To be honest, technically, there isn't an us. So we'll call this page About Me -- Dominique Ramirez. I am, to borrow a phrase from the US Army, a Company of One.
That might not sound like an easy title to pull off. But I am, through my experience, a seasoned veteran of the multi-task. For the past ten years, I have proudly served in the U.S. Navy, and currently as an Officer. But instead of spending...
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To be honest, technically, there isn't an us. So we'll call this page About Me -- Dominique Ramirez. I am, to borrow a phrase from the US Army, a Company of One.
That might not sound like an easy title to pull off. But I am, through my experience, a seasoned veteran of the multi-task. For the past ten years, I have proudly served in the U.S. Navy, and currently as an Officer. But instead of spending my downtime partying with the boys or kicking back, I dedicate every spare moment to searching out and conquering new challenges. In 2007, while serving as a Naval Officer, I completed the necessary studies to become a Realtor. And when that new second career spawned a concept to take Real Estate to a new level, I turned my focus to making that dream a reality. I raised the necessary capital, created the business model, formed a limited liability company, filed for a patent, had a website designed to my specifications and drove the transformation of an idea into a business that can change the way Real Estate is done. All in my spare time. All as a Company of One.
I'm probably the last person anyone would have expected to contribute much of anything to the business world, let alone society. I grew up poor, living mostly on welfare, shuffling back and forth between divorced parents. Like a lot of disadvantaged kids, I was a handful of trouble, and was already on the verge of flunking out of high school during my freshman year. What lay before me was a life of dead-end jobs... or worse. So Mom did the only thing she could do. She sent me to live with my Dad. And like the James Brown classic goes, "Papa don't take no mess."
I learned rather quickly that it was easier to put effort into school than it was to deal with Dad when I did wrong. To everyone's surprise - especially my own - the harder I tried, the more I accomplished. I signed up for as many honors classes as I could and achieved straight A's on every report card while working 30 hours a week to help my family pay the rent (which must be where I mastered the art of multitasking!). I graduated six months early, ranking 5 in my class, despite changing schools six times during my four years of high school.
Armed with brains and a diploma but not much money, I enlisted in the Navy in 1997. My first stop was Boot Camp (or as they call it in the Navy, Basic Training) in Great Lakes, Illinois. Toward the end of Basic, I was promoted from E1 to E2 because I "put my section before myself," but I was always getting yelled at for not being squared away because I spent all my time making sure the guys in my section were meeting all standards. Luckily somebody took notice and thought that was a good thing. I was sent to Aircraft Electronics Technician A School in Pensacola, Florida where I graduated top in my class, and was told I set the record for the highest GPA in the school's history (but no guarantees here - they never bothered to check back that far). I was promoted to E4 at the age of 18, after less than a year in the Navy.
I then reported to the USS Tarawa in sunny San Diego, where I took the Petty Officer Second Class advancement exam. I ended up scoring in the 99th percentile, and by the age of 19, with less than 2 years of active duty service, I was promoted to E5, and subsequently accepted into the Broadened Opportunities for Officer Selection and Training Program. With my ROTC scholarship, I was able to attend Drexel University in Philadelphia and then the University of San Diego, where I took, at times, up to 22 units a semester and 30 units total during intersession courses. All the while, I maintained a 4.0 GPA nearly every semester. I was ranked 3 in the nation for graduating Surface Warfare Officers in the ROTC program, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of San Diego School of Business.
This story signifies the true spirit of the adage, anything is possible. I'm living proof - I'm a Naval Officer, proudly serving my country while supporting my father, stepmother, and little sister, who have all been living in my home for more than 2 years. I was both the first in my family to go to college, and the first to earn a degree. Above all, now I've launched my Company of One. As I've mentioned before, anything is possible. So welcome, all of you; to my website, my life, and my dream.
Very respectfully,
Dominique Angelo Ramirez
LTJG United States Navy
Realtor ®
CEO - DOMUS INNOVATIONS, LLC
P.S. My Top Advisor (also a LTJG in the US Navy), Felicia D. Cockrell, told me that I should include a few more important points here.
In January of 2008, DOMUS INNOVATIONS, LLC (www.domusinnovations.com) was officially founded. In April of 2008, our patent was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Finally, in June of 2008, our website www.OpenHouseBroadcast.com was launched for Beta testing.
