Meet Juli Jergensen

We had the good fortune of connecting with Juli Jergensen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Juli, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I’ve been a pastry chef for almost 25 years, creating custom cakes and providing in-home professional chef services. Cancer forced me to reevaluate my career and find another stream of income. The scars and damage from treatments and surgeries rendered me unable to withstand the rigorous physical demand of the culinary industry.

I turned to one of my other loves, cars and driving. I started driving with Lyft almost 9 years ago as a side gig, and I’ve noticed a demand for airport shuttle and private car/limo services for special events.
I was blessed to have been given a classic Thunderbird (aka ‘Ramone’) that belonged to my grandfather, I have an older, very nice Tahoe (aka ‘Susan’), and another newer, but not brand new, Tahoe (aka ‘Toothless”)… and one employee. I believe that buying new cars is a tremendous waste of money, and I pride myself on finding well cared for used cars and making them last. That’s when I came up with Silver Fox Cars…. older or classic, meticulously maintained and custom cars available for weddings, proms, parades, or even photo shoots or videos! And because the cars are older, less money will be tied up in loans and lost to intrest and depreciation.

During a very brief stint with a local limo company, I was waiting in the commercial holding lot at DIA where it was pretty much a sea of black, new, cars and I thought how bland and boring. None of my cars are black… I love the blacked out look on silver and gray cars… and they all have something unique to set them apart.
A delightful twist to my story, is that my daughter is my mechanic. We hope to open a shop not just for maintaining and building custom cars for Silver Fox Cars, but also offer beginner and women oriented car care clinics, and even driving lessons! Ultimately, we hope to provide a spa like, stress free place to get yourself and your car a little TLC.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Starting a new chapter is equally frightening as it is exciting. It’s not been an easy road, especially with the personal challenges of fighting cancer and the global challenges of Covid 19. I’m abundantly proud of the work I’ve done making cake masterpieces, but not only did the market for my work disappear during the pandemic, my fine motor skills that made me unique, suffered. Creativity comes in handy when completely changing careers. For artistic entrepreneurs, creativity doesn’t just exist in paint or music, it’s a tool to find niche where the thing you love to do can thrive.

I have other ‘motor’ skills that make me uniquely qualified for my new venture. I take great pride in my cars, and I love to drive. My extended knowledge of Colorado’s roads, landmarks, pop culture, and Colorado’s crazy weather patterns inspires confidence in my customers that I will be able to get them safely and swiftly…and in style… to and from wherever they’re going. And, yes, I’m an excellent driver.

Things happen that force your art or life’s work in a different direction. It’s possible to be flexible without losing your uniqueness. Lean on your tribe. As long as you do what you love, it won’t feel like work.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Lucky for me, my bestie lives here! So I’ll pretend an out of state bestie is visiting us!

Fort Collins has been my favorite home town since attending CSU in 91. I’ve seen it grow and evolve without losing its small town feel. For the proper FoCo experience, we’ll stay at the Elizabeth Hotel. We’ll start with Margs on the patio at the Rio. Alley walking and shopping in Old Town (aka Main Street USA). Fuel up on awesome German food made from scratch, with love, by my friends Ryan and Ted at Schneiders Schnitzel Service. Expertly crafted drinks and charcuterie at Social. One of the mornings, we’ll have breakfast with good old fashioned diner service at Silver Grill, then we’ll grab our gear and head up HWY 14 for some fly fishing on the Poudre River. Local bestie will give us a tour of the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program campus, where injured raptors get a second chance at freedom. We’ll buy some sweet merch and leave a dontion. Dinner at Little on Mountain. On a day our legs need to rest we can take a car tour around Horsetooth Resevoir, stop in Laporte for Verns famous cinnamon rolls (how famous are they? My parents stopped at Verns to pack some with them on their way to their Honeymoon). We can catch a show at Lincoln Center or a film at the Lyric Cinema. We can pepper the remaing time with coffee at Starry Night, late night street food, drinks at Elliott’s or Ace Gilette’s and people watching in the square. Wind down the week with some pampering at Woodhouse spa, and dinner at the Emporium back at the Elizabeth Hotel.

I could go on another paragraph (probably several paragraphs) to talk about my other favorite places and drives around Colorado.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My friends and family have been steadfast by my side through all of my ventures and life events. They’ve been there to buy my cakes, to book me for a ride, and to tell their friends and family about me. They’ve been here through my cancer fight, and are standing by me while I rebuild my life. There are too many names to list, but I will start with my Mom, who has been my biggest cheerleader, has financially backed my ventures, but most of all, has been there for me on my best and worst days. Honorable mention for my besties Cristen and Carin… for everything besties do. My kiddos, Sagan and Theia, who amaze and inspire me everyday. And Courtney for recommending me to Shoutout Colorado!

Instagram: Julijergensen

Facebook: Juli Jergensen

Other: Email julijerg@gmail.com