Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shirley Sullivan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shirley, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I have always had a passion for health and wellness of all facets and children. I graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia with a Bachelor of Science in Food and Human Nutrition and continued my education virtually working on my Master’s Degree which is pending completion… as well as training in Botanical Herbal Remedies, Certified Usui Reiki Master and in Children’s yoga. I have been a teacher for most of my life. I taught high school, tutored, and became a substitute teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida so that I could be in the schools while our son was growing up. Once we had our son… a little later in life… I decided to stay at home with him and enjoy all the things that being a stay-at-home mom and caretaker of my family had to offer. Now that our son has recently graduated from East Bay High School class of 2021, this has given me the opportunity to gravitate back towards my other passion, which is nutrition and holistic health education. I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit, so in 2018, I decided to go out on a limb and start South Shore Wellness. Zero capital or brick and mortar location… I thought… hey, why not try a virtual and mobil wellness business! Not too risky?! However, I did need to think outside the box a little bit….. how will I reach my perfect customer? Who is my perfect customer? What services should I offer? Who can build my website, business logo, flyers, cards? I knew I wanted to reach out to other local like minded individuals/businesses and try to partner …. I thought this would enable me to reach a larger community by working on local health initiatives that were needed. I now have a strong and close network of several wellness partners here in Tampa Bay. Delivering health & wellness and proper nutrition to our children was and is very important to me… so, I created a Youth Wellness Summer Camp in 2019 and became certified in Kidding Around Yoga. I never saw the pandemic coming at this point, nor did I know that working virtually and mobilly would be the “new trend” and way of working, out of necessity. I thought at the time my approach would be unique because, I could deliver my services at a lower price than most, be easily accessible to everyone… making holistic health and nutrition affordable to all people. I do have some basic business costs to keep Southshore Wellness open, however, not the major overhead the many businesses have to worry about each month.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that. Can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Thank you so much for contacting me…. My heart is filled with gratitude, and I am very happy to share my story with you.   My name is Shirley Sullivan, I currently live in Apollo Beach, Florida and I am a Holistic Nutritionist/Wellness Educator and Founder of Southshore Wellness.  I was born in Newport, RI and grew up in Portsmouth, RI, until my mid-twenties.  Health and wellness has always been a passion of mine.  And so,  I  began nutrition counseling in the early 1990’s, running a medically supervised weight-loss clinic in Bristol RI  A career that I didn’t know would be a journey of life long learning.   I studied at URI and graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada.   Since then, I have adopted a holistic approach to health and wellness for friends and my family. I have additional training in Botanical Herbal Remedies & Clinical Level Formulas and Heart Centered Reiki & Certified in Traditional Usui Reiki Master Energy Healing and Certified in Children’s Yoga. 

 I integrate my love of education and health through personalized programs. Southshore Wellness offers a wide range of local and virtual services–Individual and Group Health Coaching, Meal Planning, Ucari FIT Testing, Lightwave Therapy, Youth Wellness Yoga & Summer Camps, Wellness Workshops and Classes. Children today need self-care tools to help them cope in school and their daily lives. Through teaching them breath work, meditation and mindful movements, yoga can boost their mood and mental health.  In turn, studies have shown better academic performance through improved focus and concentration as well as helping them learn to self-regulate.

Of course, eating a well-balanced and nutritious meal plan is so very important for maintaining one’s health and wellness, of all ages. “Food IS medicine AND medicine IS they food.”  However, I cannot say enough about Ucari FIT Testing and LifeWave Therapy, both holistic modalities have been game changers for me in assisting people to achieve results and feel better! 

I am very passionate about holistic healthcare, not only for myself and family, but, for my pets too. Holistic nutrition requires a whole-life approach—when and where you eat, where your food comes from, and also, what your food ate. Additionally, holistic nutrition focuses on educating patients, so they have a greater hand in their own health. “THE GREATEST MEDICINE OF ALL…. IS TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW NOT TO NEED IT” 

Healthy intentions ARE key to reaching your wellness goals. Learning to apply effective tools facilitates taking control of your own health and making sustainable lifestyle changes.

Embrace your journey….I will go the extra mile with you….whatever it takes to help you reach your wellness goals!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

There are many ways to growing clientele… however, I like to use word of mouth, online social media, networking groups, local meet ups, working events and festivals or wellness fairs, tradeshows and partnering up with like-minded wellness folks that share the same vision and hope of spreading holistic education and raising awareness within our communities. I also use BARK platform, an Easy Way To Find Local Service Professionals….which emails me potential clients to work with in Florida. I had initially opened up my region to the entire US and quickly realized I am not ready to take on that many clients at this time! However, I am very happy to report, there is plenty of room for growth!

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

I provide nutrition meal plans and programs–family and personalized, as well as kids wellness services –kids yoga programs and youth wellness summer camps. Since the pandemic, I have partnered with two awesome and holistic wellness companies….which gives me another source of revenue…. Ucari and LifeWave.

Ucari—“Live your BEST LIFE.
Test for up to 1500+ potential intolerances

Food & Environmental Intolerances
Personal Care Ingredient Sensitivities
Nutritional Imbalances
The most affordable, comprehensive, all-inclusive test available”

LifeWave—Phototherapy Services/Lightwave Therapy- What do you know about stem cells? This is a non-invasive and non-transdermal patch–Check out: www.startx39.com —–AMAZING HEALING MODALITY!! AND MAKES YOU FEEL AND LOOK YOUNGER TOO:) A true PERK!!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.SouthShoreWellness.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southshorewellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ApolloBeachFl
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirley-sullivan-87b10763/
• Other: Email: [email protected] Phone: 813-580-0447

Image Credits
Ucari; LifeWave;