Better Call Daddy

Fred Hakimian came to the U.S. from Iran with about $460, a dream of becoming an engineer, and a determination to build a better life. He worked three jobs while putting himself through college, helped bring his family to America, and traded a computer programming career for the jewelry business.

In this episode of Better Call Daddy, host Reena Friedman Watts sits down with her friend Shaily Hakimian, founder of Your Social Media Sherpa, and Shaily’s dad, Fred, to talk about the Iranian Jewish immigrant experience, building a business from scratch, and how family values shape entrepreneurship. Big Daddy Wayne Friedman closes with his take on the American Dream, finding your path, and the legacy of working hard for the people you love.

From hidden jewelry finds to a WhatsApp jewelry-trading network, this conversation is full of stories about resourcefulness, trust, and building something that lasts across generations.

🔥 What You’ll Learn

How Fred worked his way through college after arriving in America with very little money

Why he left a steady computer programming job to start a jewelry business

How he helped his family get established and find homes of their own

How to build trust and community in a global jewelry network

How immigrant family values shaped Shaily’s entrepreneurial drive

Why sharing your voice and what makes you unique matters

Wayne’s reflections on the American Dream, persistence, and finding your path

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Better Call Daddy

03:30 – Fred’s journey from Iran to the United States

08:00 – Working three jobs, college, and learning English as an immigrant

15:30 – From computer programmer to jewelry entrepreneur

21:00 – Helping family build a life in America

27:30 – Family history, hardship, and business ingenuity

36:00 – Hidden jewelry, big finds, and the hustle behind the deals

44:30 – Building a trusted jewelry trading community on WhatsApp

54:00 – Shaily’s work, Jewish heritage, and passing culture forward

1:06:00 – Using your voice and sharing what makes you different

1:18:00 – Egg freezing, Shy Tribe, and finding community

1:34:00 – Wayne on hard work, opportunity, and the American Dream

💬 Quotable Moment

“Don’t deprive the world of what makes you special.” – Shaily

👤 About Shaily

Shaily Hakimian is a marketing professional, social media coach, and community builder who helps business owners stay connected with the people who matter to their work. She is passionate about Jewish innovation and culture and about helping people find the confidence to share their voices.

🔗 Your Social Media Sherpa: https://yoursocialmediasherpa.com/
🔗 Fred’s Trading Company: find Fred on Instagram at Fred’s Trading Company

🎙️ About Better Call Daddy

Better Call Daddy is a podcast hosted by Reena Friedman Watts and her dad, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman, featuring stories of inspiration, resilience, and hard-earned wisdom.

bettercalldaddy.com | Instagram: @reenafriedmanwatts

👉 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe, leave a review (http://ratethispodcast.com/bettercalldaddy), and share it with someone building a life and a legacy of their own.

Keywords: Iranian immigrant story, Iranian Jewish immigrant, Persian Jewish culture, American Dream, immigrant entrepreneur, jewelry business, jewelry trading, family business, family legacy, immigrant parents, father daughter podcast, Fred Hakimian, Shaily Hakimian, Reena Friedman Watts, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman, Better Call Daddy, WhatsApp business, community building, social media coach, finding your voice, resilience

Dad Reacts: From Intern to Producer in One Season

Reena Friedman Watts drove to Chicago for a radio job she didn’t get. A season later, she was a producer on The Jerry Springer Show.

In this episode of Better Call Daddy, Reena and her dad, Wayne Friedman, watch back her conversation with LuRae Lumpkin on And Then I Did This. Wayne has a front-row seat to the moment it all started: the call she made to him when she spotted that intern flyer.

🔥 In This Episode

What Reena watched and learned to go from intern to producer in a single season

Why she chose to work for the boss everyone else avoided

Why she walked away from a producer title to answer phones in Los Angeles

How twenty years of persistence with one publicist led to one of Jerry Springer’s last interviews, and later a piece of an HBO documentary

How the Better Call Daddy podcast grew out of daily calls with her father

Rebuilding your identity after every move and every role

Career change advice for seasoned professionals

Wayne’s reactions along the way

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⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – The creative idea that can’t wait

02:05 – Better Call Daddy and the father-daughter legacy project

05:30 – Intern to producer: what she watched to get promoted

08:20 – A singing scholarship, sports medicine, and the pivot to radio

13:40 – Landing one of Jerry Springer’s last interviews

19:20 – The episode that led to an HBO documentary

23:50 – Rebuilding your identity after every move

26:40 – Leaving the nine-to-five and learning sponsorships on the fly

31:10 – Career change advice for seasoned professionals

37:50 – Confidence, cutting toxicity, and the gold in your inbox

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👤 About Reena Friedman Watts
A small-town Kentucky girl turned television producer, Reena is now a podcast host, media coach, and storyteller. She’s a mom of four and 500 episodes into Better Call Daddy, and she lives by one rule: if the idea is real, put it on the calendar or act on it today.

🎙️ About Better Call Daddy
Hosted by Reena Friedman Watts with her dad, Wayne Friedman. Stories of resilience, inspiration, and hard-earned wisdom, building a legacy one call at a time.

🔗 bettercalldaddy.com | 📸 Instagram: @reenafriedmanwatts

🙏 Thank You to LuRae Lumpkin
This conversation originally aired on And Then I Did This. Find more from LuRae:

Podcast on Apple Podcasts

YouTube

LinkedIn

You Can Be Free newsletter

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Keywords: Reena Friedman Watts, Wayne Friedman, dad reacts, Better Call Daddy, And Then I Did This, LuRae Lumpkin, Jerry Springer Show, career change, intern to producer

Actor, teacher, and dad Rob Brownstein joins host Reena Friedman Watts. You may recognize him as the pain doctor in the Michael Jackson documentary. He’s a working actor, and he talks about what that really looks like: the freelance hustle, the rejection, and the persistence it takes to keep going.

Rob traces his path from budding musician to working actor, and what he learned along the way. He also talks about raising two daughters who are chasing their own dreams, and how being a parent has changed the way he thinks about life, art, and his own career.

If you love the arts, or you’re trying to figure out how to support the people you love while building a life you care about, this one’s for you.

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🔥 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

What life as a working actor looks like, ups and downs included

How parenting shapes your personal and professional growth

Why passion and authenticity matter in any career

A look behind the scenes of film and television

How to build confidence and push through self-doubt

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Meet Rob Brownstein: working actor, teacher, and dad

05:15 – From musician to actor

15:30 – Supporting your kids’ dreams

25:00 – The reality of working in entertainment

35:45 – Building confidence and overcoming self-doubt

45:00 – Family, passion, and what matters most

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💬 QUOTABLE MOMENTS
“You might as well find a job you love, because no matter what you do, it’s going to be freelance, and it’s going to be difficult.”

“Confidence comes from having the proof that you can do something.”
— Rob Brownstein

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👤 ABOUT ROB BROWNSTEIN

Rob Brownstein is a longtime working actor, teacher, and coach based in Los Angeles. His credits span film, television, theater, commercials, and voiceover, including Argo, Mad Men, The Office, Gilmore Girls, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Breaking Bad, Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, Young Sheldon, Straight Outta Compton, Blonde, and Velvet Buzzsaw, among many others. He also appears in Michael, the recent and very popular Michael Jackson biopic, where he plays the burn doctor.

In addition to acting, Rob runs An Actor’s Space in LA and has been teaching and coaching actors all over the world. He loves talking about the craft of acting, auditions, self-tapes, confidence, career longevity, and why acting classes can be valuable for actors and non-actors alike.

Quick Links:
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115282/
An Actor’s Space: https://www.anactorsspace.com/about

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🎙️ ABOUT BETTER CALL DADDY
Hosted by Reena Friedman Watts alongside her dad, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman, Better Call Daddy features stories of inspiration, resilience, and the wisdom that comes from experience.
bettercalldaddy.com | Instagram: @reenafriedmanwatts

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KEYWORDS: Rob Brownstein, working actor, Michael Jackson documentary, acting, parenting, family, confidence, creative process, Better Call Daddy, Reena Friedman Watts, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman

What makes someone fall for extremist ideas, and what makes them finally stop believing? In this episode of Better Call Daddy, host Reena Friedman Watts sits down with TM Garret Schmid, a former KKK and neo-Nazi member who broke free of hate and converted to Judaism.

TM shares the loneliness, trauma, and need for belonging that pulled him into extremism, the tragedy of his then-wife's kidnapping, and the years of therapy and self-reflection that helped him confront his past. Together, Reena and TM explore forgiveness, why people are drawn to hate groups, and why compassion and real human connection are the most powerful tools against hate.

If you've ever wondered how someone leaves a hate movement, or whether anyone can truly change, this conversation is for you.

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🔥 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

- How a former KKK and neo-Nazi member came to embrace Judaism
- The vulnerabilities and unmet needs that push people toward extremism
- How trauma shapes relationships, and what healing looks like
- Why compassion and community are essential to combating hate
- How self-worth and self-reflection make lasting change possible

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⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Meet TM Garret Schmid: former extremist turned advocate
05:15 – The journey to Judaism
15:30 – Confronting trauma and the kidnapping
25:00 – Why people join hate groups
35:45 – How community helps us heal
45:00 – Love, self-worth, and human connection

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💬 QUOTABLE MOMENTS

"If I can change one person's life with what I'm doing, then I have succeeded." – TM Garret Schmid

"You need to listen to the people around you; it might change your perspective." – TM Garret Schmid

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👤 ABOUT TM GARRET SCHMID

TM Garret Schmid is a former white supremacist who left extremism, converted to Judaism, and now speaks about understanding, compassion, and the humanity in everyone. He works with people struggling with identity and the search for acceptance.

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🎙️ ABOUT BETTER CALL DADDY

Hosted by Reena Friedman Watts with her dad, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman, Better Call Daddy features stories of inspiration, resilience, and hard-earned wisdom.

🔗 bettercalldaddy.com
🔗 LinkedIn | Instagram: @reenafriedmanwatts

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👉 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who needs to hear it.

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KEYWORDS: former KKK member, leaving the KKK, KKK to Judaism, former white supremacist, neo-Nazi to Jewish, how to leave a hate group, how people get radicalized, why people join hate groups, breaking free from extremism, overcoming extremism, deradicalization, reversing hate, TM Garret Schmid, TM Garret, trauma and healing, forgiveness, Better Call Daddy, Reena Friedman Watts, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman

How does an independent podcaster get on the radar of Forbes? In this episode of Better Call Daddy, host Reena Friedman Watts sits down with Frank Racioppi, Forbes contributing writer and founder of Earworthy, to pull back the curtain on podcast press, podcast reviews, and what editors actually want to see.

Frank takes us from his childhood in New Jersey to becoming one of the most passionate champions of the independent podcast community.

He explains why he left corporate podcast coverage behind to spotlight indie creators, and why a genuine, human interview beats a polished but empty one every time.

Reena and Frank also get into the cutthroat side of traditional media versus the collaborative spirit of the podcasting community, and why collaboration beats competition for anyone trying to grow a show.

Whether you're launching your first podcast or you're a seasoned host hunting for media exposure, this episode is packed with practical advice on how to stand out in a crowded market.

🔥 What You'll Learn

Why authenticity is the most powerful growth tool in podcasting

How Frank went from writing about corporate podcasts to championing independent creators

What makes a podcast worthy of coverage in Forbes and other major publications

How to conduct interviews that create real connection with your guests and audience

Why community and collaboration matter more than competition

Lessons from Frank's career as a writer and podcast reviewer

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Meet Frank Racioppi

05:15 – From New Jersey to Forbes contributor

15:30 – Why authenticity wins in podcasting

25:00 – How independent podcasters can stand out

35:45 – Community over competition

45:00 – Frank's biggest lessons from the podcast industry

💬 Quotable Moments

"Independent podcasters have a unique voice that deserves to be heard." – Frank Racioppi

"The best interviews are the ones where you create a genuine connection with your guest." – Frank Racioppi

 

👤 About Frank Racioppi
Frank Racioppi is the owner and manager of Earworthy, a podcast review publication, and a contributing writer for Forbes. He is dedicated to promoting independent podcasters and sharing their stories with the world.

Frank Racioppi is a South Jersey-based author who works as a podcast journalist, and is the author of the following books: "Stop For My School Bus...Or Else" "Away from Home" "Hit Pause For Life" "A Suburban Prison" "Ear Worthy" "The COVID Hotel" "For The Love Of Books" You can find my books on Amazon.

🔗 Connect with Frank: LinkedIn | https://podalization.substack.com/

Frank Racioppi will be speaking at Illuminate tomorrow with Freddy Cruz. If you’re an independent podcaster, this is a great opportunity to hear more from Frank and connect with other people in the podcasting community.

About Better Call Daddy
Better Call Daddy is hosted by Reena Friedman Watts alongside her dad, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman. Join them for stories of inspiration, resilience, and the wisdom that comes from experience.

🔗 bettercalldaddy.com | LinkedIn | Instagram: @reenafriedmanwatts

👉 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a podcaster who needs to hear it.

SEO keywords: Frank Racioppi, Earworthy, how to get featured in Forbes, independent podcasting, podcast press, podcast reviews, podcast growth tips, how to get podcast publicity, Forbes contributor, podcast interview tips, podcast community, Better Call Daddy, Reena Friedman Watts, Big Daddy Wayne Friedman