In this Forward One podcast episode, hosts Paul Mark Morris and Josh Spitzen interview real estate broker Rod Watson about how an infomercial course launched his career while he was coaching college basketball, leading him to study real estate terminology and eventually leave coaching and later a six-figure job at Porsche to build a family business. Watson explains starting as an investor, then getting licensed and building expertise during the 2007–2008 short sale/REO era, where he learned patience, negotiation, and title complexity, often waiting 9–12 months to close. He describes generating business through letter writing to a car-sales client base, doing 18–20 annual deals in Texas, and later leading Bank of America’s cooperative short sale work in Southern California. Watson shares his current boutique brokerage, service-first approach, niche in sports/entertainment clients, expansion plans in downtown San Diego, database-focused AI assistant “Ace,” and routines and principles centered on family, health, impact, and playing the long game.

* Rod Watson*
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rodwatson23/
Website: https://www.zillow.com/profile/RodWatson

*More from Paul & Josh*
Paul: https://www.instagram.com/paulmarkmorris/
Josh: https://www.instagram.com/spitzenjosh/
Forward One Media: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonemedia/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forwardonepodcast

*Presented by Forward One Real Estate*
https://www.,forwardone.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonerealestate/

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Welcome and Introductions
00:00:41 Infomercial Spark
00:02:57 From Coaching to License
00:03:08 Investing in Texas
00:04:26 Short Sales Crash Era
00:05:10 Lessons from Distress Deals
00:09:02 Lead Generation Playbook
00:15:16 Long Game Client Story
00:17:30 Modern Buyer Expectations
00:20:53 Boutique Brokerage Today
00:22:33 Going the Extra Mile
00:26:57 LA San Diego Strategy
00:29:19 Long Game Leadership
00:30:25 AI Assistant Ace
00:32:21 Automating Database Follow Up
00:33:22 Family Legacy Vision
00:37:07 Daily Routine Discipline
00:39:08 Protecting Your Time
00:42:16 Riches In Niches
00:44:29 Superpower Strategy
00:51:53 Patience And Long Game
00:54:08 Fire Round Finale

In this Forward One podcast episode, realtor Alyssa Barajas shares how she shifted from studying to be a physician’s assistant to real estate seven years ago after her husband encouraged her to get licensed and list his flipped properties. She explains growing into a high-producing solo agent averaging about 25 transactions per year and why hiring an assistant (Danielle) and later adding an agent (Jasmine) helped her create systems, organize her CRM, and restore balance. Barajas discusses leveraging people and processes, using Follow Up Boss, and the importance of consistent follow-up and managing client expectations when delegating tasks. She outlines her social media strategy—posting 2–3 times daily across platforms with educational, sales, and personal content—plus vendor-collaboration videos for learning and referrals, and she emphasizes authenticity, resources, ongoing learning, and a long-term goal of building rental-property income.

*Alyssa Barajas *
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssambarajas/
Website: https://teamcirca.com/agent/alyssa-barajas

*More from Paul & Josh*
Paul: https://www.instagram.com/paulmarkmorris/
Josh: https://www.instagram.com/spitzenjosh/
Forward One Media: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonemedia/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forwardonepodcast

*Presented by Forward One Real Estate*
https://www.,forwardone.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonerealestate/

Timestamp:
00:00:00 Meet Alyssa Barajas
00:00:18 From Medicine to Real Estate
00:02:15 Scaling to 25 Deals
00:03:30 Hiring an Assistant
00:06:23 Systems and CRM Setup
00:10:04 Delegation and Standards
00:15:59 Vendor Videos for Referrals
00:20:45 Social Media Content Plan
00:23:42 Posting Cadence and Lead Split
00:25:51 No Prospecting Needed
00:26:41 DIY Media Workflow
00:28:36 Gear Apps and AI Editing
00:29:59 Authenticity Beats Production
00:32:30 Scheduling Posting Strategy
00:35:06 Content vs Lead Gen Debate
00:38:19 Algorithm Shifts and Discovery
00:40:35 Search AI and Local Visibility
00:45:16 Learning Rooms and Mentors
00:47:10 Goals Mentorship Script
00:49:48 Rapid Fire Closing

Forward One podcast hosts Paul Mark Morris and Josh Spitzen reunite with realtor and leader Daryl Owen, who describes getting licensed at 19 while running a Papa John’s, buying an early rental, and adopting system-driven sales habits. After a severe head trauma at 20, he outworked limitations by hand-dialing 500 cold calls a day in a suit, learning a buyer-heavy model, and using simple lead magnets like PennySaver ads to sell homes and small multifamily deals. He shares how a mindset shift led to consistent production, why he left a successful Century 21 office to pursue leverage and ownership, and how he built Nationwide Real Estate to 1,000 agents across nine locations with franchise-style economics. The conversation contrasts brokerage vs. team value, emphasizes CRM-driven follow-up and off-market databases, outlines his 18-person 50/50 team model built from Ben Kinney systems, and ends with a rapid-fire on ownership, peace, childhood memories, and insecurities.

*Daryl Owen*

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darylrowen/

Website: https://www.zillow.com/profile/Daryl%20Owen

*More from Paul & Josh*
Paul: https://www.instagram.com/paulmarkmorris/
Josh: https://www.instagram.com/spitzenjosh/
Forward One Media: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonemedia/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@forwardonepodcast

*Presented by Forward One Real Estate*

https://www.,forwardone.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forwardonerealestate/

Timestamp:
00:00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:00:29 From Pizza to Realtor

00:02:03 Systems Over Sales

00:04:56 Building Nationwide

00:05:34 Trauma and Cold Calls

00:08:52 First Deals Breakthrough

00:11:43 PennySaver Lead Magnet

00:14:04 Process and Numbers

00:16:02 Burnout and Reset

00:20:49 Old School Execution

00:25:10 Team Dialing Scripts

00:27:53 Off Market Advantage

00:29:11 Building Off Market Lists

00:29:32 Targeting Stale Listings

00:30:58 Top Agent Follow Up

00:34:45 CRM and AI Automation

00:37:18 Team Hiring Standards

00:42:15 Team Model vs Brokerage

00:50:22 Better Brokerage Blueprint

00:53:14 Fire Round Reflections

00:59:00 Final Peak Message