MAIN IMAGE: Potso Mabulela, estate agent Just Property Montana.
From packets of sweets to suites of rooms, selling has always been in her blood but now Potso Mabusela has found where she belongs.
Montana is a suburb in northeast Tshwane, close to the rolling hills of the Magaliesberg. Once made up of semi-rural smallholdings, the properties here are still large with cultivated gardens.
Just a few months ago, a whirlwind blew into Montana by the name of Potso Mabusela who in her first seven months in real estate sold 10 homes.
Growing up in Temba, Hammanskraal, with her parents and a sister, Potso dreamed of being an actress and loved to dance. She also loved to sell. Her father, Poelo Mabusela, owned a supermarket and the young Potso quickly showed she had inherited his business skills, doing her first deals (selling sweets) at primary school. Later, she spent her weekends and holidays working in his shop.
“I have been selling my whole life!” laughs the 34-year-old. “My late father was my role model – the wisdom and brilliance of that man still amaze me to this day, but he was a loving father before all else.
Interest in real estate
“My interest in real estate was sparked by watching those American reality shows where they sell houses. One day I had my ‘aha!’ moment and realised that that was what I wanted to do for a living: sell homes and make people’s dreams come true.”
Potso talked about it so much that her best friend called her one day to say she’d found an institute offering a real estate course. “I grabbed the opportunity and five years later Just Property Montana gave me a chance,” says the mother of two.
“I’ve been in the industry for seven months and I must say I’m having the time of my life! The support from my boss and managers is amazing, and the behind-the-scenes people – they are the backbone of the company. The people I work with are like family. I’ve never felt so welcomed in a working space as I do here in Montana. I’m home.”
“What really stands out about Potso, is that she wants to use property as a tool to empower women to become independent. South Africa needs this,” says Kirby Engelbrecht, owner of the Just Property Montana franchise.
#Empoweringwomen
Wealth creation for women underlines the aspect of the industry that is Potso’s real passion. Most of her clients are women, often single mothers or young women starting out in their careers. The fact that she also loves meeting new people shows how perfectly Potso is suited to this field: “I get to bond with them and talk about challenges we women face or they are facing; we talk about their backgrounds and I tell them that the number-one rule for a woman is to be financially independent, to build your own wealth.
“My dream as an agent is to see people investing in property more, learning financial literacy, making their money work for them.” When you hear Potso talk about her investment advice, it’s not surprising to learn that she has her diploma in education. But education’s loss is clearly the property industry’s gain.
“I use the hashtags #girlswithtitledeeds #girlswithproperties #girlinvestors to say to women out there ‘yes, it’s possible! You can own properties with or without a man. Stand up and make yourself proud. YOU CAN DO IT!’ Potso revels in the power she has as a real estate agent to change her clients’ lives by setting them on that journey and finding the perfect home for them.
“I’m there for them, listening to their story, dreams and aspirations, guiding them through what could be a stressful process, and seeing their faces when it all becomes real… Nothing can compare to that. The feeling is out of this world.
“I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to do what I love every day of my life,” she concludes.
