Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramone “Rho” Greene-Baldwin.
Hi Ramone “Rho”, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Ramone Greene-Baldwin however I go by “Rho”. I’m originally from south GA. A small town outside of Savannah, GA. Hinesville to be exact. I was a regular down to earth kid that loved to dance, goof off, and hang out with my friends. I’ve always had a love for fashion and design which Is why when I graduated from high school, I attended Fashion school. I had hopes and dreams of being this big-time buyer for like a department store or having my own clothing line. I moved to Atlanta, GA in 2008. I attended the Art Institute of Atlanta. While living in Atlanta I realized that fashion wasn’t as big as I had hoped it to be. I had briefly considered moving to New York, but that idea wasn’t long-lived. I completed two years at AIA, and I left. I started a clothing line and fell into information technology, where I’ve remained over the last decade. I have an array of experience within the tech world. I’ve worked for fortune 500 companies as well as reputable technology firms, while working in the industry I decided to go back to school and pursue a degree to make me more marketable within the tech world. I felt I had the knowledge/experience, but I needed that degree to place me where I needed to be placed financially. I enrolled into Atlanta tech and had been working on my networking associates degree while there. I really didn’t like the school and I felt like I put having my bachelor’s degree on a pedestal. I had to have it and I wanted nothing less than! I ended up transferring from ATC to Kennesaw State University, where I am currently enrolled. I started out studying Cyber security, but I recently changed it over to Business. This is where I fell into real estate and started my company. I’ve always had a knack for interior design and homes in general. When I was 15 years old, my mom had her house built and I remember sitting there and I literally picked out the floor plan. I helped her pick literally everything from lighting, cabinetry, door handles, and paint. We designed her dream home from top to bottom. I also collaborated with her interior designer at the time on the furnishings and inside decor. I had a passion for all things involving design. During the pandemic, I had ample time to sort of sit with myself and during that time, I realized I no longer wanted to do any type of work that did not bring me fulfillment or that I had no passion about. I, at the time, felt like a cubicle zombie while working in the IT industry. Having the same exact routine for years started to get old. I needed a little more color in my life. I also felt I was being drained of my creativity because I stopped exercising it. As with anything if you don’t exercise ‘it’ you lose it including creativity. I was sitting on my balcony talking with three of my close friends and I told them that I was going to go to real estate school. It was the first time I had said it out loud. It was so random, and I did just that. This is how I got here today.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, it has not been a smooth road. Anything worth having never comes without struggle. I remember just the premature struggles of feeling like I wasn’t living in my purpose before I had even chosen the real estate path. I had become so uninspired working in corporate America, and I knew I had to do something about it. I also resented myself a lot because I felt I was good at a lot of things, but I never put any of those talents to use. Mainly, I was afraid of failure. I was afraid that I would not be consistent. I was afraid of being judged or having my talents ridiculed. I was fighting my own battles internally in my everyday life before I even decided to pursue my passions. Then one day, I just kind of motivated myself and I found the courage to just do this one thing that my future self would thank me for later. I enrolled in Real estate school online. I made it all the way through half of the online material, and I got to a point where I felt like I was no longer able to retain the information. It all started to run together. I had taken classes online before, so I thought I was used to this type of self-paced learning, so I was confused as to why it became hard to retain the material. Life had started “Life’n” again. I realized I was literally all over the place trying to do too much which was the reason I was not able to retain the info I was learning. I was actively burning myself out. I was working 2 jobs; I was enrolled full time at KSU taking nine credit hours in addition to online real estate classes. Now that I’m sitting here thinking about it, that was crazy! I had literally taken on so much and amped myself up to be in two different schools at one time! When I felt I couldn’t keep up with the many things I had going on I decided to sit a year out of KSU to finish up the 75hour pre license course and get started in real estate. I had a plan, and I was ready to execute!
It was fall 2021 and like I said, I had not been able to retain the info in the self-paced learning environment, so a friend of mine suggested I try real estate school in person or via a live Zoom instructor and she linked me with the school that she had got her 75-hour pre license from. I started that school on October 20, 2021. It was via a live zoom instructor. So, every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday we’d be on zoom learning material for 4 hours. I finished up the 75 hours around December 13, 2021, and I had to take the final for the class. The final, you have three attempts to take before you would have to retake the entire 75-hour class. When you pass, you get authorized to go and test at the state level to receive your license. I failed the first try. I was devastated only because I started to second guess myself and I realized I have only two shots left at this. So, I signed up for a weekend cram course. This is like a fast review. It’s when an instructor goes thru the entire 75hr class in two days. I passed my second attempt because of that cram course. I was so happy, on to state now! This is where things really got intense. I start prepping for The Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam. My goal was to have my license by the end of 2021 so I could walk into 2022 with a new career. I scheduled a test for December 28th! This was the last testing session they were offering for 2021. I put so much pressure on myself to pass my first try. I stopped eating, I stopped going to the gym, I stopped talking to my family and friends, etc. I literally locked myself in my house and I would watch educational real estate videos and take practice test all day. I wouldn’t even leave my house to check the mail I was afraid I would become unfocused. A bit dramatic to say the least.
Long story short again I failed my first attempt at the Georgia Real estate salesperson exam on December 28. I was devastated yet again because there I was putting insurmountable pressure on myself to achieve a goal in such a short time. To me the class material was a little easier than the state test. It required way more prepping. In that failed attempt to accomplish a goal, I realized I had been pushing myself so hard the last year and especially the last couple of months. I didn’t stop even for a moment to give myself grace or a pat on the back for getting the goals that I did get accomplished, done. I was always rushing to the next goal because I had to get it done before a “date” in this case before the end of 2021. I had to remind myself that I could have it all, but I can’t acquire it all at one time. I realized that putting yourself under extreme pressure to perform only clouds judgement and makes the process much more stressful. There is time, you have time, and it’s okay! The most important thing is continuing the journey and getting it done without the extra pressures of a due date. I ended up failing my 2nd attempt in January. However, this time I failed closer to the passing score. So even though I failed I realized I was getting better and closer to the finish line. I went back and studied for a week, and I signed up to take the exam again for the 3rd time. You know what they say third times a charm! Boom, I passed! On January 19th I became a licensed realtor. I have this saying that I always lived by, but I started applying it a little bit more than usual in my life because of this very moment. It goes; “Your race, at your pace! Just finish!”. That means, to me, that whatever you want to do in life, you can do it and you can have it if you work at it on your own time. Don’t compare contrast your life or journey to others that maybe on similar paths and if you stay consistent you will persevere and get it done!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a licensed Real estate Agent in the Atlanta and surrounding area markets. I can assist with getting your home sold and I educate and help others to achieve homeownership through buying. I feel I’m already known for being the friendly stylish, very chilled, laidback, standup guy amongst my family, community, and friends. I wanted to continue that persona into my business career with real estate. I aspire to be the go-to guy for real estate not your typical pushy and aggressive salesman. I believe you can garner just as much business and work by being your true authentic self and sticking to that and my persona is what I feel sets me apart. I also love servicing others. Purchasing a home is a big deal in a person’s life, so just being able to put people at ease during the process is what my goal is. I am most proud of getting to this point where people are recognizing me for this career path. People have taken an extreme liking to my marketing skills. I do plan to further explore and learn, but I believe I am most proud for just stepping out there, committing to finishing, and starting in the field. I have a long way to go and I’m excited for what this new journey entails.
I want the readers to know that I go by Real estate Rho and I’m your friendly neighborhood HeRhO! It would be my absolute pleasure to assist with all their real estate needs! I pride myself on being and upstanding community-oriented individual and I work relentlessly until the job is finished.
How do you think about luck?
I believe there has been an equal balance of both not too much bad though. The harder you work the luckier you become. I pride myself on being a hard worker. I also believe luck is a much deeper concept. I believe my focus lies more on timing. I believe everything happens in its own timing, Personal and business. You also must push through even when the odds are not in your favor and celebrate and be grateful when they are. There will always be either of the two in the journey!
Contact Info:
- Email: ramonebaldwinrealtyco@gmail.com
- Website: http://ramonegreene-baldwin.kw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realestaterho/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realestaterho
- Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/real.rho/
Image Credits
Dash | @Digitalbydash (Instagram)
