Sepideh Amrei and the Bloom of Lume Consulting Group
BY AMITIS MASSOUDIEH, GRADE 6
Sepideh Amrei. Lume Consulting Group
As an immigrant who had just arrived in the United States from Iran, Sepideh Amrei never could have imagined that she would become the Chief Executive Officer of the Lume Consulting Group, an IT consulting company in Sacramento, California. Amrei says her favorite part about her job is “knowing that the services provided by her company directly contribute to the community’s public service.” In addition to being the CEO of her own company, Sepideh is a mom and a wife. She describes the challenge of managing her work and family life, saying, “As a parent, you have responsibility at home, and you need to keep the house in order, but also you have the responsibility of the business and it’s important to always keep time for yourself.”
After immigrating to the US from Iran, Amrei started her company primarily on her own, with the exception of her husband, who helped develop Lume’s website and create marketing materials. While IT Consulting is a well-populated field, Amrei says that “The main thing that sets our business apart is that quality is really important to us from every aspect of our work; from planning, to execution, to post-implementation review and assessment. We believe in doing an outstanding job and doing the best that we can for our clients and we take pride in being one of the few women-owned companies whose quality of work is the number one priority.”
Lume logo. Lume Consulting Group
She says that “Although there is no secret recipe to being an entrepreneur, determination and hard work helps. Giving up never got anyone anywhere.” And she should know. She started her business with extremely limited resources and assistance and built it up to the successful company it is now. She says “The biggest challenge I’ve ever overcame was that as a minority, a women, and especially an immigrant to this country, it was extremely difficult for me to start this business, and built it to the point where I am able to hire people, where I’m able to get various contracts from clients and organizations, and now I am at a point that I can make profit from all the investments that I have made.”
One of Amrei’s biggest pieces of advice is that “anyone can be a good entrepreneur if they don’t give up.” So next time you experience a setback in your career, remember Amrei’s story.
This article was written during the GWS Summer Writing Workshop. Taught by the GWS Publication Team, the workshop hosted young journalists in grades 1 through 12, each with a passion for writing and learning. Over five weeks throughout the summer, students brainstormed, researched, outlined, drafted, revised, and ultimately produced an article about a topic related to women in business. Learn more about the workshop here.
