What happens when a 15-year corporate veteran at Apple and Estee Lauder gets stranded in a foreign country during a pandemic with two young daughters, her husband and dog stuck on the other side of the world?
She plants a lemon tree.
This week on Sacred Business Stories, we sat down with Veronica Llorca-Smith, a Substack Bestseller, Penguin author, and international speaker who turned rejection into reinvention. At 41, with no network, no personal brand, and recruiters who couldn’t see her value, Veronica made a decision that changed everything:
“If people can’t see my value, then I have to show it to the world.”
Three years later, she runs what she calls a “Frankenstein business”: four published books, a 13,000+ subscriber community, digital courses, coaching programs, and speaking gigs across the globe. All built from scratch. All built in public.
But here’s what I really appreciated about Veronica that I learned from this conversation. Veronica doesn’t wait until she has clarity to take action. She takes action to find clarity. That shift alone might be worth the price of admission.
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Show Notes
[00:00] The Origin Story
Veronica spent 15 years climbing the corporate ladder at companies like Apple and Estee Lauder. She thought that was her path. Then the pandemic happened, and she found herself locked out of Hong Kong for over a year with her young daughters (ages 3 and 5) while her husband stayed behind with their dog.
In Australia, she hit a wall. No one valued her experience. No network. No credibility.
[06:00] The Lemon Tree Philosophy
The name isn’t just clever branding. It’s the core of everything Veronica teaches.
“When life gives you lemons, not if, but when, use the seeds not just to make lemonade, but to plant your lemon tree.”
Her first book, The Lemon Tree Mindset, came from documenting her own corporate-to-solopreneur transition. She turned her chaos into a framework others could follow. That’s the power of building in public.
[08:00] Being Your Own Boss Doesn’t Make You a Good One
This hit home. Veronica shared a recent post where she reflected on how solopreneurs often treat themselves worse than the worst corporate boss they ever had.
Working while sick. Showing up when they’re having a terrible day. No self-compassion. No boundaries.
Her insight: being your own boss is about setting frameworks and protecting your time. Nobody else will do that for you.
[12:00] Clarity Comes From Doing, Not Thinking
Most people want to find clarity before they start. Veronica flips this entirely.
“You find clarity by doing things. You start writing and very often you have these mental chaos and ideas start to become something or nothing. But doing helps you find clarity.”
She didn’t have a niche when she started. She just wrote. First on LinkedIn. Then Medium. Then pitching podcasts. The shape of her business emerged through action, not planning.
[16:00] Fear Is a Feature, Not a Bug
Veronica intentionally puts herself in situations that scare her. Every year since starting, she’s done something she’s never done before: live sessions, launching in Spanish (her native language, which gave her more imposter syndrome than English), digital courses, bigger stages.
Her reframe: Instead of asking “what’s the worst that could happen,” she asks “what’s the best that could happen.”
If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re probably just playing in your comfort zone.
[23:00] The Multilingual Business Challenge
This got interesting. Veronica speaks six languages and now runs her Substack in both English and Spanish. She’s noticed more creators asking how to write across multiple languages.
But here’s the twist: she found more imposter syndrome in her native language than in English. “In my own language, it’s like, oh, this is not okay.” In English, she could afford mistakes as a foreigner.
Carolina related. She’s writing in Portuguese now and says it feels like discovering a different version of herself.
[28:00] Authentic Connection in the AI Era
Polished content used to signal success. Now everyone can make polished content. So what actually differentiates you?
Being human. Being real. Sharing the mess.
Veronica flew to Singapore for a book launch that was, in her words, “a bloody disaster.” Less than 10 people showed up. They didn’t even have book copies. She could have pretended it didn’t happen. Instead, she wrote about it.
The response? People thanked her for being real. It made the whole thing achievable and human.
[36:00] Two Tactical Strategies That Actually Work
When we asked for something practical, Veronica delivered:
Collaboration. Find someone to collaborate with. Guest posts, live sessions, interviews, panel discussions. She runs collaboration days where her premium members share what’s working, pitch ideas, and partner up. This alone has driven massive growth.
Public Speaking. Even if it’s not your main thing, becoming comfortable with your voice opens new possibilities. Webinars, masterclasses, cohorts, corporate workshops. She filmed her digital course on an iPhone at home. Not polished. Just real.
Key Quotes
“When life gives you lemons, not if, but when, use the seeds not just to make lemonade, but to plant your lemon tree.”
“Being your own boss doesn’t make you a good one.”
“You find clarity by doing things. Very often people want to find clarity first and then do things. What I have found is that you often find clarity by doing things.”
“Instead of asking what’s the worst that could happen, I tend to think what’s the best that could happen.”
“We are not a newsletter. We are not a writing business. We’re a people business.”
Resources Mentioned
The Lemon Tree Mindset by Veronica Llorca-Smith (Amazon Bestseller, Finalist in 2024 International Book Awards)
The Anti-Procrastinator by Veronica Llorca-Smith (Penguin)
Where to Find Veronica
Substack (English): The Lemon Tree Mindset
Substack (Spanish): El Limonero
Website: veronicallorcasmith.com
LinkedIn: Veronica Llorca-Smith
Veronica invites you to not just read her content, but get involved. Join the chat. Show up for live sessions. Her premium community runs regular collaboration masterminds where members share what’s working in 2026 and pitch partnership ideas.
Ready to Transform Your Patterns into Breakthrough Results?
Here’s what we’ve found working with hundreds of entrepreneurs: the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it isn’t a strategy problem. It’s a pattern problem.
The same patterns that show up in your personal life, the ones that keep you stuck in analysis mode or avoiding visibility, those show up in your business too. Everything is connected.
That’s why we created The Sacred Business Harmony Map. It identifies which of the 9 Frequencies is blocking your growth and shows you exactly what to work on first.
If you’d like to explore working together, book your free Integration Call. We’ll walk through your results, connect the dots between your inner patterns and outer challenges, and show you what working with us could look like.
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Thank You
Thank you Anfernee, Rocelyn ♡, The Messy Middle, Monika Rawat, and many others who joined us live from around the world: São Paulo, Hong Kong, and everywhere in between.
And to Veronica, thank you for sharing not just the wins but the challenges, the doubts, and the messy middle. That’s what makes this real.
P.S. Missed previous episodes? All our Sacred Business Stories recaps are available here. We invite you to explore.
What’s Next: Hit the subscribe button if you haven’t already. Every week we bring you conversations with entrepreneurs who are building businesses that honor both their values and their vision for life.
