Hi, my name is…Steve Remenap
My company & title is… Ideal Networks Technology Solutions and The Idealistic Creative Marketing.
A typical day in my life includes… Thankfully I am blessed to have incredibly varied daily experiences. Having two divergent companies allows for different opportunities and keeps things interesting and challenging.
My favorite thing about living/working in Deer Valley is… The people, and the close proximity of Lake Pleasant is excellent too!
Your favorite movie you could never get tired of watching and why… Shawshank Redemption. A rare combination of incredible story coupled with the perfect cast and amazing filmmaking. There is never a time I run across it flipping channels that I don’t stop for whatever is left of the movie.
My family… I have a beautiful, smart, incredibly cool daughter that is a sophomore. While I only know what she’s talking about 75% of the time, I’m still impressed with her ability to grow and handle new situations every day. She is a great person, and I’m proud to be a part of her life.
The business lesson I learned the hard way is… He who speaks first loses. When I was a kid in Michigan I mowed lawns and shoveled snow for money when I wasn’t at school. For the first couple years (from about 9-12) I was TELLING my potential client the amount I wanted to charge for the job. I was getting around 2-5 dollars to complete the task. One day I spoke to a new client that was about the nicest old lady in the world. I decided to try something new. I told her I would do the job for her, and at the end she could pay me what she felt it was worth. That was a transformative experience for me. After bringing me lemonade and praising my work all day, she gave me $20! I would have asked for $5. Moral to the story, get out of your own way. It’s not what you think what you are doing is worth, it’s what the market will bear for it’s value.
One thing I cannot live without… Music. Been a musician most of my life, and couldn’t live without it’s cathartic release.
When I was younger, I wanted to be… A fighter pilot, like everyone else my age.
The song I would sing at Karaoke night is… I have several go to songs. Pearl Jam, STP, Otis Redding, and Prince are all artists I love singing.
The one person who motivates me is… My father. The most solid man I have ever known, and is probably busier in retirement that he was in his very successful career. He delivers honesty, stability, intelligence and humor to every person lucky enough to encounter him, and I strive to be like that every day.
The last thing that made me laugh out loud was… My own stupidity. I was walking Ocean Beach at night on the rocks in front of the cliffs with a high tide and waves crashing in following a buddy of mine to his favorite place to reflect. Some waves crashed up and I thought they were going to hit me, so I stepped quickly to where I thought was solid ground. It was actually a 2 foot deep hole filled with sea water. I wrenched my ankle something special, but the first thing I did was laugh at how incredibly dumb I was to do this in the first place! I am also completely sure I would do it again.
The perfect day would be… Today. Today is always the perfect day because it’s the only one you will ever have.
My first job was… Horticulture Management (Lawn Mowing).
My life… Is a constant work in progress. And I take comfort in the fact that I will never be done improving and learning so there will always be something to do tomorrow.
I’m currently working on… Wow, that is a tough question to answer. A lot? I am trying to grow two businesses, teach my daughter how to drive, play with my dogs, maintain a social life, play softball and basketball, implement a Ketogenic diet, travel to the 76 places on my bucket list, go see as much live music as I can, finish writing music for two projects I am in, and most of all be the best dad, son, friend and partner I can be.
The best gift I’ve ever received was… A newspaper that was printed on the day of my birth near my hometown.
The actor I would want to play me in a movie of my life is… Jack Black…duh!
My dream vacation would be to… The next place I am going is Iceland. I went to Peru last year to experience Machu Pichu and it was transcendent. I also went to Monument Valley earlier this year and highly recommend it to anyone living here in AZ. It’s an easy drive and truly spectacular.
My words of wisdom to aspiring business owners… Don’t wait until you think you know enough, because you never will.
