About Company Bee
Do What You Love.
How it All Came to 'Bee'
I'm about to talk about myself, something I don't do very often. But, if you're truly curious about how Company Bee came about, here's the long version. ~ Amber
2000
Mango & Company
This business was born out of me being bored, and my dog being cold. I started sewing cozy little fleece dog sweaters for my dog, Mango, and also selling them on eBay.
Pretty soon I realized I needed my own website, so I delved into learning website design, all about domains and hosting and everything that goes along with it.
I had found my true passion!
2004
Affordable Site Design
As I started networking with other SAHMS and WAHMS online I realized there was a need in the community for websites done on the cheap. That's when Affordable Site Design was born.
I didn't have the confidence to offer it on a large scale, but I was definitely willing to barter my skills for goods and services in this community. I also had three little kids, so my time was limited.
Still, I loved every minute of it!
2006
Contract Designing
From the previous community, I met some great product vendors - like Melissa, who gave me the push I needed to offer my design services as my main gig. She's still one of my best friends and I appreciate that push every single day.
During my journey doing contract design, I designed an adorable baby clothing website for Susie. We spent hours creating a French version of her site and learned so much together. She's now one of my long-time besties and, according to our Ancestry, my 5th to 8th cousin!
Networking can be life changing!
2008
Pure-Ecommerce, LLC
One of my designs caught the eye of the CEO of Pure-Ecommerce, Jen Varner. Through the owner of that site, Jen reached out to me and asked if I could do some designs for her. Of course I agreed, it was an amazing opportunity!
We became fast friends and business partners.I found that I loved learning the ins and outs of e-commerce. I learned through her, and through my own curiosity.
2008
Earth Girl Hosting
While working with Pure-Ecommerce, I found that most web hosts were largely, well, not great. The support was full of canned responses, the site resources were impossible to manage without more permissions, they treated clients like a number and nickeled and dimed them to death.
So, I thought, why not start my own hosting business? And that's what I did.
Earth Girl Hosting was created to cater to clients of Pure-Ecommerce, but we also found other clients along the way. I made sure there was 24/7/365 support that didn't read from a script. I made sure their sites had the settings and permissions they needed to be successful.
Above all, I loved getting to know these clients. I am still in touch with many of them to this day!
2008-2015
The Years In Between
For the next eight years Pure-Ecommerce was thriving so the design work was fairly constant.
Earth Girl Hosting was doing really well, I was able to bring on more help, including Kim and Neil.
Pure-Ecommerce was expanding and added more contractors, including my dear friends Susie and Melissa, and a new addition, Marisabel.
My mom always told me, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." So true!
2016
Jen
In early 2016 Jen Varner passed away after a long fight with breast cancer. She was such a bright light, she had so much energy and drive.
Jen was a friend and mentor that I miss every single day - we all do.
2019
New Pursuits
Understandably, losing Jen was a big hit for Pure-Ecommerce. While her husband and the team were still doing our best to keep things moving, work slowed down.
Of course there are hundreds of different thoughts and feelings and situations that arose out of this, but as Jen always said, "Onward and upward!"
In this time I met another fantastic human and an amazing writer, Bailey! She did a lot of writing for me, a really cool promo video for Earth Girl Hosting, and of course we're lifelong friends now!
Alas, the time had come. I decided to try something new - a full time remote job. For two years I worked for a consulting firm here in Washington. I met amazing people, I learned so much, but in the end I realized it just wasn't for me.
I am a freelancer at heart!
2021
Back to Freelancing!
For the next two years I did a lot of freelance gigs. I've gotten some long-term business relationships in this time that I appreciate so much.
It seems like life always steers me back to this type of work. I love helping online business owners grow, streamline, and beautify their online presence.
2022
Selling Earth Girl Hosting
I take a long time to make a decision, but when I do, it's final. As much as I loved running my web hosting company, I felt like I wasn't giving it my all and it was time to let it go.
I sold Earth Girl Hosting in 2022 to a new owner. We spent a lot of time back-and-forth, I wanted to be 100% sure this was the right buyer. After lots of emails, chats, and Zooms, I knew EGH would be in good hands.
I am so proud of the hosting business I built and I respect and support its new owners. I will continue to recommend Earth Girl Hosting as the best web host. Amazing support, fast and reliable servers, friendly service. It's everything it always was and I'm so glad of that.
2022
End of an Era
Unfortunately in 2022, Pure-Ecommerce shut down. It was a very sad end of an era, but it fostered and nurtured some irreplaceable relationships. It still does! In fact, I was lucky enough to meet Maria, a marketing guru and VA for Pure-Ecommerce, during this time!
2023
Company Bee
What did I learn about myself over 20 years?
- I love helping people succeed.
- I love meeting curious, talented, kind, and lighthearted people.
- I love working with those people.
- I love finding solutions.
- I love streamlining anything and everything.
- I love learning new things every day.
In the words of Bigweld, from my favorite animated movie, Robots:
"See a need, fill a need!"
And Company Bee is born.
I want to also mention that I've always been fortunate to have someone cheering me on. Whether that was family, friends, or colleagues. Building a dream isn't a solo undertaking. Just ask my husband and best friend, Jason, who hates the limelight (and not currently on the Team Bee page because of it), but is by my side working every day.