Lessons From Barbara Corcoran, Suze Orman and Other Women Who Beat the Odds
What does it take to succeed when you’re the only woman in the room?
For Barbara Corcoran, it meant refusing to play by everyone else’s rules. For Suze Orman, it meant proving she could succeed in finance when the people around her didn’t believe she belonged. And for Andrea Miele, it was building something they can’t ignore.
These five women built businesses and careers in industries where men traditionally held most of the power. Their experiences offer valuable lessons for anyone trying to build something of their own.
Barbara Corcoran: Stop Trying to Fit In
When Barbara Corcoran started her real estate business in New York City, she didn’t have the money or connections of her competitors.
But she wasn’t interested in becoming one of them.
“I never thought of myself as a girl — I thought of myself as a competitor,” Corcoran told me in an earlier interview.
She built The Corcoran Group into one of New York’s best-known real estate businesses before selling it for $66 million in 2001.
Rather than copying established competitors, Corcoran used creative marketing, relationships, and her understanding of the market to stand out.
Her experience offers an important lesson: Don’t spend so much time trying to fit in that you overlook what makes you different.
Sometimes your biggest advantage is the perspective nobody else brings.
Andrea Miele: Build Something They Can’t Ignore
“Being the only woman in the room while building Beezie has become the norm, not the exception,” Andrea Miele told me.
As founder and CEO of Beezie, Andrea Miele operates in blockchain, collectibles, and digital commerce, industries where women founders remain underrepresented.
She’s also a mother of three who established a career before entering the Web3 industry.
“I don’t think like everyone else in the room, and I don’t want to,” she said.
Miele has learned that convincing skeptics isn’t always worth the effort.
“I’ve learned not to waste energy trying to convince everyone that I belong in the room,” she said. “I’d rather build something they can’t ignore.”
That advice stood out to me because entrepreneurs can spend years trying to prove themselves to people who may never understand what they’re building.
Miele also emphasizes the importance of relationships.
“Surround yourself with exceptional people. Find mentors, build relationships, and seek out allies, both men and women, but especially other women who understand the challenges you’re navigating,” she said.
And she encourages women to ask directly for opportunities.
“Ask for the meeting, the opportunity, the investment, the seat at the table.”
Her message is simple: Don’t wait for someone else to decide you’re ready.
Suze Orman: Don’t Let Others Define Your Potential
Before Suze Orman became a bestselling author and one of America’s most recognizable financial experts, she worked as a waitress.
In 1980, she joined Merrill Lynch in Oakland, California, despite having no experience in finance.
When I interviewed Orman, she told me she had been hired to fill a women’s quota and was warned she wouldn’t last six months.
“Nobody ever told me that I belonged there,” she said.
But Orman learned the business and eventually built a career as a financial adviser, television host and entrepreneur.
What struck me during our conversation was her emphasis on honesty, particularly when it comes to money.
She built her reputation on encouraging people to confront financial realities, even when the truth was uncomfortable.
Her experience offers two lessons: Don’t let someone else’s expectations determine your future, and never underestimate the value of telling people the truth.
Sara Blakely: Get Comfortable With Rejection
Sara Blakely didn’t have experience in fashion or manufacturing when she developed the idea for Spanx.
She had $5,000 in savings and a product she believed women would want.
But getting manufacturers to take her seriously wasn’t easy.
She faced repeated rejection before finding someone willing to make her product.
Blakely has credited part of her willingness to take risks to something her father taught her growing up.
In a CBS News interview, she described how he encouraged his children to talk about their failures.
Instead of treating failure as something embarrassing, she learned to see it as part of trying something new.
I’ve seen promising ideas stall because people become discouraged after an unsuccessful pitch or meeting.
Blakely’s experience is a reminder that rejection doesn’t always mean an idea isn’t worth pursuing.
Sometimes it means you haven’t found the right person willing to take a chance.
Whitney Wolfe Herd: Don’t Be Afraid to Change the Rules
Whitney Wolfe Herd helped launch Tinder before founding Bumble in 2014.
Her idea challenged traditional dating-app dynamics by giving women more control over initiating conversations.
In 2021, at age 31, she became the youngest woman at the time to take a company public in the United States.
But success didn’t protect her from criticism.
In a TIME interview, Wolfe Herd discussed the scrutiny female founders face and what it means for younger women watching them.
She returned as Bumble’s CEO in March 2025 as the company faced business challenges.
Her experience illustrates something important: Challenging an industry doesn’t guarantee an easy path.
But recognizing what isn’t working and having the confidence to do something different can create opportunities.
The Biggest Lesson: Stop Waiting for Permission
These five women didn’t follow the same path.
Corcoran used her differences to compete. Miele focused on results instead of approval. Orman refused to accept other people’s expectations. Blakely learned to embrace rejection. Wolfe Herd challenged established conventions.
Their experiences offer something worth remembering for anyone who has ever felt outnumbered in business.
You don’t need everyone in the room to believe in you before you begin.
Sometimes you have to build something that changes their minds.
