We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alesha Savannah a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alesha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
Being a wellness coach for the #1 nutrition company in the world initially intimidated me more than a floor transfer as a new non-ambulatory wheelchair user. As a disabled woman, who was going to take me seriously?! With that in mind, i quietly began following my nutrition plan and focusing on overall wellness. Within six months of following the plan, i was down not only 30+ pounds but my energy was up, and i was healthier and happier than I’d been in a long time.
As a woman whom is paralyzed from the waist down, there is no hiding my belly! So when i felt my results were undeniable regardless of my abilities, i followed Herbalife’s simple suggested business plan: Use, Wear, Talk! I used the products daily, wore Herbalife branded things, and talked to anyone who would listen! I would post my before and after pictures, my simple meals and snacks, compare how I’d felt before using the products and always had samples for someone to try. My posts were beginning to get a little traction, and boom! A wellness eval was completed on my site and i knew somebody was feeling what i was putting down! Lol. I excitedly reached out to her and because i was a product of the product with visible results, she was sold and purchased everything i suggested! Talk about an amazing first client! To this day. I am still in contact with my girl and she’s been able to produce and maintain amazing results!! She’s down 20+ pounds in unwanted fat, up 10+ pounds in lean muscle, and aging backwards! She was confirmation that if i continued to be a product of the product, i didn’t have to sell anything as it sold itself. It was on after that!
Being able to help people of all abilities to become happier and healthier brings me so much joy! It’s so much more than just weight loss, it’s a change in mindset which changes your life. I will forever be in the business of helping people to just that while encouraging them to help others to do the same. It is my goal to help 100 women to become entrepreneurs that are happier and healthier!
Alesha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Alesha Savannah, i am a traumatic spinal cord injury survivor that’s reminding people daily that disability isn’t a curse, the lack of an inclusive society is. I do that by living my life out loud with pride while normalizing my daily activities which includes helping people to become happier and healthier. When i started using the Herbalife products 6 years ago, it was because i was sick and tired of all things me- my physical appearance, mindset, and overall where my life was headed. My Bestie fo’lyfe Ashleigh had been using Herbalife trying to convince me to do the same and finally won and i couldn’t be more grateful. I slowly began to change my body and mindset which changed my life for the better. I’ve since been able to help many people to lose, gain and maintain healthy weight, increase their energy, improve their skin, hair and nails, change their mindset, as well as start their own business.
As a disabled person, income can be hard to come by so having my own business in which income can be earned in more than one way is heaven sent! Earning income is great but the best part to me is watching people’s transformation, it’s not just physically but mental, too. Being able to present this opportunity to people within my community and make an impact is my ultimate goal. I want to be able to help 100+ people to create the life of their dreams, and i hope that of those people there will be others with disabilities as well. With this opportunity you can work from anywhere from your phone, you determine your hours and the work you put in. Outside of earning income, you can earn bonuses and even paid vacations! Of course it takes hard work and dedication, but it’s a win win because you’re helping so many people who in turn get to help more people!
One of the best things about Herbalife are the people, I’ve been blessed to find family who support, encourage, hold you accountable and celebrate you! There’s room for everyone to win here! No one is in competition with anyone other than themselves. And there’s always someone doing better than you that’s willing to teach you. They have monthly, quarterly and annual training seminars where the top 1%, doctors and more teach ways to improve business. I also love the fact that you don’t have to start from scratch to figure things out as there’s online trainings and apps to get you started. This opportunity allows you to create time, financial freedom and more!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As i mentioned i have a spinal cord injury that has caused me to no longer have control of my bowel or bladder which can make following my nutrition plan very, very challenging. For example, the herbal tea is great for energy and boosting your metabolism, you even burn calories just by drinking it! However, for me personally now it causes extreme bladder leaks quite a lot and being that i am non-ambulatory the clean up process can be a lot. This caused me to want to quit Herbalife all together because i felt i could no longer be a product of the product and it was devastating. Being that I’d used the products for two years prior to becoming disabled, i knew how good i felt and looked maintaining a healthy lifestyle with Herbalife. There was no way i wanted to give that up especially because I’d gained a lot of weight newly injured, however, the constant wetting myself took a toll on my mental. I tried dieting and it just didn’t work and the extra weight was causing me issues when transferring in and out of my wheelchair. Enough was enough, i was determined to get back on plan. I’d put on two pull-ups (yup, you read that right! lol ), I’d sit on the pet pads that most people use to train their pets and then empty my bladder ten minutes after i drank a tea or shake and then thirty minutes after. Excessive but necessary in my case with my incontenence issue and definitely requires me to give myself grace to this day. However, I’ve dropped 48 pounds of unwanted fat, shrinking my para-belly (the area of my stomach that i no longer have control of and protrudes while sitting in my chair) am improving my hair, skin and nails, all while feeling amazing because i didn’t quit!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Comparison is the thief of joy and baby was i sad! Going from abled-bodied to disabled is hard and early in my journey i compared everything, everyday. I would see people working out, running, doing the things that i could no longer do. Body shaming myself for things that were out of my control. Watching others business grow and wondering when it would be my time. It finally dawned on me that i was focusing on the wrong things, so i dug in deep into personal development techniques with the intention the better i am, the better I’ll attract. It took some time, some learning and unlearning of things, extending grace to myself and keeping my eyes focused solely on My goals and no one else. Overtime i was able to not only grow my business, but i got the amazing opportunity to step out of my comfort zone to become Ms. Wheelchair Georgia; and represent our state at a National competition to come back as Miss Wheelchair America’s Miss Congeniality of 2023. I’ve learned that when you have gratitude as the attitude there’s no place for comparison because what’s for you won’t miss you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rainbowwheelie.com/
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/therainbowwheelie
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alesha-savannah-9b65b7158
Image Credits
Aaron Marshall photography Grace Roman photography Nan Ely photography