From $6 an Hour to a $30,000,0000 Enterprise : Josh Smith with 4th Purpose Foundation
In just over a decade and a half, Josh Smith built a small service company into a $30 million enterprise with more than 150 employees across 3 states. But for a 5-year period before that, he was incarcerated in a federal prison camp in Kentucky for his involvement in marijuana and cocaine trafficking.
Smith grew up in a single-mother household, lived in government housing, was removed from his home at age 11 due to abuse and was convicted of 7 felonies by the time he was 16. He entered prison at age 21 as an 11th-grade dropout with no plans to exit any differently than how he entered.
Instead, he found redemption through God and was guided by several highly educated, white-collar criminals, who he was able to learn from. But all the books he read, studying he did and plans he made didn’t alter the reality of the world he was released into, one where ex-convicts are still punished by an onerous set of legal restrictions. Upon his release, the government housing his wife lived in was no longer available to them because of his status as a felon. He had to beg for his first job making $6 an hour.
Since exiting prison, he has spent the last 15 years involved in prison reform efforts, mentoring formerly incarcerated individuals across Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee; even in several Central American countries. Smith has supported programs that provide hope, training and reentry support for prisoners and their families who earnestly want a new life, including hiring and mentoring many felons. He is a true model of successful entrepreneurship, and prides himself on mentoring others to help them reach their own, personal goals.
To learn more about Josh Smith and 4th Purpose, visit https://4thpurpose.org/
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Gratefully,
Rob Lohman