Alexandria Ward, Managing Broker of Forward Realty sits down with us to share her story.
Alexandria officially stepped into the Real Estate world in 2015. It all began around the time she watched her dad make a bad investment on an income property in 2006 right before the bubble burst and tells us she wishes she knew then what she knows now. At this time, not many people in her family owned homes and as a single mom, she wanted to take care of her kids.
“It's too much to work a nine to five. I drop them off at school. I pick them up. Real Estate allows me to do everything pretty much and help people, which is my number one thing I want to help people.”
When she first started her career in Real Estate in 2015, she knew she wanted to open up her own brokerage within 5 years. She officially opened Forward Realty in January of 2020 but within a few months when the pandemic hit, she was convinced it would fail.
“I didn't know what COVID was. I'm a hypochondriac. I just thought I was going to die when I walk outside. It was a lot on me that some clients didn't care. They were like, look, I want to see this house and I'm like, oh my God, we're in a lockdown. But I still fought through it because for my clients I'm going to do what I can.”
Alexandria’s attitude of truly helping her clients is likely what helped her see 500% growth within the first year of Forward Realty. Though, it came with a price. With the pandemic every deal would turn into three deals when things would fall through on appraisals or inspections. The around the clock work combined with the pressures of a Global pandemic led Alexandria to take a mental health break.
She took a step back to focus on her and leaned into something her family has always told her she’s had a knack for since she was little, “they tell me since I've been young, I've always been very protective of my time and what I'm doing with that time.”
One of the secrets to her success has not only been her selectiveness with her clientele but also her collaboration with other realtors.
“I'm extremely selective about my clientele, but I still can help people. So even if I’m not taking you out looking or have a hand with the person that you're dealing with, I team up with a lot of different realtors.”
Alexandria goes on to discuss what’s next for her.
“When I first started real estate, even with the bigger companies, I found myself getting lost. didn't have anybody to call. I passed the test, but I didn't know how to write a contract. I didn't know what to do. What I want to do is I want to help a lot of people. I want to create a system for people who are trying to do what I'm doing. Even with my own brokers, I want to help them become sponsoring brokers if that's what they want to do.”
Tune into this episode of the Real Estate Moguls Podcast to find out more about Alexandria’s story, how she started Forward Realty, and about her mission to help other realtors.
