Lori Greiner - A Consistent Rise to The Top

Tony Robbins, renowned motivational speaker and six-time international best-selling author, often tells his audiences, “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.” 

For many, consistency suggests a lack of spontaneity and imagination. And regarding work, some may think of it as plugging away at the daily grind.  But for Robbins and others, consistency is viewed an art unto itself, a virtue envied by others, and a business strategy that can yield great return. 

Enter Lori Greiner, inventor and entrepreneur.

In the 20 years that Greiner has been part of mainstream media — both as product creator and host on the QVC-TV shopping network, and as a featured Shark on ABC’s Friday primetime hit, “Shark Tank,”— she has personified consistency.

Let’s start with her public image.

Most introductions of Greiner start the same as the Wall Street Journal did when they called her, “One of the most prolific inventors of our time.” Whether in print, online, or on TV, only a slight intro variation is noted that qualifies her inventions as retail products. That said, what usually follows are her stats — over 500 product creations and 120 domestic and international patents combined.

Tracking Greiner’s media coverage over the years, one notices that her numbers consistently climb, and that there’s no signs of stopping.

Another constant in most any press or video clip are the two monikers that define Greiner: “Queen of QVC,” and her trademarked, “The Warm Blooded Shark.” The first speaks to her longevity and success on the cable network with her own show, “Clever & Unique Creations by Lori Greiner.” And the latter to her Friday night gig alongside her fellow “Shark Tank” stars, including the blunt but somehow loveable Kevin O’Leary, the saucy and sarcastic Barbara Corcoran, the impatient business maverick, Mark Cuban, the impeccably dressed technology expert, Robert Herjavec, and the hip fashion pioneer, Daymond John.

During negotiations with entrepreneurs seeking an investment from Greiner on the show, she is empathetic and non-confrontational, yet, when she turns down a counter offer, it’s clear that “no” means “no.” Viewers sometimes get the feeling that the jilted contestants still want to give Greiner a parting hug on their way out of the Tank.


Long before Greiner became a household name, she lived by unwavering philosophies that she created and still adheres to today. In fact, one has turned into her signature catchphrase.

“It just came to me when I was sitting in the Shark Tank one day, and said, ‘I can tell instantly if it’s going to be a hero or a zero,” Greiner recalled during a 2016 interview with “SUCCESS” magazine as part of their “SUCCESS Talks” series.


The “it” she refers to is a new product or service; a hero is something she thinks will work, and a zero, well, it speaks for itself. While she described this ability as part of her “innate instinct,” she also relies on a set of criteria she defined to make her determination.


Just as she consistently relies on her gut instinct and a checklist when evaluating a product, Greiner also does so when sizing up an entrepreneur.


She told SUCCESS, “I’ve learned over all these years, that no matter how great a product is or a business is, if I don’t like the people that come with it, it’s not worth it. So, product first, people second, but it’s a 50-50 thing, I have to like both.”


A simple Google search of “hero or a zero” or “Lori Greiner” leads one to countless interviews with Greiner featured on prominent business media platforms sharing those hot buttons characteristics she looks for in products and inventors; the search also leads to smaller entrepreneurial focused blogs simply recapping the guidance Greiner offers in her 2014 book, “Invent It, Sell It, Bank It.”


Over recent years, with a confident style and consistent strategy, Greiner’s own company, For Your Ease Only, of which she serves as CEO and president, has grown and so has her popularity with close to three million followers on Facebook and over 1.5 million on Twitter. And, let’s not overlook her impact on the businesses and lives of the entrepreneurs she has invested with on “Shark Tank,” and ultimately on the purchasing decisions of consumers. According to her website, a collective $490 million in retail sales is attributed to her deals on the show.


From the outside looking in, it appears that every part of Greiner’s public persona and business strategy, practices, and processes scream of consistency – it’s a way of life that has paid off big for her, and those she brings into her winner’s circle.


And perhaps underneath it all is Greiner’s consistent can-do attitude, which she says is a motivation that comes from within. “I’ve always believed that if I tried hard enough, I could make anything happen...I believe that for anybody,” she told SUCCESS, adding that for many of her product ideas she was told, it couldn’t be done. “There are many products that I have created that I was told, ‘Absolutely not, this cannot happen, we cannot make it, we cannot figure it out.’ And I kept pushing and saying, ‘There has to be a way, we will.’ And we did.”

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