Photography by Lucas Purvis
Dana Jones does not waste a second of time. She can multitask with the best of them, a trait she probably picked up from her father, who owned several businesses before he retired at the ripe old age of 42.
Jones likes work. She has held multiple jobs since she was 13 years old, so it is no surprise that she created a business to find job opportunities for others. She is the founder of Luna Data Solutions Inc., a high-tech IT staffing firm that staffs for temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct-placement positions.
A typical day for her begins at 6:30 in the morning when she arrives at a client’s work site. She works there until about 3:30, then goes to her office and works until 6. After that, she goes home to have dinner with her husband.
“I think it is [really] important to make time to have dinner with my husband every night, so I make that a priority,” she said. After dinner she gets back on the computer and works for the next few hours until it is time for bed.
“Sometimes I sit at home and think, ‘Gosh, is all this work really worth it?’ but I don’t know what else I would do,” she said. “I am not one to sit there and twiddle my thumbs.”
After graduating from Southwest Texas State in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems, Jones began her career working as a state employee for the Texas Workforce Commission. She began as a computer programmer, then became a database administrator and eventually went on to project management. At the time, she worked with a lot of contractors and vendors and thought she could do what they were doing, only better.
“I saw state agencies pay a lot of money to vendors, who took huge percentages of the pay due to their overhead expenses,” she said. “I wanted to start my own business to a) provide some competition that would give state agencies better rates, and b) to pay workers a better salary.”
Jones founded Luna Data Solutions in 2000.
When asked if she was nervous when she decided to open her own business, she simply said, “No, not really. All I have ever known was business. It is what I grew up with.”
Jones grew up in the small town of Burleson, Texas, just south of Fort Worth. Her father owned several businesses, including the town’s funeral home, flower shop, ambulance and answering service.
“He turned everything into a dollar,” she said. “Even when he retired and continued golfing, he bet on the rounds.”
In 2003, she incorporated. In the beginning, the company specialized in staffing mostly for the public sector. Luna Data Solutions Inc. has experienced more than 100 percent annual revenue growth during the last three years.
Always keeping an eye on the economy, in 2006 she knew that while the public sector was still thriving and the private sector was faltering, eventually those two sectors would flip-flop. So it would be in her company’s best interest to expand into the private sector, as well. And that is what they did.
As she predicted, starting in the 2010 fiscal year, the public sector started to see significant budget cuts across the board, but because she created a new division within her company to focus solely on private sector staffing, she has continued to experience exponential growth for 2010.
She hired an office manager in 2007 and then slowly began adding staff. Now the five-strong team works around the clock.
On top of working for clients and running her own company, Jones and her husband own and manage several rental and commercial properties.
“I have never seen someone multitask the way she does,” said Christina Long, marketing manager at Data Luna Solutions. “Even with all her endeavors, she manages to succeed in all areas and never complain of the challenges.”
One of her proudest achievements is the fact the company has always been self-financed. “It is a bootstrap organization, which is something I am very proud of,” Jones said. “Even in hard times, we have not had to borrow money.”
Another area she is proud of is her company’s commitment to customer service.
“As opposed to the cookie-cutter job board hunts and short pre-screens, Dana encourages us to get out in the community and really get to know our market,” Long said. “We focus on creating close relationships with both our clients and candidates.”
While Jones does not think she will beat her dad’s retirement age of 42, she longs for the day when she will slow down and make time for hobbies and organizations. Candle making is in the works, as is volunteering for organizations she only financially supports now.
“I believe in giving money to organizations, but I am excited for the day I can volunteer more of my time,” she said.
Feeding the homeless and supporting cancer are her two main charitable causes. Cancer hits home for Jones, as her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer right before her pregnancy with Jones. Doctors encouraged her not to continue with the pregnancy, but Jones’ mom did not listen to their advice. She is now a 41-year cancer survivor.
Luna Data Solutions is located at 6448 Highway 290 E, Unit E-113, Austin, Texas, 78723-1042. For more information, call 512-828-7906 or send an email to dana@lunadatasolutions.com. You may also visit the company online at www.lunadatasolutions.com.
