Vanessa Smithers

Hey! It's me, Vanessa. I'm a storyteller because everything I do involves telling a story and piecing together a narrative, whether it's grant writing, copywriting, bios, decks, engagement plans, or crafting career documents. In my spare time, I love to write about love and how all of this ties into it, but I'll save that for another day.

Let me connect the dots for you.

Possessing 17+ years in community support, coaching, leadership, advocacy, and workshop facilitation, I consider myself a "passionate powerhouse who does it all." I have a deep-rooted love for connecting with people and fostering dialogues that bring individuals back to themselves, allowing them to discover how they can get to where they want to grow and who they want to be. To me, one of the most beautiful parts of this life is knowing that we can change our minds at any time, manipulating different dimensions of our lives and personalities to be and do exactly what we want to do. In my day-to-day, I encourage people to do that, whether personally or professionally.

I take pride in being AUTHENTIC (no code-switching) + multidimensional. I truly believe there isn't much we can't do should we dedicate our time to learning. With this being said, I have a wide array of skill sets and have achieved things that consistently pique a heavy "HUH?" Nonetheless, I'm here, and I'm grateful.

The work that I do is personal, and it is so much bigger than bread, popularity, and algorithms. I like to make people feel things, + as a storyteller and lifelong relationship builder, this has been my key to success.

Here are some of the things that I'm most proud of...

• I founded my storytelling consultancy, Grow Home, Please, in October 2017, and I've proudly supported 2000+ individuals internationally through career navigation, interview coaching, and document support. Admirably, 95% of my clients have been Black. We're BLACKITY, BLACK, BLACK on this side (in case you were curious).
• I started a conversational apparel line under the Grow Home, Please brand in 2020, generating $130K in revenue in its first year
• I created a monthly virtual book club with 85+ individuals located worldwide, and I host quarterly in-person events for members in varying locations across Canada and the United States
• I virtually supported 150+ youth and 3 teams throughout the pandemic
- I've supported 20+ international organizations secure grant funding totalling $700K+ in the last three years
- Jumped on board at Fifty for Free as a Principal Consultant, and wow, we've done some cool things in Halifax and Toronto

Feel free to check out my freewriting sessions at growhomeplease.substack.com—there's no editing, but you'll get the point.

Seeing as so much of my work is confidential, here are a few things that I've been okayed to share..