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Peptides, Pivoting, and Building Your Dream Business with Bria Gadd
203 Plays7 months ago
In this episode of the Dream Business Podcast, Ashley sits down with Bria — longtime friend, former Beachbody coach, functional diagnostic practitioner, and hormone expert — to talk about one of the biggest shifts happening right now in the wellness world: peptide therapy.
They dive deep into how both of their careers evolved, the signs of misalignment that forced them to pivot, and why peptides are becoming the “AI of the health industry.” If you’re a health coach, wellness practitioner, or just a woman curious about what’s actually working for energy, hormones, recovery, and longevity… this episode will open your eyes.
What You’ll Learn
- How Bria shifted from Beachbody coaching to building her dream business by following that inner nudge that something felt “off.”
- Why so many health experts burn out when their own health starts to decline — and how Bria rebuilt from the inside out.
- What peptides really are (hint: not collagen!) and why they’re a safe, bioidentical way to repair communication systems in the body.
- Why peptides are becoming a multi-billion-dollar trend — and why wellness coaches need to understand them now, not later.
- The marketing “perfect storm” happening in the wellness industry and how being early can create massive growth for your coaching business.
- The behind-the-scenes look at the education + marketing system Ashley and Bria are creating to help coaches ride this new wave the right way.
Key Topics Covered
- Rebuilding your business when your alignment shifts
- Why health coaches struggle when they don’t feel well
- Functional health vs. traditional fitness
- What peptides actually do inside the body
- How peptides compare to drugs and supplements
- The rising demand for GLP-1s, microdosing, and new peptide protocols
- How wellness pros can position themselves as educators in this new space
Why This Episode Matters
We are at a rare moment where a new health technology is about to go mainstream. Just like AI transformed business, peptides are transforming wellness — and the coaches who get in early will grow faster, serve deeper, and help clients get life-changing results.
Ashley and Bria break down the science, the opportunity, and the shift that’s coming… so you can stay ahead of the curve.
Links + Resources
- Listen to Ashley’s previous episode about her peptide experience
- Grab Ashley’s free guide: The Dream Business Map at AshleyShaw.ca
- Follow Bria and the Period Whisperer Podcast
- Join the waitlist for the upcoming peptide + marketing program (details coming soon!)
Perfect For:
Women in midlife • Health coaches • Functional practitioners • Hormone specialists • Wellness creators • Business owners who want the next big thing to help clients get faster results
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Dream Business Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Hey there, it's Ashley Shaw and you're listening to the Dream Business Podcast. If you've ever felt like you're doing all the right things but not seeing the growth you want, take a deep breath because you're in the right place.
00:00:16
Speaker
Around here, we believe business shouldn't feel like a never-ending to-do list. It should feel like clarity, confidence, and finally having a plan that actually works for you.
00:00:28
Speaker
I'm obsessed with figuring out what really moves the needle and ditching what doesn't.
Building a Business with Clarity
00:00:33
Speaker
After building seven-figure business with just 7,016 followers, I can promise you this.
00:00:39
Speaker
You don't need to do more. You just need to do the right things in the right order. Each week, we'll talk about what's working right now in online business, what's not, and how to scale with more freedom, not more hustle.
00:00:53
Speaker
So if you're ready to grow your dream business with ease, heart, and whole lot of strategy, grab your coffee, get comfy, and let's dive in. All right. Welcome to the Dream Business Podcast.
Collaboration with Bria on Peptides
00:01:06
Speaker
My name is Ashley Shaw, and I'm so excited that I have Bria here today, and we're going to be talking all about peptides with you guys. So um thanks so much for joining me today, Bria. I really, really appreciate you being on the podcast.
00:01:24
Speaker
Thanks for having me, Ash. I'm so excited about this conversation. i think it'll be really fun. Awesome. So I think the first thing we've got to start with is Bria, you and I have have such ah a long history of like working together. And I just feel like it's so important to talk about that starting point. um Because Bria was like, you were the first person that really got me thinking about done for you marketing and really starting to build this business that became my dream business. And think that originally started when you were with Beachbody.
00:01:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it was. I think we were, we kind of had reconnected and we went to high school together. You're a couple years younger than I am. And we'd somehow just kind of reconnected and just hopped on calls for conversations. And um I think you really heard my pain points, which is something you do so well. And then created a solution for them, which was so huge for me, for my team at Beachbody at the time. And um yeah, it was the beginning, I think, of us collaborating. And thinking about dream businesses and how that all unraveled, it was such a, thinking back on it now, was such a reminder of the importance of knowing what people are struggling with and the problems at their core, but being able to speak to like
00:02:44
Speaker
the ideal customer in their words. I just felt like our relationship was, it was such a catalyst for me to really understand what was going on in you know, the health and wellness and coaching world, uh, and then easily create tools that was like, Oh, I can help solve this problem. So, uh, it was such a gift to have that, um,
00:03:06
Speaker
that time with you and your insights. And that really has always felt like that was the starting point for me to, to work on what I love doing. So, and you're so good at it. I think it it was such a win. I think that was what was so amazing is I felt so fortunate to be on the receiving end of your expertise. That's just exploded.
00:03:26
Speaker
Thank you. So can you share a little bit more about your story? So after Beachbody moved to an affiliate model, you really started building your dream business and you're doing incredible things now. So can you help us understand what that what that journey looked like?
Bria's Career Shift from Beachbody
00:03:46
Speaker
Yeah, you know, it was funny in, in, you know, even the last couple years before Beachbody really changed, I just felt differently about it. I think it just, the whole experience just didn't feel as well for me at that time. like So I don't know if it was just an integrity thing. um Like it wasn't my dream business. I guess maybe that's a really good way of putting it. Something wasn't settling. And at the same time, i was really starting to struggle with some of my own health and hormonal issues. And when you've been a decade in the health and wellness industry, helping women feel better and you don't feel well, it is humbling. And I just couldn't even grow my business with Beachbody because I didn't feel so great. And I've heard this now from many of my colleagues from there, from even clients that I have now that are in health and wellness.
00:04:34
Speaker
When this is part of your your career and you don't feel well, gosh, it is hard to help other people. if you like It really knocks knocks you down a peg because you're like, well, I can't even help myself. How can I help others? And so that pivoted me to begin with just better understanding my body and women's health and getting into being a functional diagnostic practitioner so I could really get into deeper labs on people. and Because I had just ultimately learned that fitness, although amazing,
00:05:02
Speaker
there's a time and place and it can actually do more damage sometimes. So that was the beginning of me pivoting. I i started the period whisperer podcast. It's two and a half years ago now, or three and a half years. Gosh, it's hard to know. And so I was really growing and helping people on a deeper level. I think women specifically, um, still in a one-on-one or a group coaching format. Uh, but it just really began to feel like my dream business that way.
00:05:27
Speaker
um I was able to kind of heal myself and therefore get back into healing other women with their hormones in mind and age just so well in perimenopause and menopause. But, you know, last year when Beachbody finally made that switch,
00:05:42
Speaker
It was uncomfortable. That was the chunk of income that I had spent 10 years building that was just overnight gone. And um I mean, look, I know a lot of people, if there's if there's old Beachbody coaches listening, I know I'm not the only one. And it it probably was a lot more painful for other people than it was for me. So um it really reminded me how important it is to own your business, I think.
00:06:07
Speaker
So many things that you said, like I was... Just thinking about my own aha moments, as you were explaining, you know, when you were going through your business and just feeling like something felt off, you were like, okay, the same joy that I was getting from this.
00:06:23
Speaker
I'm not feeling that anymore. And i remember there was a time when I was creating done for you marketing material that I had, similar thoughts of like, is this really what people need?
00:06:36
Speaker
And I felt like that's when I decided to take a break from social selling simplified was I remember recording that final episode and just thinking like, i don't want to just give you guys a bunch of stuff and it not fully be like,
00:06:54
Speaker
I need to have my mind wrapped around how this is actually going to help you. And I just went like silent on things because I needed to digest. And I really think that that is a core component of building a business that feels authentic and true is like listening to that guiding kind of North star. Cause you know, like all of us could, you could just like carry on like nothing is, is happening. But I think that you know,
00:07:23
Speaker
It really felt for me at that time like a misalignment and that if I wanted to give people my best, I needed to like up my level. It just felt like there was something missing. And it sounds like it was similar in your story too. yeah I think you nailed it there. It was like... you know, it was like, this is not good enough. And I am not, I'm missing a piece. And it, it pulls you out of integrity a little bit, because we're like, oh, this is not necessarily helping. i think it felt more of like a bandaid approach is is what it sounds like. and And I'm like, I need a deeper understanding. And I need to apply it to myself. And I need to see what comes out before I can get back to really feeling like I can confidently make an impact in the lives of people.
00:08:07
Speaker
Yeah, that's so spot on. I remember when, you know, with social media, like the algorithm started, it just was harder and harder to be seen. And that was for me, that pivotal moment of like, I don't want to be selling something that I know we need a different approach here. That's when I started to start studying ads because I was like, okay, I know the delivery here. At least we know people will see this. So there's something in the process that needs to change. So I think it's like those moments in business are so challenging because it's like you're, you have this foundation, which you think is, is solid. And then all of a sudden like unraveling it because there's like something deeper that you need to get to, to understand. And it's like, I feel grateful for that. And also like, you know, frustrated. Yeah. Yeah. It was such a,
00:09:02
Speaker
Tough thing to feel like I built this. And similar to all the Beachbody coaches listening, you spend all this effort building it. But I think from that, you hope to build something more solid, that's more authentic, that brings in more of those skills and you're being called to do something more, something else.
00:09:21
Speaker
Yes, and I think that is like a part of entrepreneurship is kind of the tearing down and the re-rising and regrowth and rebuilding of yourself in this pursuit of of forever education. Always being someone who's learning, always be growing, you know? um And I honestly think most entrepreneurs, as uncomfortable as those moments are, that's what we live for. We live for the rise after those moments, I think. It's just such I just got a rush even talking about it. You can't help it. i think why we're entrepreneurs. Yeah. I mean, there's been ah a few really profound things that have been said that I'll always remember.
00:09:58
Speaker
This will be one of them. Like that is the entrepreneurship and
Entrepreneurship as Continuous Learning
00:10:03
Speaker
like that rise and fall that definitely, you know, it's like both of those emotions being on the top and then coming back from the bottom. And the other one that I'll never forget that your dad Bill Gad has said was like, you know, with what you said about forever education, like your dad had said, and I've shared this with you before, but like how life is like a savings account. It's like all of these experiences get into this bank account that's always growing. And it just, it's not like one experience doesn't connect to the other and you learn something there that you apply over here. And so-
00:10:42
Speaker
That's like, yeah, just, yeah, I feel like your dad is, he's such a, you know, not only like an OG entrepreneur, but like yeah the, um I can just see in your way that you operate and that philosophy, like you guys are just entrepreneurs through and through.
00:10:59
Speaker
So then in terms of what do things look like now? So obviously, um you know, you, you change directions, like you dove deep into these other areas that you felt were, you know, an opportunity to learn more and what do, what do things look like now for you?
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah. So it's funny that, you know, this makes a lot of sense based on the heels of what we literally just talked about always, you know, kind of that ever growing and how that savings account grows because, you know, I think what's so cool about starting to learn something new is all of a sudden you're like, oh, there's a lot more I could learn, you know, and you just start to open those layers. And one of the beautiful things I think about being a coach is that we get to don't have all of the answers, but we get to kind of learn and grow as we go with people. Because inevitably there's a situation or like a lab marker that comes up for my client where I'm like, whoa, this is so different. And so I get to learn through those things. But I would say over the last two years, you know, primarily i have worked, as I said, one-on-one or in like a group coaching format where I'm doing, you know, deeper functional lab work for women to help them, you know, heal these underlying issues to feel their best. But...
00:12:09
Speaker
What I think has really changed pivotally recently is, you know, the introduction and the very quickly growing towards mainstream understanding of peptide therapy. And this one has just been like, it just kind of, you know, shot out of nowhere. It felt like for me and has like propelled my business forward, not just in a business way, which is wonderful, but in the results my clients are getting way which is everything i mean i don't care how much money i make if my clients are not getting results i'm gonna feel like crap you know like it's not the same you know if if my clients are doing well like it really just it's that energy that thrives you i think as an entrepreneur like seeing the wind getting the wind catching that wind behind your sails so and
00:12:57
Speaker
to try to make a long answer short for you here. i think the biggest thing that has really shifted for me is starting to understand this next chapter of wellness and the opportunities that are there within it for practitioners.
00:13:13
Speaker
m And I feel too um that the pure um definition of creating like a thriving business is transformation. And it's the person that can ultimately, you know, I feel like it comes from your own experience. And you, you know, it's kind of how that first start to get your first win. And then it's like, whoa, like, if I can experience this, how can I help share that with other people too? And then it's like, oh like the flywheel just starts going and it just like compounds on itself. And I definitely feel like that's where coaching is like rewarding to be able to see that transfer of like success with other people. Um, and, uh, yeah. And I mean, I don't think really, i mean, health and wealth, like those are the two areas I feel like the, you know, I guess relationships too. Those are the big three, like where you can create the most impact for people, right? Health, wealth, and relationships. Um, but it really doesn't have a good relationship if you don't have health and well, like doing work on a relationship becomes a lot easier when you have health and wealth.
00:14:27
Speaker
her Yeah. hundred percent. And so what do you feel has been, like, obviously we know that there's, you and I have been having a lot of discussions about how the health world has been evolving and changing. And we've talked about this idea that You know, we know we have AI in business, but what the new AI is in the health world is peptides. And this is like completely changing how everything is shifting. So how has your experience been with peptides and the shifts that you're seeing?
00:15:03
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. So I'll just kind of explain a little bit of my story around learning about peptides because it really like it really makes a lot of sense in parallels AI, like you're talking about. I think you know you start to hear about things and your first instinct is like, oh, I don't have time to learn about that. Or like, oh, I don't know if that's for me, right? Like the universe has a way of kind of starting to slowly breadcrumb things into your life, I think. And it was about two years ago that I had a conversation with a woman at like a networking conference I was at and she brought up peptides. And I was like, honestly, at the time I thought she meant like collagen peptides in food and stuff like that and supplements. And so I was like, oh yeah. But so there was just, it stuck with me. That little moment has just stuck with me. And then,
00:15:45
Speaker
Over time, I start to hear people like talk about these things, but it was like they continuously stuck with me. And then I started hearing about how like Ozempic is a peptide. And I felt a lot of negative resistance against that. Like I was just like, oh boy, here we go with like quick wins and quick fixes that are going to mess up the systems of all these people. Sure. But what is the irony of it is like, I am really a not that judgmental of a person, but I was super judgy about it. Like I was just, and I don't know if it felt like it was attacking at me or if I felt threatened by it or just worried for my clients, but
00:16:22
Speaker
um It kind of really came to a head when a really important mentor of mine who I had loved learning from, I knew her philosophy, I knew her values, started talking specifically about peptide therapy, but about microdosing, you know, GLP-1s and GIPs. So we think about Ozempic, it is that blockbuster drug.
00:16:40
Speaker
You know, that is, you know, being prescribed probably too freely and way too high of doses, which is where it is starting to make an impact. And, um and when I had this conversation with her name is Jennifer Woodward, I was like, Oh, my gosh, I did not understand anything about peptides. I didn't understand what they were, how they actually really fall into functional health, how, of course, like everything else, people are going to abuse things and take too much. And that's, you know, where we start to see problems. But after that conversation, I just went like head in to any certification. I could get any information, anything that anyone was talking about to understand what peptides
Understanding Peptides
00:17:20
Speaker
are.
00:17:20
Speaker
And I'll try to summarize it for if anyone's listening who was in the dark like I was, which um surprisingly, a lot of people still are. I feel like we're really cuspy here. You know, peptide therapy is estimated to be a $75 billion dollars industry by 2030. So it is growing. And here is why i would say.
00:17:40
Speaker
peptides are really just small chains of amino acids so under about 40 to 50 amino acids we often think of amino acids as the building blocks for proteins but those building blocks need to be like over one hundred to be considered a protein so we're talking about bioidentical pieces of information that our body makes so all of the peptides pretty much being used are things that our body actually makes or and of a piece that our body makes so very similar to the supplements that we are taking they are again, synthetic in nature, but they are identical to what our body has. And that is important because, you know, when we're talking about drugs, drugs in the body change, alter, move, block, move things around, what peptides do, and because very recognized by our own body, because they are made that way, is they repair a messaging system to the body. So when you reach your midlife, like 40s, 50s, 60s, or even when you're younger, and there's been some actual physical damage to your body, chronic stress, actual damage, these things kind of start to create what I like to think of as broken telephone in the body. So the pieces are all still there, but the communication isn't happening. And this is why I think it makes sense that peptides fall under functional health, because we are talking about the function of how your body communicates to each other.
00:19:00
Speaker
So what a peptides do is they come introduced and should be introduced into the level that your body would naturally have, but maybe doesn't for whatever reason so that it can repair that messaging. And suddenly, you know, we get these messages to come back like, oh, we can sleep more deeply or let's pulse a little bit more growth hormone or let's repair faster. Let's support the gut. Let's pull down in this inflammation. Let's get our insulin more you know sensitive. There's Like think there's, um there's thousands of peptides. There's over 150 very well-researched peptides right now. And, you know, the long and the short, I think is it is shocking to see how beautiful these impact our clients, you know,
00:19:44
Speaker
For someone like me in the health and wellness industry, who frankly does most things right for my health and has for a long time, they have been a game changer, kind of like putting the icing on the cake or putting the rose colored glasses back on in my life. and So that's that's a long way to answer, but that's kind of what peptides are, how they are helping. And the reality is, is we as a practitioner, you know, we, we supplements all the time and you know i had had a client on my podcast or I had a guy on my podcast remind me that the the common waste product in porta potties is whole supplements because they are not being broken down properly in the gut. So when we're talking about effectiveness, when we're talking about bioidentical functional health that the body knows what to do with and how to eliminate, which is a huge important thing as opposed to a drug.
00:20:35
Speaker
I mean, you can see why peptides are the future of optimized health for humans as we age. Yeah, I think for those listening, you'll have to go and listen to the podcast episode Bree and I did.
00:20:51
Speaker
on peptides, I share my experience, not only working with Bria, but my experience with peptides and what a difference they made in my life. So that's just a tidbit. We'll make sure to link that in the show notes. um But I feel like not only from the results and what we're seeing peptides be able to do from this marketing perspective, there is like these few times in our history that something is on the cusp of being this big and in demand that it creates this perfect storm. And I feel like that is happening that that's here now with peptides. It was the same, you know, it's happening with AI. It's like, you you don't have 18 months to get a grip on this.
00:21:38
Speaker
You've got like three months and the sooner that you can start integrating it, you know, those health and wellness and longevity coaches out there, the sooner that you can start talking about it and and yourself educatated on it the sooner that those people that are waiting for that in a way like that silver bullet or that ai of the wellness industry You're just going to be able to like plug in to the demand that
Marketing Peptides in Health Business
00:22:06
Speaker
is there. There are times we are swimming with the current and there are times that we are swimming against it. And this is a time that if you can get into the current, like your business is going to explode by being able to get. you know, educated on peptides, be able to start incorporating it in your marketing and just really speaking to this thing. Because the other thing we know about marketing is that people don't want like, you know, something better. They want something new.
00:22:31
Speaker
And we are at that point right now, the perfect storm that this is coming into play, um which is why Bri and I have had quite a few conversations about, you know, the educational component of peptides,
00:22:45
Speaker
Plugging that in with the marketing side and just how we can create something that creates this like sales genius system that helps you get ahead of the curve and and plugged in to the timing of, ah you know, the AI of the health and wellness industry.
00:23:03
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And I think you are, if you do not get on this, on this I think you are gonna start to hear your clients are gonna surpass you in their education or their assumptions of education, which I think as a practitioner, so again, personal trainers, like well wellness coaches, nutritionists, all of this, you know, functional practitioners like myself, even just women who really are big into their own research, which I have a lot of mad respect for,
00:23:30
Speaker
Like this is your opportunity to educate yourself and therefore be able to stand forward as an educator for other people to dispel a lot of the junk and messiness and also safely get these like things that can feel quite magical and quite therapeutic into the hands of people in a proper way.
00:23:51
Speaker
And yeah, I agree with you, Ashley, like we're we're at that current opportunity here and it's like, jump on in. And I think, too, the beautiful thing that is being created like behind the scenes is that Bria has put together this incredible resource to help explain um peptides and the education behind it.
00:24:17
Speaker
And then also working on that, you know which could be a standalone on itself, like the marketing side, maybe you're just a woman listening to this and thinking, oh I would love to learn more about this so I can start to dive in and explore. Or maybe you're somebody that wants to incorporate this into your business. But I will say there's much more to come. And Brie and I are very excited to be introducing this. It's it's ah Yeah, you'll have to stay tuned. It's coming out soon. um
00:24:48
Speaker
Watch your emails. There'll be more to come on peptides and um how we're going to be supporting people in that next step of their journey. So yeah thank you so much, Bria, for yeah my pleasure jumping on. I really, really did. And yeah, thanks so much for listening to the Dream Business Podcast. You've been listening to the Dream Business Podcast with Ashley Shaw.
00:25:11
Speaker
If you loved today's episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode that helps you build a business that feels like freedom. And if you want more free tools and resources to grow without burnout, head to ashleyshaw.ca and grab your free guide on the Dream Business Map.
00:25:31
Speaker
This is your roadmap to clarity, calm, and consistent income. And hey, if you're feeling generous, share this episode with a friend who's ready to stop chasing strategies and start building their dream business.
00:25:45
Speaker
Until next time, keep growing with clarity, not chaos.