HEY THERE,

I’M WENDY

I’m a self-made businesswoman, buyer’s agent and podcast host who loves a glass of bubbles and the thrill of closing a deal.

(not necessarily in that order)

If you’re anything like me, you pivot between forging ahead in your career… to growing your business… to booking that next bucket-list trip. You want it all. Wealth, success and the freedom to live life as you choose… and perhaps an investment portfolio that silently builds in the background. Sound familiar?

Find your purpose they said.

Well, here’s what fires me up…

Helping others get on the property ladder without losing their sanity. — Championing driven women to find purpose in a career that gives them options and the power to take control of their lives. — Redefining the meaning of success in a world that values hustle culture. — Challenging business owners to believe financial prosperity and balance can co-exist … and Proving to aspirational minds you CAN start from 0 and become wildly wealthy.

I believe we all have what it takes to live our best lives and it starts with intentionality.

I can’t wait to show you exactly what I mean…

As a middle-class millennial with nothing to my name but a fierce inner drive, curious mind and a chameleon-like nature, I embraced hustle culture for years to build my career, start my real estate businesses (yes there have been more than one) and grow my wealth from zero to multi-millionaire status through smart investments in property. (you can view my portfolio here)

This is me today… but let’s take it back to 1981 when it all began.

As a young girl, I dreamed of owning my own business and becoming the first millionaire in my family.

Growing up in the small industrial town of Gladstone in regional Queensland Australia marked a humble upbringing with fishing and camping as my staple family holidays … but it soon became apparent that I had bigger plans for my life.

As time would tell, these plans involved moving to the city, building a business, owning 3 houses before I turned 23 (all on my own), and realising my career in real estate was my ticket to financial freedom.

These days, you’ll find me on the Brisbane property circuit, buying luxury homes for busy professionals and oversharing how I built a one-woman business that lets me live my best life.

I wasn’t from money, and I didn’t always have the success I have today —

the real estate business, the high-ticket clients, the 8 figure property portfolio.

In fact, just a decade ago in the aftermath of my separation and consequent loss of the majority of my wealth, I was firing myself from numerous real estate offices because I didn’t fit the culture (or my boss). It was fast becoming obvious that I was “unemployable” which meant I needed to start my own business … for the third time.

My story isn’t your typical girl starts business - girl gets rich success story.

But it’s one with a few twists and turns you might just relate to.

Growing up in middle-class Australia with immigrant parents, it was clear to me from a young age that if I wanted to have financial security and the finer things in life, I needed to work for them myself. No one was giving me anything - nor did I expect it. Thankfully, I’ve always had a natural inner drive and determination, and it came as no surprise when I opened my first independent real estate office at 23 years of age, becoming one of the youngest Principal Licensees in the game - just six years after I started my career on the reception desk.

Fast-forward another 7 years and everything had changed …

By the time I was 30, I was in the midst of a painful separation and had been diagnosed with clinical depression. What felt like the entire life I had worked so hard to create, had fallen apart around me. I had it all - the dream home, my convertible sports car, two fur baby pugs, a successful business and a property portfolio to be envied. But then, in the blink of an eye, it was all gone and I was forced to start over. Ironically, it had been my decision to end that chapter of my life but it didn’t make it any less painful. My late 20’s / early 30’s marked my rock-bottom era and what kept me going were my pugs, my real estate career, and that inner drive that is still with me today.

My career has been my driving purpose and quite possibly saved my life.

I know. That’s a bold statement to make. But the honest truth is this… Prioritising my professional skillset in my early twenties gave me the confidence and strength to move forward as an independent woman, and in 2015, I re-built a new business, trademarked my personal brand WENDYRUSSELL® and became the very first solo female buyer’s agent in Brisbane, Queensland.

It’s deep, but I believe my new business saved me. In the years to come, my buyer’s advocacy opened me up to a world of possibilities as I established tribe-like friendships with like-minded professionals, met my now husband Ben, and reached income milestones I never imagined were possible for a solopreneur, (let alone a girl from middle-class). The prior years of dedication, learnings, set-backs and hardships had ultimately set me up for the success I knew I deserved, and this realisation became the driver to share my story and inspire others who are on a similar path to finding their purpose and perhaps their 2.0 era of life.

Some of my fondest memories and career highlights.

That time I was on the news with The ABC.

One of my biggest auctions to date was representing a high-profile CEO on a $5.5M home purchase.

Lunching with clients who flew in to view their property portfolio.

Ben and I finally tied the knot after 9 years and married on September 6, 2023 on Hayman Island in the Whitsundays, Australia.

17 year old me in my first real estate role as a receptionist.

With my brother, sister and our dad at our childhood holiday spot (Burrum Heads Queensland).

The day our beautiful foster-fail Lex officially became our good boy.

New here? Let’s dive deeper.

The Events That Led Me To Start My Buyer’s Agency Business