Discover the inspiring journey of Dr. Sera Lavelle, who transformed her life from a corporate job she disliked into a thriving career as the founder of three innovative wellness companies. In this episode, she shares how aligning her career with her values fueled her success, despite the challenges of running therapy practices and developing a groundbreaking app for better eating habits. Learn how her ventures—NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy and Bea Better Eating—make a meaningful impact by combining therapeutic expertise with heart-led entrepreneurship.
🎧If you’re ready to explore how passion and purpose can drive business success, this episode is for you! 🌟
Key Takeaways from this Episode
- The essence of a heart-led business
- Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship
- The challenges of running therapy practices
- Launching a tech app for better eating habits
- Balancing financial sustainability with service
- Tips for aspiring heart-led entrepreneurs
About the Guest
Dr. Sera Lavelle is a leader in mental health and holistic wellness. She founded NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy and co-founded Bea Better Eating, combining psychology with nutrition to help clients heal from eating disorders. As Director of Operations at Soho Integrative EMDR, she enhances practice efficiency while being inspired by EMDR’s transformative power. Her passion for creating supportive, healing environments drives her work, empowering individuals to achieve lasting wellness.
Additional Resources
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Explore the Dialogue’s Treasures: Unearth the insights within! Delve into the profound wisdom woven throughout our conversation.
Speaker (2): 0:01
Welcome to the Heart-Led Business Show, where compassion meets commerce and leaders lead with love. Join your host, Tom Jackobs, as he delves into the insightful conversations with visionary business leaders who defy the status quo, putting humanity first and profit second. From heartfelt strategies to inspiring stories, this podcast is your compass in the world of conscious capitalism. So buckle up and let’s go. Let your heart guide your business journey.
Tom: 0:36
Hello, hearty listeners brace for the brain buff. Please cheer for Dr. Sera Lavelle, the lady behind New York health hypnosis, Soho Integrative EMDR and be a better eating, sticking seamless healthcare services. The tight rope walking between brain bites and belly banquets for healthier habits. She is an epitome of health-led hustle. Don’t miss Sera on the heart-led business show where we’ll unbox her entrepreneurial odyssey. Buckle up buttercups. It’s going to be a fascinating feast of fun facts. Dr. Sera, welcome to the show.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 1:08
Thank you so much for having me. It’s quite an introduction. I love it. I might have to use that again.
Tom: 1:12
I can send it over to you. It’s a quite a tongue twister though.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 1:15
I know, but you did well. I’m impressed.
Tom: 1:17
So I always like to ask guests the first question, which is, what’s your definition of a heart-led business?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 1:22
It’s a really good question, right? I think, maybe I don’t even have a definition as much as I have a feeling about it. I, it’s like, when you’re functioning in a way that aligns with your heart, you feel like obstacles are removed and you feel like everything’s in sync. When you feel like somebody’s pushing you or you’ve somehow gotten out of line with your own moral compass, like you feel that anxiety and you also almost notice that things just aren’t working in your business. Because it’s not aligning with where you want to be. And sometimes that’s because somebody’s pushed you in a direction you don’t want to go, and you’re like trying to trust their advice, but you know all along, like, that’s not quite right. Sometimes it’s that you’re like trying to try something new but it just doesn’t feel right. I think if it’s heart-led business, if I really think about it, It’s when you really feel like most of the decisions you’ve made have been gathering information to make it knowledgeable, but after that, really trusting your gut. And then maybe taking the time to see if your gut is, reflecting, is my gut aligned with my personal values?
Tom: 2:18
I love that. Especially the part where he talked about the obstacles being removed. Cause up here as well, that because aren’t aligned with our heart. And so we put up those roadblock way. know I’ve spent 12 years in corporate hell and it was totally not aligned with who I was until I started on this business.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 2:37
And sometimes you sit there and think, through that with jobs, right? the same as relationships. With jobs. Maybe I should just, like suck up and continue doing and it doesn’t matter. And then when you find yourself in the right position, wait a minute, this is how it’s supposed to feel.
Tom: 2:51
Yeah. Awesome. So tell me what inspired you to start a heart-led business?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 2:55
Well, I think about it. Because, like, my story is like, hey, strapped for cash. But the reality that’s not it was. Similarly to you, I started in something that wasn’t right for me. I graduated undergrad. I took my one way U Haul from New York city. I was, like, that’s where I could and I felt that’s what I was supposed to do. I was very bad at it. Think it’s because my heart wasn’t in it. I did not like scientifically proving that an advertisement that made women feel self-conscious. Yes, I could show you the data on why that’s actually very effective strategy. Doesn’t align with my values. Whether or not same as whether or not it’s good. And if I feel like it adds to humanity right? So when I get out of I did want to, I really, like, I remember actually doing this thing where I was like on a beach and closed my eyes and pictured scenarios of what I really wanted to be. And I remember thinking, want to be a therapist. What I want to do. PhD programs. Thinking I might not get in, but you talk about what made me start my business. Okay, well now I know my life goal. Great. I got into a PhD program. Oh, gonna live in New City. And go through a PhD program without having any income. So, I was on the right but I did need money at that time. I very fascinated with the idea of meditation and how meditation and therapy. I also, even though I was very happy to get a very clinical clear cut education, I wanted something where I wasn’t just medicating people, not that I’m against medication, but we could do things more holistically. And so I decided to start a hypnotherapy practice. Alongside Getting my PhD cause it was something that I was passionate about, it was a way that I was support myself throughout my PhD. So then by the time I was done with my formal education, I already had a full practice. And then I could change from doing, hypnosis for things like weight loss, smoking cessation, things like that to clinically diagnosable disorders. I started that practice. I just went out on a limb, following my heart in terms of like, whole alternative.
Tom: 4:59
So what roadblocks did you have to overcome to follow your heart and start that business?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 5:05
So long ago that I started that business, right? Because, and I that business, but since then we merged, I’ve grown it to two separate therapy practices, both of which I’m very passionate about now I’m launching an app. But a big struggle was. finding time. And also I was surrounded by people who could focus on their PhD without needing to struggle so much financially and get as creative that I did. my biggest struggle was, okay, well, how do I sure that I have enough time to do the internships I need to do in the schooling that I need to do and all work at the time, be able to pay the bills for the office that I just created, make sure I have enough time to create my website, make sure that I’m good at what I’m doing. Making sure that I’m very clear about what I can treat what I cannot because I’m not a psychologist at this time. Yes, to help you with smoking cessation, but you’re also telling me you have depression.
Tom: 5:57
That’s really interesting. Like what type of kind of struggles then in terms of just reconciling, making money and having a heart-led business did you have to overcome and what was that like for you?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 6:09
It’s different. It was when I wasn’t making any money cause at that point it was like about survival. I didn’t have as many, interpersonal conflicts about it. I didn’t feel as uncomfortable being successful because I just wasn’t. It’s easy to feel like, hey, I can barely pay rent right now. I’m doing what I need to do. But I didn’t having those personal conflicts until, I was done with my PhD. Growing the business and hiring other people. And then all of a sudden I wasn’t this struggling person who was just trying to make ends meet. Make difficult financial decisions and also, charge patients a certain amount. And the struggles for me came about when it’s like, to pay these people salaries. They are great therapists. They deserve to have a great quality of life. They are the best of the best that I’m proud to have them as colleagues. And yet people saying you should be offering therapy for free. Which I do think there’s a lot of places for that. And a lot of times places get assistance to offer therapy, but we are often met with, hey, you shouldn’t be charging for this. Is seen as like a helping profession or you should, everybody who comes in your practice should be on a sliding scale. If they should be charged way less than somebody who doesn’t. And just feeling like, okay, well I have to pay salaries. I want to offer my employees healthcare. So we can’t let everybody be in sliding scale. We can’t take, a lot of free therapy patients. Will have to reserve those slots for, who had maybe a change in their finances, maybe you came to see us, and you could afford it, but then at a certain point you lost your job. I would rather risk those sliding scales for those people than anybody who we just can’t afford it. That’s something that I struggled a lot even still struggle with.
Tom: 7:51
It’s a business at the end of the day and you have rent, you have payroll, you have, everything that goes into running a business. Why would that service. There has and I’m sure there’s creative ways to offer reasonably priced or a sliding scale, like you said, for those that really did and are willing to the work necessary to the problem that they have.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 8:09
But then again, it’s things can be very difficult. Like most of our patients do get reimbursed by insurance, and that is a way that it’s a lot more affordable, but if charging full price, you have a 15 percent profit margin. That means you could only slide the scale on average 15 percent or, can’t for the bills. So if everybody wants half price, you do have to get really creative about it. So, we did have set standards of, the things we do as well we take it our responsibility. If anybody calls and they’re people who can’t afford our services and we’re not right, that we will actually search your insurance and try to find somebody for them that does work in network with their insurance or we have a whole everybody who’s trained to answer the phone. A list of resources free or sliding scale or places. And we will even follow up with you and hey, were you appointment or try to pull some, like pull some strings for them to find a place that might get the government funding to offset.
Tom: 9:07
That’s such struggle. And do you find that people who don’t pay for therapy or pay for any type of health and wealth and, just self improvement don’t tend to put as much effort into it?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 9:19
That’s definitely the case. I’ve worked in a variety of settings. Where it’s emotional as well. Like, non identifiable murmuration, but during my training, I worked with a person who, because he’s working in the clinic through the school, 5 for each session. And would say things like, you shouldn’t charge me that 5 dollars. Say, why? Well, you’re in a helping profession. I’m like, first of all, I don’t get this 5 dollars anyways. The school gets it, but we ended up getting into a place that he kind felt like the sliding scale, like if I charged him, it didn’t mean I actually liked him. So sometimes the sliding scale isn’t even about it’s more like, are you going to make an exception? And this projection that like this is only doing this for the money, but then it’s also, you’ll definitely soon as you give a sliding scale.
Tom: 10:04
Oh, that’s true.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 10:05
And sometimes people put things up in their mind, like we’re sliding almost like trying to hold on that’s and they actually become suspicious of us. Right, like that we’re trying to keep Them in therapy. Now again, that’s very different than somebody’s like, been working together for a while. Had a change in my finances. I lost my job. I could no longer afford therapy those are the cases that we’re always gonna say. Hey, let’s just work your budget, let’s figure it out.
Tom: 10:29
I think that really is that the crux of leading with your heart and being okay with making a profit in the business. Yeah.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 10:36
Yeah, I don’t know if that feeling of guilt ever really goes away because it’s like, you all live in the illusion of like, that maybe somehow way to give therapy for free like do whatever you’re doing for free. And that you could somehow still live a decent lifestyle and provide a decent lifestyle, quality of life for the with. Right?
Tom: 10:55
Tell us a little bit about the different businesses that, you have, cause you have the three. So what do each of those do and how are they all kind of heart-led and tied together?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 11:04
Yeah. So the practices, we used to be one in the same, really felt like it was better for patients that, we had focuses within one practice. And one was hypnotherapy, which is good, like, which is for certain issues. The other is EMDR, which is really amazing, kind of more specifically for trauma. A number of other things, but we decided to, oh, so it’s iMovement. Yeah. EMDR. So, I Movement, it’s a fascinating therapy. I don’t do, it. My colleagues do, but I’ve been so blown away by them even hearing the stories of, somebody who went maybe very traumatic physical abuse. And now it feels like maybe it’s cause bad person or just has all these like, secondary issues because of the trauma. We’ll then go through EMDR and think, wow, that was just a sick person. It actually didn’t mean anything about and like EMDR is really this like amazing therapy. So what we did is we divided in two separate practices. That way we can become more specialized. Not just that, like, pride ourselves on, like regardless branches of the practice is we don’t pretend to be jack of all trade therapists. We, it’s, you can’t be. You like, I’m an expert in eating disorders, but I can’t be an expert in eating disorders and anxiety and depression and bipolar and this and that because you’re spread too thin to have enough specific for the need you the most, right? So that’s something that means a lot to me is that everybody in the practice is like, hey, this is what I specialize in. And again, sometimes It is telling clients like we don’t specialize in this. We only practice in consider ourselves experts in, but we have this great referral source and you’re looking for this person. I’ll connect you to the person that we think is the best for this issue. Those are my therapy practices. The app about to launch is completely different. I’m super excited about this. This is very close to my heart. So, after working with eating disorders, 17 years, and not just eating disorders, in the way that anybody who struggles with food thinks, right? All these apps make eating disorders or emotional problems with eating worse. Counting calories, restriction, like, specific diet coaching, because the problem is that very few people wake up in the morning and are like, man, I just have no idea what to eat. Most people know what they want to eat, but then something happens and they overcome their best judgment, right? So calorie counting, eating disorders. Promotes eating disorders. Calorie counting, all these apps that do it, a 97 percent drop off rate. And people would say that the problem with that is that it’s not effective. And I think, well, the problem with that is that you’ve like failures. So I think they’re worse off. Now, don’t get me wrong. There’s some people are and that do well in it. But I’ve had a many years of experience with people crying in my office, feeling like, hey, help me and it made me feel worse. So I’m very excited to be launching an app that’s not for eating disorders, but understands aspects of eating of go, everyday going to food for comfort, everyday struggles of, maybe I’m not ready to date. I’m feeling anxious right now. Maybe this will make me feel better. And to it all day. Psychologically proven techniques, that help not make your eating habits better, but heal your food and image. I’m just very proud to be releasing this that it’s going to be at a price point that is going to make it accessible for most people because, I have different with each of these businesses. I’m the same person with the same heart. And yet once, it’s technology is going to be accessible and scalable, it can do. Therapy, either choose a business model where, we’re like just making all the therapists see like 60 patients a week and, to charge as little as we can, but get you in and out the door. Or we can actually say, hey, we really focus on being specialists in our field. And because of that, we’ll see fewer patients so we can provide more care. But knowing that means that we can provide as much of a sliding scale, both heart-led.
Tom: 14:55
Well, the app is ultimately, infinitely scalable, which is great. So when is there a launch date for the app?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 15:01
Within the next few weeks. That being said, when we launch it, we want to do it, like a very small amount just to get the data, make sure everything’s. Moving, and then within the next couple of months.
Tom: 15:10
Awesome. Yeah, in August, but it will most likely be aired in January. So the app will be out. Yeah. What led you specifically to focus in on the transition from corporate work to, the heart-led business.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 15:26
Oh, not that bad. Like, yeah, like, it’s funny because when I was doing marketing research, I found myself volunteering all the time because I wasn’t fulfilled by my everyday life. So, was I bad at it and that’s why I wasn’t fulfilled or was I not able to give it my time and effort? It was right. So, leaving that and, I just randomly applied to graduate.
Tom: 15:49
Or did you just burn the bridges and go right into grad school and quit the job or did it take some.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 15:56
I quit the job. And at first when I was doing my master’s, I actually did real estate on the side. I was like. If I’m going to be in graduate school, it’s So you have to find more flexible jobs that can bring in some money. I couldn’t have kept my corporate job and done graduate what I wanted.
Tom: 16:11
There
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 16:11
are
Tom: 16:11
so many Instagram influencers, they talk about just burn the bridges, just go right in, follow your passion, follow your heart, and it’ll all figure out. And, I think your journey is a little bit different because you went to school and did that, but I think the advice of just, in on your heart’s desire and what you believe your purpose is. I think it’s really bad advice because it one, what if you don’t actually like the business part of it, of leading your passion led business. And two, what if there’s no market for it? Right. So bridges.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 16:40
Yeah. You’ve burned those bridges. When is there enough be able to support myself and they believe this, but at the same time, you don’t want to get to a point that you’re, it, there’s often this like in between stage where.
Tom: 16:52
Definitely my situation. That was personal training, working in a corporate job and I would train five o’clock in the morning until work time, go to work, train people at lunch sometimes, and it was all consuming until like nine o’clock at night. But I love, and at one point, then I just decided to quit the job and then go personal training. And what worried me was, well, I’m not be able to get a full book of clients, but within a month, I was completely booked with a waiting list. Because yeah, and I had built up enough savings so that I wasn’t super stressed all the time for I was able just relax, do my thing and do it really well and attract clients.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 17:30
Yeah. I also think this like, everything heart-led, we do live in a lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck. And it’s like, they already have to work three to make ends meet, right? So, it is a difficult for a lot of people. So sometimes it’s not making it up or like, I think a lot of people have kids, it’s also a harder time because you’re like, hey, if me, I could like sleep in a hammock and I can, just do this. But then you have children, you’re like, okay, well, I probably do want to provide them some stability. I want to provide it. Right. So. There’s life that you might need that space.
Tom: 18:00
Sera, it’s been such a great conversation and what a journey that you’ve had yourself. And I really appreciate you sharing all that with our listeners. How can people get ahold of you or learn more about you and the app?
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 18:13
People could always email me. I’m easily found on LinkedIn. Sometimes people want to connect that way. Through my practice, you could always email me at sera@newyorkhealthhypnosis.com, sera@beabettereating. But I love to connect a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. If people are interested in our practices specifically, I would say call the office. We offer free consultations where we really walk through, if we’re right for you, if you’re right for us and match you with the person that we think would be the best in the practice and time to do that, and that’s complimentary. And as I mentioned if we’re not, we help navigate you regardless. That’s awesome
Tom: 18:46
And that, that really heart-led and still you’re able to make a profit as well. Give that free session, learn if it’s a good fit. If it’s not refer out, it is, and then you work together. That’s awesome. Well, thank you. again so much for being on the show and sharing your wisdom and sharing your time with us. I truly appreciate it. And I know our listeners appreciate it as well.
Dr. Sera Lavelle: 19:05
I really enjoyed it. I really find it an honor to be on the show.
Tom: 19:08
Thank you so much for checking out the show today and make sure that you’re checking out the everything that’s Dr. Sera’s doing. Just look in our show notes. We’re going to link all of that up into the show notes. So make sure you’re checking that out. And do what other smart and considerate listeners are doing and share the show with a friend that could use the advice shared on the show today. And until next time, lead with your heart.
Speaker: 19:30
You’ve been listening to the Heart-Led Business Show, hosted by Tom Jackobs. Join us next time for another inspiring journey into the heart of business.
