Welcome to the Fire

A new podcast from Erica Vander Sande on grief, motherhood, business, and the conversations we usually only have in the dark.

Episode Summary

In this first episode of Conversations in the Dark, host Erica Vander Sande opens the mic on her brand-new show, the "grown-up" evolution of her former podcast, Breaking Through. Erica explains why she rebranded, what listeners can expect, and why she believes the most honest conversations happen when we're not looking each other in the eye.

Erica shares a bit about her life: she's a mom of two girls (ages 7 and 10), a wife, and a business owner who together with her husband, owns or co-owns nine businesses. She also runs The Mina Company, a full-service online marketing agency serving small and medium-sized businesses. Along the way, she talks candidly about ADHD, parenting, grief, faith, energy work, and the highs and lows of building a business.

This episode is less about answers and more about an invitation: to sit by the fire, skip the eye contact, and get honest about the stuff that's still hard.

What We Cover

• Why "Conversations in the Dark"? Erica explains the shift from Breaking Through to this new show, and why darkness literal and metaphorical, invites more vulnerability, honesty, and raw emotion than we usually allow ourselves.
• What to expect going forward. Grief, motherhood, ADHD family life, marriage, entrepreneurship, and spirituality are all on the table often all tangled together, the way real life actually works.
• Life as a mom of two. Erica reflects on parenting girls ages 7 and 10, moving out of the "little baby phase," and offers an encouraging word to parents still in the thick of early childhood.
• Marriage and a nine-business household. A candid look at what it's like to run a busy, sometimes chaotic family life while co-owning multiple businesses with her husband.
• Building The Mina Company. Erica talks about founding her marketing agency, the swings between rapid growth and painful setbacks, and where the business stands today with a team of seven.
• Faith, doubt, and energy work. Erica opens up about going to church weekly, questioning God, meditating, and practicing energy work, all while staying unapologetically, imperfectly human.
• An invitation, not a lecture. Erica shares why this podcast isn't built around a content calendar or audience research, it's built around showing up honestly and trusting the conversation to find the people who need it.

Memorable Moment

Erica describes the show's namesake image: sitting by a fire in the dark, looking at the flames instead of each other, because that's when people feel safe enough to be honest, to cry, to rage, and to say the hard things out loud.

Connect with Erica

• Business inquiries: The Mina Company
• Personal connection & coaching: Erica Vander Sande

Show Notes Keywords

Conversations in the Dark podcast, Erica Vander Sande, Breaking Through podcast, grief and motherhood podcast, ADHD parenting, small business marketing agency, The Mina Company, faith and entrepreneurship, women in business podcast, vulnerability and honesty podcast

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