Meet Steve Freeman!
Many of Qdigitizing’s customers are probably familiar with Steve Freeman (Managing Partner at Qdigitizing) on a business level, but what about behind the scenes? We thought it would be fun to get to know Steve a little bit better and he was game…
1. Where were you born? I was born in Brandon, Manitoba Canada. I am a total Canadian, ay! But I naturalized as a US citizen when I turned 21 so I could be an officer in the US Army.
2. Favorite childhood memory? Going to the Ontario Science Center in Toronto. I loved that place.
3. Where else have you lived? Oh my…My parents moved me around a bit. I went to a different school in 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th Grade, 9th grade, 10th grade and 11th grade. But Phoenix has been home since the mid 1970’s except for a short stint in California from 2005 – 2008.
4. What was your first paying job? Paper route if that counts…Second job was washing cars at one of those big car washes.
5. Where did you go to college? Undergrad at Arizona State University, Masters at University of Phoenix.
6. What subject do you wish you had paid more attention to in school? No doubt…Math.
7. How has your education prepared you for your career? Taught me critical thinking skills. That might sound like a cop out but the ability to think through problems and/or evaluate opportunities is the most important thing I have learned.
8. Do you have any children or pets? Two daughters Lindsey (13) and Aylah (21) and a two dogs a beagle and a mutt.
9. Favorite book? It used to be The Stand by Stephen King, but now I really like 11/22/63 by the same author. I have read thousands of books but King is my favorite author for guilty pleasure novels. I also loved Contact by the late Carl Sagan.
10. Favorite hobby? I am a pilot and very active in the Experimental Aviation community. I have built one flying airplane and my second is currently about 90% done. I hope to fly her this summer.
11. Favorite food? Nothing beats a good steak.
12. If you had an extra hour every day what would you do with it? Sleep.
13. Favorite place you’ve ever traveled to? Paris with my wife. Amazing.
14. Where was the last place you traveled to? Long Beach, CA.
15. Where do you want to retire? A modest, modern cabin (rustic is over rated!) in the mountains.
16. What is your favorite college or professional sports team? I am a diehard Buffalo Bills fan. A glutton for punishment, I know.
17. If you could spend the day with someone famous (dead or living) who would it be? John Lennon or Abraham Lincoln.
18. What are some of your pet peeves? As you are driving down the road, you turn on your blinker to (safely) change lanes and you notice the guy (or gal) who is in the next lane speeds up so you can’t change lanes in front of them. Man, I hate that.
19. Describe yourself in three words. Husband, Father, Entrepreneur.
20. Tell us something unique about yourself. I can rebuild an embroidery machine (1 to 30 heads) from the ground up.
21. Where did you work before your current Job? I was Embroidery Manager at Zazzle.com.
22. What motivates you? People who are passionate about what they do.
23. Most proud accomplishment? Well, I had to sell my first plane to a flying club in Australia before I could test fly her/ I was less than 40 hours from completion. It broke my heart (long story). When I finish my second plane the first flight will be my proudest “personal” accomplishment.
24. Favorite piece of advice? If you ask for professional advice 99 times out of a hundred you should probably take it.
25. What lies in the future of commercial embroidery? I feel the future of commercial embroidery is that large scale production is gone to off shore providers. However, there will always be a need for domestic midrange (60 to 100 head shops) and hot market production. Also – The entrepreneur who can capture their niche market and deliver one-to-one service will thrive in an environment where technology allows them to deliver one of a kind products to the consumers door in a couple of days instead of a couple of weeks.
26. What’s your most significant current challenge? Predatory competition in a market where there is virtually no price elasticity.
27. What is one of your top goals for Qdigitizing this year? To reduce our edit rate so we can make more of you happy on the first pass at a design!
Great interview Steve. Hard to believe that it has been over twenty years since we first met at TCE. I remember Aylah as a baby in her playpen at the shop. What a wonderful time in life those early days were.
I am so happy to see your success and wish you all the best in the future.
Hey Bill,
Great to hear from you. That little baby just graduated college! She is working as a Veterinary Technician at a local animal hospital. She is a beautiful young woman and turned out great.
Thanks for your kind words…It is nice to keep in touch with the crowd that helped me get where I am today. I have several TCE customers working with me here at Qdigitizing.
Steve