Starting My Social Security Earnings History Early

Born in the small rural town of Remsen, Iowa, I had my first paid job walking beans on my grandparents’ farm. Jobs that followed (never hitting a resume or LinkedIn) included babysitting, house cleaning, elder care, and waitressing. I earned great life lessons and a hard work ethic in my twenty years growing up in the Midwest. Although not my ideal at the time to go to college so close to home, I thrived as a student at Westmar College (a mere nine miles from my childhood home). Accounting was my major, although my first major career accomplishment was becoming a published author at age nineteen. The subject I wrote about had nothing to do with accounting, but it was from my class, Composition and Critical Thinking. I was both an accounting and a writing tutor on campus.

My Briefcase, Suits, and Nylons Era

My first job was as a staff accountant for Peter Kiewit Sons’ in Omaha, Nebraska. I graduated from college on Saturday, May 13, 1989, and started my first day of work at 8 am the following Monday. Until I retired from corporate work in 2015, I did not take a break, other than vacation time and short (probably too short in hindsight) maternity leaves. Passing my CPA exam in 1990, I took a job with a public accounting firm in Omaha, Lutz & Company. I would stay with Lutz for twenty-two years, promoted from staff accountant to partner, the first female partner of the firm at age thirty-one. During those years, I saw the firm grow from fifteen employees on my start date to over a hundred and fifty when I left in 2012.

Community service has always been a part of my personal and professional careers since a young age. I was named the president of Omaha Running Club at age twenty-four, and my work on not-for-profit boards has never stopped since. In Omaha, I was a board member for the Omaha Hearing School, Bergan Mercy Foundation, and Skutt Catholic High School. I was a trustee for St. Wenceslaus Parish, serving in many roles and committees for this church as well. In 2005, I was chosen as the first female president of Rotary Club of Omaha West on its 50th anniversary.

Much Happening Around Turning 40

Just prior to my 40th birthday, I was honored by being named one of Omaha’s Top Ten Young Omahans and as one of 40 Under 40. Lutz was a pillar of my identity and life through my young adulthood. I loved my work through the years, working with clients and co-workers while overseeing the healthcare department, and with stints in client accounting services and other business consulting oversight. I also married, had three sons, and divorced during this tenure.

With life changes and my sons growing toward their adult years, I pivoted to become a founder and CFO of a large Omaha-based healthcare start-up, Think Whole Person Healthcare. I spent three years launching this endeavor, starting it with one co-founder. On the first day of payroll (after a year of capital raise and development with no payroll), we had ten people on staff. At the time I left, 6 months after go-live, there were 350 employees. Again, I loved the people and the overall experience of bringing a great vision to life; I also learned that my days of working within large corporate finance were behind me.

Independent and It Feels so Good

In May of 2016, I started Sandy A Lane Consulting. This was after taking my first life sabbatical with 6 months off of work - a break that was amazing. I learned from this that the consulting path was a road where I could set my own pace and enjoy life while serving selected business clients and helping them successfully grow their companies to the next level. I also knew the secret to business success was not separating the worth of their people ecosystem from the desired growth of their bottom line. I became a CliftonStrengths certified coach to hone in my people skills, which have become my secret sauce in financial consulting. In successful business growth, you can not separate the two.

A new husband, Garrett, with a two-city lifestyle came in these years. Having my own consulting business has allowed Garrett and me (and our Goldendoodle, Zeke) to enjoy travel and all of our outdoor hobbies. I had mastered remote working before COVID made it ‘a thing’.

Welcome to Durango

January 1, 2020, we relocated to Durango, Colorado, buying a house and settling in, three months before a pandemic changed the world. Through my consulting, I was able to work with my clients and banks on PPP funding and helping them stay afloat during this crazy time in our history. I also became ingrained in the Durango business community, volunteering for the Chamber as a diplomat and later being named as Diplomat of the Year. Both Garrett and I work in the regional startup community and are active mentors for SCAPE. I am on the advisory council for the athletic department of a local college, Fort Lewis College, and support them however I can when asked.

I have enjoyed keynoting on my stages through the years, sharing stories and insight on those topics most passionate to me - people and profits. As a past board member of Good Business Colorado and a supporter of small businesses and entrepreneurs, I am a frequent presenter and panelist for local business forums and organizations supporting them.

My Business + Books Era

My other passion is in writing. My Substack, The Leisure Athlete, chronicles my outdoor athletic adventures (in keeping up with my non-leisure athlete husband). Coming full circle as I near my 60s, when not working on business growth projects, I am writing essays. As my collection of published posts expands, I will be publishing my first book, which is a compilation of childhood stories from being raised in small-town rural Iowa. From 2010 - 2018, I had a successful blog called Tales of the Ordinary Days and was a frequent contributor to the Omaha World Herald’s Momaha section. I continue to bring back these stories, while writing more on old memories and new adventures. All are published on this website under Writing.

Thanks for reading along in my ‘about’ section. Much happens in 60 years, and those things most passionate to us come full circle. Below are links to a view of my published essays on my ‘early’ work experiences.