Sharon Neves Photography: Renea Magnani {Women in Business Series}

A little bit about myself:
My name is Renea Magnani and I am a Sonoma, California native. My family has deep roots here in this great community. That said, my husband and I are happy to be raising our two daughters, ages 5 and 8 here, too! Having been born and raised here, I am often approached by people asking for referrals on where to go, what to do and who to call so I started "Renea The Resource Gal!". It's my way of connecting people to our community. From this I have taken on some new small projects in Marketing, Accounting and more. I am really enjoying it. My facebook page is something I enjoy as I get to interact with people in Sonoma and afar, sharing information about anything and everything!

What do you most enjoy doing?
Time with my family is what I most treasure. We enjoy going to the beach or camping in the Summer, the Sonoma County Coast offers so many wonderful spots for this! In the winter, we head to Tahoe for snow time with friends in that area. Both my husband and I are community volunteers and work to support local sports, education and events such as The American Cancer Socities Relay For Life, which I have been the past event chair and am presently the Sponsorship Chair. Our girls are with us at many volunteer events, they have great empathy for others and will surely follow in our paths as community helpers! We also host Exchange Students in the summer, this is our second year. The world is a great place and we are all learning from eachother in this experience. Hopefully my children will grow to become young adults who wish to travel and explore. Something my hubby and I haven't done much but will, you know, when college and weddings are done and paid off...someday.

Favorite books? movies? artists?
I adore Dr. Suess! "Did I ever tell you how lucky you are?" is a wonderful book, as is "My many colored days". Those are not the typical Dr. Suess but surely are insights to the brilliance of that man! I am a teacher and love to share his wisdom with children. As for movies, The Little Mermaid remain's my favorite of all time. I can belt out some of those songs and make my kiddos smile, that's heaven! And for music, Bob Segar. I walked down the isle with my father to Roll Me Away.

How did you start your business?
For me, it developed over years. I am a teacher, took time off to have kiddos and will return to teaching after almost 5 years this fall. When my youngest was born, I took time and was trying to figure out what I could do that would allow me to be home with her yet still put food on the table. All moms and dads know this is the challenge at hand when kiddos come along. So I began networking. First through my local Mother's Club, which I became very active and served as a board member for two years. Then I just put myself out there; talking to whomever came my way and sort of became the go to gal in Sonoma for things of many natures. I love that people come to me to ask a variety of questions, pertaining to mechanics in town, schools for their children, where to get the best deal on something. I am so proud of my town and the people who live here so it's a perfect fit for me to take skills I have developed and those that come naturallly and help others.

What advice do you have for others?
Well, recently I said something like "It's all a matter of what matters most to you." I like that. Paired with "You can do so much more than you think you can!"; those two thoughts keep me going. Do what you love. Make something happen. It will all come together. Not always as quickly as you hope for but it does. Reach out to others that you admire. Go to them for support and guidance. Learn from the best.