Barbara Mooney's Formula for Success is Diligence + Hard Work

Barbara Mooney's Formula for Success is Diligence + Hard Work

Written by: Susan Marquez

Photography by: Abe Draper Photography

Barbara Mooney may have grown up with little, but she is on top of her game these days. As our top producer this month, Barbara is an example of how hard work and tenacity can help anyone reach great heights. Born in Michigan City, Indiana, Barbara’s family moved to Columbus, Mississippi when she was a toddler. “I grew up very poor,” she recalls. “But being poor made me scrappy. I moved out of my parents’ home when I was only 16.”

Barbara moved in with a friend who was 17 and worked two jobs while going to school full time and playing sports. “I waited tables and worked at Auto Zone. God gave me the talent to play ball. If I missed school, I couldn’t play sports, and that wasn’t an option for me, so I stayed in school.” While it was a trying time for her, Barbara learned to manage time and responsibilities.

After high school, Barbara had planned on going to college, but at the time she was managing a shoe store and made good money along with health insurance. “I wondered why I would need to go to college if I already had a good job. I was already making more than both of my parents did combined.” When her shoe store was bought out by PayLess, her salary took a dip, so she went to work for another shoe store. “I was just 18, and they gave me an opportunity to transfer to another city, but I had started dating Tim Mooney, the guy who would be my future husband. Tim worked at the Air Force base in Columbus.”

At the age of 19, Barbara went to work for a law firm, and by the time she was 20, she was working at Sanders Oil. “I worked for them for six years.” While she was at Sanders, she got married to Tim. The couple moved to Pensacola, where she worked in accounting, and then to San Antonio, where she worked in accounts receivable. “They told me I couldn’t go any higher in the company without a college degree, but by the time I left, I was second in charge in the accounting department.”

The couple moved back to Columbus in 2002, and Barbara went back to work for Sanders in the same position she had before she left. She had bought a house in Columbus but had a bad experience with the REALTOR®. “After we got married, my husband and I bought another house and the REALTOR® was great. I began flipping houses. I got a call from the REALTOR® who sold us our home, and I thought she wanted me to do accounting since that’s all I had ever done. I had a 2-year-old son at the time, and I was pregnant with my daughter. The REALTOR® said she thought I’d be good at selling houses, since I was good with numbers, and I knew about real estate from buying and selling houses. She said I could sell houses part-time, so I got my license.”

For seven months, Barbara didn’t sell a thing. “I spent $4,000 to $5,000 of my own money to get my name out there. I decided if I could just sell enough to get my money back, I’d get out.”

One day Barbara ran into a “not very nice” REALTOR® who told her that it wasn’t as easy as she had thought. “She basically

tried to steal my confidence. I was so mad that I went and knocked on 100 doors that very day. I did an open house every weekend for a year. Within two years I was outselling her, so I sent her a thank you note!” For 10 years, Barbara has been among the top five agents and she’s had a healthy competition with a friend and co-worker for the number one spot. “You have to be diligent and work hard to make it in this business. But when you make it, it’s such a good thing!” For the past four years, Barbara has worked on references only. “When people are pleased with the job you do for them, they will tell others. That’s the key to my business.”

The Mooneys moved to Madison five years ago and have a home on Lake Caroline. “We moved here at the beginning of the summer. I didn’t know anyone here, and my kids didn’t know anyone. I took three months off to get to know the area while finishing up on a few closings I had in Columbus.”

Stephanie Williams sold the Mooneys their home. “She’s with McKee Realty, and I told her I was interested in selling for them.” But when Barbara was enrolling her daughter in school, a REALTOR® from another agency saw the REALTOR® tag on Barbara’s car and said “I don’t know you. Who do you sell for?” She told me to call her before I made any decisions and she wrote her name and number on a slip of paper which I stuck in my purse. A few weeks later, I ran

across the paper and called her. She told me to call her office manager, who hap- pened to be a guy I used to call on for re- cruiting. I worked there for nine months but decided it wasn’t a good fit for me, so I called McKee and asked if they’d still take me. I’ve been with McKee for four years now and they are like my family.”

Barbara and Tim Mooney have two chil- dren, son Coen (16) and daughter Kenzie (13). They are active at the Madison Church of Christ. “I also play tennis as often as I can,” says Barbara. “I took up tennis at age 42, and I love it!”