Alejandra Jiménez at the Greater Omaha Chamber, where she works with the REACH program to help small and emerging businesses access training, resources, and new opportunities. Photo by Karlha Velásquez Rivas.
By Karlha Velásquez Rivas, JEFAS Magazine
In an office with white walls in Omaha, Alejandra Jiménez spends her days building programs, setting up trainings, and having conversations that can change the path of a small business. Her work is not just about organizing classes or pointing people toward resources. A big part of it is helping entrepreneurs find structure, build confidence, and figure out what comes next.
Jiménez is the Director of Small and Emerging Business Development at the Greater Omaha Chamber. She is also part of REACH, a program that supports small and emerging businesses, especially in construction and professional services. Through education, technical assistance, mentoring, and business connections, REACH helps local companies grow their capacity, strengthen their workforce, and prepare to compete for contracts.
According to the Greater Omaha Chamber, REACH has supported more than 700 businesses since 2015. But behind that number are real business owners, many of them trying to grow with limited information, limited time, and a lot of pressure. Jiménez has helped many of them move forward.
Her commitment to service started long before this position. Jiménez describes herself as entrepreneurial and intentional. She has learned how to say no, but when she says yes, she takes it seriously. That way of living is tied to something personal. When she moved to Omaha from California, she remembers feeling alone. Since then, part of her purpose has been helping other people avoid feeling that lost while they build something new.
She started volunteering at a hospital when she was 13. Later, her career took her through different seasons. She worked in corporate sales, stepped away from work to focus on motherhood, and eventually found her way into nonprofit work. That transition was not easy.
“There was a period when I wasn’t working because I was a stay-at-home mom. That was a challenge,” she recalls.
Today, she has more than a decade of experience in community work and business development. Before her current role, she worked with small business support programs at organizations such as Catholic Charities and RISE. Those roles put her close to entrepreneurs who needed education, structure, and access to resources.
Her education also reflects her interest in business. She studied Business Administration, beginning at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and finishing at Bellevue University. But she did not learn business only in school. Jiménez also tried her own business ideas. She sold creams, purses, and other products, and says those experiences taught her what it feels like to try, fail, adjust, and keep going.
That same entrepreneurial side shows up in her work as an image and style consultant. Through her consulting business, which focuses especially on women in business, Jiménez helps women present themselves with more confidence, authenticity, and professional presence. For her, leadership is also connected to how a person sees herself, how she enters a room, and how much she trusts her own voice.
Entrepreneurship Takes More Than Desire
One of Jiménez’s clearest messages is that entrepreneurship should not be romanticized. Starting or growing a business takes education, discipline, and responsibility. A good idea is not enough. Business owners also need to understand permits, licenses, taxes, contracts, business plans, and basic administrative processes.
Through REACH, she explains, entrepreneurs can get support without being members of the Greater Omaha Chamber. The program offers free resources, classes, and connections with community partners. Topics include the difference between hiring employees and working with independent contractors, how to build a business plan, basic tax information, how artificial intelligence can help with some business tasks, and trainings such as OSHA 10 in Spanish.
Jiménez also points to the REACH Advanced Construction Academy, a program for businesses that have been operating for at least two years. In that academy, business owners with more experience work through specific challenges. They learn how to read blueprints, look at ways to become more competitive, and hear from experts who can help them prepare for larger contracts.
The fourth cohort will graduate on June 2, 2026.
For Jiménez, one of the biggest barriers entrepreneurs face is not lack of talent. It is lack of information. Many people do not know where to look for reliable help. Some end up paying too much for basic steps, like registering a business or filing paperwork with the state. She wants people to know that Omaha has nonprofit organizations that can offer guidance at low cost or no cost. The first step, she says, is getting informed before making rushed decisions.
She also reminds entrepreneurs that growth brings responsibility. Someone who starts selling food from home, for example, needs to understand that expanding means learning the proper licenses, rules, and requirements. For Jiménez, formalizing a business is not a barrier. It is part of what allows a business to compete and last.
Leadership With Heart, But Without Paternalism
People who work with Jiménez often meet a leader who is warm, direct, and honest. She admits she can be “a little strict” when she puts on her teacher hat, but she says it comes from wanting to see entrepreneurs grow.
“I want to see you grow, and I will walk with you, but I’m not going to hold your hand,” she says.
Photo by Karlha Velásquez Rivas.
That line says a lot about how she leads. She believes in support, but not dependence. Jiménez thinks part of working with the Hispanic community is helping people move away from the idea that someone else has to do everything for them. Her approach is not to rescue people. It is to give them tools so they can make better decisions and take ownership of their growth.
She has also learned that saying no can be part of a good business strategy. Not every contract is the right contract. A project may look good because of the money, but if the business is not ready to deliver, it can become a problem. The same is true when friends or acquaintances expect discounts, favors, or unpaid work. Jiménez believes learning to value your own work is a necessary part of becoming a business owner.
As a Latina woman in business spaces, she knows the path has not always been easy. She has had to earn respect in competitive rooms, and sometimes in front of people who questioned what she knew or whether she belonged there. Those moments have also helped her strengthen her voice and her place in Omaha’s business community.
The Hug Worth a Million Dollars
One story has stayed with her for years. While working at Catholic Charities, she helped a woman who was trying to build her business. Later, that same woman had opened a storefront and was offering catering services. When they saw each other again, the woman hugged her. For Jiménez, that hug was “worth a million dollars.”
That is why she does not see her work as just a job. What moves her is watching people make progress: landing a first contract, hiring employees, improving their operations, or reaching a goal that once felt far away.
“Their achievements are my achievements,” she says.
The community has also taught her that leadership requires the willingness to fail. For Jiménez, a leader has to be willing to make mistakes, feel uncomfortable, do things that are scary, and keep learning anyway. She also believes real leadership means putting ego aside, sharing information, and not seeing everyone else as competition.
Outside of work, she wants to be remembered as someone authentic, joyful, and strong. Someone who kept going with faith, courage, and love. More than anything, she wants her children to know that everything she does, she also does for them.
Alejandra Jiménez has become a voice that brings strategy and humanity together. Her message to entrepreneurs is simple: get informed, prepare yourself, learn when to say no, and keep moving forward, even when it feels scary.
Jiménez also owns a fashion and image consulting business for women entrepreneurs. She can be found on Instagram as LIV Avenue Co.
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