Conversations with Rashad and Saadia Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashad and Saadia Smith.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My wife and I always enjoyed cooking in the kitchen when we first got married. Saadia would always make smoothies for herself and wanted me to try them. They were always good and it was a way for her to express her passion for being creative with smoothies. On the other end, I always went outside to throw something on the grill. It did not matter the occasion, I just wanted some ribs or steak on the grill. We are both from Florida so grilling is a thing that we are so used to do doing. I was always the talk in the neighborhoods because they could see the smoke coming from the backyard. Grilling was my way of expressing myself because of the process of how it is prepared to the finished product. Saadia and I always dreamed of being entrepreneurs and we had so many ideas in our heads. We sat down one day and brained stormed on how we can make an impact on the community and create that generational wealth for our family. After thinking it over, we looked at each other and said well, you grill all the time and you make smoothies.

So we decided to combine our two household favorites into one. Now we are Smiths Smokehouse and Smoothies. After beginning with selling plates in the neighborhood and giving out smoothies to people next door, we began to hear great feedback and we knew we were on to something. After becoming official business in August 2020, we began to gather everything that we needed to prepare for 2021. We did not want to rush the process because we were both new to this. After days and hours of planning and getting paperwork done we decided to reach out to potential markets to branch our business to the community. In February 2021, we were accepted into the Raleigh Market. Our first day was a success and we sold out of everything by 1:00pm. We have not looked back since then and been selling out at each event we attend. We now have event dates booked out till October 2021 and also doing Pop up catering for customers who want our delicious food and smoothies. Word of mouth has been very powerful for us as with our heavy presence on social media.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Smooth road, no way. We are parents to two beautiful children that need our attention. My wife and I had to learn how to enjoy each other being married and also giving our love to our kids. After leaving Florida for the U.S Army, we took a leap as a family to create a better opportunity for ourselves. We had to find trustworthy babysitters for our kids so we can have our date nights. Being away from family made it difficult but it also made us rely on each other as a unit.

When we knew we wanted to be business owners, there was a lot of procrastination along the way because we did not know how we could do it. At the end of the day, we are tenacious and we persevered through many things so there had to be a way. Putting God first before everything we set in front of us was the number one priority and family was next. When we decided to do that, everything else fell into place. To this day, it is never easy because we are not satisfied. We ultimately want a storefront restaurant that will allow us to settle in one location. The process of preparing food and smoothies are amazing but it takes a toll on you when you have to travel with everything because we are Pop up style. We know this is something we have to do in order to reach our goal with a storefront. Our desire and determination is strong and regardless of how hard it looks, we find a way to make it happen and serve our customers.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My wife attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL. There, she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social work. Saadia always wanted to help people and her passion to serve others started there. On the other end, I wanted to play football after high school, so I attended Bethune Cookman University in Daytona, Beach, FL and walked on the football team. Unfortunately, I was unable to graduate at the time. I was confused on what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to be a part of something greater so I joined the U.S Army in 2013 to make a better way of living for my family. While serving, I was a logistical specialist at Fort Bliss, TX and Fort Bragg, NC. My wife made many transitions with me as well as the kids. We had to adapt at every destination we went but that is what made us who we are today. After transitioning from the military, I continued my education because I knew I wanted to finish. I recently graduated from Post University with my Sports Management Degree. This was a serious weight lifted off my shoulders and my wife was a big reason for that as she continuously pushed me every step of the way. My wife is a social worker here in Raleigh, NC and I work for Bank of America. We set ourselves apart from others because of how we continue to push through adversity and being away from family. We know our WHY and striving for greatness is on our forefront!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
We tell people all the time that anything can be done if you actually put your mind to it. This is so real for us as we started writing down our ideas on last year so you can see where you want to be. I recommend not quitting just because it’s hard work. We know if things were easy then everyone would be able to do so. This is not the case, you have to be built for it and that starts with your WHY.

What drives you the most? What are your Short Term and Long Term Goals?
For us, I think learning the basics about how a business runs regardless of the industry could have helped us propel even further than we are now. We are grateful for the position we are in due to us going through the challenges and learning from every mistake. That is how you grow and get better.

Contact Info:

• Email: smokehousesmoothies@gmail.com
• Website: smokehousesmoothies.com/about
• Instagram: @smokehousesmoothies
• Facebook: Smiths Smokehouse and Smoothies
• Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/home/3jo2HygiI-S_W85F8zivEw/