money, but once it was there, boy I grabbed it.”

Well, that got my attention.

Barbara Corcoran turned that thousand dollars into a six billion dollar real estate empire. I was listening to her interview on American Public Media radio. Barbara is probably more well-known for her role as a judge on Shark Tank, a reality TV show in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas.

I’ve never watched the show, but I do pay attention to all things women and business. So I listened intently as this brazen woman continued to share her perception of the not-so-secret secrets to her success. She is a savvy business woman, who interestingly cannot read a financial statement, but has much to say that is worth a listen, for men and women alike, but

Here’s what really intrigued me

Barbara Corcoran does not whine, moan, or complain about being the only female at the table. She turns it into the woman advantage instead. That’s different. I like different. I like it when people’s ideas challenge my underlying assumptions about the world. So I was having my thoughts turned all upside down and sideways, while driving.

Barbara talked about the woman advantage of being the only female in the network of old boys who control New York City’s real estate. This onlyness meant she could also differentiate herself by wearing a skirt, and so she did. She chose to make it a short skirt, a red one, a power skirt, with high heels adorning her very shapely legs. Why?

It was the woman

“advantage. They didn’t even have to know my name; I was just the “woman” or the “girl” or the “one in the short skirt.” Who cares? As long as I was noticed. I already got my undue attention that those guys in the most expensive $5,000 suits could never get.”