Publicity can feel like a mysterious world reserved for celebrities and billion-dollar brands. But in a recent episode of The Rundown with Ramon Podcast, publicity and personal branding strategist Lauren Cobello pulled back the curtain on what actually works for small business owners, authors, and experts who want more visibility and credibility. She shared how she went from blogger and self-published author to national TV regular and seven-figure founder—and how she now helps CEOs and entrepreneurs use strategic PR and books to grow their brands, not just their egos.

Enterprise finance teams are under pressure to do more than process transactions. They are expected to deliver visibility, predict outcomes, and help the business move faster without sacrificing control. A new announcement from Zoho Corporation reflects how finance technology is evolving to meet those demands. Zoho has unveiled Zoho Spend and Zoho Billing Enterprise Edition, along with expanded AI capabilities across its Finance and Operations Platform.

I sat down with James Orsini, a seasoned operator who’s spent 35+ years across accounting, finance, and marketing—and the last 11 years inside the VaynerX universe. What struck me most wasn’t just his resume; it was his calm, practical approach to scaling, culture, and leadership when the pressure is high. Watch the full interview here Key takeaways Never stop learning: “Be a sponge, not a rock.”

In the last few years, small business owners have been hit with a nonstop stream of change: economic uncertainty, new technology, shifting customer expectations, and now the rapid rise of AI. For many entrepreneurs, it has felt less like running a business and more like surfing a wave that never stops. Yet new research from the Upwork Research Institute suggests something important: the small businesses that lean into disruption, instead of hiding from it, are the ones most likely to grow.

On this episode of The Rundown with Ramon, Ramon shares insights from his conversation with Jason Pfeiffer of Entrepreneur Media. The big idea: standing out doesn’t come from avoiding noise but from delivering real value that your ideal audience cares about. Entrepreneurs must plant their flag and declare who they are and who they serve. Key Takeaways The fear of “adding noise” is often a defense mechanism.

In this episode, Ramon reflects on insights from the Wall Street Journal about how to care for others when you're overwhelmed yourself. For entrepreneurs juggling aging parents, kids, clients, and team members, the emotional load can be heavy. The show explores practical ways to maintain strength, gratitude, and boundaries. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel Key Takeaways…

This episode of The Rundown with Ramon highlights a simple but powerful truth: your priorities are revealed not by what you say, but by what you consistently do. Ramon shares how a pre-show workout sparked deeper insights about owning your calendar and structuring your life around what matters most. Entrepreneurs will walk away rethinking how they allocate time, discipline, and daily energy.

On The Rundown with Ramon, Ramon Ray reminded listeners that connections are currency. Even a conversation at the airport can spark new ideas, partnerships, or clients—if you show up with intention. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Key Takeaways Networking isn’t about business cards; it’s about curiosity. Show up ready to give value, not just get it. Every encounter can be a relationship opportunity.

Hosting isn’t about the size of the room or the importance of the event. It’s about how well you manage energy, attention, and people. In this episode of The Rundown with Ramon Show, Ramon Ray shares unexpected but powerful lessons learned from hosting a baby shower—and how those same skills apply to entrepreneurs, leaders, speakers, and anyone who needs to show up confidently in front of others.

I've hired over 90 freelancers on Upwork, the fast few years and several more on other platforms or directly. I know a thing or two about hiring freelancers. Landing freelance work today isn’t just about talent. It’s about speed, clarity, trust, and how well you communicate value in a crowded marketplace. Platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, and Freelancer.com have millions of active users.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some, it’s a solo gig on a beach with a guitar. For others, it’s building a company big enough to ring the bell at Nasdaq. In a recent episode of The Rundown with Ramon, Nicola Corzine, Executive Director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, unpacked what it really takes to build a business, especially if you don’t come from money, connections, or the “right” ZIP code.

Sometimes a simple DM reminds you how much authenticity still matters. Recently, an influencer I've known for years—one of the originals in my professional network —reached out to ask me to attend their event. The message was warm, polite, and professional. But something felt off. It wasn’t them. It was their executive assistant. And I could feel it instantly. I replied with a quick “no thanks.” Not because the opportunity was wrong.

Cyber scams, ignored customers, AI layoffs, and even rising coffee prices all showed up in this episode of The Rundown with Ramon. Ramon Ray unpacks what these headlines actually mean for entrepreneurs, while reminding us that how we show up as human beings still matters more than anything else. This episode ties together gratitude, security, customer focus, and skill-building into a clear playbook for small business owners.

When a major tech company publicly reports a security incident, the story often fades quickly for everyday business owners. But this week’s disclosure from OpenAI about a data exposure at Mixpanel deserves a second look. Not because your passwords or chat data were compromised—they weren’t—but because it highlights a truth too many entrepreneurs still ignore: cyber threats don’t just target big companies.

On this episode of The Rundown with Ramon, I sat down with James Cuthbert, head of marketing for merchant solutions at Fiserv, the company behind Clover. We talked about what Clover is really built to do, why most small business owners are still underusing their tech, and what he learned from a Shark Tank–powered event filled with entrepreneurs.

For many small business owners, financial management isn’t the fun part of running a company—but it often determines whether the business grows, secures funding, or even survives. Messy books, unclear financial statements, and missing documentation can slow down loan approvals and make it harder to plan for the future. Fortunately, a new wave of tools and services is helping entrepreneurs get financially organized and become more loan-ready than ever.

For millions of small business owners, managing the numbers is the least exciting part of entrepreneurship. But those messy books—missed expenses, misclassified transactions, incomplete documentation—can be the very thing holding a business back from growth. A new round of investment in Bags, a fintech startup tackling this challenge head-on, signals a major shift in how small business finances could be managed in the years ahead.

The SEO world just got a shake-up. Yoast, one of the most widely used WordPress SEO tools, announced a new partnership with Microsoft to bring AI-powered features to millions of websites. The collaboration signals something bigger than a tech integration. It marks a shift in how small businesses will optimize their content, compete online, and reach customers in a crowded digital marketplace.

Just a few days ago Zoho release a major update to Zoho One, and Ali Shabdar, director of strategic growth at Zoho, unpacks this important milestone and so much more. He also touches on AI - to not get distracted by it. Running a small business in 2025 often feels like living inside your browser tabs. CRM in one window, email in another, tasks in a third, finance in a fourth—and that’s before you open Slack, Zoom, or your whiteboard app.

Small business owners are managing more moving parts than ever—ideas, tasks, requests, deadlines, product updates, vendor needs, customer issues, and daily operations. For years, tools like Trello, Jira, and Asana helped teams stay organized. But over time, many of these once-beloved platforms became bloated, slow, and overly complex. Enter Fizzy, a fresh new take on kanban created by 37signals, the company behind Basecamp and HEY.

On this episode of The Rundown with Ramon, Ramon discusses the reality behind AI-driven layoffs, corporate restructuring, and new AI safety measures. While AI creates efficiency and scale, it also introduces new tensions around privacy and trust. In this environment, an entrepreneur or professional’s strongest defense is not technology—it’s relationships, skills, and visibility. Key Takeaways AI-related layoffs highlight the need for ongoing skill development and adaptability.

The latest government data paints a mixed economic picture, and Wells Fargo economist Nicole Cervi feels that many business owners are preparing for a period of “managed uncertainty.” It’s not crisis-level fear. It’s not optimism either. Instead, businesses are adapting in practical, incremental ways—especially around pricing, labor, and margins. For small business owners, these insights matter. You’re on the front lines, feeling cost pressures in real time and responding faster than large corporations ever could.

Let’s get something out of the way right now and that’s if you’re running a small business, you already know how tough it is to stand out. There’s competitioneverywhere. Someone’s always shouting louder, posting more often, or promising something shinier. But it’s not the loudest voice that wins. It’s the one that connects. And that’s where content comes in. Content is the ultimate differentiator.

In this episode of The Rundown with Ramon, Ramon shares why the way you close an event, livestream, or meeting sticks with people long after the moment ends. A strong close creates energy, reinforces key messages, and leaves a lasting impression. Entrepreneurs, speakers, and leaders can dramatically elevate their impact by mastering the close. Key Takeaways The end of an experience is often the part people remember most.

Square just rolled out one of its biggest product waves yet, and it’s aimed squarely at restaurants and Main Street businesses. The Fall 2025 releases focus on AI, automation, voice ordering, and even bitcoin payments. For small business owners juggling thin margins, staffing headaches, and rising costs, these changes are less about “shiny tech” and more about reclaiming time and controlling cash flow.