Meet Shonta Smith

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

Hi Shonta, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from my Faith, my Grandmother, and my personal experiences.

My Faith is the foundation of my resilience. I live a life based on Christian principles and Trust God for everything. I have been in a multitude of situations where I know God has given me grace and mercy when I know it wasn’t due. I have no choice but to enjoy the journey of my purpose and rely on my Faith while doing so.

My Grandmother who is 94, is the most resilient person I know. Overcoming being a teen mom, lacking even a middle school education, providing for her 9 children, enduring an unfathomable amount of disrespect from many of her siblings, and surviving an abusive marriage to my Grandfather are all experiences she successfully navigated. Learning about the obstacles she faced keeps me motivated to make certain that myself and the rest of my Grandmother’s descendants leave a monumental impact on our community.

Persevering through personal experiences such as childhood bullies, toxic environments, and seeing the passion of Educators who looked like me in the classroom as a child, and attending an HBCU have all attributed to my resilience and becoming the 1st generation college graduate in my family.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am Shonta, SHE-EO and Founder of Village Tumblahz. Village Tumblahz is a Black Owned Family Business with a mission to Educate, Inspire, Establish, and Implement a path for our family members and children in the Black community to eradicate the generational wealth gap.

Through the personalization and customization of Drinking Tumblahz, we create Sustainable Employment for underprivileged Youth Entrepreneurs in the community between the ages of 8-18. Each candidate must enroll in and successfully complete my Generational Wealth Entrepreneurship Development Program(GWEDP) prior to being promoted to the Production Phase. Some of the GWEDP courses include character building, financial literacy, social media etiquette, respect/family/community, and humanitarianism.

What’s really exciting is the students receive a stipend, invest in the business, and are eligible for dividends. It’s rewarding to embrace, positively influence, and educate the youth in my community through my GWEDP.

We are a newly authorized licensed vendor for Kappa Epsilon Psi Military Sorority, Inc.!

We are currently in Year 2 as a Startup with little traction right now and I’m ecstatic about what’s ahead so stay tuned! We aspire to sign sustainable contracts with Coaches, Athletes, Summer Camps, Churches, Schools, Restaurants, etc. In March, we’ll launch community fundraisers and our subscription program. Additionally, we’ll be expanding/launching Village Tumblahz Mobile for small events.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1 – Celebrate the No’s

I celebrate the No’s because I know that God is saying it’s not time and I’m not ready. It use to be discouraging at first but now I just say thank you God, find a positive message in the wait, and try again!

2 – Believe in Yourself

If you’re an Entrepreneur or anyone who’s working towards a goal you MUST Believe in Yourself! If you don’t Believe in Yourself, your dreams and goals will likely perish. No matter who or what comes along trying to disrupt your spirit, Believe in Yourself and see the assignment all the way through!

3 – Everybody Can’t Go

I genuinely want everyone to win! Cause why not??? Through my entrepreneurship journey, I’ve had to enter a new season in life without certain family members and old friends. At first it was uncomfortable and seemed unthinkable. In hindsight, I’m praising God for my new Village! It’s a great season, being embraced and encouraged by family and a few friends who really Believe in me and my mission!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I believe that establishing a Powership with local organizations will have a significant impact on our local economy.

We would love to establish a Powership with Atlanta Airport gift shops, Atlanta Vibe, College Park Sky Hawks, Operation Hope, Atlanta Falcons Summer Camps, Big Brothers Big Sisters, NIL athlete representative, Tom Joyner’s Fantastic Voyage cruise, The Bria Janelle Foundation, The Varsity restaurant, and Jeremiah’s Italian Ice, etc. just to name a few.

Without the support of our local economy, we will not be able to; maintain business operations such as payroll and inventory, provide continuous mentorship, and introduce underprivileged youth in the Black Community to a better quality of life, all of which are necessary to maintain a Sustainable economy.

Anyone interested in a collaboration with Village Tumblahz can DM us on Instagram @VillageTumblahz or email [email protected]

Contact Info:

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