He learned electrical and plumbing trades while working as a Pullman car porter in Denver, Colorado. After receiving his electrical contracting license, he established Dones Electric, which later became incorporated as Aladdin Electric in Oakland, California. Dones is a founding member of The National Association of Minority Contractors, a nonprofit trade association that was established in 1969 to address the concerns of minority contractors. Today the organization has chapters in 49 states, the Virgin Islands, England and South Africa. Ray Dones was instrumental in establishing Project Upgrade, one of the first construction trades apprenticeship training programs in the United States. As a contractor, Dones had a hand in building or subcontracting a large part of Oakland's landscape, including the MORH and Acorn housing developments in West Oakland, the West Oakland Health Center, and the early construction of Oakland City Center. In 1999, Dones was named one of the most influential people in the construction industry by Engineering New-Record Magazine.