What's the Tea with Sarah E

On Season 3, Episode 9 of What’s The Tea with Sarah E, I’m sitting down with Sasha Page - entrepreneur, mom, community champion and the force behind Hollow Valley Spirits.Sasha’s story is about a whole lot more than cocktails.We talk about how a former fitness leader with zero beverage-industry experience found herself building a Canadian spirits brand from the ground up - learning as she went, hearing plenty of “no’s,” competing against major brands and discovering that her greatest business advantage might just be her ability to connect with people.In this raw, funny and deeply vulnerable conversation, we spill the tea on:Building a business when you have no idea what you’re doingBetting on yourself and learning through the mistakesWhy relationships have become Sasha’s entrepreneurial superpowerBuilding a business with your partner - and surviving it 😂Competing with massive brands without massive marketing budgetsWhy Sasha says YES to community, charity and giving backMotherhood, boundaries and refusing to apologize for how she parentsThe parts of entrepreneurship nobody sees behind the finished productSasha opens up about her difficult journey to motherhood, including IVF, multiple pregnancy losses and a traumatic childbirth experience that nearly took her life. We talk about the realities of infertility women too often whisper about, what motherhood changed in her, and why she’s officially done apologizing for the choices that feel right for her and her son.We’re spilling the tea on betting on yourself, building a business with your partner, rejection, relationships, community over competition, giving back, motherhood, boundaries and what happens when life teaches you to stop giving a damn about everyone else’s expectations.Because sometimes the path you never planned becomes the one that changes everything. Grab a Hollow Valley cocktail and hit play. This one gets real. 🍹🔥Connect with Sasha: Follow Hollow Valley Spirits on Instagram @hollow_valley_spirits and Facebook to follow the journey, discover where to find the cocktails and connect directly with Sasha. Learn more at hollowvalleyspirits.com

On Season 3, Episode 8 of What’s The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with my friend Cindy Chang - two-time founder, CEO of Evolve Consulting Co. and Dabbl’, host of Fearless Entrepreneurs, wife, mom, and a woman determined to rethink the future of work.Cindy immigrated to Canada from Taiwan at five years old, growing up in an entrepreneurial family and learning early what hard work, resilience, and ambition looked like. She was also the talkative, outgoing little girl who didn’t fit the mould others expected of her - and that experience helped shape the unapologetic woman she is today.After more than 20 years in talent and recruitment, Cindy built a successful corporate career—but becoming a mother changed everything. She found herself apologizing for having a child while trying to remain the ambitious businesswoman she had always been. When she was laid off in 2023, she finally made the mental shift from side-hustling entrepreneur to fully betting on herself.In this raw, funny, and unapologetic conversation, we spill the tea on:Growing up as an immigrant and how Cindy’s parents shaped her ambitionBeing labelled “too much” and learning not to shrink herselfThe reality of entrepreneurship—fear, failed deals, cash flow, and difficult clientsWhy Cindy refuses to work with people who give her “the ick”Motherhood, ambition, and why women should stop apologizing for wanting bothWhether women really can “have it all”—and why Cindy believes we can, if we define what all meansHer fear of failure, fierce work ethic, and the intensity she sees as both a strength and a challengeThen we get into the future of work.Cindy gives us a front-row view of today’s employment market: layoffs, post-COVID over-hiring, an oversupply of talent, and a workplace culture that still too often forces people into outdated models.She calls out the power imbalance between employers and employees, even describing modern hiring as an “abusive relationship” when fear, baggage, and control drive the process instead of alignment and humanity.That frustration is exactly why she built Dabbl’—to connect experienced professionals, especially moms who have left corporate careers, with companies looking for flexible talent and meaningful support.Because flexible work isn’t just a women’s issue.It’s a human issue.And maybe the answer isn’t eliminating the 9-to-5. Maybe it’s finally giving people other fucking options. Season 3, Episode 8 — Fuck the Box is streaming now on What’s The Tea with Sarah E.Connect with CindyLearn more at evolveconsultingco.com and dabble.ca, or connect with Cindy on Instagram and LinkedIn at @evolve_consulting_co. She says her DMs are always open!

What if thinking about death could actually make you more alive?On Season 3, Episode 7 of What's The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with Jodi Wellman - speaker, bestselling author, positive psychology expert, founder of Four Thousand Mondays, and the brilliant mind behind You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets.And yes... we talk about death. A lot.But this episode is really about LIFE.Jodi's fascination with mortality became deeply personal after losing her mother in her late 50s. While cleaning out her apartment, Jodi found herself surrounded by what she calls the "land of dormant intentions" - creative ideas, business plans and dreams her mother always intended to pursue "someday." That heartbreaking experience became a wake-up call: Jodi didn't want to reach the end of her own life surrounded by coulda, shoulda, wouldas.Today, her work challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truth that our time here is finite - and use that awareness not to fear death, but to create urgency around living.In this hilarious, vulnerable and surprisingly life-affirming conversation, Jodi spills the tea on:Why we're so damn uncomfortable talking about death - and how Western culture has increasingly sanitized and medicalized itLosing her mother and discovering the dreams she never got around to pursuingThe idea behind Four Thousand Mondays and why counting life in weeks can radically change the value we place on our timeThe difference between living wide with vitality and deep with meaning - and why we need both to become "astonishingly alive"How achievement can become a treadmill - and the difference between building a meaningful life and simply building a very busy oneBucket lists, "baby bucket lists," spontaneity and why writing down the dream isn't the same thing as actually doing the damn thingLooking at your life through the eyes of your future self - and asking what that version of you might desperately wish you'd done differentlyWhy planning can create incredible opportunity... while also leaving us so committed to the plan that we miss serendipity along the wayAnd then things get personal...I took Jodi's How Alive Are You? quiz before the interview and discovered that I'm apparently..."Vitally Empty." 😂With an 8/10 for vitality and 4/10 for meaning, we unpack what that actually means - and have a candid conversation about high achievement, deriving so much meaning from work, relationships, friendship, and what happens when one area of our lives becomes disproportionately responsible for making us feel fulfilled.This one challenged me.Because you can have a life that's exciting, successful, colourful and packed with experiences... and still ask whether you're giving enough time to the things that will matter when you reach the end of it.Jodi's work reminds us that mortality isn't something we need to run from. Sometimes remembering that we're going to die is precisely what we need to wake the f*ck up to being alive. And by the end of our conversation, I was ready to go write my mini bucket list and, in my own words, "live the f*ck out of my life."Season 3, Episode 7 - Wake the Fck Up to Life: Jodi Wellman on Death, Regret & Becoming Astonishingly Alive* is streaming now on What's The Tea with Sarah E.Connect with Jodi - Explore Jodi's work, take the How Alive Are You? quiz, learn more about Four Thousand Mondays, and find her book You Only Die Once through Four Thousand Mondays. You can also follow Jodi on Instagram at fourthousand@mondays.

On Season 3, Episode 6 of What's The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with Lester Coloma - award-winning mural artist, visual storyteller, entrepreneur, and proud Hamiltonian whose work has transformed communities across North America for nearly three decades.Born and raised in Hamilton to Filipino immigrant parents, Lester's love of art began at home alongside his father, an architect who unknowingly sparked a lifelong passion for creativity. What started as childhood sketches grew into a remarkable career creating murals that don't simply decorate buildings - they tell the stories of the people, history, and communities that surround them.In this thoughtful, reflective, and deeply inspiring conversation, Lester spills the tea on:Growing up as a first-generation Filipino Canadian and the lessons his father taught him about art and lifeDiscovering mural painting through an unexpected opportunity that changed the course of his careerWhy he sees himself as a visual storyteller rather than simply an artistThe responsibility creatives have to shape communities, preserve history, and spark conversationHow grief following the loss of his mother found its way into his artwork and became part of his healing journeyBuilding a creative business over nearly 30 years while navigating self-doubt, perfectionism, and entrepreneurshipWhat success looks like today and the importance of embracing mistakes to grow as both an artist and a human beingHis dream of creating more personal, emotionally expressive work that reflects his own storyLester also shares something deeply personal: despite decades of recognition and success, he's only recently begun to understand how profoundly his work impacts the people and communities who experience it every day. It's a beautiful reminder that sometimes we never fully realize the ripple effect of the gifts we share with the world!This episode is about creativity, legacy, vulnerability, and finding beauty in both the cracks and the masterpiece. Season 3 – Episode 6 - Painting Stories That Last is streaming now on What's The Tea with Sarah E.Connect with Lester Coloma and explore his portfolio: lestercoloma.com or follow along his journey on Instagram @lestercolomaart

On Season 3, Episode 5 of What's The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with Danielle Zucchet, CEO of Kemp Care Network, fundraiser, leader, mother, and the visionary helping bring Keaton's House to life - the first dedicated pediatric hospice serving Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, Brant, and surrounding communities.Danielle's journey wasn't one she ever imagined.After losing her son, Keaton, in 2010, she found herself searching for purpose amidst unimaginable grief. While attending a grief and bereavement seminar hosted by Kemp Care Network, she learned about the enormous gap in pediatric hospice care... and everything changed. What began as a career in fundraising evolved into a calling to help build something that families across our region have deserved for decades.Today, Danielle is leading a transformational $25 million capital campaign to build Keaton's House - a home-like pediatric hospice that will provide respite care, pain and symptom management, grief and bereavement support, and end-of-life care for children and their families. With more than $14 million already raised, this dream is becoming a reality, with doors expected to open in 2027.In this deeply moving conversation, Danielle spills the tea on:The life-changing loss that transformed her purpose and careerThe heartbreaking gap in pediatric hospice care and why families deserve betterThe vision behind Keaton's House and how it will redefine care for seriously ill children and their loved onesLeading one of the region's largest capital campaigns and the lessons she's learned along the wayBuilding a team, embracing community, and why "it takes a village" isn't just a saying—it's the strategyThe importance of creating spaces where families can simply be together, make memories, and feel at home—even during life's most difficult momentsDanielle also shares the story of Keaton - the joyful little boy who loved to dance, made everyone laugh, and continues to inspire a legacy of compassion that will impact generations of families. Through Keaton's House, his light will continue to shine in every family who walks through its doors.This episode is about resilience, purpose, courageous leadership, and the extraordinary things that happen when a community comes together to build hope.Season 3 – Episode 5 — More Than a Building is streaming now on What's The Tea with Sarah E.Connect with Kemp Care Network at kempcarenetwork.org and learn more about Keaton's House at kempcarenetwork.org/capital-campaign/ Follow Kemp Care Network on Instagram @kempcarenetwork and Facebook to stay connected with the campaign and upcoming community initiatives.

On Season 3, Episode 4 of What's The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with Abrar Mechmechia, Syrian-Canadian, mental health advocate, and Founder & CEO of ABRAR Trauma & Mental Health Services.Abrar's story begins in Syria, where she spent her childhood surrounded by family, community, creativity, and dreams of one day pursuing medicine like her father. But life had other plans. After witnessing the devastating impacts of war and eventually fleeing Syria, Abrar arrived in Canada carrying not only her own trauma - but a deep desire to help others heal.What she discovered upon arrival was something she never expected: a system that often lacked the cultural understanding, compassion, and support newcomers desperately needed. Rather than allowing those experiences to define her, Abrar transformed them into purpose. In 2020, she founded ABRAR Trauma & Mental Health Services, creating culturally responsive, community-led mental health supports for newcomers, immigrants, refugees, women, and youth.In this powerful and deeply human conversation, Abrar spills the tea on:Growing up in Syria and the values that shaped her leadershipThe realities of displacement, migration, and rebuilding a life in a new countryWhy lived experience matters in mental health careThe gaps she encountered as a newcomer and how they inspired the creation of ABRARBuilding culturally safe spaces where people feel seen, heard, and understoodThe launch of ABRAR's first-ever public fundraising initiative, Healing Happens HereThe importance of dignity, representation, and belonging in mental health supportResponding to the tragic loss of Nabil and creating long-term solutions that center youth voices and community healingWhat it means to advocate for uncomfortable truths, even when it comes at a personal costAbrar also shares a powerful perspective on trauma: that people are more than their diagnoses, their circumstances, or the hardships they have endured. Healing happens when people are treated as whole human beings - with culture, identity, history, and hope.At the heart of this episode is a simple but profound message: Healing doesn't happen in isolation. Healing happens in community.This episode is a conversation about resilience, belonging, courage, and what becomes possible when people choose compassion over judgment and action over indifference.Season 3 – Episode 4 - Healing Happens Here is streaming now on What's The Tea with Sarah E.Learn more about Abrar, ABRAR Trauma & Mental Health and the Healing Happens Here campaign at abrarmh.ca or find them on Instagram at @abrar.tmh and @abrar_mechmechia.