East Idaho is filled with countless talented and ambitious entrepreneurs. Owner of Glacier Marketing and Phenix Salon Suites, Jeremy Dresen takes the definition of ambitious to a new level. Approaching his 25th year of being on air, he reflects on his journey as a DJ and how he became an entrepreneur. “The career path chose me,” Jeremy said.
From an early age, he knew that he wanted more out of his professional life. “I felt pressure early on at a young age as I was making my way through junior high and high school,” Jeremy said. “I was taking those tests that help you decide what you want to do for a living but they never generated anything for me. Or the typical jobs you have when you’re a teenager like working at a call center or fast food. People make a good living from both of those things, but that was not for me.”
At the age of 16, Jeremy began his first business venture with his best friend at the time. “I started looking into self-employment and I started a dance academy,” he said.
Jeremy set out to teach others about the R&B and hip-hop dance scene when he landed his first job as a DJ. Unbeknownst to him at the time, this job would change the trajectory of his life. “This is what got me into music initially,” Jeremy said. “Year after year while working at the dance club, I got more involved and became sort of an assistant manager. At that point in my career, I met DeLyn Hendricks, sales representative for Z103.”
When DeLyn met Jeremy, she immediately knew he was talented at what he did but Jeremy had just moved from Rexburg to Salt Lake City to continue his education. “She called me and tried to convince me to move back to Idaho. She said she’d love to have me on Z103,” Jeremy said. “She was persistent. She called me once a month for a year and on the 12th call, I told her I’d give it 2 years. That was 24 years ago.”
Early on in his career in radio, Jeremy got involved in sales that sparked his natural knack for business. “I was on air and doing sales and I loved it,” Jeremy said. Radio is just one snapshot of Jeremy’s career. About 16 years ago, while he was still working on air and doing sales, he decided he wanted to own his own marketing firm.
Born was Glacier Marketing, ‘The source for all your design and marketing needs.’ “I looked at the landscape of other agencies in the market and I felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled,” Jeremy said. “I reached out to my brother David, who is a genius creative director and graphic designer and asked him if he would be willing to hop on board. He said yes and things just kind of took off.”
For someone as ambitious as Jeremy, he knew he could strive for more. “My wife Leah had her full-time job in marketing and we wanted some sort of passive income or to dive into something sort of like a brick and mortar,” Jeremy said. “We started looking at franchises and stumbled upon Phenix Salon Suites and Gina Rivera, whose story caught my wife’s attention.”
Now as the owner of Glacier Marketing and three Phenix Salon Suite locations and continuing to work on radio, Jeremy has his hands full.
At 2:30 a.m. Jeremy begins each day by hitting the gym then going to produce his show and after that’s done, he gives all of his attention to his clients. “They’re long days, but they’re worth it,” Jeremy said. “My dad raised all of us to work our tails off. How do I get up at 2:30 a.m. and work until 5 p.m. every day? That work ethic is from him.”
“To anybody who’s wanting to start their own thing, have the drive and motivation to get it done and the consistency to see it through,” Jeremy said. “Don’t hesitate. Hit the “Go” button and be consistent.”
Through his many successful business ventures over the years, Jeremy is especially proud of his latest one—The Jeremy Taylor School Lunch Project. This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization was created to raise money for outstanding lunch debt at local school districts. “I want to make a bigger difference,” Jeremy said. “With the support of the community and some local business owners, there has been a positive impact on hundreds of kids and their families.”
Head to www.1007myfm.com/jeremytaylor/ to donate to The Jeremy Taylor School Project.