Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mariah Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mariah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I started out as a student manager for my college football team in 2016. Having daily interactions with so many coaches and natural born leaders really inspired me to want to influence people on the same level as I was surrounded with daily. I eventually got heavily involved in pageantry as a hobby, and quickly realized the close correlation to football, and how I could use the same coaching principles about grit and determination that I received from football in the pageant world.

After competing in pageants and doing well in my respective lane of platform development, appearance management, fundraising, personal branding, and wardrobe consultation, I saw an opportunity to be a strong positive influence on budding pageant careers, just like the coaches I was privileged to learn from. I decided to launch my pageant coaching company, POSH Pageant Consulting in 2021, and have not let up off the gas ever since.

While coaching so many beautiful women with huge hearts for their communities, I was opened to a very large range of pageants and interests. The diversity within pageantry is insane (in a good way). There is literally a pageant for everyone, and it just takes lots of trial and error to find which one works best for you. I came across Miss Black USA while coaching a client, and immediately fell in love with the freedom to be black on a pageant stage. As a black pageant queen, other queens and myself face many more struggles and hardships on and off that stage that often cause imposter syndrome. Finding a system that doesn’t make my skin color, hair, body shape, nor upbringing as a barrier for me on a national stage was something I found immediate gratification in!

I couldn’t just know that this pageant existed without competing, so I signed up to do just that in the 2023 pageant class. I knew going into this pageant that I wanted more than just a title or a placement on stage. I wanted to leave a legacy! I did my best to do just that by using my title and influence to help the system to recruit over 10 young women from across the country into the pageant as contestants or directors, travel 4 states to spread my platform and learn southern black history, win the social media fan favorite competition with 763 votes, coach girls in the pageant while also competing, and most importantly: gain directorship of Miss Black CO, IL, NV, & OR USA.

This system has given me way more than a shiny crown or a fun time at pageant week. It gave me the opportunity to not only leave a legacy, but to also influence young black women across the country to also want to leave a legacy in their city or state. With all the good work and legacies across the board, a domino effect is created for this world to be a better place. I am now the proud (registered) owner of POSH (Pushing Our Sisters Higher) Pageant Productions, LLC, and hope to continue to positively change the world through pageantry.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a pageant coach, franchised state director for a national system, independent pageant system director and founder, branding consultant, and aspiring mayor. I am also a Masters of Community Development candidate at PVAMU, the only HBCU in the country to offer this program. I hope to use this degree to build a few sustainable communities in the states I have just acquired pageant directorship in. I cannot share too many details on that goal yet, but I’m excited for the learning stage of that plan.

I am currently in the startup stages of my pageant directing, teaching myself and investing in new business practices, and just trying to be the best leader I can be. I really take the platform and community service aspect of pageantry very seriously, so I find it important to always stay up to date on research, current events, and community needs in my 4 states.

I also started my own pageant system in the beautiful Boot of the USA, Louisiana. My pageant system is geared towards the high school Miss/Homecoming queens across the state, and provide scholarships, mentorship, and college preparation. Louisiana has such rich culture and traditions that I was blessed to take part in as a resident for 6 years.

As I’ve stated before, I am totally committed to changing the world through pageantry, one state and country at a time!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I really walk and talk my platform: Pushing Our Sisters Higher, which I believe that has led me to have a good rapport with the pageant and philanthropic community. I strongly believe that my willingness to network and share resources, strong tenacity, and unorthodox coaching method has helped me to build my reputation across the country. I strive to be the coach I wish that I had/have and spare none when it comes to my clients and contestants.

I also believe that my naturally serving heart has opened up more doors for me than my business alone could ever open. I truly go to extreme lengths to advocate for the community that surrounds me in any capacity (pageant girls, black women, high school students, etc). I do my best to purposely exceed the limitations of being just a regular coach or director. I want people around me to know that I genuinely care about them!

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I really advise everyone to download the Alison app immediately! It’s an app that has zillions of certifications and courses to make you the best individual you can be in your career path, and the best part is, you can learn all you need for free! The even better part of the best part is that you can purchase the actual certification for little to no money, giving you full access to proclaim yourself as a professional in a subject. I am using Alison to educate me in the best practices of being a pageant director, and have been having a field day with the variety of courses that one can indulge in!

Another life changing software/resource that has been helpful in my management and entrepreneurial operations has been Honeybook. I scream to the mountaintops about how much this simple CRM tool has saved my life and my pageant’s longevity. The easy accessibility and organization that it provides me as a director is all I could ask for in a software, and I highly recommend any director or business owner that deals with clients on a daily to use it!

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/poshpageantco
• Instagram: @poshpageantproductions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?viewas=100000686899395&id=100000068753009
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-smith-43489562