麻豆影院

Founder, Saluzo Business Solutions

One of the first questions a successful entrepreneur asks about her business idea is the 鈥渨hy.鈥� Jamie Lujan found her why as a young girl, spending her Saturdays coloring in the back of her mother鈥檚 barbershop.听

鈥淢y mother couldn鈥檛 take me to a traditional workplace, but I could go to the barbershop,鈥� Lujan said. 鈥淢y husband also grew up in his family鈥檚 small businesses. Those are the businesses we want to work with, so that when we鈥檙e talking to a university or sports arena, we鈥檙e able to find opportunities to help big organizations diversify their supply chains by engaging with companies owned by women and people of color.鈥�

Her latest venture, Saluzo, offers consulting and professional services to startups and entrepreneurs, especially those owned by women or people of color. It鈥檚 the latest stop on a career that鈥檚 encompassed entrepreneurship, accounting, grants, marketing and higher education, including work at CU 麻豆影院 and Leeds.

Lujan chose CU after attending a pre-college program. Today, those programs are robust鈥攕he teaches the Introduction to Business course that pre-college students take in the summer鈥攂ut at the time, they were limited, and departments like Leeds鈥� Office of Diversity Affairs, which eventually hired Lujan as its associate director, didn鈥檛 exist. 鈥淏ut I landed in the right place. I tell people all the time that Leeds is one of the best business schools in the country.鈥澨�

Lujan鈥檚 well-traveled r茅sum茅 is a kind of roadmap for today鈥檚 students, who are expected to have 鈥渃areer portfolios鈥� of several distinct careers in their professional life. She attributes her success to the network she cultivated throughout her career.听

鈥淔or students, it鈥檚 so important to remember that your reputation will precede you in business,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n my work, I call on people in universities, policy, VC, banking, technology, youth athletics and nonprofits鈥攁nd I can continue working with them because I鈥檝e maintained a level of transparency, honesty and excellence in my work.鈥�

Her network and reputation helped her secure her newest project, where she鈥檚 leading the Latino strategy for the Network of Untapped Entrepreneurs, an investment firm focused on closing the wealth gap by supporting entrepreneurs of color and their communities. 听

For Lujan, the best part of her work is getting to meet other founders: "I鈥檓 a people person, I love to meet other people chasing their passions and seeing what magic happens when we work together.鈥�

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