We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Portia Smith. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Portia below.

Alright, Portia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents were very young, and quite wild and free. They were parents of the 70’s. My dad was an artist and my mom was a waitress. I definitely had an unconventional upbringing that wasn’t the most stable. However, my parents did the best they could, and even though they did not have a lot of money, they were resourceful and creative, and we never “went without”.

My mom would shop for our clothes mostly at K-Mart. And then, my dad, as an artist, would spiff them up with designer logos. We would go to school with “custom” airbrushed Guess and Esprit clothes that nobody else had, and he even would paint the “Keds” blue tag on the back of plain white tennies. They made do with what they had, and they did great. We learned to appreciate and value what was meaningful, and my sister and I learned that if we wanted more, we would have to plan and study and work hard.

The most important thing our parents gave us, above all else, was unconditional love and acceptance. They may not have been able to give us a lot of time, presence, gifts or experiences, but they gave us the most important gift they ever could. They believed in us, they were proud of us, and they expressed their love and adoration to us on a regular basis. They were affectionate and caring. They were also quite strict, which led to children that had discipline and appreciation.

People often inquire how my sister and I turned out so “normal” once they hear the stories about our childhood and parents. And my answer is always: “They loved us unconditionally”. Because of that, they gave us the gift of self-confidence. They never judged us or made us feel that we weren’t enough. With that confidence, we believed in ourselves and had the courage to go after our own dreams.

Even when parents don’t have much time, money, or energy to give, they can always give love and support. Those gifts cost nothing, and have the greatest value of all.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For those who may not have read about me before, I’m Portia Smith, the founder of Elev8 Coaching. My journey into coaching has been anything but linear—it’s been shaped by resilience, transformation, and an unwavering passion for personal growth.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for over two decades, having built multiple businesses across different industries, including real estate and even a biodiesel manufacturing startup. But my true calling has always been about helping people unlock their full potential (beginning with me!). After facing and overcoming major life challenges—including a near-death car accident, multiple surgeries, serious illness, and deep personal healing—I realized the power of mindset, emotional intelligence, and personal development in achieving lasting success.

This realization led me to earn my master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology with a post-grad certificate in Consciousness, Health & Healing, and dedicate my work to coaching leaders, executives, high-performing teams, and individuals who want to elevate both their professional and personal lives.

What We Do at Elev8 Coaching:
Elev8 Coaching is an executive coaching firm that helps leaders and teams master communication, leadership, and personal transformation. Our core offerings include:

Executive Coaching for CEOs, business owners, and leaders who want to sharpen their leadership skills, improve decision-making, and create greater impact.

Corporate Workshops on mindset, leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence for teams looking to improve performance, cohesion, and engagement.

Athletic Performance Coaching to help high performers—especially elite athletes—transition from striving to thriving by balancing drive with well-being.

The Problems We Solve & What Sets Us Apart:

Most organizations focus heavily on strategy—metrics, performance, and efficiency—but they often overlook the human element. Leadership isn’t just about results; it’s about the mindset, communication, and emotional intelligence behind those results. That’s where we come in.

What makes Elev8 Coaching different is our dual approach—we don’t just focus on business outcomes or personal growth in isolation. We blend both. We work on the goal-line (external success, strategy, and execution) and the soul-line (mindset, confidence, emotional resilience, and communication). When leaders and teams strengthen their internal foundation, their external success becomes inevitable.

What I’m Most Proud Of:

I’m proud of the deep transformation we create—not just for businesses, but for the people within them. Seeing clients shift from burnout to balance, from reactive to intentional leadership, and from self-doubt to confidence is what fuels me every day. I’ve had clients tell me that our work didn’t just improve their careers—it changed their relationships, their ability to communicate, and even their outlook on life. That’s the kind of impact I strive for.

But beyond that, I’m also incredibly proud of my own journey—of surviving and thriving. I’ve faced challenges that could have broken me. I survived a horrific car accident, followed by another near-death experience, and then a decade of chronic illness that again brought me to the edge of life. After years of fighting for my health, I’m now four years in remission—and in what I call my fourth chance at life, I built this business from the ground up, by myself. Elev8 Coaching isn’t just a company to me—it’s a reflection of everything I’ve learned about resilience, transformation, and the power of mindset.

I’m also incredibly proud of the team I’ve built at Elev8 Coaching. We have a diverse, powerhouse team of coaches—including experts in leadership, high-performance mindset, and emotional intelligence—who all bring something unique to our clients.

What I Want Potential Clients & Followers to Know:

We believe success is an inside-out game. If you want to elevate your leadership, your team, or your life, you have to work on both your mindset and your strategy.
We don’t do surface-level coaching. We’re here for leaders and teams who want real, lasting transformation, not just quick fixes.
We care deeply about our clients. Coaching with us isn’t just a transaction—it’s a true partnership in growth.
At Elev8 Coaching, our mission is to help people operate at their highest level—with clarity, confidence, and purpose—so they can create meaningful impact in their work and their lives.

We also believe that everyone can benefit from having a coach in their lives, even if they don’t think they “need” one…and our clients would 100% stand by that!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Up until now, my reputation—and the entire foundation of Elev8 Coaching—has been built purely on word-of-mouth. Every client, every opportunity has come through the impact of the work itself. I’m incredibly grateful for that, and I also recognize that as I scale, it’s time to approach marketing in a more strategic and sophisticated way.

I believe my reputation has been built on three key factors:

Authenticity. I show up as my real, honest, and imperfect self. I don’t try to be anyone other than who I am, and that creates a space where my clients feel truly seen and met. When I bring my whole self—flaws and all—it gives them permission to do the same. That trust and realness form the foundation for deep transformation.

Impeccability. This isn’t about perfection; it’s about integrity. I strive to be impeccable with my word, to follow through on my commitments, to show up fully for my clients, and to provide an exceptional level of service. Reliability, presence, and care are at the core of how I operate.

Life-Changing Results. At the end of the day, people don’t just work with us because of what we say—we are known for the transformation we facilitate. Our clients walk away with more than just leadership skills or professional growth; they experience shifts that impact every area of their lives. They develop deeper self-awareness, more fulfilling relationships, and an ability to lead with both strength and heart. Their lives become more peaceful, aligned, and fulfilling. That kind of impact speaks for itself, and it’s why they continue to share their experiences and bring others into this work.

Everything I’ve built so far has been rooted in these values, and as I step into the next phase of Elev8 Coaching’s growth, my focus is on expanding that impact while staying true to what made this work so powerful in the first place.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was around pricing. When I first started coaching over a decade ago, I didn’t have the confidence I have now, and my pricing reflected that. At the time, I unconsciously tied my self-worth to my net worth. I also used to price my services based on what I thought others could afford, making assumptions about their financial situation rather than standing firmly in the value of my work.

What I’ve learned is that pricing has nothing to do with any of that. What people value is very different from what they can afford. I’ve seen people who didn’t have the money in the bank invest in coaching because they saw the life-changing value and were willing to stretch for it (just as I once did). And I’ve seen financially wealthy individuals who still thought coaching was “too expensive.” The truth is, the value someone places on my service is not mine to control—it’s theirs. My responsibility is to price based on the transformation I know my work provides.

Elev8 Coaching is not the low-cost, bargain coaching company—and that’s intentional. Our clients aren’t just paying for sessions; they’re investing in profound, lasting transformation. As with anything in life, you get what you pay for. We pour everything into our work, and the results speak for themselves. The demand for our coaching continues to validate our pricing because the impact we create is undeniable.

Unlearning my limiting beliefs around pricing allowed me to step into my worth—not just as a coach, but as a business owner. And in doing so, I’ve been able to serve my clients at an even higher level.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elev8coaching.com
• Other: Just this year, I have scaled from being a solopreneur (www.portiasmith.com) to Elev8. I am just getting ready to launch live. As a result, I have barely set up LinkedIn and Instagram, or any other social media for Elev8. I do have socials for portiasmith.com. And even our Elev8 website isn’t fully complete. It is live, but not “impeccable” :). Hopefully by the time this publishes, I will be proud of it!

Image Credits

All images are credited to Inovatory (@inovatory, www.inovatory.com)