WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.080 Welcome to Milestone Moments, the show where 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.960 we explore the journeys that lead to success. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:10.220 I'm Sheila Slick, your host and founder of Five 00:00:10.220 --> 00:00:13.859 Milestones. In every episode, we will bring you 00:00:13.859 --> 00:00:17.100 insights from the minds of entrepreneurs, leaders 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:20.820 and experts who will share not just their expertise, 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.120 but the milestone moments that have reshaped 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:27.059 their journeys and led to significant achievements. 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:30.359 So if you're looking for motivation, you're in 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.560 the right place. Subscribe now and discover the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:40.740 milestones that mark the path to success. Welcome 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:43.899 to another episode of Milestone Moments in Business 00:00:43.899 --> 00:00:46.740 and Leadership. I'm Sheila Slick, your host. 00:00:46.939 --> 00:00:50.420 And today, my special guest is Peyton Woodard, 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:54.740 founder of LunaLeaf, a pioneering femtech startup. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:59.179 and proud military spouse. Peyton is dedicated 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:02.420 to empowering women, helping them optimize their 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:05.760 lives through cycle syncing. Welcome to the show, 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:08.480 Peyton. Thank you so much for having me. I'm 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:13.620 so excited to be here. So can you share that 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:16.739 pivotal moment that inspired you to start Luna 00:01:16.739 --> 00:01:22.829 Leaf Wellness? Yes. So I had my own, I'll keep 00:01:22.829 --> 00:01:25.329 it short, but I had my own spiritual kind of 00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:30.049 awakening, if you will, in 2020. And I was kind 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.129 of on that journey for a while. And part of my 00:01:33.129 --> 00:01:38.590 daily practice was meditation. And it was last 00:01:38.590 --> 00:01:42.090 September, I was in a meditation and the idea 00:01:42.090 --> 00:01:45.250 came to me like a lightning bolt. It just struck. 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:48.640 I tried to continue with my meditation and I 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:50.739 just couldn't because it was almost like a fire 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:53.420 had been lit inside of me. And finally, I was 00:01:53.420 --> 00:01:55.120 like, OK, I can't meditate today anymore. I need 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:58.000 to go like brain dump this idea that just came 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.159 to me. And I basically hopped on my computer, 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:04.530 stayed on my computer. all day, just typing out 00:02:04.530 --> 00:02:06.810 everything that had kind of come to me for this 00:02:06.810 --> 00:02:10.689 idea, for this creation. And I basically never 00:02:10.689 --> 00:02:14.550 stopped since. So it has been a whirlwind 11 00:02:14.550 --> 00:02:17.330 months of kind of creating this and allowing 00:02:17.330 --> 00:02:19.590 it to continue to kind of come through me and 00:02:19.590 --> 00:02:24.509 be birthed into the world. Wow. It sounds like 00:02:24.509 --> 00:02:28.389 passion took over during the meditation. And 00:02:28.389 --> 00:02:30.389 I think you're supposed to like clear your mind 00:02:30.389 --> 00:02:32.189 of thoughts. So the fact that is the intention. 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:35.330 Yes. But, you know, sometimes they come anyways. 00:02:35.530 --> 00:02:38.189 And so that's also part of the practice is allowing 00:02:38.189 --> 00:02:41.270 them to also still just be there and not fight 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:43.689 it. So, yeah, I mean, obviously it was supposed 00:02:43.689 --> 00:02:47.610 to come to me in that moment when it did. Yeah, 00:02:47.689 --> 00:02:50.069 that is how the idea came to me. That was the 00:02:50.069 --> 00:02:55.030 pivotal moment. Love it. So how can Luna leave? 00:02:55.629 --> 00:02:59.150 help you or me improve your energy, mood, productivity, 00:02:59.289 --> 00:03:03.509 and relationships. So I love the relationship 00:03:03.509 --> 00:03:05.710 one the most. Honestly, I've been married. I'm 00:03:05.710 --> 00:03:08.189 a military spouse and I've been married for 11 00:03:08.189 --> 00:03:11.909 years. And it was probably about two and a half 00:03:11.909 --> 00:03:13.509 years ago that I started cycles and thinking 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:17.870 myself and that awareness. reconnected me to 00:03:17.870 --> 00:03:21.610 myself and my body and the nuances of where my 00:03:21.610 --> 00:03:24.590 hormones were high and low and really understanding 00:03:24.590 --> 00:03:27.610 you know I'm not crazy because one day I'm like 00:03:27.610 --> 00:03:29.449 I could be the president and the next I'm like 00:03:29.449 --> 00:03:32.610 I can't even scrub the toilet right so I realized 00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:36.110 that in itself and so my relationship with self 00:03:36.110 --> 00:03:39.389 became so much better but then I was able to 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:43.810 then explain it to my husband and teach him things 00:03:43.810 --> 00:03:46.310 that he hadn't been taught about a woman's hormonal 00:03:46.310 --> 00:03:50.590 cycle. We kind of learned together and he now 00:03:50.590 --> 00:03:53.050 has a newfound awareness that has really helped 00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:55.530 our relationship because he's like, okay, like 00:03:55.530 --> 00:03:57.469 where are you at in your cycle? I can tell him. 00:03:57.509 --> 00:04:00.250 And then he knows what that kind of means for 00:04:00.250 --> 00:04:03.169 us and not to take things so personal or not 00:04:03.169 --> 00:04:06.770 to feel like. you know, he really did mess up 00:04:06.770 --> 00:04:09.110 majorly. I'm just maybe being a little extra 00:04:09.110 --> 00:04:11.729 sensitive right now because of where I'm at in 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:13.889 my cycle. So it's actually really tremendously 00:04:13.889 --> 00:04:17.189 helped our relationship. And even my productivity, 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:20.730 I batch my content in my follicular and ovulatory 00:04:20.730 --> 00:04:22.649 phases because that's where I'm going to be most 00:04:22.649 --> 00:04:24.649 confident, most creative, and most energetic. 00:04:25.470 --> 00:04:28.269 So I really work on creating a bunch of content 00:04:28.269 --> 00:04:32.529 in that kind of 10 to 15 day period where I know 00:04:32.529 --> 00:04:34.970 that I'm going to feel my best. I'm going to 00:04:34.970 --> 00:04:37.709 create stuff I enjoy. And then when I get to 00:04:37.709 --> 00:04:40.629 my luteal phase, when I'm nearing my next cycle, 00:04:40.769 --> 00:04:43.209 I just take that as a time to kind of look at 00:04:43.209 --> 00:04:46.569 my detail work and maybe reread my captions and 00:04:46.569 --> 00:04:48.930 edit here and there because I see the detail 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:52.269 so much better. And then I allow myself to rest 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.860 when I'm getting really close to my cycle. when 00:04:54.860 --> 00:04:57.720 I start my cycle and I'm just, I can take the 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.199 pressure off of having to perform. It's been 00:05:00.199 --> 00:05:05.160 really beneficial as a founder to cycle sync 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:07.459 through this experience because I've been able 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:11.519 to give myself grace and not be like hustle, 00:05:11.620 --> 00:05:13.899 hustle, hustle, hustle all the time and then 00:05:13.899 --> 00:05:17.220 ignore my body into burnout. So how does the 00:05:17.220 --> 00:05:20.720 app keep track of the cycle or give us an overview 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:25.160 of how the app works? Yeah. So the app is a typical 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:27.959 period tracker like you would find in other competitors' 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:31.339 apps. So you have to log, you know, if your cycle 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:33.139 comes earlier, it comes late. You have to change 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:35.600 that in the calendar so it can continue to learn 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:38.680 your predictability. But with that, it also breaks 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.899 down what phase you're in, what day you're on, 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:44.120 and actually even the correlation to the moon 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:47.540 phases too. Because there is a correlation between 00:05:47.540 --> 00:05:50.379 a 28 -day cycle of the moon and the average 28 00:05:50.379 --> 00:05:53.589 -day cycle of a woman. So within the app, you 00:05:53.589 --> 00:05:56.970 are provided, if you have the full feature experience, 00:05:57.329 --> 00:06:00.149 you are provided daily workouts, meditations, 00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:03.529 pep talks, and recipes that are very specifically 00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:06.670 placed in your calendar for that day and phase 00:06:06.670 --> 00:06:09.250 of your cycle to be the most supportive. So, 00:06:09.250 --> 00:06:11.810 you know, day one of your cycle. It's going to 00:06:11.810 --> 00:06:15.050 be a restorative yoga flow versus a high intensity 00:06:15.050 --> 00:06:17.750 interval workout. And then as you kind of your 00:06:17.750 --> 00:06:20.149 hormones start to build, the workouts will also 00:06:20.149 --> 00:06:22.550 build with you. And so by the time you're getting 00:06:22.550 --> 00:06:24.810 to ovulation, you're doing more intense workouts, 00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:29.209 maybe a 10 minute just total hit workout, or 00:06:29.209 --> 00:06:30.350 maybe it's just going to be a really intense 00:06:30.350 --> 00:06:32.750 strength day. And then you'll kind of ride that 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:35.810 hormonal wave back down. And so will your workouts. 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:39.350 So that's how it really helps you is it tracks 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:41.740 you. And it provides you with the content of 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:43.160 what you need to do that day. It really takes 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:47.040 the guesswork out of cycle syncing for you. So 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.879 just out of curiosity, because it works around 00:06:49.879 --> 00:06:52.040 the menstrual cycle, if someone's already in 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.220 menopause and they don't have a menstrual cycle, 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:56.980 can they still benefit from downloading the app? 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:01.439 So at this point, I would say not yet. but coming 00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:06.360 soon. I'm 36. I just turned 36 this weekend. 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:10.139 And I have noticed that there are signs of perimenopause 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:12.920 that I am experiencing, which can be up to 10 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:14.939 years before you actually experience menopause. 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:17.420 And through conversations of other women around 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:20.339 my age, they're kind of noticing the same symptoms 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:26.480 of perimenopause. So I want to bring menopause 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.240 and perimenopause into the app. Through a lived 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:31.819 experience, whether it's me or I bring someone 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:34.060 into the fold of the company that has a true 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:37.379 experience of it, I don't want to just rely on 00:07:37.379 --> 00:07:41.120 some of the hearsay of the experience because 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:43.860 it is very unique and it is very unpredictable. 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:46.379 And that's one of the hardest things with trying 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:49.970 to put it into a period tracking app. is the 00:07:49.970 --> 00:07:52.889 unpredictability of it. And so really, it takes 00:07:52.889 --> 00:07:55.250 some research from me and a lived experience 00:07:55.250 --> 00:07:57.670 from me and others to really figure out the best 00:07:57.670 --> 00:08:00.290 way to support peri and menopause through the 00:08:00.290 --> 00:08:04.509 app. So building a wellness brand and building 00:08:04.509 --> 00:08:08.990 an app comes with a lot of unique challenges. 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:12.370 Can you describe a significant challenge you've 00:08:12.370 --> 00:08:16.029 had to overcome and how it contributed to your 00:08:16.029 --> 00:08:19.819 growth? Yeah. So, I mean, really, I have been 00:08:19.819 --> 00:08:23.360 my biggest challenge. I barely graduated high 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.379 school. I don't have a college degree. I was 00:08:26.379 --> 00:08:28.939 diagnosed with ADD and dyslexia at a very young 00:08:28.939 --> 00:08:31.579 age. And that was kind of the gray cloud that 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:34.200 followed me throughout my entire life of just, 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:36.179 well, I don't think the same as other people 00:08:36.179 --> 00:08:38.480 do or my brain doesn't work the same way. And 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:42.720 really having to get over that was one of the 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.419 biggest hurdles that I was not expecting to. 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:49.169 to come up against in creating this company because 00:08:49.169 --> 00:08:52.190 it took a lot of self -development for me to 00:08:52.190 --> 00:08:55.610 just push past those limiting beliefs that I 00:08:55.610 --> 00:08:58.850 had for myself just because I was neurodivergent. 00:08:59.070 --> 00:09:02.230 And it's actually been, I realized, my superpower 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:07.700 because of my ADD. I can shift from wearing this 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:10.179 hat to the next hat to the next hat in 10 minutes 00:09:10.179 --> 00:09:14.120 and be unfazed. So I don't get so stuck in one 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:16.899 task. And so it can actually benefit me. Sometimes 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:19.279 it doesn't because I can get easily distracted. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:23.200 I have two kids also. So they distract me sometimes. 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:26.600 But that has probably been the biggest hurdle. 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.940 And just getting over the fact that I am brand 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.159 new to this. I had to learn the lingo. I went 00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.899 through an accelerator program, the Founder Institute, 00:09:36.120 --> 00:09:39.460 and I was asked, you know, what program is my 00:09:39.460 --> 00:09:45.360 developer using? And I said, SQL. And I did not 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.740 know that it was just, it actually is SQL. And 00:09:49.740 --> 00:09:51.720 so someone side messaged me and was like, hey, 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:53.539 just for future reference, it's pronounced SQL. 00:09:53.779 --> 00:09:56.340 And I'm like, okay, I'm definitely non -technical. 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:59.100 So there's just been a lot of learning curves 00:09:59.100 --> 00:10:02.980 of. not having ever done this before, especially 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:08.000 in tech, and just going for it. So it's layered. 00:10:08.200 --> 00:10:11.139 It's definitely a lot of different aspects I 00:10:11.139 --> 00:10:15.080 have learned to grow through. Well, keep moving 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:18.539 forward. You're doing great so far. And you're 00:10:18.539 --> 00:10:22.240 actually a perfect example of how you don't need 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:26.120 education or at least a lot of business education. 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:28.659 You're learning through experience to start your 00:10:28.659 --> 00:10:35.389 own. Yep. So what is your next milestone? Okay, 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:37.990 so the next milestone is actually, I mean, launch. 00:10:38.230 --> 00:10:43.750 Launch is hopefully happening by August, September 00:10:43.750 --> 00:10:45.809 timeframe. We're about to move into beta this 00:10:45.809 --> 00:10:47.970 week. It's going to be a small group, select 00:10:47.970 --> 00:10:51.370 group of beta initially as features are continually 00:10:51.370 --> 00:10:54.990 being developed. And then hopefully by August 00:10:54.990 --> 00:10:58.669 timeframe, the app will be ready for the public 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:01.970 consumption. So that's probably the biggest milestone 00:11:01.970 --> 00:11:05.389 that I'm looking forward to. And then I have 00:11:05.389 --> 00:11:07.789 about 10 more after that of different, you know, 00:11:07.809 --> 00:11:10.289 phases that I want to come out with, with the 00:11:10.289 --> 00:11:13.269 app. I really, my husband says that it's his 00:11:13.269 --> 00:11:16.350 idea to have the partner app. So just a quick 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:18.450 integration app that they can have on their phone 00:11:18.450 --> 00:11:20.730 that lets them know where their spouse is at 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:24.830 that day. And so I'd really like to roll that 00:11:24.830 --> 00:11:27.610 feature out sooner than later. I really want 00:11:27.610 --> 00:11:29.769 to dive into that. Like I said, the perimenopause 00:11:29.769 --> 00:11:33.830 menopause features too. So you mean so they get 00:11:33.830 --> 00:11:37.769 notified? Uh -huh. So this is how simple he wants 00:11:37.769 --> 00:11:41.169 it. Keep in mind, he is in the army. He's had 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:43.809 conversations with other guys, but he wants it 00:11:43.809 --> 00:11:45.830 to literally just be red, yellow, and green. 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:49.519 And depending on where the woman is at in her 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.779 cycle, that changes, of course, the red, yellow, 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:56.039 or green. And so it would be very easy for them 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:58.379 to not mess it up. But also maybe even provide 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:01.000 them some suggestions like, hey, she might not 00:12:01.000 --> 00:12:03.019 be feeling great about her body today because 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:06.039 she's in her late luteal phase. Maybe just give 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:08.940 her a few extra compliments or, you know, tell 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:11.639 her her hair looks nice, whatever it is. Suggestions 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.600 to help them. And for the men to also understand 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:16.899 or the spouse to understand where their partner 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:18.919 is at in their cycle and why they may feel the 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:21.919 way they feel. That sounds great. And you can 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:24.659 even probably implement it real quick if you 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:26.860 just did it at least through text messaging, 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:29.860 right? Yeah. So that you can have those messages 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.480 coming in through there. That's a great idea 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:34.840 to start sooner than later. I love that. Yeah. 00:12:34.860 --> 00:12:36.720 So they, you know, they sign up for that alert, 00:12:36.840 --> 00:12:40.220 so to speak. So it's the stage and then you can 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:45.159 build up on that. Love that. So if anyone wants 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:49.039 to follow your journey, www .lunaleafwellness 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.480 .com. And then we're also on Instagram and TikTok. 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:57.679 The handle is at lunaleaf .app. And before we 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:00.620 wrap this up, what one key piece of advice do 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:04.600 you have for our female listeners to take action 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:08.259 today towards integrating wellness into their 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:14.059 lives? I would say, honestly, is take a really 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:16.840 good hard look at yourself and how you are standing 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:21.059 in your own way. And I think so often we can 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:24.019 see little glimmers of like, well, that person's 00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:25.960 in my way or I can't do it because of that or 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.279 I can't do it because I have kids. You make up 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:30.720 all of these excuses. And when you actually boil 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:33.840 the excuses down, you may come to realize that 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:36.840 you are actually the excuse and to get out of 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.120 your own way because no one can do it for you. 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:40.879 I have to remind this of myself all the time. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.539 No one's going to create the success for me that 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:45.519 I want to create. I have to do it for myself. 00:13:46.380 --> 00:13:48.860 And I have to do it despite the fact that my 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:51.639 husband goes away and goes training and goes 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:54.379 and works for the army at times and that I am 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:57.580 raising two kids, sometimes solo parenting. I 00:13:57.580 --> 00:13:59.799 have to get over that because that's not going 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:01.700 to change. It's still part of my experience, 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:04.940 but I can still create the life that I want if 00:14:04.940 --> 00:14:07.820 I just get out of my own way. So get out of your 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:11.000 own way. Find the routine that works for you. 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:13.759 I get up every morning right now. I get up at 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:18.009 530. I go for a walk by six. I call them my dreamy 00:14:18.009 --> 00:14:21.830 girl walks. And I take the dog and I speak into 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:25.090 existence what I'm creating. And so if it is 00:14:25.090 --> 00:14:28.529 to be on, a recent one was looking a year ahead. 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:31.669 I had already been on 100 podcasts is what I 00:14:31.669 --> 00:14:35.269 was claiming. So and here I am recording a podcast. 00:14:35.789 --> 00:14:38.029 So just find what works for you. If it's not 00:14:38.029 --> 00:14:40.549 meditation, maybe it's walking and just talking 00:14:40.549 --> 00:14:42.230 out loud like you're talking to your best friend 00:14:42.230 --> 00:14:44.610 about everything exciting that just happened 00:14:44.610 --> 00:14:47.429 that you want to happen. But just find what works 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:50.409 for you and stick to it and get out of your own 00:14:50.409 --> 00:14:53.769 way. I love that advice. Well, thank you so much 00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:56.490 for joining me today. Thank you for having me. 00:14:56.570 --> 00:14:59.230 This was wonderful. And thank you all for tuning 00:14:59.230 --> 00:15:02.090 in to another episode of Milestone Moments in 00:15:02.090 --> 00:15:03.070 Business and Leadership.