We’re looking forward to introducing you to Dr. Sunshine Smith-Williams . Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Dr. Sunshine , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
A: Integrity. Without integrity, intelligence can be manipulative, and energy can be misdirected. Integrity is the foundation of everything I do, in business, in storytelling, in advocacy, and in life. It’s how you show up when no one is watching. You can have the brightest mind and the biggest ideas, but if people can’t trust your word or your heart, none of it lasts.
As a film producer and entrepreneur, I’ve learned that success built without integrity is temporary.
As a youth advocate, I know our next generation needs more than just motivation, they need models of character. Integrity builds legacy. Intelligence and energy are tools, but integrity is who you are. And for me, who I am will always matter more than what I do.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Dr. Sunshine Smith-Williams: Building Empires, Changing Narratives, and Rewriting the Rules
Dr. Sunshine Smith-Williams is not just a name, she’s a brand, a movement, and a force of nature.
Hailing from South Jamaica, Queens, NY, Dr. Smith-Williams turned pain into purpose and adversity into ambition. Today, she stands as a best-selling author, powerhouse show developer for major networks, public speaker, youth advocate, and serial entrepreneur who’s building bridges between culture, commerce, and community.
With an unwavering commitment to impact, Dr. Sunshine has developed original content that speaks truth to power, creating television and digital shows that disrupt narratives, center marginalized voices, and redefine representation. She isn’t waiting for permission to tell our stories, she’s creating the platforms herself.
Armed with a Doctorate in Business Economics, she’s the CEO of multiple thriving ventures across publishing, media, education, and wellness. Her work is not just profitable, it’s purposeful. From the boardroom to the block, she’s committed to making sure success looks like us.
As a youth advocate, Dr. Smith-Williams has mentored thousands, developed innovative educational programs, and spoken nationally about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, mental health, and generational wealth. Her message? You can come from anywhere and build anything.
In 2025, she solidified her mission with a major partnership with the Mayor and City of Paterson, New Jersey, launching a transformative initiative focused on youth empowerment, education, and leadership development, proving once again that her influence goes beyond inspiration; it creates infrastructure.
Dr. Sunshine doesn’t just show up, she shows the way. She’s not following trends, she’s building legacies.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was a dreamer, bold, curious, and full of vision. A little girl from South Jamaica, Queens who believed she could do anything. But I also remember the exact moment the world tried to dim that light.
It was the 4th grade, and I had a friend, or someone I thought was a friend, who always had something to say when I spoke about what I wanted to be. Every dream I shared, she shot down.
“You can’t do that.”
“No one from around here does that.”
“That’s impossible.”
And for a while, I started to believe her. I began shrinking in ways a child never should. Her words echoed so loudly in my mind, I remember feeling this weight I couldn’t shake. That day after school, instead of going home, I took a walk, two blocks up, to the only place I knew I could find clarity: my great-grandmother’s house.
She was Seminole Indian, a woman of wisdom, strength, and fierce love. She looked at me, really looked at me, and asked what was wrong. I told her what had been said. I told her how I was starting to believe maybe the world was right about me.
She didn’t just comfort me, she activated me.
She said, “Baby, thoughts are just as powerful as words. Don’t ever let someone else’s fears get louder than your own voice.” Then she asked me to break down the word “impossible.”
I looked at it and suddenly saw what she meant:
“I’m possible.”
That moment changed me. She reminded me that I come from a tribe known as “The Unconquered People.” The Seminole didn’t fold, didn’t run, and didn’t surrender, and neither would I. She told me, “You are different. You are important. You carry the strength of your ancestors in your bones. Speak your dreams out loud. Speak them with power. And stay away from anyone who tries to make you doubt them.”
From that day on, I made a promise to myself:
To speak from a place of purpose, not permission.
To trust my voice over their noise.
And to never again shrink to fit into someone else’s comfort zone.
Who was I before the world told me who I had to be?
I was already powerful. I just needed to be reminded.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me how to survive with nothing and still believe I deserved everything. It taught me how to create vision in a world that tried to erase my view. Success gave me options, but suffering gave me identity. It made me.
I grew up in public housing in South Jamaica, Queens, & Far Rockaway where the walls were thin, but the realities were loud.
To my right, the biggest drug dealer in the projects. To my left, a full-blown whorehouse. And in the middle? Me, a latchkey kid, with a notebook full of dreams and a head full of questions.
My mother was doing the best she could. She worked as a receptionist at a supply store/ Office Depot. She did the. best to make ends meet. Our rent was stabilized, not because life was stable, but because poverty had rules. We weren’t just broke, we were boxed in. Resources were scarce. Safety was fragile. Hope was something you had to fight for.
And yet, every single day in that environment, I was being trained, not by choice, but by circumstance.
I learned how to read people before I could fully read books.
I learned how to move with awareness, how to protect my energy, and how to find peace in chaos.
I learned how to build confidence without applause.
Suffering taught me that you don’t need permission to rise, you need grit, vision, and unshakable self-worth. It taught me emotional intelligence before success ever gave me business intelligence. It taught me how to stretch $5 into five days and still show up looking like I belonged in rooms that didn’t know my name yet.
Success, yes, it brought comfort, recognition, and wealth. I’m a multi-millionaire on paper now, but those dollar signs don’t erase where I come from. What suffering taught me is that money can change your lifestyle, but it can’t create your character.
That was born in the struggle.
And that’s why no matter how high I go, I’ll never forget the staircase I climbed to get here.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I used to believe that if I just treated people the way I wanted to be treated, they would return the same energy. I thought kindness, loyalty, and consistency would be enough to build mutual respect.
But life taught me something else: not everyone is wired like you. Some people love from their wounds, show up when it’s convenient, or connect out of need, not intention. That was a hard truth to face.
At first, I was hurt. I questioned myself. I wondered what I did wrong. But over time, I realized it wasn’t about me, it was about expecting depth from people still operating on survival or ego.
So no, I don’t believe in treating people the way I want to be treated anymore.
I treat people according to how they show up, with boundaries, with grace, but most importantly, with clarity.
There’s a difference between being compassionate and being available to anything. That’s where growth lives.
I also learned that everyone in your life isn’t meant to be permanent, and that’s okay. Some people are seasonal. Some are lessons. And some are blessings. The wisdom comes in learning the difference.
What I hold close now is the value of having the right people around you, friends with integrity, a partner with vision, a team that shares purpose. Because no matter how gifted or driven you are, you will never go further than the people you surround yourself with.
Healing taught me that I don’t have to become cold to protect myself.
I just have to become clearer, about who I am, what I need, and what I no longer tolerate.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
The story I hope people tell when I am gone is ‘She was the real thing, powerful, kind, and impossible to forget.’
I want my legacy to say “I was a force, someone who refused to be defined by her circumstances and who broke every limit placed on her.” That I was a woman who built bridges where others saw walls, who created opportunities not just for herself, but for those who had been overlooked and underestimated.
I want them to remember me as a trailblazer, a multi-hyphenate who wasn’t afraid to dream big and do the hard work to make those dreams real. But more than anything, I want them to say I was a warrior for youth and community, someone who used her platform to lift others up, to give voice to the voiceless, and to inspire generations to come.
I hope they tell the story of a woman who spoke with clarity, acted with purpose, and loved with intention, someone who understood that legacy isn’t about fame or fortune, but about the lives you touch and the change you leave behind.
When I’m gone, I want to be remembered not just for what I achieved, but for who I helped become.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sunshinesmith-williams.com www.sunshinesmithwilliams.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunnymoneyqueens www.instagram.com/wineamdwealthacademy www.instagram.com/investing_in_us
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunshinesmithwilliams
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