Two days from now, on 8/8, MOGG Property turns three.
I deliberately chose 8/8 to launch our business. Anyone who follows spirituality will know about the Lion’s Gate Portal. It’s believed to be a time of courage, alignment, new beginnings and stepping into your purpose. At the time, it just felt right.
Three years ago we started with nothing.
No franchise.
No database.
No office.
No returning clients.
No reviews.
Just Adam and me working from our little home office in Mahogany Drive with a belief that there was another way to do real estate.
But the story really started before that.
I left the fitness industry in 2021 hurt. Physically, mentally and emotionally. It took me 18 months to heal.
During that time, a little seed started growing in my belly.
Maybe I could find my place in real estate.
Not by becoming the loudest agent.
Not by cold calling.
Not by being a nuisance.
Not by becoming the stereotype people often associate with our industry.
I simply wanted to do it my way.
Before I even focused on selling homes, I wanted my community to know who I was.
So I started a petition to get a dog park in Pelican Waters.
I walked 66 kilometres around the suburb collecting 1,400 signatures. Two years later, Pelican Waters had its dog park.
That felt good.
People were beginning to see me the way I hoped they would. Not just as another real estate agent, but as someone who genuinely cared about where we live.
Then came the Sunflower Challenge.
What started in 2023 with Adam, Mum, my beautiful friend Nikki and me packing 3,000 envelopes around our dining table has become something far bigger than I ever imagined.
Inside every envelope was a handful of sunflower seeds and a little flyer introducing myself and sharing what I wanted MOGG Property to stand for.
Adam and I walked every street ourselves delivering those seeds. We funded the entire event, including a $1,000 cash prize, hopefully an incentive for people to want to join in. It was about bringing a community together.
Now, as we prepare for our fourth Sunflower Challenge, we’ll be packing one million sunflower seeds and giving away another $5,000 cash prize, all funded by MOGG Property.
Even more special, the community now wants to be part of it.
My goal was to have 20 volunteers come together in our Golden Beach office to help pack the seeds and that is exactly what’s happening.
From one little seed in my belly to one million sunflower seeds.
Sometimes I have to stop and let that sink in.
People have always been my purpose. It has upset me when people have misunderstood me or judged my intentions because I’ve always cared deeply.
I’ve been told you need thick skin in this industry.
I don’t think that’s entirely true.
I think you need to stay true to yourself, let go of what doesn’t serve you and keep showing up as the person you want to be. I still don’t have thick skin, and I don’t want it if it means becoming someone I’m not.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt is to stop comparing myself to people I don’t want to become.
As for real estate, we’re doing better than I ever imagined.
I don’t feel the need to tell the world what we’ve written or what we’ve achieved. That’s never been my style.
But I can finally say I feel like I’ve earned my place in this incredibly competitive industry.
We have our own office.
An incredible assistant.
And yesterday, a beautiful new agent joined our team.
Rachel changed careers at 40, just like I did. She has experienced hurt, just like I have. She spent years as both a nurse and a wedding planner, two careers built around caring for people.
When Rachel told me she wanted to join us because of the way we do real estate, I felt incredibly proud.
Not because she’d built a successful business and chose ours.
But because she saw exactly what we’ve been trying to build all along.
A business where people come first.
Today, this is me.
A completely unedited selfie after finishing my two Pilates classes.
Yes, I still teach Pilates.
Not because I have to, but because it fills my cup. It keeps me grounded. It reminds me who I am outside of real estate, and that makes me a better person for my clients.
Years ago another local agent described me as “just a house mum having a go.”
I’ve never forgotten those words.
Not because I wanted ammunition to prove them wrong.
Because I wanted to prove myself right.
That I could build a business aligned with my values.
That kindness wasn’t weakness.
That community mattered.
That success doesn’t have to come at the expense of who you are.
So if you’ve trusted me to sell your home, planted a sunflower, signed a petition, shared a post, stopped for a chat at a local cafe or simply followed our journey, thank you.
You have helped grow something I once only imagined.
This is me.
Just Joey.
Your local real estate agent.
A community advocate.
A business owner.
A Pilates instructor.
And after three years, I feel comfortable saying all of those things together.