Meet Tiffany Smith

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tiffany, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?

I have been laid off 3 times in my career, all at various income levels and professional levels. The first layoff was eye-opening. When I was first told about my pending layoff, I was given 6 months’ notice and figured I had plenty of time to find another job before my last day. As a 10-year professional with a MBA, I was sure I would find a job quickly once I started looking. I never had a problem before and figured this time would be no different. As my pending last day approach and I did not find a job yet, my last day was extended as other colleagues, quit, relocated, or took other jobs. I was extended another 6 months and surely, I would find a job before the next 6 months were up. I knew the CEO of the company just from reaching out earlier when I first joined the company, and solicited his help in helping me find a job in other areas of the company while I also continued my external search. One day I came in and was greeted by a company email stating the current CEO had exited and who the current interim CEO was going forward. I was stunned. So, even though the CEO seemed eager to help me, a bright-eyed young and hard-working professional find employment within the company, he was already on to his own exit strategy. Ultimately, I did not find a job before my last day, which was a full year after they initially announced the layoffs. My severance check was nothing more than a sign of my failure to find gainful employment elsewhere. I was officially out of a job.
For the first few months, I was in shock. How could I, a hardworking young professional with an MBA have a hard time finding employment in Chicago? It completely turned everything on its head about what I knew about work. You are NOT rewarded for working hard. It does NOT pay to network and reach out to the C-suite executives. It does not pay to be the happy smiling person who always saw the silver lining on things. I was just another unemployed worker, begging to be “accepted” in a new workplace by getting a job offer. And what people don’t tell you is, our society has put such an emphasis on your career, that when you no longer have one, you feel your life is meaningless and worthless. I quickly learned how to NOT define myself by my job. Who am I? No, really, who AM I?

I decided to “hide out” in school as I contemplated should I pursue a PhD. I signed up at my alma mater to start my second master’s in Education since I knew I wanted to be in business school academia and figured that would be the best way to meet professors who could advise me on whether or not a PhD was right for me. I got a partial scholarship and excelled in school per usual, and it helped me to feel valued in my grad school community. When I graduated a year later, I had a newly minted Masters in Educational Leadership and won first place in an entrepreneurial competition, with the prize money jump starting a career in small business consulting.

My second layoff was with a local residential construction company. I was a project manager over a small team of sales and project specialists, and it was less than 5 minutes from my house which was the shortest commute I ever had. It was also one of the lowest paying jobs I had, now with 2 masters, and 15 years of work experience. But I had a few side hustles that filled the gaps. Ultimately, the owner of the company was engaged in some unethical practices, and eventually it led to layoffs and an ultimate closure. This time around though, I was prepared. The first layoff taught me to never define myself by a job and the second one taught me to never put all your eggs in 1 basket. ALWAYS have a side hustle, passive income stream or a professional hobby that can bring in income.

I was president of a for-profit college during my 3rd layoff. Who would think a college president would experience a layoff? Well, I didn’t. But it happened. After joining a sketchy for-profit school because of a big paycheck offer to be a Director of Education (Dean), I enjoyed a meteoric rise to college president when the company CEO promoted me after I shared some business recommendations for the college when asked in a meeting. I finally did it! I finally reached a six figure salary! But, as an African-American woman, the amount of hours they expected of me in the role probably bought my wage down to minimum wage. In contrast, my white male counterparts as Presidents at other schools in the system put in their 40 hour work weeks and enjoyed vacations with family. While I was demanded to work the weekend after thanksgiving and threatened to lose my job if I did not comply, in addition to the 15-hour workdays I was already putting in 6 days per week. My mom visited me during the time I worked there and didn’t recognize me when I opened the door. I was stressed and overworked, and the 6-figure job I always dreamed about was taking years off my life. How come my white, Asian and other non-black colleagues who made 6-figures never had to work this hard? But I stayed. After a life of treading water financially, I couldn’t give up that check.

I was laid off 2 weeks before Christmas, and it was the best day of my life. I ran to my car, giggling and skipping like a schoolgirl, happy to be done with my personal hell on earth. The entire for-profit college closed soon after. This final layoff taught me to be careful what you wish for, because all that glitters ain’t gold. Work to live, not live to work, because you are always disposable. I can never get back those hours of my life that I gave to that place.

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?

Tiffany Smith, President & CEO of The Incubator Institute, a full-service small business and social media marketing consultancy firm that has been operating for 11 years. A seasoned corporate professional, serial entrepreneur and former restaurateur, Tiffany has been a business professor and higher education administrator for over 20 years. Her greatest accomplishment as a restauranteur is taking over a struggling restaurant, reaching profitability in 90 days and taking a buyout offer after 8 months in business. A lifelong learner, Ms. Smith’s goal is to change people’s lives through the power of education and working as a mentor, consultant, business coach and professor offers her the ability to do that daily. An avid foodie, she enjoys supporting local small restaurants in Chicago and St. Louis and loves to cook and bake as well as teach cooking and baking classes in her spare time.

I was born and raised in Chicago Illinois and relocated downstate when I went to college for undergrad and grad school. I remained in the southwestern Illinois area, which is about 15 minutes outside of St. Louis, Missouri.

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

3 qualities, skills or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey was resilience, self-motivation and a positive outlook.
I think being resilient in the face of hardships was extremely impactful because sometimes it is not the fact you fell down, but how you rise above the fall. If you understand the only thing that stays the same is change, this resiliency will help you in the face of that change.

You have to be self-motivated. With your career, with your personal life, and with your personal goals. It is no one’s job to sacrifice for your dreams. Even on your hardest days, YOU have to stand up for you and understand that you may not have the help or support that you think you need or that you want, but if you believe in what you are doing, let that motivation drive you.

You need to have a positive outlook. So many things are in the moment. Even in your most frustration moments, moments of anger, moments of fear, moments of sadness, ask yourself if this will be an issue a day from now, a month from now, a year from now. If the answer is no, find the silver lining in the situation and move forward. Everything happens for a reason. In most situations, a setback is just setting you up for a greater opportunity. Ask yourself what you can learn from a situation as a way to find the positive in every situation.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I would love to collaborate and partner with people and organizations who are looking for speakers, presenters and others on a variety of topics.

I would love to work with non-profit organizations that have funding to help marginalized populations in programming, training, etc who are looking for someone who can speak to those communities and can help strategic plan events, programs, etc, to help these communities excel.

I would love to partner or collaborate with women-owned businesses and organizations that are looking to support each other in a variety of areas of business, non-profit work and more.

I would love to partner and collaborate with non-profit organizations and institutions of higher learning that are looking for a workforce development expert that can help design training programs for the masses that can help companies fill vacancies due to lack of trained staff.

I would love to partner and collaborate with business and organizations who would like to have more data-based decision-making and would like to make more strategic decisions for their business or organization based on research and internal data.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: The Tiffany Lifestyle
• Facebook: The Tiffany Lifestyle
• Linkedin: Tiffany E. Smith, MBA
• Youtube: The Tiffany Lifestyle
• Yelp: Tiffany Smith (Collinsville, IL)
• Other: Tiktok: The Tiffany Lifestyle