Issue #52: She's a restauranteur, speech therapist, AND professor — meet DC's most versatile entrepreneur
Kicking off our new series with Ana-Maria Jaramillo, an uber-talented friend
Edited by
.Almost every time Aja and I get together, we talk about our work: the stuff that inspires and gratifies us, what drains or disappoints us, how our professional and financial goals intersect (or deviate)… But we’re both in tech, and we realized we were craving a larger conversation — with women in all different kinds of roles and industries.
Welcome to Friends With Cool Jobs, a new series exploring the ways we seek balance in life and work. A “cool job” is one that’s fulfilling, engaging, and sustainable, especially from a salary, lifestyle, and planet perspective. Up first, we’ve got a very cool friend with three (!) very cool jobs…
Ana-Maria Jaramillo is an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, owner and founder of DC’s only fully bilingual pediatric speech-language pathology practice, and co-owner of La Tejana, a super popular breakfast taco spot.
We talked about the perks (and downsides) of being an entrepreneur, cultural disparities in childhood development, how much she pays herself, and more.
On the best part of being an entrepreneur:
The cliche answer is I’m my own boss. Or, I get to make my own schedule. But that’s not really true. People always need me to make decisions, so I’m on their schedule and not my own.
The biggest perk is being able to create and foster the culture and community at my businesses. We always lead with empathy and understanding at the clinic. And it’s the same for La Tejana. We have built so much community by having this restaurant — from giving chefs the opportunity to pop up to making every dog, baby, and person that comes in feel welcome and seen. To me, the coolest thing I can do as a human is give back.
On working with children:
I’ve always wanted to work with children — I remember taking care of my younger brother when he was a newborn (I was five), and being fascinated by how he learned new skills. Much later, after studying child psychology in college, I found out about speech-language pathology. I went on to earn my Master’s and my Doctorate, and then I opened my own clinic.
On what makes her clinic unique:
20% of kids in the United States speak a language other than English at home — but 91% of speech-language pathologists are white, and 93% are monolingual. I come from an immigrant household. I didn’t move to the United States until I was five. Spanish is my first language. As I learned more about the huge disparities that exist in my field — for example, kids getting lumped into special education services or diagnosed with autism or speech issues because they speak another language and can’t be properly assessed — I decided to start my own clinic. We’re the only bilingual clinic in the DC/Maryland/Virginia metro area. We’re all Latinas, and we’re almost all first generation clinicians, which is super rare. Our mission is pushing for ethical, equity-driven services for kids that need help.
On being a professor:
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a professor. But it turns out, there are not a lot of “mes” in the world — so NYU asked me to teach courses on childhood language disorders and on assessing and treating multilingual children. I really enjoyed it, so I continued teaching at GW. The course I teach on multicultural issues and human communication is like my baby. We talk about the history of systemic racism and why we, as a country, have so many communication breakdowns with people who are not white.
On bringing breakfast tacos from Texas to DC:
The morning after my 29th birthday, my then-boyfriend (now-husband) Gus and I were super hungover. We got my favorite breakfast tacos in Austin. After the first bite, Gus was like, What the hell is this? This tortilla is insane.
He had a vision that if we got serious — and if I ever moved to DC — we’d open a breakfast tacos spot together. (He’s a white dude, born and raised on the East Coast, but speaks perfect Spanish and has always appreciated Latin culture.) Years went by, I moved, he was fully immersed in the restaurant industry… and then the pandemic happened. He started making tortillas at home, just messing around, and one of our friends shared the tortillas on Instagram. Our DMs blew up. One thing led to the next, and we started doing pop-ups, the Washington Post wrote about us, and we eventually raised money to open our restaurant in Mt. Pleasant. The pandemic definitely pushed us to pursue this, but it’s been the best decision ever.
On her typical day:
I'm always bouncing around. I wish I had the luxury of working from home more, but I physically have to be at the clinic, the restaurant, and on campus. Yesterday, after I spent several hours teaching and holding office hours, I drove to the restaurant to work the counter. (One of our people was sick.) Then I went downtown to my clinic for the weekly patient roundtable I hold with my team — What’s the best approach to use with this patient? What can we do to get more patients in the door? etc.
Once the meeting ended, I met a long-time patient at his school, then went back to the restaurant to check in with my bar manager. (We’re getting ready to launch another space upstairs — it’s very time-consuming!) And that was it. Pretty typical day.
On what she pays herself:
As a woman of color, I’m very open about how much money I make. I pay myself $90K to $100K a year to run the clinic. And I put the money I make from La Tejana (typically around $3K per month) towards savings, paying off my student debt, and/or treating myself.
My husband works for the shop full time, so he pays himself a normal salary. Our primary goal is paying back our investors. We completely renovated a whole building, which cost about $180K. It was actually very cheap — people spend upwards of $800K to open a restaurant! We’re paying our investors back on a year-to-year basis, which means we were able to be profitable much faster — and now maybe one day we’ll be able to afford a house in DC.
Ana-Maria shared a few of her favorite things…
Her biggest self-care secret:
Setting my phone on Do Not Disturb and leaving it in another room.
The products she uses every day:
Clinical Pro-Heal Vitamin C Serum (for my face) and my spring Le Labo scent THÉ MATCHA 26. (Yes, I switch perfumes out every season!)
The book that inspired her most professionally:
The Creative Act: A Way Of Being by Rick Rubin. I don't think I've ever been so inspired to create and see the beauty in the world. I'm usually reading two to three books at a time, but for now, I am reading The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck — another classic!
What she’s listening to on repeat:
A rotating mix of Feid, Khruangbin, Cleo Sol, & Brent Faiyez.
To keep up with La Tejana (and their forthcoming expansion), follow them on Instagram. I’m actually going to DC this weekend for our friends’ wedding and can’t wait to eat some tacos!
Finally, ICYMI: The most popular link in Monday’s Links We Sent Our Friends was Uniqlo’s viral cross-body bag (still a steal!) with a summery spin.
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Absolutely loved this - what a refreshingly, down to earth and honest perspective! In particular, I really appreciated the financial transparency - makes it easier to grasp some of the realities of entrepreneurship.
I have never clicked to read an issue faster - La Tejana is everything and I have such admiration for Ana-Maria!