Welcome to "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart," where compassion meets business and life. Join us as we explore the soul of business, guided by the unwavering principle that serving others is not just ethical – it’s transformative.
Hosted by Steve Ramona, a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for uplifting people and businesses, each episode of our podcast is a deep dive into the stories, insights, and practical strategies of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries who have mastered the art of leading with love and empathy. Through heartfelt conversations and inspiring anecdotes, we reveal the practical impact of servant leadership on personal and professional growth.
Discover how to foster a culture of kindness, engage with customers authentically, and build successful businesses that prioritize serving before selling. Whether you're a seasoned business owner, an aspiring entrepreneur, or simply someone seeking to make a positive impact, "Doing Business with a Servant's Heart" offers actionable advice, moral encouragement, and a refreshing perspective on what truly matters in the world of business.
Tune in and join our community of compassionate leaders striving to change the world, one act of service at a time. Because in the end, the heart of business is the business of the heart.
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📝Description: What if the reason you're undercharging has nothing to do with your skills — and everything to do with what you believe you deserve to receive? This week, coach and mindful-movement teacher Lila Veronica joins Steve to unpack the invisible ceiling that keeps good people broke.
In this episode:
Why "if you desire it, you deserve it" is a business principle, not just a feel-good line
The "receiving level" that quietly decides your prices — and how it forms in childhood
How charging too little and too much are the same self-sabotage
Why the way you treat your body shows up directly in your bank account
Selling as pure service: staying unattached to the outcome so buyers actually trust you
Lila went from teaching environmental policy at Ohio State to celebrating her 10-year business anniversary — and she's spent that decade helping service leaders finally own their worth.
PS: Steve and Lila met in person the weekend before this recording — and you can hear how that real-world connection deepened the conversation. Small reminder that relationships still beat algorithms every time.
CTA: Loved this one? Take Lila up on a free 15-minute conversation at speakwithLila.com, learn more at theLilaVeronica.com, and drop a comment on YouTube or the podcast — Steve will make sure Lila sees it. Can't find her link? Reach out to Steve and he'll connect you personally.
🎯 What You’ll Learn: ✅ Own Your Worth Before You Set Your Price ✅ Your Body Reflects Your Business ✅ Sell From Service, Not From Need
⏱️Timestamps: [00:02] Academia To Entrepreneurship [00:04] Own Your Worth [00:07] Health Runs Business [00:11] The Pricing Block [00:17] Sales As Service [00:19] Rooted In Yourself
🤝Connect with Lila Veronica: 💥Web: https://www.thelilaveronica.com/ 💥IG: https://www.instagram.com/thelilaveronica/ 💥FB: https://www.facebook.com/thelilaveronica
🤝Connect with Steve Ramona: 💥Web: https://steveramona.com/ 💥LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveramona/ 💥IG: https://www.instagram.com/bizopportunitynow/ 💥Podcast: https://www.servinginbusinesspodcast.com/ 💥YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@doingbusinesswithaservantheart?sub_confirmation=1
Welcome everyone to doing business with a servant's heart podcast. I'm your host, Steve Ramona. I'm thrilled to have you join us today. This podcast is dedicated to exploring the idea of doing business and living life with a purpose, serving others and yes, achieving success. We believe that when you approach our work and our lives with a servant's heart, we can truly make a difference. We create a show for you because we want everyone to be motivated, inspired, and educated to make an impact in your world, not the outside world, but just your world. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a community leader, or simply someone looking to bring more purpose in your daily life, this podcast is here to support and uplift you. My guest is going to blow you out of the water. I say that all the time, but she's awesome. I've known her months now, maybe a year. But I want you, as you're listening to her today, I want you to think about how will you serve today and what impact will you create today. I don't want to wait for tomorrow. Let's do it today. Small, medium, large, doesn't matter. Let's go out and serve. Thank you for being here. And once again, welcome to Doing Business with a Servant's Heart. Leela, welcome to the show. And I think I got the name right.
SPEAKER_00
You did, Steve. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to be here.
SPEAKER_02
We have this little batter audience. I gotta make sure I say her name right. And because she's a special person, you're gonna see why. I want to start with your journey because it's very interesting. Tell us your journey where you started and where you are today.
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, so I I started as a um high-achieving little girl. I've always been a go-getter. Uh I love to juice life, and I went through um a lot of higher ed uh education. I used to teach environmental policy at Ohio State University. And in 2013, I was going through um uh my marriage was uh ending, and I was going through this journey of self-awareness and self-exploration. And I left my career, I moved across the country and I started learning more about personal development and mindfulness and uh accountability and then entrepreneurship. And so I came from academia and I transitioned into being a business owner, and actually, tomorrow is my 10-year business anniversary.
SPEAKER_02
Congratulations. That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00
Thank you. Thank you.
SPEAKER_02
It's hard to get there, as people listening, you know. You know, businesses, especially entrepreneurs, we give up way too soon. And being 10 years is definitely kudos to you. That's huge. So, in your journey, what's one big lesson you learned from academia into entrepreneurship that the audience would like to learn?
SPEAKER_00
Oh, I would say the biggest lesson is to really own your worth. Um, as a, you know, I grew up in a poor home with a single mom and um who, you know, barely had two, what's the saying, pennies to rub together. And um, it's taken me, you know, decades to really understand the value that I offer the world and to be able to receive accordingly. I really believe that that everybody deserves to receive uh at a high level. And most people don't feel their true self-worth, you know. I I find that if if when we have others to tell us how valuable we are, it's a lot easier to to own it. And so I would say that's the biggest lesson that I've learned over the years is to really own the value that I'm bringing to the world and to feel worthy just from being in the world.
SPEAKER_02
How's desire tied to that?
SPEAKER_00
How's desire tied to that? Oh, I love this question. So I know that each one of us desires something different. And if you desire it, you deserve it. That's really what it comes down to. It's whatever you want, you want it for a reason. I don't want the same thing as you want, you don't want the same thing as your neighbor wants. So whatever it is that you want, you deserve to have. And you know, you may need people to help you realize that and and get it, but if there's something that you want, no matter what, you deserve to have it. I'll give you an example. Uh when I want to be old and funny, and I want to be uh, when I'm older, I'm I'm middle of my life now, but I want to be old and funny and I want to host a geriatric Olympics. There's probably somebody else on the planet who wants to do the same thing. I haven't met them yet, but I know that I'm going to host an Olympics, sort of like a field day experience for old, you know, gray-haired people in the next 20, 30, 40 years. Um, and the reason is because I want to. That's it. That's my desire. I want to have fun when I'm old. And and so I'm going to.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, that's it's that's such a great story because I'm sure people listening out there have a lot of things like that. You know, I want to fly to Vietnam and I haven't done it. Great desires lead to great things, but of course, action is the big thing, right?
SPEAKER_00
It's so true. You know, when I coach my clients, one of the first things I do is I I tap into their vision. Um, because I know everybody that I work with are um service leaders and they want to help people. But if they don't have a vision for themselves and they're not um uh remembering, you know, what they're making the money for, for example, in business, then they get lost along the way. So it's really important. I feel that as a coach, my job is really to hold somebody's vision until they can get there. That's my job. All the strategies and all the techniques and the tools are important, but really the big picture is let's figure out what do you want? What do you really, really, really want? And then until they believe that they can get there and get there, it's my job to hold that vision for them.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah. And I got to meet you in person this last weekend. So it's great that the show came up and in person just takes your building relationship to another level. But I read in your bio and I saw, of course, you in person staying fit and healthy is a part of your life, right? Health and wellness.
unknown
Yes.
SPEAKER_02
How does that help with your coaching?
SPEAKER_00
Absolutely. So my coaching business is, I'll say, first of all, it's twofold. It's one, I I provide business coaching, and then I also have a mindful movement school. Some of my clients work with one or the other um parts of my business, and then some work with both. I've I have lots of people who do both. I've I see the way we show up in our body as the way we show up in our business. If we are with our body, and and everybody has something different the way they like to operate. But if whether you like movement, dancing, hiking, um, bicycling, you know, swimming, whatever it is, the more we're with ourselves, the more we value ourselves. And the more we're with ourselves and value ourselves, the more other people value us. So I know that a lot of people will hire me, even when they don't exactly know what the work we're gonna do is together, but they feel that the energy that I'm bringing forward is healthy. There's a lot of times you might meet, I we've all met somebody before who's unhealthy, who's trying to sell you something. And they might have something good, but you like just don't want to work with them. Something feels off, you know, because they don't feel like they're taking care of themselves. Now, I know some people have health challenges, so I'm not meaning to diminish that by any means. I'm talking more about like taking care of yourself, being kind to yourself. If you have negative thinking, um, people are gonna feel it. Even if they don't hear the thoughts, they're gonna know somehow that you're you're diminishing yourself inside. And so I'm a huge proponent of mindfulness, of movement, of uh self-care. And I know it translates to the bank account.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it does. And the mental health part is something that's really invisible and scary because you could be a bodybuilder, rock star, but have uh unkind mental health where you treat people bad, you're not grateful, all that. You know, all the muscles in the world, that's not going to help you in business at all. So I appreciate you saying that. And on a quick side note, my family and I uh launched a health club from 78 to 2000. So I was part of the health and club industry. So I didn't know that about you, and you didn't know that about me. And I say that because this is huge. I don't know, I know a lot of coaches, but bringing the health and wellness into it, where it's a little or a lot, is so important for all of us.
SPEAKER_00
It truly is. Yeah, I have some people who are struggling to uh you know in their businesses, and instead of giving them some business strategy, I'll work with them to do some sort of exercise or or some sort of gratitude practice or some sort of um even a service uh practice, like go volunteer, do something that makes you healthier internally, and then it will their business gets easier. It's just easier to do business when you feel good.
SPEAKER_02
Audience, that's a huge tip. That's a million-dollar tip right there, because those are simple things that lead to big things and lead to transformation, right?
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, huge.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, and that's uh what a coach should do. Now, with business too, there's common blocks that hinder business success. What have you seen as common blocks and how do you help get past those blocks?
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I see a lot of times people not understanding um the the what they can charge because I work with a lot of coaches and consultants and speakers and practitioners. And so they're trying to figure out what they should charge. So there's there's most of them charge too little. They price themselves at a low point where they got to overwork. Um, and and then at some point they can get a little bit resentful because they feel overwhelmed and too busy. But you do see at the same time some people on a spectrum where they charge too little, but the other side is they they charge too much and they can't sell it because they don't believe it. So it's the same energy of charging too little or charging too much. It's really a self-sabotage. And my job is I oftentimes like I have a client call later today where she's got this new program. We've talked about it, we're gonna create it and bring it to the marketplace. And you know, she's um not sure what she wants to charge. So I will actually run her through a process of simply stating the prices because I know she could charge 3,000, 30,000, or 300,000. It probably for the exact same work, just depends on what her receiving level is. But I'm gonna run her through a process of asking her different price points until I find the one where we're playing the edge. We're not going too high and we're not going too low. We're gonna push her up a little bit, but not so much that she freaks out and never sells it. Like I had a client just last week, I um told her, I said, you need to double your prices. She's a client that used to work with me in 2020. She came back because she has a new level in her business she wants to create. She told me what she's doing, and I said, You need to double your prices because I've known her and I know she can, you know. She talks to me two days later, boom, sold one at double the price, right? It wasn't hard for her to double the price in that day. Whereas somebody else, I might say, double your prices, and it would freak them out and they would never be able to sell it. And so I would say that's the biggest thing for in my industry is people not understanding what they can charge and understanding their receiving level.
SPEAKER_02
I'm glad you said the one of those because one of the blocks I talk to people, business owners, all the time, is you know, what do I charge? And like you said, I love that you type mindset into price because it is. If I charge $300,000, I walk and go, oh, yeah, I you know, I got this uh program, is $300,000. I think I can help you. Or hey, come to my program. I know I can help you. I know you make $10 million a year. I can easily, you know, double whatever that conversation is. I love that, but there's levels of that, and it's all tied to your mindset. This is why you need to hire her. It's why I have her on, the servant's heart. Because some coaches I talk to go, they just go to the top end. And that's not right for the client because they're not there in mind wise.
SPEAKER_00
So uh they won't be able to sell it. Yeah, that that's that's that's the issue, is that they'll get on a call to try to sell it. They may be able to speak the words $300,000, but they don't feel that they deserve it, if they don't feel worthy of it. So the the the um the buyer won't buy. They they won't feel there'll be some sort of mistrust. So that's why it's so important to figure out what is your receiving level in this moment, and it can change anytime, it can change the next day, but but until you oftentimes sell at a certain price point, you you you won't rise your uh raise your prices. I one of my favorite things is when I have a client, they they sell at a you know a price point where they play the redge, and then a month later they message me and say something like, I double my prices, and they just do it all on their own because they realize they're worth it. That's it's like one of my favorite experiences.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, and the other side of it, which is more minimal, but still comes to my head. I talk to people, ask. Hey Joe Smith, my price is 100,000 for the year. Ask what's the worst thing he says? They can't afford you, they can't work with you, or whatever. But if you got an energy level, people are gonna pay almost anything if you bring them value, which is man, I love what you do. You said something very interesting. I want you to recap. Receiving level. What does that mean?
SPEAKER_00
Uh, I was at, you know, this con we were at this conference together recently, and one of the speakers mentioned a uh like a financial ceiling, I think he said. Um, we all grew up in a different kind of home as it relates to money. And the way we grew up around money, it impacts us. It might keep us down, it might lift us up. You know, it's if your parents at all or your family members talked about money in any way, we're affected. And so all of our lifetime experiences, the jobs we've had, maybe you have a college degree and you were um told that you could only make so much in your in your um field. Um, maybe you see other people online talking about how much money they make. So that's your cap. So we're all different in terms of what we believe our mindset, right? What we believe we deserve to receive for what we're bringing to the market. And we know this is true because we see different kinds of um business owners doing very similar work, if not really the same work, but charging very different prices for it. And that's just because of the individual business owner believing that they deserve to receive that amount of money for that particular amount of time and energy. That's it.
SPEAKER_02
This is a great conversation because this is the broke, close your business and being successful. This is a big part of it because your price is what you're gonna get paid if you're not comfortable with it. Because I say, you know, I could do 100,000, you go, Steve, charge 10,000. I'm still making 10,000. I bring in 10 clients, I made a hundred thousand dollars anywhere in the world, you know, United States, you could be pretty okay. And of course, you're gonna grow. So it's all great mindset. I I love this. The other thing that you mentioned too was um, in regards to level, people shouldn't do price because I want to have a learjet, I want to have five homes, and I want five cars. You shouldn't price your service or product because of that, right?
SPEAKER_00
Right. Um, I talk about this in the way of being unattached to the outcome. If you want something, you deserve to have it, you know. Um uh and then uh, but you price your services, for example, your products or services based upon yes, the market, the value you're adding to the market and your receiving level. And so what I love is to um somewhat separate the personal vision from the client enrollments. Now they are connected. You know, we might have to do more work, have more sales calls, sell more things if we want, you know, more high-end stuff, right? That just makes sense. But on an individual level, like when we're actually having a conversation, um, a sales conversation, we we stay completely unattached to our own outcome, what we want. Uh we never want to sell because we need to pay a bill or we've got to sell because we want to buy a boat. We sell to be in service, to inform somebody, help them have more information so that they can make a choice on their own. I believe it's our job in sales um to be of service, period. No, no attachment to what we want for our personal, personal experiences, but we can trust that if we show up in service, we will get what we want for ourselves.
SPEAKER_02
That's so well said. I love that. Audience, it's a rock star here. I know I say that sometimes, but you really are. And what's interesting behind you is the tree. There's gotta be a symbolism to that. What's the symbolism? The people on YouTube you'll see it. People that are watching, listening on the podcast. She's got a beautiful yellow tree behind her with leaves. What's the what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, well, some would say this is the tree of life. It wasn't intended that way originally. So, my sweetheart, he's an artist and he's done a lot of graphic design over the years. So he's created all my visuals. Very grateful. Um, because I'm not as visually oriented. Um, so he created this. And the the truth is, I like black and gold because I feel like it looks rich. It's simple and it's rich. And this tree to me really represents the the growth potential for everybody who connects with me. And then the leaves themselves, there's all these um different sprouting ideas that we have, but they're all connected. And and the other piece is that a tree that you know has this these uh branches and leaves that you can see. But the only way that the tree can actually exist is when it has these really um uh deep, sometimes wide roots that keep it held up. And it kind of goes back to that same thing of if we want this abundance, this wealth and this expression of um creativity in our life, you know, the beauty of the leaves and the branches and the tree, we gotta go back to the roots of ourselves. You know, that's that's what to me the tree represents is you can have all this beautiful, awesome, rich abundance as long as you stay rooted in yourself.
SPEAKER_02
Desire, your why, your passion. That's your foundation. You know, you go back to that every man. I love this. This is uh, I'm just gonna say something and sell you like crazy. I was gonna say, you gotta hire her today. But I do want to get personal because I love getting personal. And we started out with these this symbol of the tree. Who inspires you right now?
SPEAKER_00
I would say right now I'm mostly inspired by women who are doing millions of dollars in the business. Um I didn't grow up with women doing anything that was making much money at all. I grew up with women who were waitresses. And babysitters and and you know working at a like a local shop and stuff. So I never even imagine myself being a business owner. And what I find is um uh I'm in communities and know quite a few women who are millionaires, multimillionaires, you know, seven, eight-figure earners, nine-figure earners. And I'm I think I'm most inspired by the fact that they are um creating wealth for themselves and their family, but they're also so generous with their time, with their wisdom, with their excitement. I find that a lot of the millionaire women that I meet, they have more energy, more excitement, and more generosity than than than than people making less. So that's really, you know, there's a variety of them right now. There's not one I could say in particular, but there's quite a few women that I just find so sweet and generous, and they're making millions, and and they still, you know, take time to help people in special ways.
SPEAKER_02
You're a smart cookie because you took a question, gave it multiple answers, and you gave a good reason for it. And I love that reason because I've been told abundance leads to giving abundance away, which is what you were describing, these wonderful ladies. So if you're gonna have a dinner, a two-hour dinner with anybody, alive or not alive, who would it be and why?
SPEAKER_00
Alive or not alive. I think Maya Angelo would be um somebody that I would just feel very happy to be in her presence because she seems to be very present at the moment. And she speaks kind wisdom. And I I do believe that all of us um could use more kind wisdom in our life, you know. Um we we uh a lot of America doesn't have like that the wise elder uh around anymore. We we all move around so much and the family structure and dynamics different. And so I I personally love wise elders. And uh she seems like she would just be so sweet, so present, and give me that like one tidbit of wisdom that that could be a lifelong uh learning opportunity.
SPEAKER_02
What a perfect person to pick as your because that's you. You um embody that quote of do you remember that quote? I was gonna pull it up and it it couldn't. But I know at the end of the course, how you make them feel is the most important. I'm kind of changing a little bit. You could do this, this, and this, but it's how you make, and that's what we talked about today. And that's what you are embodying. You want to make people feel better, grow better, have more abundance, but it's all about the energy. And I thank you so much for being you and being on this show. You're just a breath of fresh air.
SPEAKER_00
Thank you, Steve.
SPEAKER_02
Oh, you're very welcome. How can people get a hold of you?
SPEAKER_00
Yep, you can visit my uh website if you want to check me out and see what I'm all about. Uh it's the Leela Veronica, L-I-L-A, the Leela Veronica.com. And if you want to have a conversation with me, you can always go to speakwithleela.com. I'd love to talk to you about business, about life, about taking care of yourself or owning your worth.
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, you know, audience, if anything this resonates with you, I've talked to Leela a couple of times. I've learned so much. I learned a lot today. Do that reach out. She's offering it. I'm I'm assuming, I don't want to assume, that you know, a 15-minute conversation just to get to know you and see fit. And if she can't help you, she's got a wide network like I do. She can help you in so many ways, and she's got a huge servant's heart. So again, Leela, I thank you for being on. And audience, comment on this podcast on YouTube or the podcast channel. If you want to reach out, comment on there. I'll get those comments to Leela to make sure she sees them. And if you can't find her link, reach out to me and I'll connect you with her because that's what I love doing. And we both thank you so much for watching and listening to this podcast. And don't forget my TV show, Together We Serve. It's on Apple, Roku, uh, Samsung LG, all these streaming things that you can find on your TV or your phone or tablet. It's Fridays, 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern, Together We Serve. And as always, thank you again for watching. We'll see you on the next episode of Doing Business with the Servant's Heart.
