I’m Toi Smith.
I’m a Growth + Impact Strategist.

My work centers on doing life, business, and motherhood differently. I work with people whose work is countercultural, liberatory, and revolutionary in nature...or people who desire and are committed to moving their work or lives in that direction.

If I’m honest, I find it really difficult to write about myself.

I feel like the words that I could use to draw upon to share with you about who I be are not truly an accurate reflection or representation of who I truly am.

Essentially, I feel deeper, sweeter, flyer, vaster than any words or title could ever hold. Yet. I must use words so that you, my potential comrade, friend, lover, or client can know more about who I am. So, with that in mind, I give you the words below.

“I got a little pot in my belly
So now a days my figure ain't so fly
My dress ain't cost nothin' but seven dollars
But I made it fly
And I'll tell ya why
But I'm clever when I bust a rhyme
I'm cleva always on ya' mind”
-Erykah Badu

I am Toi Marie Smith. Born in the winter and conceived in the spring.

I come from a lineage of innovation and determination and a history of culture, tradition, and possibility which all help inform my belief that there is always a way through...we just need to find the best route and be in relationship with the right people.

MOTHERHOOD
“Mama’s are going to survive because mamas create families, communities, relationships, and new ecologies that are rooted in humanity’s survival.” - Mai’a Williams (in This Is How We Survive: Revolutionary Mothering, War, and Exile in the 21st Century)

I am the mother of four sons (which includes a set of twins) and I first became a mother at the age of twenty-two. All of my sons have different fathers (of course, except for my twins) which means that I have children with three different men. I am a solo-parent to my youngest three sons, and a parallel-parent with the father of my oldest son. I have been on and off of welfare for my whole parenting life because I receive no consistent child support from the fathers of my youngest three sons.

It’s important that I speak and share about my version of Black motherhood as directly as possible, the kind of Black motherhood that isn’t amplified or cheered but rather shamed and crucified, in order to counter the untrue, stereotypical narrative that has been handed unfairly to Black single mothers.

My motherhood is deeply important because it informs my politics, my perspectives, and how I show up in the world...in all of the ways. Motherhood is a penetrating, transforming experience, it touches and informs everything and has been one of my greatest teachers while also being one of my greatest nemesis. And because the work of mothering and caretaking continues to consistently be devalued and hidden, I speak about it and honor it with all of me.

BUSINESS + ENTREPRENUERSHIP
“The business world was made for dads with wives who raised the kids and frosted the cakes.”
-Nathalie Molina Nino (in Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs)

I’ve always been an entrepreneur and creative in some capacity throughout my whole life but I’ve been a full-time entrepreneur, working for myself and earning a living that sustains me and my family for roughly five years.

Prior to me traveling down this road of full-time entrepreneurship, I worked in corporate America (getting my first job at 15 years old) in Human Resources and other administrative support roles in various capacities and industries. I entered the world of working for myself first as a virtual assistant, then as an online business manager, and now as a Growth + Impact Strategist which is a title given to me by my friend, mentor, and teacher Nisha Moodley.

I’m semi-college educated with about 24 credits remaining for a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration (which I have no desire to obtain) and I carry student loan debt, medical debt, and credit card debt from the years that I attempted to earn my degree while mothering and working full-time.

My years of working in corporate America as a Black woman and as a mother have informed my way of thinking and practicing entrepreneurship and business because both identities are disregarded within the realm of traditional business. I believe that the old model of business which is about profit and growth at the expense of the people, land, and relationships needs to be exchanged for new models which are more humane, more just, and more nurturing. That is how I practice entrepreneurship.

Overall, I am a lifelong learner, deeply curious, hella resourceful and I love to help others get excited about their potential and open and excited about possibility and transformation. My genius is found in strategic thinking and my ability to see patterns and opportunities where others see complexity.

In all of the ways that I exist, whether it be as a woman, a mother, or as an entrepreneur, I am devoted to showing up as myself in my full expression and in my full complexities because I believe that there is power in being fully expressed...especially in a world that says that I shouldn’t be.

LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH ME

“Working with Toi is a sacred right of passage. She has a profound ability to hold you, your purpose & your vision, both personally and professionally and support you in creating a business and life beyond the oppressive capitalist status quo. I am grateful beyond words & cannot recommend her enough.”
-Rachel Ricketts, Author, Spiritual Activist, Attorney & Disruptor

I’m Toi Smith.I’m a Growth + Impact Strategist.My work centers on doing life, business, and motherhood differently. I work with people whose work is countercultural, liberatory, and revolutionary in nature...or people who desire and are committed to moving their work or lives in that direction.