16 Years Building Someone Else's Dream | Dave Gold & Becky Perez

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📝Description:
 For sixteen years, Becky Perez built and ran spa after spa — making another owner wealthy while she stayed on salary with no bonus. Then her longtime friend Dave Gold showed up one day with a set of keys and a simple question: why not build your own? That decision became Golden Glow, a San Jose medical spa where patients are treated like family, not line items.

In this episode, Steve Ramona sits down with Dave and Becky to talk about what it really takes to bet on yourself and build something with heart:

• Why Golden Glow is decorated to feel like a living room, not a sterile medical office
• The "serve before you sell" philosophy: free consultations, honest assessments, and never selling a treatment they wouldn't do themselves
• How education — not pressure — builds the kind of retention that keeps a brick-and-mortar business alive
• Turning clients into community through private parties, memberships, and word-of-mouth referrals
• The full menu behind the glow: Botox, dermal fillers, laser treatments, microneedling, body sculpting, and more — all performed by licensed medical staff

PS: The line that stuck with me: Becky hugs every patient on the way out. In a world where so much of business has gone cold and transactional, she built an entire company around making people feel warm, seen, and better about themselves. That's not a marketing gimmick — that's a servant's heart.

CTA: Listen to the full episode of Doing Business with a Servant's Heart, then subscribe so you never miss a story like this. Local to the Bay Area? Golden Glow is right across from Nordstrom at Valley Fair — visit goldenglow.com or call 669-444-5560 to book a free consultation.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:
✅ Build for yourself, not just for others
✅ Educate before you sell
✅ Make people feel like family
 
⏱️Timestamps:
[01:00] Welcome & Guest Intro

[02:00] Inside the Med Spa

[06:00] The Keys to Her Own

[10:00] Lessons & Legacy

[16:00] Advice & The Golden Glow

[18:00] Marketing, Referrals & Growth

🤝Connect with Dave Gold:
💥Web: ttps://goldnglo.com/

 
🤝Connect with Steve Ramona:
💥Web: https://steveramona.com/
💥LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona/
💥IG: https://www.instagram.com/bizopportunitynow/
💥Podcast: https://www.servinginbusinesspodcast.com/
💥YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@doingbusinesswithaservantheart?sub_confirmation=1


🔖Tags:
 #Inspiration #Success #LifeLessons

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:58

Welcome everyone to Doing Business with a Service Heart Podcast. Doing business and life with a purpose, serving others and yes, achieving success. I'm your host, Steve Ramona, and we created the show for you because we want everyone to be motivated, inspired, and educated to make an impact in your world. I want you to think about these two incredible guests I have today. How will you serve today? And what impact will you create today? I want to thank my sponsor, pitchdb.com. Be a guest in over 3 million podcasts, speak at over 18,000 conferences and much more. This will build your thought leader platform with incredible opportunity to show who you really are. So I mentioned impact. My two guests here, I've known Dave here for a long time, five, six years. I just met Becky today, but they got some unique way of doing a salon, and I'm being very general, there's much more than they do. So I want to welcome Dave and Becky to the show. Hey Stevie, how are you?

SPEAKER_02 1:54

Hi, Stevie. Incredible.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

So why was this is it a salon? Can we call it a salon? Is that the right word for it?

SPEAKER_02 2:02

No, it's actually um a medical spot.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

A medical spot, perfect. So what was the mission and drive to start this medical spot?

SPEAKER_02 2:10

To um achieve uh most of our patients, um, their concerns and goals to make them to make them feel better about themselves. It our mission is to um provide um not only the trust and bond with them, but um to make a difference in their life, make them feel better about themselves.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

Make them beautiful. Make them beautiful. Now, uh what kind of medical uh situations are these? Are they cancer? Are they skin? Give us a little more detail what that looks like.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

So our treatments are Botox, dermal fillers, which um are several different types of dermal fillers that um also are for certain areas. We also provide laser treatments, which is tattoo removal, resurfacing, hair removal, melasma, IPL, sun damage. They did my hair removal and um mole removal, and we also provide microneedling uh, which stimulates collagen, also reproduces um again their collagen, softens fine lines. Um, it helps with uneven pigmentation. We do body sculpting. We also have a makeup artist that not only provides makeup but hair as well. And we're gonna start a new treatment, a fat-dissolving treatment for those that want to cut back and cut a few inches off certain areas that are stubborn, that although they've been exercising forever and ever, it's extremely hard to get rid of.

SPEAKER_03 3:56

So we're full body treatments.

SPEAKER_01 3:59

Full body treatments. What does your patient look like? Is it somebody? I guess of multiple things, but what is their what are they coming in to achieve? A better look, uh, a scar remove sounds like tattoo, but what's kind of the mindset of your client? Why would they come see you? Younger, I think, right?

SPEAKER_02 4:18

Yeah, to look younger and also like you said, there are some um procedures that we do, for example, stretch marks, scarring, like you just mentioned, um, that we could also help with. But most of the time it's just, you know, unfortunately with time, we age and they just want to maintain what they were given and maintain the beauty that's um, you know, that they don't want to lose. And we are here to help them with that and to continue keeping positive and um and not feeling like they're getting old and saggy.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

You know, it's just a lot of it's a tune for the human body.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

It's a great way of looking at it.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Yeah, we um most patients that come in are just they just they don't want to look any different, they just want to again like maintain what they have and not walk out the door looking frozen or looking any different from when they walked in. And um, we're here to just make, I want to make people happy. My mission is to, I want them to trust me. Once they walk in my door, they're my family. They're not just a number, they're not just a patient. I want them to feel that when they come in, we will take care of them, we will listen to them and we will acknowledge what they want and hopefully we'll be able to provide the service that they need.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah. Well, you've had a lot of experience. Talk about your experience and what led you to here.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Oh gosh, it's going now close to 18 years, and uh I managed three other spas. Um, actually, when I started working for them, um, they were getting ready to close doors and um go bankrupts. Yeah. And it and they had recruited me from a doctor's office, and eventually I just started doing my own thing. And I opened their second within a year and a half after they hired me. And um, I mean, it's a long story, and we would have to go over all that over a cocktail, but um, but then within three years, I opened their third, and before I left, I was getting ready to open their fourth. And um then I run into Dave Gold, and we've been friends for many, many years. And um he came to one of my events at the other company that I was with, and he, you know, goofy Dave Gold. Why don't you open your own?

SPEAKER_03 6:51

Why don't you do your own? Well, I was shocked that they made a lot of money, and she was on salary, and and she wasn't even on a bonus. So I was going, wow, all that money and you're you've made for them. And you know, they got all the they like they got all the golden glory. And so then I came up with an idea, why don't I invest with you and we'll open our own business? And I don't I don't think she had really heard me. And then one day I just showed up with a put the keys in her hand. I said, Let's go and look at this place, and that was our spa. And and she's made it amazing. When you walk into this spa, what she's done is it's like walking into someone's house, it's that feel. Everyone goes, Oh my god, it's not like a spa at all. And it and she's made our our lobby like a living room.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Yes, and we're not trying to pat our backs or toot our own horns, Steve, but really when people walk in, the first thing they say, it's like, oh my god, it really feels good in here. Here, it feels warm because every room is not like a medical room. It I Dave and I have decored the entire office as if it's a house. So you walk into our front lobby and it looks like a living room. I don't want people to feel that we're gonna obligate them. And once you sit and start signing papers, it's like, okay.

SPEAKER_03 8:04

Yeah, it's not sterile and cold, it's very welcoming and warm.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

I don't want them to feel obligated. We all know how tough things are now, how the economy is just we're all we're all struggling. So whatever they choose to do in here, it's because they really want to do it and they love us, and you know, and they're gonna they're they continue to be our family. It's not just a one-time deal. We continue educating them. There are so many other things that you may come in for Botox, but as you sit in that chair, there are so many other things that we could introduce you to that eventually will help when it's the proper time and it fits with your listen.

SPEAKER_03 8:44

Our nurses are a big part of that because we hire them for personality and the quality individual that they are, and that they really care as well. So it it you know, a lot of credit to our nurses because they're they're they're really a brilliant team, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

And that's another thing. All the procedures that we do cannot be done just by a cosmetician or an esthetician, it all has to be provided by either an RNPA or MP. That's medical license. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Yeah, somebody certified.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

So what lessons did you learn? Because entrepreneurs, this is an entrepreneur's story. You work for somebody, they're making all the money. You go out and start yourself, so you can make more of the money because you're doing a lot of the work. But what lessons did you learn from those three locations that you uh put in part with your business now?

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Well, I've always known I've always wanted my own business, but I knew I could do it. But I'd never realized how tough this was going to be once, you know, now that it's my own. Um, but what I learned from was that if I could persevere, make a family so wealthy and have done so well within um 16 years I was with them, like Dave said, why wouldn't I want to do it for myself and one day leave that legacy to my babies and to my grandchildren? You know, for them to think that Nani did something. And this, you know, Dave Gold and her started this. And now look, look at I know, I know in my heart it's gonna continue growing and I know it's gonna do well, but it it has taken time and it's taken a lot of work.

SPEAKER_03 10:21

And there's it's uh it's a massive market. There's a lot of competition.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

A lot.

SPEAKER_03 10:25

But uh, you know, people are always searching and looking, but I think our our retention retaining our retention of our customers and and by their their word of mouth, recommending us to their family and friends, it's it's it's really we know we're doing the right thing, we're on the right track. And we have a five-star, five-star rating on Yelp and Google.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

You know, I I'm I just feel pretty blessed because when people walk in, the first thing they say, it was you on the phone that I gravitated to. I'm here because you were so kind on the because the first thing I say, I'm not gonna sell you something that I would never do to myself. And I can't sell you anything unless I see you. So, and there are so many, like Dave says, the competition out there, crazy. But people will sell you some over the phone without even seeing you. How could that be? If you know, if the assessment, the consultations are so important and we don't charge for them, they're free. Um, as of now, we're not charging for any cancellations or no shows. Um, you know, and we are scheduling our hours according to our patients. Like on the website, it says we're open from nine to five. We've been open till eight, nine just to accommodate people that can't get here um until after they get off work, or depending on you know, how far in traffic and all true servants are.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Yeah, that's and that's what a you know a business like yours needs to be. What is one thing in the future looks like for your business?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Yeah, I mean, well, if we were if we were praying for something, uh it would be obviously we want we'd like to take this whole building over.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

We have we have a third of it, and we would love to take the whole thing, or at least the upstairs, and then we could expand our products and our services, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Have uh the entire top level just beauty, like eyebrows, lashes, all those fun things that men and women love doing, not just women.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Yeah, and that's a great lesson because entrepreneurs don't have that answer. It's great that you do because you have to have that. There has to be a goal somewhere to get you up every morning to do what you do. And I appreciate you saying that. And that's a great goal. It's not bodacious, it's it's a it's a big goal, but it's not impossible. It's just keep moving forward. Um, Becky, what do you think a servant is in business?

SPEAKER_02 13:00

A servant? Yeah, probably Becky Perez.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

There you go. Oh, that's and and then where how's Becky Perez a servant? So audience can can learn from that.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Well, I don't mind it, but I do it all. Uh basically, I feel like a servant is um it's the back end, they're they're the ones that help us.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

You put everyone else first. That's why you're a great servant.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Yeah, that that is yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:32

You do, you do, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

I will, yeah, I will take my shirt off my back for anybody because I I'm no better than anybody. I you know what? God made us all the same. And um, I'm just so blessed, Dave, that I've been given this opportunity. And Dave actually, you know, helped me achieve this, and I thank him so much. But at the same time, um I just want people to feel happy about themselves. It's such a, you know, I just feel like there's so much sadness right now, so much going on in the world. When people walk in here, I want them to jiggy on out and feel really good and be able to challenge the remainder of the day or the next day and the day after, you know. So yeah, I guess Becky is the servant.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

Well, you're an influencer, that's for sure, in a positive way.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Yeah, that's that's powerful. Yeah. And and the thing about what you do, it sounds like, and I hear from you both your voices, is you make people feel good. So when they go out to their business or their personal life, it's gonna be more successful because they feel better about themselves. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Yes. Well, it's nice when we're in a restaurant and one one of the our clients is walks into the restaurant and they come up to us and they go, Oh my god. And we see them, we go, Oh, you look fantastic. He goes, Oh, I feel so good about myself. Uh look at my face, there's no marks. It looks, and they look younger, they look prettier, and they their self-esteem and confidence is just what a gift that is for us to know that we've made a massive difference in their in their art and in their life.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Yeah, that's that that's a servant heart there as well. What would you say to somebody that's listening, that's that's on the fence about going in and getting some of these procedures done? What would you tell them?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Not be afraid to come in, to come and you know, yeah, come talk to us. And um, and if it feels right and they feel that, you know, right off the bat they could bond with us and trust us, then we move on to the next step. But um they need to come in, they need to take a look at the spa, they need to meet us all, they need to meet all the providers. And I think once um they have that experience, there's no no turning back. I just feel like you know what, it's a plus, they're gonna love us. Uh, I that I feel makes us so different from all the other med spas out there. And at least that's what I've heard from my patients is that I am a hugger, so I hug all my patients, and when they're leaving, I hug them as well. And say, I'll see you again. And oh my God, you look amazing, which I'm not lying, they do. They looked beautiful walking in, but now they just glow, and that's why golden glow will always be around.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Yeah, and I love should be in business. So you hugging your clients, hugging your employees. There's nothing wrong with that. It's with different kinds of love, and I think love is missing in business because so so many people are fearful after COVID and all the things that are happening in the world. Let's focus on ourselves. Now you're in the Bay Area. Uh, do you just have one location, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Yes, in San Jose, near Valley's Fair.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Near Valley Fair. You want to throw the address out so anybody local can hear? Uh, find find you guys.

SPEAKER_03 16:52

Yeah, it's 2045 Forest Avenue. No, 2405 or 05 Forest Avenue, 2405 Forest Avenue, suite 202.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

We're directly across the street from Nordstrom Valley Fair on the back side of Nordstrom.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

Gotcha. Okay, perfect. And is there an uh office number they can call to set up appointment to do a pre-screening?

SPEAKER_02 17:14

Yes, 669-444-5560. And I always give out my personal cell phone as well.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Um, but we'll just leave it with that number as now because it rolls over to my personal yeah, and so they can call that number and say, Hey, I saw the podcast, I heard about you, I want to learn more about some things. And somebody can literally walk in and not know what they need, and you go, hey, I I could see we could do this and this, and then they walk away enlightened because you're educating them what they need, correct? Yes, that's powerful.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

Education is is is the main thing.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

That's a service art too, because we could sell all day, but if we're not educating, they're not coming back. And exactly if you you talked about retention in what you guys do in brick and mortar, that's the lifeblood of your business. Um, with regards to referrals in and your network, how do you work with that? Do you do you promote that through your business? Is that something that's a part of your business?

SPEAKER_03 18:13

We do email blasts, you know. We send out and Becky does promotions all the time. She's got a fantastic promotion going on right now for the next 48 hours where we're doing Botox at 9.50, $9.50, which you could you you can with a special, you can pay up to $16, $17 a pot. You know, we're doing it night. So it's a great it was for Memorial Day because I I'm big on veterans and yeah, you know, uh she put this great program together, and that's what she does. She puts promotions together, and uh we also have incentivize.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

We also have private parties. Yeah, I uh partner up with real estate offices, banks, barber shops, beauty salons, shower showers for bridal uh bridal showers, just and we'll um close the spa exclusively for that party, um, like from four to nine. And we provide the food, the champagne, the wine, all the beverages and music, and we have a good time. And all the providers are here and uh provide only that night Botox and filler and all the other treatments are special rates, special rates at our special price.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

That's a great way to market. What a great way. Now, these specials as they come up, are they on your website? And what's your website so people can access this and see when these come up?

SPEAKER_02 19:33

They are, and um, we try to update them. We do have special prices for like our membership, because we have a membership that we offer through Golden Glow, but prices do change frequently. So um, but yes, they can view them on the website.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

We're on Facebook and Instagram, so we we put all our specials on there too. And we update that twice a week. But it's goldenglow.com.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Easy enough. And then you can see the logo behind you, or I'll have it in the show notes if you listen to us on the podcast. Uh, let's get a little personal. What does Dave and Becky do on a Friday night?

SPEAKER_03 20:10

Dance this Friday night. We're we're going to Charlie's because they're closing. I know our friend Chuck Oliver uh is is leaving, and so this is the last weekend, so we're gonna go dancing on Friday night.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Wow. Okay, Becky. Well, that's great. I mean, I don't dance, but that's definitely awesome. What a great way to spend a Friday night. So here's another question. I'll start with you, Becky. If you could interview anybody, who would it be and why?

SPEAKER_02 20:42

Who would I interview? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

Dead or alive. Either or you can pick or choose.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

Choose a one. Who would I interview?

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Audrey Hetman.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

I love Audrey Hepburn.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Um Dave, you can tell me, Dave, and then she can think about it if you want to.

SPEAKER_02 21:01

Yeah, let me think about. I don't know. I uh you know who I would love to interview today is Trump. And find out how he's feeling after the verdict. I would love to interview him right now.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

There you go. Yeah, that would be quite an interesting interview. Quite interesting. Oh, yeah.

unknown 21:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

How about you, Dave?

SPEAKER_03 21:22

Um yeah, I I think what's happening to Trump right now is unbelievable travesty because they're just they're not using the rule of law. They're they're sub they've subserved so many laws, and the way the judge told him that they could have only four could be guilty of this, four guilty, which amount to 12. It's it's ridiculous. So it's just turning it scares me actually because our our judicial system is for everybody, and right now I think it's being used as a political weapon, and it's taking that away from the voters, possibly.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

You know, that's well, thank you for that. I love that. Any last thoughts before we close out?

SPEAKER_02 22:06

No, but when are you gonna come see us?

SPEAKER_01 22:09

I will come see you soon. I'll bring my lovely wife, Dave Nelson.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Oh, I would love that.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Come see you, and maybe we uh record something out there, we'll talk about that. But I want to thank you both for being on and thank you so much. You know, audience, this is Becky's first time on the podcast. She was fantastic, very enlightening. So I really appreciate that. It's super simple to do these things. Um, audience, don't forget my TV show, Fridays, uh, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern. I hate time zones, always forget. Together we serve, it's on Apple TV, Roku, and all the streaming services. And don't forget doing business with a servants heart. You heard two great servants here today, how they're growing their business being a servant's heart. Let's share that on a t shirt, hoodie, hat, whatever it may be, so you can spread that message out. And me, Dave, and Becky, thank you so much for watching or listening to this podcast. And we'll see you on the next episode of Doing Business with a Service Heart.

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Thank you.