What does prosperity really mean? For Heather McElrath, the answer is one word: freedom. 

In Episode 14 of Plunge Into Prosperity, host Brandi Kolosky sits down with Heather McElrath — Founder and CEO of Sandbox Communications, Fractional CMO, 30-year communications veteran, and adjunct PR professor — to unpack what it really takes for small businesses to stop being invisible and start getting found. 

Heather's path was anything but straight. From journalism to global banking, fintech to national nonprofits, and finally to building Sandbox Communications after COVID upended a career she loved — she has turned a lifetime of reinvention into a framework that helps small business owners show up on Google, AI platforms, and in the hearts of the customers they were built to serve. 

In this episode: 

• Why prosperity is freedom — not just money 

• How COVID forced Heather to start Sandbox (and why survival mode became her greatest teacher) 

• The non-linear career that made her a better communicator than any straight line could have 

• What small businesses get completely wrong about AI 

• Why your Google Business Profile is your most underused visibility tool right now 

• How AI is making us MORE human — and why that's a good thing 

• The shocking statistic: only 1.1% of all investment capital flows to women-led businesses 

• Women-led teams return 78¢ per dollar invested vs. 31¢ for all-male teams 

• "Only Love in the Sandbox" — the t-shirt that says everything about Heather's philosophy 

Connect with Heather McElrath: 

📧 [email protected] 

🌐 sandboxcomm.com