Goodwin Commercial CEO Pam Goodwin’s Christmas gift to herself: a private two-hour consultation with Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran in NYC. (If you don’t watch the show, she’s a real estate mogul who turned a $1,000 loan into a real estate empire worth hundreds of millions.) Pam requested the consultation to talk about her upcoming book called Guts, Ruts and Shortcuts--My Journey From Selling One Cent Lemonade to Million Dollar Deals, her commercial real estate business, and a new teen sports shampoo product. Barbara’s first piece of advice: abandon the shampoo and focus on real estate.

Key talking points from the experience: be the king of queens in regard to competing against the big guys, Pam says. (Though wearing an actual, physical crown is frowned upon.) Having the confidence to take on projects instead of thinking you need to bring a bigger company to be involved. The big guys usually have the corner on money, but remember the little guy always has the corner on creativity, she says. If you can position yourself as an expert in your marketplace early on, you'll get the leg up on all of your competitors right away.

When it comes to investing money, Barbara’s most important criteria: trust in the individual and recognizing a fire in their belly to bring the business to the finish line. Pam walked away with Barbara requesting a business plan to pitch to potential investors. She also matched Pam with one of her Shark Tank businesses based in California. Pam is now helping them with their restaurant expansion plans. (We have another Shark Tank story in our Tech Bisnow edition today. Check it out!)