Meet Soweto’s queen of real estate
Mogodi’s business grows to six branches
For Matseleng Mogodi, being queen of the Soweto real estate industry is no easy feat.
Since 1997, the 51-year-old businesswoman has gone through trials and tribulations but her real estate firm Snooks Estates has stood the test of time.
“My father was in property development and construction called Snooks Construction. At the time, I was a maths and science teacher in Protea North [in Soweto]. I started to yearn for something more to do so I worked for my father part time after school,” said Mogodi.
The mother of three sat down with Sowetan ahead of International Women’s Day which is marked today. She said the start of her real estate journey came when previous clients from her father’s company would ask for help in selling their homes.
The sentimental name of the business is from her maiden surname Senokoanyane, with everyone in her family calling each other Snooks.
“The idea of real estate was initially not there but through being involved and working hard, the opportunity to start a real estate company presented itself through previous clients coming back to want to sell, or bringing other people to buy.
“I then went in to learn about real estate to get qualified and the business was born,” she said.
Today, Snooks Estates has six branches in Soweto, Joburg South and the West Rand. Four are headed by women.
The real estate tycoon would love to see the young people in her business continue to thrive.
“Snooks Estates has great women who have contributed largely to the operations of the branches, but there is also a great opportunity for the young men showing enthusiasm in the company and the brand. When someone loves the brand, they love the company and see how helping the company grow, helps them in their own personal visions too.”
Mogodi said when she started her company, there was only one male-owned real estate company in her area.
“Learning everything and reinventing the wheel took a lot from me but also gave me a lot of wisdom.”
She said one of her challenges has been managing her mothering instinct in professional settings.
“As a woman, my biggest weakness has been to mother people and try too hard to help.
“I crossed the business line, therefore as a woman it is important to never cross this line.
“If you choose to mother, then you have killed your business; go home or change,” she said
Rejection was one of the painful experiences Mogodi went through as a young woman in the business but said a good sense of self can help one to deal with it.
“Nothing beats educating yourself, having an innate desire to serve people, caring for people, being resilient because there is a lot of rejection, backstabbing, pain, therefore trusting in your own abilities is key.”
In 2001, she decided to go to Wits Business School to study towards a postgraduate degree in business administration.
“That year exposed me to a different world of knowledge, drive, diversity and a lot that I may not have been exposed to
had I just continued as usual in my small office. It also almost tempted me to be permanently employed because I got offered a job at an investment bank.
“I would have stayed but my life was in my small company, a challenge I chose and a challenge that sent me to do a postgrad in the first place.”
One of her biggest achievements was being the cofounder and chair of the Black Estate Agents Forum South Africa organisation in 2008 after realising the challenges black business people faced entering the industry.
“The intention was to build our real estate firms in the townships and leverage our collective skills, so that we could support each other and speak with one voice.
“We achieved the recognition we wanted in the property sector as a whole but failed to change the real estate scene, so that it worked and grew our businesses.”
She said there are very few black people in the industry compared to the overall population.
“The statistics are grim for black estate agents. In 2020, there were only 6,000 black estate agents, 4,000 Indians and coloureds, and 28,171 whites.
“Of these numbers, a small percentage of black estate agents have full qualifications,” Mogodi said.
Although her business and the sector had been stretched by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mogodi said it has allowed for a lot of innovation.
‘‘ Snooks has great women contributing to its growth