Maybe I Was Building SandeeG Before I Knew It

I bought SandeeG.com in 2020. And then I did absolutely nothing with it. 😂

I liked the name. It was me. I figured someday I would do something with it. I just had no idea what that something was.

So I kept renewing the domain year after year while SandeeG.com basically sat there waiting for me to figure it out.

Turns out, maybe I wasn't supposed to know yet.

Then Came Sunny

For years, I've been that person who finds an encouraging graphic on Pinterest and saves it or shares it. A cute character, a few words that make you smile, something that makes you think, Oh, somebody needs to see this today.

About a year and a half ago, I started thinking, why don't I have my own character for that?

That's how Sunny came along. ☀️

Sunny became my version of all those encouraging graphics I'd been finding and sharing for years. Instead of always searching Pinterest for something someone else created, I had my own little character to help me spread some encouragement.

There wasn't a product plan or a business plan. I certainly wasn't thinking, This is the first piece of SandeeG.

Looking back now, though, Sunny really was the first piece.

“Your Cards Used to Be Your Ministry”

Then last year, someone reached out and asked if I was still sending cards. They remembered that sending cards had once been almost like a ministry for me.

That comment stayed with me because they were right.

For years, I sent cards because I noticed things. Someone was hurting. Someone accomplished something. Something made me laugh. Someone crossed my mind.

Those were reasons to send a card.

Somewhere along the way, I'd gotten away from doing that as regularly. That one comment helped bring it back.

The Scripture Cards Started Something

I started sending Scripture cards to the women in my Bible study. It wasn't a business. I wasn't trying to sell anything. I simply wanted to encourage them.

Then I started adding other people.

And something else happened. I started sending cards again.

Not just Scripture cards. Birthday cards. Sympathy cards. Encouragement cards. Thinking-of-you cards. Funny cards. Cards for those little moments when you think, I need to send them something.

The Scripture cards reminded me how much I loved making someone feel remembered.

Apparently, that part of me hadn't gone anywhere.

Then Came Two Calendars

The next thing I knew, I was creating calendars. Not one. Two. 😂

And there's something about those calendars that makes me smile now. SandeeG.com isn't on them.

Why? Because SandeeG still wasn't a thing.

I had owned the domain since 2020, but I still hadn't figured out that all these pieces might actually be leading somewhere.

And Somewhere in There Was Digital Life with Sandee

Another piece had been growing too: Digital Life with Sandee.

At first glance, what does helping someone with technology have to do with Sunny, cards or calendars?

But if you know me, it makes perfect sense.

When I figure out something that makes technology easier, I want to turn around and tell somebody else. Did you know you can do this? Look what I just figured out! Wait. There's an easier way.

I especially love helping the person who says, “I'm just not a tech person.”

Most of the time, you don't need to become a “tech person.” You just need somebody to explain it in regular-people language so you can say, Oh! I can do that.

Digital Life with Sandee was another way to help somebody, encourage somebody, and make something a little easier.

I just didn't realize yet that it belonged with everything else.

Six Years Later, SandeeG Finally Had a Purpose

This summer, that URL I'd been paying for since 2020 finally became something.

SandeeG became real.

Suddenly there was a home for Sunny, the cards, the calendars, Digital Life with Sandee, my writing, the things I create, and the things I learn and immediately want to share.

And the words I'd chosen for SandeeG fit all of it:

Encourage • Inspire • Shine.

I thought maybe I'd finally figured it out.

Turns out, there was another piece coming.

Then Came Beyond the Transaction

I had a conversation with my friend Theresa about what she was doing with relationship marketing. Later, while I was driving to Virginia, ChatGPT and I started brainstorming what relationship marketing could look like as part of SandeeG.

This wasn't exactly foreign territory for me.

I'd spent years sending cards. I'd seen what it meant when someone opened their mailbox and found something unexpected. I'd seen what happened when somebody felt remembered or appreciated.

I've also always believed that businesses should stay connected with people after the sale instead of constantly moving on to the next person.

Somewhere on that drive, Beyond the Transaction started taking shape.

It felt like the right next step. I just didn't understand yet how much it connected to everything else.

Then Came the Jesus Vision

At some point, Beyond the Transaction took on a meaning for me that went much deeper than business.

I started thinking about Jesus.

As a Christian, the greatest transaction I can think of happened at the cross. Jesus paid a price I could never pay.

But the transaction wasn't the end.

He wanted the relationship.

Obviously, I'm not comparing a customer relationship to our relationship with Christ. But it made me think about how easily we reduce people to the thing they did for us.

The customer who bought something. The person who signed the contract. The client who paid the invoice.

Transaction complete. On to the next one.

Except there's still a person on the other side of that transaction. Someone worth remembering, appreciating and staying connected with.

And Then It Hit Me

Last night, all these pieces started lining up in my head.

They're not separate.

Sunny encourages people. The Scripture cards remind people they're thought about and prayed for. Sending cards lets people know they're remembered. The calendars put encouragement in front of someone throughout the year. Digital Life with Sandee helps people feel capable instead of intimidated. Beyond the Transaction reminds businesses there's a person on the other side of the purchase.

And SandeeG?

SandeeG is the home for all of it.

The common thread isn't cards. It isn't technology. It isn't calendars. It isn't even business.

It's people.

Seeing people. Encouraging people. Helping people. Remembering people. Making sure someone knows they matter.

Suddenly that comment about my cards being my ministry meant even more.

The cards were never really about the cards. They were about the person opening the envelope.

Sunny isn't really about Sunny. Digital Life isn't really about technology. Beyond the Transaction isn't really about sending cards to customers.

They're all different ways of doing the same thing.

Seeing the person.

Maybe I Didn't Need to Know in 2020

If you had asked me in 2020 what I was going to do with SandeeG.com, I couldn't have told you.

Apparently, I needed six years, countless Pinterest graphics, Sunny, a reminder about a ministry I'd almost forgotten, Scripture cards, two calendars, technology rabbit holes, a website, a conversation with Theresa, a long drive to Virginia, and more than a few conversations with ChatGPT to figure it out. 😂

I'm pretty sure I'm still figuring it out.

But now, looking back, I can finally see what I couldn't see while I was in the middle of it.

It was all connected.

Maybe I wasn't trying to figure out what to put under the SandeeG name after all.

Maybe I was becoming SandeeG all along. ❤️

Encourage • Inspire • Shine.