Meet Bryan “Kofi” Smith: Executive Coach & Social Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bryan “Kofi” Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bryan “Kofi”, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
You never want to give advice to anyone on when to give up their business, but it is definitely time to reconsider your choice of business when you’re drained financially, physically, mentally, and emotionally. I remember having to make the difficult decision to shut my non-profit organization down because I pouring from an empty cup for far too long. The hardest part about this decision is knowing when to remove your personal passion from your business logic. A passion and/or purpose is what starts our business, but return the on investment is what keeps our business alive and thriving. When to keep going is when you begin to see a return on investment in the specific stages of our your business endeavor. Example: You’re in your marketing stage in your receiving great feedback (constructive or praises) and people are anticipating your product or services. Personally you may not feel as though you’re where you want to be in life, but your business is making small progressive steps towards your end goal. If you see a return on your investment, keep going! You may have to reorganize, rebrand, etc… but keep going.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
About my business: Empowered Circle LLC is a Executive Coaching and Leadership Consultant company. My company focuses small business development, organizational development, culture development, staff development, and leadership development. In addition, we offer life coaching, professional coaching, and executive coaching to people who are in leadership or desire to be in a leadership position. What sets me apart: What sets are business apart from others is the fact that we focus solely on leadership and have a unique way of delivering our services to our clients. We realize that many of our clients are creatives, visionaries, and trailblazers with successful businesses but struggle with leading and training a team to grow their business to an empire that functions effectively with or without them. Due to the fact that the Empowered Circle team, starting with myself, possess multi-talents and skillsets that includes being a creative leader, yet managerial. We teach those unique skills to our clients in a way that creatives, leaders, and visionaries understand. I am most proud about being able to say that I can’t take anymore clients until the second quarter of the year. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? I haven’t met one fellow entrepreneur that said starting a business was easy. Empowered Circle is my 4th business endeavor. It’s not easy at all, but I finally chose a business where everything flows so effortlessly when working with my clients. My greatest challenge with my consultant business wasn’t the consultant business itself, it was the process of choosing which business endeavor I wanted to give my all to. I don’t know if there is any other entrepreneurs out there that currently stressed and borderline depressed because they’re entrepreneur at heart, but they’re struggling with choosing the right business that they love and worth investing money and sweat equity in. As I stated above, this is my 4th business endeavor, and I knew before choosing this that I needed this has to be the business that succeeds. The pressure from that thought alone weighed heavy on me. If there is any entrepreneur that is in that position, I encourage you to give yourself grace, but do all of the research and self-discovery and self-awareness needed before going on your state government site and applying for your LLC. My brand and story is one in the same. It’s about self-empowerment and perseverance. The circles in my logo is an West African Andinkra symbol called ‘Adinkrahene’, which is the chief of all Andinkra symbols, meaning greatness, charisma, and leadership. With all the trials and tribulations I’ve faced to get to greatness, for the most part, you’ll never know because my energy is charismatic, and bare it all because I’m a leader. So, with that being said, I want the world to know that Rome wasn’t built overnight, but they damn sure worked every night to build it. Stay holistically healthy, disciplined, educated, thankful, and surrounded by people who are going to empower and inspire you. You will need all of it to persevere through the challenges of life whether you’re an entrepreneur or not.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Centennial Park: Horse Back riding, Ferris Wheel, African America Museum, Coke a Cola, CNN, and Aquarium Tour Tiki Lounge for Day Party Boogaloo Lounge for Day Party Suite Lounge for Rooftop Party Kat’s Cafe for Live Music Apache for open mic and poetry Atlantic Station for the views, restaurants, and shopping. Painted Pin The Battery to go to Punch Bowl House of Hookah Auburn and Edgewood for the culture. Martin Luther King Tour
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a shoutout to Kristen Hopkins, CEO and Founder of Dangers of the Mind. Not only is she a college friend, but she is a thriving and inspiring entrepreneur who pushes me to thrive with my business endeavors. Kristen came to Atlanta to visit during a time when I was indecisive about the business decision of developing my own consultant company, She didn’t know I was indecisive or doubting my decision, but when she departed from Atlanta, I had full confidence in myself and my new consultant company. Kristen did 3 things for me that gave me the motivation to thrive in my new business endeavor. 1. Kristen believed in my skillset and talent. As soon as Kristen arrived to Atlanta, she scheduled a 3-4 hour organizational development session with me so that we can restructure her business. The session was a success and her testimony she gave after our session empowered me as an Executive Coach. 2. She was a champion for my skillset and talent. After our organizational development session, she asked me to drive her to her friend’s new photography studio loft. When she introduced us, she was a champion for my business. The way she described me in our introduction as an Executive Coach and Leader made me feel like I was prepared to take on Bill Gates as a client. A week later, The owner of photography studio loft became a client. 3. She gave me nothing but uplifting, positive, and fun energy. I felt like a complete new rejuvenated entrepreneur when she was in town. There is nothing like sharing time and space with someone who is just as or more empowering and inspiring as you are. I thanked her multiple times for the energy she gave me during her visit, but still till this day, she has no clue just how much she empowered me to give my all to my new Executive Coaching and Leadership Consultant, Empowered Circle LLC. I learned that It is extremely important to be intentional about reaching out to positive and empowering friends/associates at least 3 times a week to stay motivated, informed, and empowered throughout your individual journey towards success. So, SHOUTOUT to Kristen Hopkins. She is a powerhouse and a DOMinator. Follower her social and emotional learning business at @dangersofthemind

Website: EmpoweredCircle.com (under construction)
Instagram: @kofieEmpower @EmpoweredCircle
Twitter: @kofiEmpower
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredcirclegroup