Steve Ramona's Mission: The Art of Networking and Growth

You know those moments when you realize how critical certain skills are to your business?

Yeah, we've been there too! So join us for a riveting chat about the bedrock of any thriving business, bookkeeping, with Shireen's Bookkeeping Services offering up some practical solutions. Ever wonder what it's like dealing with the morbid and profound aspects of human existence? Our resident expert, Tanya, pulls back the curtain on her work in death care and her teaching role at Miami-Dade College.

Tanya Scotece

• Email: tanya8828@aol.com 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-scotece-ph-d-lfd-cfsp-%E2%80%9Cdr-t%E2%80%9D-a85a6226/

Networking can feel like a maze, right? So imagine if you had a guide. Enter our special guest, Steve Ramona, a man on a mission to demystify the maze and help us traverse the terrain of networking. He passionately educates us on the law of increase and why podcasting is the new game-changer in building connections. But it's not all business; we also delve into the chilling Taylor Schabizness murder trial, analyzing this high-profile case in all its horrifying detail. Diving deeper, we journey through Shireen's family's health club evolution, and the essential role customer service plays in the fitness industry. We wrap up with some nuggets on the power of reciprocity in establishing strong business relationships. You won't want to miss this!

Steve Ramona

• Website: https://inphone.co/sr1
• Email: stever1961@gmail.com
• Podcast: https://www.servinginbusinesspodcast.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona/

Just as a heads-up, we'll be continuing the fascinating conversation with our Friends from Wild Places again next week. We can't wait to catch you then!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Tales from the Wild, stories from the Heart A journey into the mind and soul of fired-up business professionals, where they share their vision for the future and hear from a different non-profit organization every month as they create awareness of their goals and their needs. Dive into a world of untamed passion. As we join our host, shereen Guerta, for this month's episode of Friends from Wild Places.

Speaker 2: 0:36

All right, welcome. Welcome, shereen, here I am, your virtual Boatseek, bookie Bay and QuickBooks advisor. Archaeologists have found evidence of bookkeeping on clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia dating back to around 3,300 to 3,200 BC. Why is bookkeeping important? Accurate bookkeeping records are essential to a company's sustainability, but don't waste your time on something you don't enjoy. Yet out into the field, because numbers is my thing, call Shereen's Bookkeeping Services today and allow me to do your books so you can do life. If you want to know more about Shereen's Bookkeeping Services, please go ahead and check me out at wwwshereenbookkeepingcom and allow me to do your books so you don't have to Welcome back. You are listening to Friends from Wild Places with myself, shereen and the Networker of the Year and my special co-host, tanya. Tanya, what is going on in your life right now?

Speaker 3: 1:51

Well, good afternoon here. It is afternoon in Miami, florida, united States, on this beautiful day, so lots going on here. I am a professor at Miami-Dade College. As you know, I teach in the funeral service industry, so death care is my wheelhouse. So, shereen, I don't do numbers, that's not my thing, but talking about old clay and epitaphs, that's my wheelhouse. So, anything, death care, that's what I'm all about. So it's a pleasure to be with you this morning, and we do have a special guest this morning and we have Steve Ramona. So, steve, welcome to Friends from Wild Places.

Speaker 4: 2:33

I love the name. I'm a little wild so I fit it well. Thank you for having me. Awesome, that is awesome.

Speaker 2: 2:39

So Steve Ramona found out networking was the real deal at a very young age. He is on a mission to teach the world how to properly network. His passion for the law of increase is his secret source. Podcasting now is the new way to network and build an incredible inner circle, and we'll talk about more about that a little bit later on. So let's begin by just chatting a little bit about and Tanya knows this about me I love True Crime. Some of the favorite channels that I enjoy watching is on YouTube, and I just wanted to know if you guys heard about Taylor Shabizness and her trial, her murder trial. No, no, no.

Speaker 4: 3:26

No.

Speaker 2: 3:26

Tanya no.

Speaker 2: 3:27

Okay, so Give us some facts about it, maybe you can come Right. So, in a nutshell, taylor Shabizness murdered her lover, her boyfriend, and mutilated his body and cut off his head and cut his body into pieces, putting it into different bags and rucksacks around the room, and he's putting his head in a bucket. And what happened is this murder happened inside of his parents, the boyfriends' parents' house, and I don't know how long, but the mother ended up coming downstairs to come and check on him and tailor her business or whatever, just to see how, if everything was okay. She came downstairs and looked to her left and saw a bucket and, unfortunately, saw her son's head in a bucket, so which promptly made her walk upstairs to what I understand is her partner and told her partner to please call 911, because her son's head is in a bucket and you get to hear the live 911 call from the partner. It's released so you can go and search for the whole case. It's online.

Speaker 2: 4:47

And it was quite interesting to hear the 911 call because I think the guy the partner was so confused that when he was speaking to the 911 lady she was like I don't know, I honestly have no clue what's in the bucket. She says it to son's head, I don't know. Just send somebody. I think it was so bizarre because you hear these things happen in movies but I don't think anyone prepares themselves to actually see it in real life. So I think they were in shock and so it was a very interesting case to follow. You guys can always watch the case. It's over now.

Speaker 2: 5:30

She was convicted of first degree murder and she didn't get the insanity cleave. It was very interesting for me because her father actually came in to be one of the witnesses and her father walks through the door in chains in an orange suit, so it's just son of the keys. She's just had a hard laugh and it sounds like she was having mental problems at a young age, as a young girl, and they took her in and out of a psychiatric home. As far as I understand, she was hallucinating, so son's were there, but she didn't get this insanity cleave. So very, very interesting case and I just wanted to hear your thoughts if you were following it. But if you weren't, if it's your cup of tea, go and search for it online on YouTube and watch it and see what you think when was this case.

Speaker 2: 6:37

I actually can't remember off the top of my head. Yeah, sorry, tanya, I actually I did know, but I actually can't remember right now.

Speaker 3: 6:46

Yeah, I happen to have a question YouTube. I don't have a TV, steve, so that's my thing. I would be like the perfect juror. I don't listen to the radio, don't read the newspaper, so unless it comes through a YouTube channel or somebody calls me, I'm kind of living my own life here. So I was actually watching a YouTube last night of similar but it wasn't as gruesome, but it was a murder, you know solving. So I also like the true crime, but my background is also in criminal forensic, so it's a passion, it's a passion.

Speaker 4: 7:18

And I love true crime too, actually, and I got caught up in the Jeffrey Dahmer documentary on Netflix. Talk about gruesome.

Speaker 3: 7:26

I mean, that was what reminded me of what Sherene was saying. As far as you know, when you get to that level of mutilation, that's. That's who I think of also.

Speaker 4: 7:34

Yeah, and the problem is they were saying and this lady sounds the same way. You look at me walking down the street. They look normal, but, like they said, jeffrey Dahmer, and they showed pictures you look into his eyes, you know something's? Not right, I'm going to look this up myself because I'm interested. I love true crime. I love crime. I should have been a cop.

Speaker 2: 7:52

I know, I know I feel like I should have been in CSI or the forensic sites as well, because it just interests me so much. Fascinating enough, steve. She actually had a fascination of Dama, the Tailor-Shia business. Apparently. She had quite a quite intense fascination of Dama and what he did. So interesting case, yeah, alright. So enough of that. I just wanted to mention that with you guys. But so I wanted to say what the quotes of the podcast will be for today, the quote being your network is your net worth. This is a title of a book written by Porter Gale. He says in his book that he believes that our social capital, or your ability to build a network of authentic personal and professional relationships, not your financial capital, is the most important asset in your portfolio. So this is a quote that was picked by Steve. So, steve, what does this quote mean to you?

Speaker 4: 9:05

Well, I teach businesses all over the world about this. If you have one person in your network, if I just had Tonya in my network and I wanted to grow my business, which we all want to do she's going to help, but that's one person, and let's use bookkeeping or finances the compounding effect. If I had 50 Tonya's, how much more networks would I get into? Which now leads me to more opportunities of doors opening, either to build my business or bring law of increase, or I call it serving people. I've taken your network to your network to another level, and that being in your network inner circle.

Speaker 4: 9:46

Like you mentioned, and I appreciate that, bio is now working with people that have abundance Millionaires, billionaires that can connect you in their network. So my work's eight to five makes 50,000 year. Fantastic, that's great. But how much are they going to bring to me or to us when it comes to the ability to open doors and more abundance? And can they afford what I do? Where, if I work with a business owner that makes five million a year and wants to scale to 50. Now we're talking where they can afford what I offer. I can work with them, but I can get into their network because once I give them value, it's a game changer. It's happened to me over the last six months. I've gotten so many incredible referrals. I met a second billionaire this week, called me out of the blue, wants to work with me. Because of that inner circle, up leveling it. It's not for everybody, but this is something I want to do because I always believe the more abundance I have, the more serving I can do for people around the world.

Speaker 3: 10:51

Steve, if you don't want me asking, can you share with our listeners just a little bit about your journey? You know, like you know, a little bit of history about yourself and how you got to where you are today.

Speaker 4: 11:02

Yeah, I started at graduate high school, thank God, and just half kidding, I was a big athlete. To school wasn't a big thing. But my family launched the health club and so my cousin was the president said hey, why don't you for the summer, like we all do in graduate high school, you know, go make some money. So I worked at the front desk and what happened and involved was I started meeting I'm 1840, 60, 70 year olds that were extremely wealthy, but I would see them three or four times a day. They come and hey, joe, have a great work at a, joe, have a great day, good senior. And then help to. Hey, would you do last weekend, steve? And became building relationships. And then I realized my network was growing and I was meeting all kinds of people and they're giving me offers and opportunities. So in 1819, 20, I built this incredible network that I still use today and realized if I help others build their network, they're going to grow just as I've grown.

Speaker 3: 12:03

Interesting. And where was growing up for you? Where did you grow?

Speaker 4: 12:07

up. I grew up in San Jose, california, a city called Saratoga, and you're still there, still in California. Still in the same same spot, different house, just got married last year, so Got a whole new change in my thank you very much. Yeah, california is interesting, like every state, but yeah, I've never left family here and it's interesting. A lot of people have left, wish they could come back, but once you leave California it's, it's a tough go. The cost to hear expensive and homes are expensive, that's you know. Everything's a little more expensive.

Speaker 3: 12:39

Yeah, and before we hear more about your business currently. So if you don't mind, with the health club was, I remember, like back in the day it was valleys, that's. You know, that's what I remember and I remember, you know, being just. It was like a while going in with all I don't know if it was LED lights, but there was some pretty lights that kind of get me. So this day you could see I'm infatuated with sparkles and lights around me. So that's what sold me. I was like I want to come to this pretty place and work out, and I think I was probably six weeks into the membership and never went back. So you don't mind, can you share just a little bit about that journey as far as that's an interesting business to have your family get started in.

Speaker 4: 13:18

Well, that's where the law of increase started. Or customer service. My cousin believed in Jeff's name. I love him to death. He's a brother to me. He was my mentor at those times but we always talked about you've got to bring value, You've got to bring customer service to our members. We became one of the top clubs because of that a towel, and we used to teach this little trick and I hope businesses do you today. Our front desk were young kids. They weren't older people, their kids out of high school or in college, and we always taught them. When Shereen walked in the door if you don't remember her name, just look at the computer screen and go hey, Shereen, have a great day, have a great workout. Because that one little thing of just saying somebody's name, you're changing lives every day. Be honest, hey, what was your name again? Oh, it's Tonya. Hey, Tonya, great to see you again. But that little trick built us to a very incredible business we had for 22 years.

Speaker 3: 14:13

Wow. And what was the model of that health club Like, was it? I mean, I don't know if I'm I'm using a competitor. I don't know Bally's is still in business, but I just remember the Bally's was kind of like a community, very like upscale-ish, or the field was upscale, air conditioned, pretty. You know, that was the vibe, I guess, back in the day.

Speaker 4: 14:32

Yeah, we followed the vibe A towel every time you came in. We had a sit-down area Because we wanted our members, when they get done working out, to chat, and my dad was one of those people. He worked out Monday, wednesday, friday and he built these relationships with friends. He had retired well, he had retired, yeah, but he was soon to be retiring. We had racquetball. We started with and eventually evolved into aerobics and fitness. Because we changed. That's my cousin again. I gave him kudos. You have to pivot, as we learned in COVID. Back then in the 70s and 80s, we had to pivot. Racquetball was going away. We had all this space. We go okay, we fit four people in a racquetball court or we fit 30, 40 people in aerobic room. So we started converting them into aerobic rooms, cardio rooms, because now we can bring our membership up to 2,000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000, or more.

Speaker 3: 15:22

Wow, wow. So I just want to conclude with this segment. As far as so, here in Miami, we've evolved into. I call them like the pretty workouts. Okay, that's what I'm referring to them. So one is an oxygen bubble and you can Google it, you literally it's like you go in this. It's very pretty, it's pretty in pink and they really cater to women.

Speaker 3: 15:42

I would say between maybe like 40s and 50s, and you could just tell by the music that they play. Everybody you know you hear songs from Grease in the 80s and Journey and things like that. And then we also have the EMS, which is the electrical muscle stimulation type of workout which looks like a scuba suit. And most recently especially I mean we're here in Miami, florida pole fitness. So like the vibe of pole dancing, taken into pole fitness, which I really think gives women specifically I'm sure men can do it too, but just give women that confidence, that vibe as we're using that word today right, that just to feel something that you can do it and you see progress with all of these three modalities that I mentioned.

Speaker 4: 16:28

Yeah, and it's interesting. Even back then, you know our equipment would evolve. You know we started with certain part of equipment and the equipment change and then we had the stair climber and then we had the Versa climber and we you have to do that in any business, but it's interesting how tech and fitness come together, because this tech builds these different pieces of equipment and what. What they're trying to do and this is just my opinion is trying to find that niche for that person. So they move the and I love that, because somebody just doesn't want to walk on a treadmill. It's boring to them. Well, if anything's boring to somebody, they're not going to do it.

Speaker 4: 17:03

Guess what? You know, obesity rate is so high here in the America I don't know how it is in South Africa, but it's terrible because people aren't moving Right and fitness really needs to change. And it's so different because you wouldn't see these modalities in the 70s and 80s. You would see a health club either racquetball fitness and they would be big. Now we've got all these boutique fitness like you're talking about which is great, but it's such a different world now.

Speaker 3: 17:29

Different world. And even back I remember like and I think it was the maybe early 90s the shapes like for women it was. That was another like circuit training. But you know I love talking with Sharon. So, steve, you'll know my my forte right is not the technology nor geography. So I always ask Sharon. I'm like she loves to hike, right. So in our conversations over the years I'm like I'm imagining a forest, like a rainforest, and she's like Tonya, I'm in South Africa, and I'm like, yeah, there are no rainforest, we have a desert. I'm like, oh, okay. So I enjoy talking with her because her world is so vastly different from my perspective, because I'm thinking everybody goes hiking in a rainforest, which is not true.

Speaker 2: 18:13

So I just need to clarify. So this was when I went on a like road trip, backpacking trip into the Kalahari up in South Africa. So that's when the conversation came around, because I was walking in what pretty much looks like a very dry desert and she was thinking I was walking in a forest and I'm like, no, no, not where I am right now to find some forestry, I would have to go more in a different direction to more mountaineers kind of thing. So it wasn't yeah, but just so you know, tonya, we do get forests, just not in this area.

Speaker 3: 18:54

And Steve I, you know I hear you like. You know you started in the. You know your family with the fitness club and you know Shireen from you know, from my interaction with her is very outdoorsy. She likes to hike. I'm like the lazy one. I like to go in and I'll get the workout done quick and like two times a week they can promise me results. I'm in like I am not for, like you know, hiking up some random place like I want in and out and I'm like results oriented. So people love. You know, with the personality tasks, like the disk profile, you know I'm just like I'm the marketers dream, right, so so I'll leave it up and turn it back over to Shireen, but thank you so much for just giving us a little bit about your history and growing up in California.

Speaker 4: 19:35

You bet.

Speaker 2: 19:37

I love that, sonia, and but you can't be lazy, because look at you doing pole fitness. That's amazing.

Speaker 3: 19:45

I know it's good.

Speaker 2: 19:56

You said serving is better than selling. What do you mean by this?

Speaker 4: 20:02

Nobody wants to be, as a phrase that one of my networking groups owner uses, pitch slapped. You don't want to be pitched. You know your audiences want me start telling me you need this, this, this, by my product. And we're getting a lot of that, especially after COVID. It's been around forever and sales is a fearful word for people. I don't sell. You know I I'm not good at sales on this and that, unfortunately, everybody in the audience. You're selling every day. You're selling your spouse, your partner, your kids, your brothers, your sisters, whoever your friends. You're selling all the time.

Speaker 4: 20:36

But with selling has to be value and you have to build a relationship. I use this phrase you don't marry the woman on the first date. Well, maybe somebody does, but most people that's probably a TV show, but most people don't. You've got to build the relationship. So I call it a business marriage. Build that relationship, but with that is value.

Speaker 4: 20:59

That's where the serving comes in. It could be referrals, it could be a I love you. I told Shireen before the show I love her hat. It looks great on her. That's serving somebody by bringing a law of increase the energy of positivity, I believe, and it's happened to me over the last six months. Well, last few years is that comes back to you. But when you serve I learned about a year ago is that's a half a circle, to fill the circle and you have to ask and receive. Because, if you think about it, when you serve somebody, I give Tony, you 20 referrals and you get pre sales.

Speaker 4: 21:38

Let's just say that happened. You're going to go as a human, go, well, I want to help you, steve, and I go, I'm good, don't need anything. There's a negative connotation than that. Instead of, hey, tony, this great, I need help with this, whatever this is. And that's been a game changer, because now I'm. Because for the last 10 years I've been giving away resources and time, like I did with Sherena, and I still do that. But I also look at hey, steve, I have to have abundance, because I want to serve more people, I want to change the world. But I need abundance, I need money, I need finances. So when you have that mindset with money, it's a completely different thought process.

Speaker 3: 22:17

So, steve, if you don't mind, share a little bit about how you and I want to be specific for our listeners out there. So you've kind of evolved into doing the podcast. Is your heart of you? Is that correct? Like so, tell us how that journey took place. How did you evolve to that?

Speaker 4: 22:34

So September I'm part owner of a company called Info and one of my clients reached out the blue and said hey, I just joined this group, pantheon, to help you with your podcast, and I've been thinking about for a couple of years. My brother was a sports broadcaster for a while, not a major TV, but did a lot of college and and I always interest me and people say you have a lot to say. I'd never believed that, but I was thinking I want to start a podcast. So I was going to DIY YouTube thing and that's for fixing your sink or figure a way to iron your clothes. That's not to build something massive like that.

Speaker 4: 23:10

So when I get introduced to Kyle from Pantheon, the first few things he told me was we're looking for 1000 of the greatest leaders in the world that want to change the world and work together. I was all in. And then my first meeting with Josh, who owns Pantheon, who I now work with, and I said Josh, what do I do? I want to get going, because you start recording on your phone and your tablet, your computer, wherever, just use zoom and just start recording shows Like anything sports hiking the more you do, the more you practice, the better you get. And that started happening with me and I did October. I think I did 30 shows.

Speaker 3: 23:49

And prior to that, what did you have any background in? I'm going to use the word like social media, TV, radio, like how did you go to podcast?

Speaker 4: 23:58

I had none of that. My was network marketing. I was part of 15, 16 companies. I never wanted to work for somebody. My dad was a contractor. He built homes. I watched him growing up going. My dad showed up to my three o'clock baseball game and then he'd go back to work. He showed to my football game on a Friday night. He'd go back to work. Well, I'm not Friday night, but he always made time for us. But he worked a lot too. But I love that flexibility. And then my only first job was selling picture frames. As I think it was a junior in high school was the worst thing I could get on the phone hey, Tony, would you like a picture frame? Hey, sure, Let me say a six by nine. I'm like, what am I doing here? Junior in high school, but at least I got exposed to that. But I really wanted to be because I felt that I could help people and lead people and I can't do that working eight to five. I could do that inside there. But I really want to make an impact.

Speaker 2: 24:51

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 24:52

So what I'm taking away from our conversations so far, steve, is that your relationship marketing, building value, the connection part, it's almost like this podcast is a vehicle. Am I hearing that correctly? Like the podcast is a vehicle, it's not the end all be able to do the podcast, it's the vehicle. So can you elaborate a little bit more on that?

Speaker 4: 25:12

Yeah, great question, tonya, we do it. Pantheon is and you could be. Just YouTube lives, but anywhere where you're bringing somebody in as a guest and interviewing them and talking about them. What you're doing now is you're bringing me value today by being on your show. If 50 people see it or 50,000, it doesn't matter. You've given me value. So what I do with all my guests is we jump on a show, talk a little bit Will you want to talk about jumping the show? And then the last 30 minutes is I've learned all about them and go, and I did that today. And, tonya, I've got a referral for you. That's how I work is as I learn about my guests. I can start leveraging my network, other people's networks, and go here. Let me connect you with this and this. I gave one way, 12 referrals three months ago. She's given me 75 referrals since, because of the reciprocity of value. She goes you're amazing, I love you and she sends me text once in a while. Hey, man, let's stay partnered. Now we're partners together, building our businesses and growing together.

Speaker 3: 26:16

Tune in next week for part two from Friends from Wild Places.

Speaker 1: 26:22

You've been listening to Friends from Wild Places with Shereen Buetta. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast from the links to catch every episode and unleash your passion.