I was in my 30s when the family moved to the suburbs. It was an easy decision for the kids and me, less so for my husband, Zet. I knew that it would lead to other changes, some intended, others unintended.
Our new home wasn’t the dream home, but it was in a lovely area and closer to schools. Who wouldn’t want a shorter school run? And the kids were happy. Happy kids; happy mom.
Of course, the home also meant larger financial obligations, but we managed. Although I wasn’t teaching at the time, I was doing well selling Golden products—another huge learning experience that has helped me enormously in the real estate business.
But number one on the unintended consequence list was that I began to see how the property sales commission system worked, and I wanted in.
However, it is one thing to want to be a real estate agent; it is quite another to secure a position at the agency. I am not lying when I say I made hundreds of phone calls.
The results were disappointing. I contacted many companies but had no offers initially. Perhaps these agencies thought my apparent experience was a deal-breaker. But experience seemed less so for others. Of course, at the time, I also thought it was because I was black and a woman. However, I also realised that the real estate business operates differently and that they may have thought I wouldn’t have the necessary contacts to attract sellers. But they were wrong. I soon built my business based on happy clients and their referrals.
Once I had a foot in the door, I worked hard, very hard. I made sure I presented well. I learnt the real estate agency business from the ground up, working with those who had been doing it for years. I wanted to learn it all – from how to set up show house boards, welcome visitors to the show house, respond to questions, to say goodbye when visitors left the home. When new stock came in, I would make a point of visiting it first. Consequently, my client base grew faster. I contacted everyone I knew to tell them that I was selling property.
Within six months, I was the top agent in my office, selling more than six houses per week when interest rates were about 24%. Agencies began looking for their “Xoliswa”. Even getting pregnant didn’t stop me. I worked harder until a week before I delivered Yonelani, my youngest.
So, what did the future have in store for me? No prizes for guessing this one. Three years later, I started Xoliswa Tini Properties.
