Barbara Corcoran, successful businesswoman and one of the investors on the show “Shark Tank,” has had great success in real estate investing, building an investing wealth empire worth around $100 million.

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Though making millions can seem like a magic trick reserved for only a few, Corcoran is very transparent about her secret to success in this regard, one she called a “shortcut” on a 2023 interview on Rachael Ray’s show, which she offered to anyone hoping to get into real estate investing.

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Reinvention May Be Required

But first, Corcoran pointed out that she has had more than one career, and many of her career strides came later in life.

“I reinvented myself at 55, left real estate, sold my firm and said oh I’ll be good in media, this will be a snap, I’m comfortable on camera,” Corcoran said.

It was not a snap, but rather a time when she had to put in extra work to “get my feet on the ground” and learn about this new business she was entering. It took her about three years to become a real estate media mogul.

She told the audience that it takes one and a half to two years to “get your feet under your body” in real estate, because you have to find customers, learn your listing territory and more. It’s a time-consuming process where you have to seek out all the information you need.

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The Shortcut

There is a shortcut, however, Corcoran promised, and that is to “work for a broker who is phenomenal at what they do — beg, steal, borrow to get that position — for six months, or join a top producing team, because being next to someone who is a superstar, you breathe it in, you get the best training of your life.”

In addition to that, she added, the benefits of working with such a person is that “they always have more business than they can handle, and they hand you their exhaustive business… so your clientele builds up automatically.”

Corcoran absolutely knows what she’s talking about. She started her real estate business, The Corcoran Group, in 1973 with just a meager $1,000 loan. When she sold that business in 2001, it was for $66 million.

Follow Her Other Golden Rule

For people who want a taste of what has made Corcoran a multi-millionaire, you can also follow her “golden rule” of real estate investing, which GOBankingRates has reported on before.

You start by always purchasing property with a minimum down payment of 20 percent. Then, the secret sauce is picking locations where there’s a burgeoning increase in demand.

When you buy these properties, rent them out to get the tenants to pay your mortgage rather than you.

For People Who Want To Help Others Buy and Sell Real Estate

If you want to get into the business of helping others buy and sell real estate, or if you’re a licensed Realtor who may not be able to apprentice themselves to a “superstar” as Corcoran puts it, another option is to “co-list” properties with another agent.

If a newer agent is working with a more experienced person, it’s a great way for the newer agent to get experience and share costs, though you’ll also be splitting the profits. Still, you’ll learn a lot this way from the more experienced agent, possibly more than you would if you did it all by yourself.

Regardless, Corcoran’s message is clear: you’ll have to put in some hard work, but if you brush elbows with people who are already good at what they’re doing, some of that may just rub off on you, too.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Barbara Corcoran: This Is the Shortcut To Success for a Career in Real Estate