Harness Your Hormonal Cycles to Scale Your Business

Summary
In this episode, Renae Fieck shares her journey through personal challenges and how understanding hormonal cycles can empower women entrepreneurs to build successful, balanced businesses. Discover practical tips on leveraging your natural rhythms for greater productivity and well-being.


Takeaways
Renae Fieck's personal journey and transformation
The impact of hormonal cycles on productivity and mood
Practical strategies for cycle syncing in business
The importance of rest and seasonal rhythms
Breaking free from burnout and hustle culture



Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Feminine Leadership and Resilience
03:31 Transformative Experiences: Redefining Success
06:17 Understanding Hormonal Cycles and Productivity
11:11 Daily Rhythms: Finding Your Peak Productivity
14:22 The Importance of Rest and Recovery
17:38 Practical Steps to Overcome Burnout
21:03 Rapid Fire Questions and Final Thoughts
23:22 RNR Outro Final.mp4
24:00 RR.Gift.RetreatRnR.com.mp4


🔗 Connect with Renae Fieck
📧 Email: renae@renaefieck.com
🌐 Website: https://renaefieck.com/
🎵 TikTok: @renaefieck
📸 Instagram: @renaefieck
📘 Facebook: Rising Moms

🎁 Free Audiobook for Cycle Sync Your Business → https://renae-fieck.mykajabi.com/offers/BFXdXMLG/checkout?preview=true

🔗 Connect with Holly Porter | Retreat RNR 
📧 Email: holly@hollyporter.com 
🔗 LinkedIn: Holly Porter | Retreat RNR 
🎵 TikTok: @retreatrnr 
▶️ YouTube: @intlretreatassociation
📸 Instagram: @retreatrnr | @hollyporterinternational 
📘 Facebook: HollyAnnPorter

FREE GIFT: 2026 Retreat Industry Report
https://internationalretreatassociation.org/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to All Things Retreat Podcast. I'm Holly Porter, your host and CEO of Retreat R. With over 25 years of experience in designing transformative retreats. I'm here to share insights and inspiration to help you create extraordinary experiences. Whether you're a pro or just starting out, you'll find valuable ideas here. Enjoy the ride. Let's dive in. Hi everyone. Welcome to the show today. We're going to be chatting with Renee Fick. She is a feminine leadership coach, cycling sinking expert. I hope I said that right. Business strategist and mom of three. After navigating her husband's brain tumor diagnosis, raising three young children, and experiencing burnout herself, Renee made it her mission to help high-achieving women build successful businesses without sacrificing health or happiness. Drawing on her background in occupational therapy, somatic healing, and breath work, she teaches women how to align their businesses with their body's natural rhythm so that they can work less, earn more, and lead with greater confidence. She's the founder of Your Cycle Advantage and the Flow Collective and the author of Cycle Sync Your Business. Please join me in welcoming, welcoming Renee Fick to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Thanks so much for having me. It's such an honor to be here.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Oh, yeah. No, happy to have you. I think a lot of our listeners are women because a big portion of the retreat industry is women. I'm I'm working to change that with our uh International Retreat Association. I would really like to see a lot more men's retreats going on. But today it's sorry, men, if you're listening, we're just going to be talking about the girl thing. So if you have a wife or a girlfriend or partner, you may want to listen in so you can get some tips and and know how to um send her Renee's way.

unknown 1:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Or, you know, I was like, oh, now as you say that, I'm like, I've been thinking about my husband, like what he could do. I was like, maybe I should get him hosting a retreat.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Oh, you should. I wanna, I wanna say men's retreats. I feel like they need it as much as women, maybe more, but they I think they feel weird about it. And I think they think I'm gonna have to cry in front of other guys. You don't have to go to a retreat like that. I mean, I'm sure there is that. We all have little breakdowns, and there's, but we all go for some kind of transformation. What does that look like for you? And pick the retreat that's gonna give you the transformation you want. So yeah, totally, I think so too. Um, I say that all the time from about my husband. I'm like, I'm gonna find you a really good one to go to.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, yeah. That's the thing. I think you know, they have they you have to experience it first, and then you get the itch or the bug. Like, that's what happened for me. I was like, I went on a retreat years ago and was like, I want to do this someday, I want to create this. And that itch just stayed there. And so I think that you you kind of do have to go experience it and feel it and be in it, and then you're like, I want to do this.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Yeah, I would like to do um a couple's retreat with my husband, not just going, I'd like him to do them with me, put them on because yeah, for for mixed families, because I don't mean mixed race, I mean a divorce is remarried, you know, putting kids together. What do you call that?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Yeah, blended, blended, blended family.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

That's the word I'm looking for. Yeah, we combined eight kids, four and four, and they're all adults now. I don't they all made it to adulthood, but boy, there were some days I didn't know if they were going to.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, for sure. It's like when you get with other people who are going through something that you are experiencing and you have that support and you that camaraderie, it makes such a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah. Well, then just understand people survived it, you know. We went through a lot. So, okay, back to the girl women thing. Here we go. All right, your journey began with um during an incredible challenging season with your husband's health and raising your three kids. How did that experience completely change your definition of success?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Good question. So that was in that season was when, like I said, my husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And so, you know, when you're faced with something like that, it really creates this level of like, I mean, you've had similar experiences where you're like, gosh, life is not guaranteed. And I don't know that tomorrow is a guarantee. And in that season, I was living so much for the one day, someday down the road in the future, and thinking, well, when my kids are in school, then I'll do XYZ, or oh, when we have more money, then I'll do XYZ. And then realized in that moment was like, life is actually passing us by while I'm waiting for something to happen, you know, like while I'm waiting for that next milestone. And if I keep like that, what if I don't wake up tomorrow? Or what if something does happen and our life is forever changed, and then I've like, whatever. So that became the pivotal moment for me of realizing how do I live today? Like the way I want to live today, that I'd be satisfied with how life is right now. And yes, I have such big goals and such big aspirations for life, but at the same time, that doesn't mean that I have to sacrifice my in the now in order to make that happen. And so that kind of became became the journey for me of really looking at how I make that happen. I was working at the hospital. I worked at the children's hospital at the time, and I remember thinking, like, I have babies at home. Like I had three kids under six. I was like, I want to be home with them. I don't want to be just away at work and having somebody else raise them. So that's kind of what started me on my business and like building a business at that time. But then very quickly got into hustling the same sort of mentality that I had at the hospital and working in life in my business and trading the same thing. Like I kind of got back in that same loop of I'm trading away my days now for the one day when I have more freedom, or the one day. And that's kind of where I had this like moment of either I'm gonna keep going this way and totally burn out or lose what I'm trying to get, or I gotta figure something else out and I gotta do that. Like I gotta figure out how do I be more productive, how do I get more done in a day, how do I balance all of these things that I've got juggling. And that's what led me to figuring out like how men and women are so different in our hormones and how those hormones, like we hear about it and we know about it, you know, but like on a fundamental level, like how much they're impacting our focus, our creativity, our energy, how much we can get done in a day. And it became something that I was able to work with and kind of predict and know instead of just constantly feeling like, oh, I was so on top of it two days ago, and now I have like no energy, and being able to work with where my body's at and being able to get things done easier.

SPEAKER_00 6:40

Yeah. I think most women and men for that too, but we're mostly speaking with women today. Um, I think they go through that. I think we all all get that at some point in our life. You know, I was super healthy before I got so sick with with COVID, and then the long COVID came and my life looks so different. But I have to, you know, my husband and I were talking about last night about I just said he said there was something about somebody being a clean freak, you know. And I said, Well, I'm sorry you're not married to a clean freak.

unknown 7:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

He said, No, you're you're just right in how you do it. And I said, you know, I used to be a lot better, but I was different, you know, before I had all these challenges. And it's like, I said, I feel like now it's pacing. And I think a lot of women don't give themselves that a break to say, I gotta pace today, because it can hit me. Like I can play right now talking to you, and in a half an hour, I'm like, I'm done. I'm just like, I can't function, my brain's not functioning. And and for me, that's not all hormones as part of the long COVID. But yeah, I I know when my hormones are balanced, it's you know a hundred times better. Yeah. So when people um have their mental, when women women obviously have their mental cycle, um, that's the key to scaling your business, I think, is getting mastering um well, let's talk about how how it does that. How can how can your mental cycle um be key to scaling your business and then mastering your retreat and feeling balanced while you're doing it, if especially if you're having some issues?

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Yeah. So I think when we look at the hormones for women, men have testosterone that functions on a daily rhythm. So every day they wake up kind of with the same dose of fresh or a fresh dose of testosterone every single day. So men are very capable of being consistent day to day to today. They do have, like you said, they have their own rhythms. There's times when they're a little bit more depleted and they need more rest and they and they can recharge, but it they're shorter little windows of time in the day. So they like cycle, they cycle faster, I guess is a good way to put it. They like go through their cycle in a day and then they wake up the next day and they go through their cycle and they keep going. Whereas women, we have a month-long cycle instead of a day-long cycle. And so our hormones change throughout the whole month. And so in the first half, it's generally estrogen, and then the second half it's progesterone. And they feel very, very different. They are very different hormones. So estrogen tends to feel a little bit more like testosterone where you're ready to go, you're ready to get big things up off the ground, you're ready to move things, coming up with new ideas, launching big things, feeling really confident, especially when you get to the time like right around ovulation. Women will feel so good. You know, you can pitch something, you can put something out there, you can speak on a podcast, you could do all the things and feel like, damn, I'm so good. Like this was amazing. Yeah. And then progesterone kicks in and you're like, what am I doing? I'm like the world's worst mom. I'm the world's worst business owner. Like, what am I doing? I'm failing at everything. I'm just gonna burn it all down. I'm gonna start over, I'm gonna pivot something totally new. And it just changes the whole dynamic. And so, one, when women understand that, it gives them a lot more permission to lean into hey, I'm actually in a place right now where I need to tap out. Like, I need to take some space. Like you said, there's gonna be times when your brain feels super foggy, and there's gonna be times when you can't put a sentence together, and yet most of us are trying to function like men. And so we just like sit down and we hold onto the computer and we're like, I gotta get this done. I gotta get it done, even though the brain's not online at that point in time. And so it really is about understanding like, where is my brain? Where is my body? How is it functioning right now? And then tapping into that. So, you know, when I create content for social media, if I create it when I'm in that ovulation glow and I'm feeling amazing, it's so much easier for me to record something and feel good about it, versus if I try to do it in the luteal phase, it's like 10 takes, and then I'm like, I didn't like it. Rerase, erase, erase. Oh, I screwed up my words there. I'm gonna erase, erase, erase. And so it just you become more effective. Like when you know, hey, in the Luteal phase, it's actually really great for just writing copy. Right. So much more effective there, and you're so much more effective at looking at where the leaky buckets in your revenue are and what's actually happening and organizing things. And so instead of trying to function like men, where we're doing the same thing every single day, it's about hey, this is where my body and my brain is at today. I'm gonna hone in on that and be laser sharp with it. And then when my brain's not there and it's on to something else, I'm gonna hone in and laser in on there. And so you become more effective in that way of being able to really leverage, hey, this is who I am where I'm at right now.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Yeah, I want to take that little uh one step further on the time. Like I noticed years ago, my most productive time of the day was 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Yeah. I always tell my husband, sorry you miss it. It's like that's when I'm at my best. But uh I think knowing that, like I I don't usually schedule any any calls unless I mean sometimes I do, but I I really work at not starting, I start the day way before I'm up at five or six, but it's like I don't start like taking getting in front of people until about 10 a.m. So I just feel like that's that's when I can be productive and do it. And I think if people can realize, like if you stop and think about it, I think a lot of people don't think about that. So you're talking about your cycle phase, I'm talking about just your daily phase. So like on top of the cycle phase, what time are you like decide when you're getting things done? I mean, yeah, think about I I think about like when I'm going, um, when I'm going out of town. Oh my gosh, if I could get what I get done the day before I'm gonna go out of town, you know, I gotta come home to a clean house and I gotta make sure everything's done and I gotta make sure all my work's done and my computer work's done. It's like, wow, could I be that productive all the time? I would get so much more done.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yeah. It's so true though, what you said, like so we have our circadian rhythms too. Yeah. So, you know, some of us are more geared towards waking up early and getting our good work hour in the beginning of the morning, and then some of us are more in the end of the day, and the menstrual cycle is going to influence that too. So, you know, when you get into those luteal phases, you're you don't sleep the same. Like your body sleeps differently. And so your sleep needs change. And so, yeah, like I'm the same boat. I've learned my sweet spot is usually like nine to eleven or twelve in the morning. And that's when my brain is on and focused. And I actually do the opposite where I schedule my calls in the afternoon so that I I'm like, I'm brain focused, brain focused, get it all done. And then in the afternoon, when it's more this is easier for me to like talk and share and interact with somebody, I can do that when my brain is like, we're done actually looking at the computer and getting anything done. And so when you pair those two things, it's amazing. And then to even go more macro on that, we have seasons of the year too. So there's rhythms, even in the way our energy is like, you know, you think about it, like winter typically is this like dormancy and slowing down, and people are hanging out around the house and being with friends, versus the opposite of summer. You're like barbecue, fun, play, and spring is all about growth and expansion and like cleaning and getting things out, and fall is nesting and like getting stuff prepared for winter. And so when you look at there's these rhythms that exist in our world far beyond what we even really pay attention to. And when we start to lean into them, it just creates so much balance in our lives. Like we as humans were not made to produce all of the time. And yet the patriarchy and our capitalistic society has made us think produce, produce, produce, up, grow, grow, grow, grow, grow. And it has never really amplified the recover, the winter, the slowing down. And it's a huge essential piece of us as humans. And I think that's why a lot of women, or not just women, but like humans, we feel very burnt out and we're exhausted and we're like, we're done. We can't do this anymore. Like there's no pleasure, there's no rest, there's no enjoyment of life. It's all just checking boxes and getting things done.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

And I think a lot of times you're leaving with that masculine energy when that's happening and it feels heavy. Like as a woman, it feels heavy. And I think there's it's what do you say? Uh um season time for season time when he's not saying obviously I can't say or something like that. Yeah, something like that. Yeah. And as you're saying that, I'm thinking that. So let's talk about many entrepreneurs who feel guilty when they're not consistently productive, like we're talking about. Um how do you help women break free of that mindset that they're having about yeah?

SPEAKER_01 15:23

So, I mean, there's lots of different things, but one of the one year I was with my dad and my son and my nephew, and we were camping, and my dad bought the kids these slingshots. And they're like, you know, two little eight-year-old boys at the time pulling these little slingshots back, and they were hardly pulling the rubber band back, and then the rock would just kind of like tumble. And then as they got braver, they started pulling that rubber band back really far. And we were in an RV park, and I was like, Dad, you've got to get them out of this RV park. They're gonna bust one of the windows in this RV park, and it's gonna cost me like $10,000 to replace one of these windshields. Like, get them out of here. But it's the same kind of idea when we think about it as humans and as women. We oftentimes don't think about the pullback being the very leverage that we need to go farther and faster. We think of the pullback as being something that's slowing us down, that it is a weakness, it's non-essential. But when we think about it in that idea of like a slingshot, it's like the pullback is actually the power. That's where you get the momentum, that's where you get the speed, that's where you get the intensity, the creation, the everything that you're really wanting is comes from the power of that pullback. And so, you know, with women, I see it happen over and over again too, is like if you're just kind of trying to keep going all of the time, you never get to recharge your batteries. You never get to actually fill your cup. Like I don't know about you in Utah, but in San Diego, there's Teslas literally everywhere. It's like probably the most popular car. Yeah. It's not here. No, I was like, it is the most common car on the road. But if you don't a Tesla goes so fast, I think it goes from like zero to 60 in three seconds. It does, yeah. Powerful, but if it's not charged, it ain't going anywhere. And we as humans are the same way. Like if we don't charge ourselves at some point, we can continue maintaining for a certain period of time, but then we're gonna end up having physical symptoms. We're gonna have burnout, we're gonna have, you know, our brain stop working, we're exhausted, we're over it, we're all the things. When in fact, if we just slow down enough to pull back, that pullback actually is the speed and the momentum. Like you'll get so much done faster when you actually allow just that little bit of space. It makes such a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Yeah. I always say the saying our setbacks are setups for the biggest comebacks, you know, and it's kind of that arrow thing, the slingshot thing too. It reminds me of that. Yeah. So if someone is listening right now and they are completely burned out, which I'm sure even just today, they're just completely burned out today. What are the first three steps that they should take to start rebuilding a healthier way in a healthier way?

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah. I think the first thing is just like getting aware of what's actually happening in our bodies, like male, female, not whatever, it doesn't matter, whatever your cycle status is, that if we actually slow down enough to actually listen to ourselves, that can be incredibly powerful. I think our world is very noisy. We get inundated every single day with new notifications and speed, it's all about speed and efficiency and all these things that we oftentimes don't even take the time to actually sit and listen to. Hey, what do I need? And so that's one of the first things I always have my clients do when they come into my world is like, you need to have some sort of a checkpoint in your day that says, Can I take a couple of big deep breaths and just notice like where am I at today and what does my body need today? Because just that awareness alone will allow you to be able to then recalibrate what you're doing in the rest of the day. You and even if just that, like our brains have this like adaptive behavior where they're trying to solve our problems and trying to answer the questions we give it. So if we start the day with, what do I actually need today? And it's like, oh, I actually want to have some fun today, then in the background all day, our brain is going, How do we have fun today? How do we have fun today? How do we create fun today? How do we create fun today? And then it's like it magically sometimes something pops in and it's like, hey, this is a great opportunity to have fun today. And so even just setting that little bit of an intention in the morning, our body and our brain and the universe, it's like all trying to conspire to help us solve that problem at the end of the day. And so I think having some bit of a point in the moment in the morning when you're like, hey, what do I need today? Like, where am I at? Yeah. Can be one of the biggest things and the simplest things. Like it's so simple to do.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

I would say the second step for women in particular would be to start tracking your menstrual cycle, like actually know what's happening there. And if you don't have a menstrual cycle, then you know, maybe tracking some other rhythm. I guarantee there is some rhythm in your body, whether you notice it or not, like whether it's a menstrual cycle or not. Like we are such rhythm-based human beings. And so just allow yourself to kind of see, like, hey, is there a rhythm to this? Like every third week, I actually have low, lower energy or I need more rest or I need more time. And so I think just observing that. And then the third step or the third thing would be like micro changes, like the simplest little changes that you could make. It doesn't even have to be anything crazy wow that could be like, hey, every stoplight today, I'm just gonna take a couple deep breaths because my body needs me to slow down. And so I'm gonna be very conscious today when I'm in the the line. I'm gonna not pick up my phone. I'm gonna sit there and I'm gonna just take a couple deep breaths. Or maybe it's that like in the morning, I'm actually gonna leave my phone off when for the first 30 minutes of my morning, you know, like just small little simple shifts like that can have profound effects over time. And so instead of feeling like we have to change everything or sink everything to our bodies or whatever, it's like just make a micro shift today, like a micro shift.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, small shifts end up to big shifts.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Totally, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:08

Hey, you ready for some rapid fire?

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Yeah, go for it.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

Okay, no right or wrong answer. Just first thing comes to mind coffee or tea? Coffee, sunrise or sunset.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Ooh, sunset.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Favorite way to recharge.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

I think my favorite way is like actually being in nature, like just being outside makes such a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

Oh, yeah. Yeah, what's one word that defines great leadership?

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Ooh, the first word that comes up is compassionate for me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

That's one habit that you never skip.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

I would say my morning routine, like I always on most mornings, I'll go out and like write in the morning like what I'm grateful for today and weave that in. But there are days when I don't do it just by way of the day. And but it's those days that I have the hardest days. So if I said I wouldn't skip it, 100% would not skip that. But there are, I'm gonna admit, there are days that I do skip it.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

I just notice it. What's one thing that women need to give themselves more permission to do?

SPEAKER_01 22:05

Have fun. Yes. Pleasure and fun. Like women do not allow themselves to have enough pleasure, like for sure. It's like a huge part. It's been something I've integrated into my business in the last year or two. It makes such a huge difference.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

Yeah, so great. Well, Renee, it's been great chatting with you. Um, definitely didn't get through all my questions, but you know, it's just where we are. So it's all good. Um, but what we're gonna do is put all your information into our show notes so people can get a hold of you. Um, say your book or you want to show it real quick. Yeah. The ones that can see it on video.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

There you go. Cycle. And for video. Yeah, and you can grab the first three chapters on audiobook for free if you, I'm sure we have the link all hooked up for you, but it's just renewfic.com forward slash chapter, and you can get the first three chapters on audiobook. So want that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Well, there you go. So if you want more information and learn more about what Renee does, we will attach her her website and go grab her book. It'd probably be a really good one to read. Do you have it on audio?

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:08

Oh, yay. Okay. Awesome. All right. Um, you almost have to nowadays. Okay, everybody. Thanks for being here at the show. Thank you, Renee, for being a great guest. And we will see everybody next time. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Bye, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 23:22

Thank you for joining us on this episode of All Things Retreat. We hope you're leaving with new ideas, fresh inspiration, and the motivation to take your retreats to the next level. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. It helps us grow and reach more retreat leaders like you. And if you have any questions, topics you'd like us to cover, or just want to say hello, send us an email at infowneeretreatrnr.com. Follow us on social media to stay connected and catch all the latest updates. Until next time. Remember, great retreats are with great intentions. Let's make them extraordinary, one step at a time. Before you dive in, let's make sure you're really ready. Grab your free RU Retreat ready checklist and find out if you've got everything in place on your click. Place it to your audience and agenda. Don't get it. It's clear. This quick checklist will show you exactly where you stand and what you need to make your retreat. Click the link below in the show notes and grab your test list and host.