Amber Foster Smith – Photographer, Educator, Community Leader

Amber started her entrepreneurship journey four years ago, she opened her studio in downtown Holly Springs, which was her personal studio. She opened it up as a coworking space for creatives. Then this past year, she now the leader and owner of Vend Raleigh, which I’ve been a part of them for about six years.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Her studio is moving over to the Block on Main this fall.

Topics discussed. How do you deal with people when they feel like you are too much? Women with grounded confidence can be intimidating to other people. We talk about how we “own our extra” and overcome these perceptions.

We talk about getting shamed for not reading the latest and greatest personal development books.

Amber unpacks her entrepreneurial journey so far that led her to currently own three businesses on top of working closely with a tight-knit community of women business owners.

” I can support the small business community and the female entrepreneurs with Vend Raleigh. I can give them a space to grow their businesses and have a place to call home with a studio. And then I can still serve them while doing my photography. It was taking these three completely different concepts and finding a way to make them all work together.”

In order to figure out how to do it all, you have to figure out, what’s the most important thing for you? What fills your soul? What makes you happy? And then figure out a way to make it work.

We also discuss the community chats that have been happening at Vend Raleigh. When COVID-19 hit there were a lot of coaches telling you what you need to do so you don’t fail. She decided she didn’t want Vend Raleigh to be another voice to talk about what you should be doing. Instead, she decided to focus on the soul. She missed sitting next to other women in coffee shops and have a chat.

We started just talking through hard things. The idea was to put a smile on one person’s face it would be a success. After what happened with George Floyd and the racial unrest they pivoted to talk about racism, white privilege, and the lack of diversity in their community.

They’ve had amazing black women business owners to talk about their experience and have their community ask honest questions to foster a conversation.

Find out more about Amber Foster Smith:

Amber Foster Smith Photography
Instagram | LinkedIn | Pinterest |

Vend Raleigh