Fast-Food, Favor, & Fortune: Dr. Mya Smith-Edmonds

By: Francheska “Fancy” Felder DR. Mya SMITH EDMONDS

while many dream of doing great feats for their communities and being of service to their loved ones, the ability to realistically position oneself financially and philanthropically to give back is of great significance. Dr. Mya Smith-Edmonds, owner and operator of nine McDonald’s franchises, is fortunate to be a blessing to others. Beautiful, intelligent, classy, grounded, and passionate about her work and faith is how Dr. Mya Smith-Edmonds can be described. The oldest of eight children, Smith-Edmonds recalls striving to be a good role model to her siblings. By the age of 13, she worked in a McDonald’s owned and operated by her father. She knew from a very early age that she wanted to own a business, employ others, and consequently support families. It seemed only logical to her that she would start working towards becoming a successful McDonald’s owner/operator immediately after graduating from high school.

It was Smith-Edmonds’s father, whose work ethic, business savvy and style that inspired her dreams. He suggested that she first go to college and try her hand at a profession unrelated to McDonald’s. If she still felt interested in owning a McDonald’s after those endeavors, he would agree to support her 110%.

The Houston native graduated magna cum laude from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting and a minor in African-American studies. She was a CPA with Deloitte & Touche, one of the world's largest accounting firms, before deciding to take a position as Program Director with KCOH Radio Station. It was her love for people that would lead her back to McDonald’s.

Before becoming a franchise owner, Smith-Edmonds completed a required 2-5 year training program in less than 12 months. While working as a general manager, she was awarded the Ray Kroc Award. This honor is earned by the top 1% performers of the McDonald's leadership system.

Initially, Smith-Edmonds’s dream was to acquire three restaurants. She now owns nine. Acquiring her restaurants did not come easy. She started over several times during the process of acquiring her first restaurant. From delays, obstacles and challenges ranging from representatives relocating to new reps not receiving correspondence to being told that she’s not in a program to being told no to Smith-Edmonds having to move 7 times, the challenges never dwindled. While it was discouraging, looking back, she says, When it seems like something is in the way - an obstacle slowing you down, from your Blessing, Opportunity, Dreams or Desires - God is saying, “No, I’m getting you READY for Everything you asked for!”

Those struggles hit her in a very emotional place. "It just makes me cry because I think about everything that I went through in that season--years of let down and unmet expectations. Doing everything asked of me, mastering my tasks, yet getting nothing and making no progress. All I could think was, 'Is it going to happen for me or not?' But I realize now that it was a big feat to become a McDonald's owner/operator, and all of the struggles, all of the transitions and all of the changes that I went through were to encourage others not to EVER give up.”

Smith-Edmonds learned at quite an early age the role her faith would play in her journey. She attended a private Christian school. As summoned in her youth, it was her faith that kept her grounded during those challenging times when she purchased her first franchise. “The only reason it's hard is that the devil can see everything that God has for you, and he's trying to stop you. He's trying to distract you. You must stay focused on listening to the voice of God and not the lies of the enemy,” she shares.

Operating her first restaurant was no breeze. While Smith-Edmonds and her team had great operations and a clean restaurant, the location was not ideal. "It was so bad. One day I had a field consultant from the corporation come to check on me and evaluate the restaurant. I literally had a customer walking from one side of the entry door to the other side of the restaurant, urinating across the floor. The rep was like, 'Oh my God, is this happening?!' I told the rep it happens all the time,” Smith-Edmonds recalls. "I even had people come in that always put feces on the mirrors and in the toilet paper dispensers and got high in the restrooms. Sometimes they overdosed and I had to call the ambulance and police. As if that wasn’t enough, there was an adult entertainment venue located across the street. Truck drivers and patrons were always coming in, but I couldn’t make any money because the surrounding environment wasn't kid-friendly nor family-friendly.… to say the least."

However, the owner/operator in Smith-Edmonds pushed through, and by the time she had her third restaurant, corporate was calling to offer her a fourth because they knew she could handle it. She was the first, African-American Next Generation to own a McDonald’s restaurant in Central Indiana.

Smith-Edmonds prides herself on not just being a McDonald’s owner, but an operator. She credits her dad--who she considers to be a Legend in the business--for the clear distinction between the two terms. She explains that when one says they are an owner, he or she is usually not as deeply involved in the operations of the day-to-day business as an operator is. "When you are an operator versus an owner, you are operating your business. You're being a business person," Smith-Edmonds explains passionately. "If you're a business person, and you don't know your numbers, then you don’t know your business. You could be OPEN for business, yet be OUT of business. Operating my business is what helps me succeed. Because at the end of the day, when I'm looking at my numbers, I'm trying to focus on making sure I'm profitable. What does my return on investment look like?”

The millionaire confesses that the Coronavirus was a major, unexpected blow to the business. Employees were worried about whether or not they would continue to receive their work hours and were worried about their pay. Smith-Edmonds was concerned too, about the trend in business; But she sought God throughout that time and says that she received, in her spirit, the inspiration to give more than she had ever given, and not worry about loss. "The first thing that came to my mind was that God will provide seed to the sower, and I could NEVER beat God giving" says Smith-Edmonds. "Keep in mind, this was during COVID when people were shutting down restaurants and laying off employees or decreasing hours because they weren't making the sales to sustain payroll. There was a double-digit decrease in transactions and sales. Restaurants were closed. The lobbies were closed. People weren't coming to work, etc…." Proudly she states that in spite of all the odds, Smith-Edmonds had a record-breaking year! Being profitable does not simply benefit Smith-Edmonds, but the whole ecosystem of the franchises' 800 employees. Because she understands that her success fuels the households of all these people and believes that she is to be of service, she takes knowing the intricacies of her duties very seriously. Her days consist of planning and projecting, accurately forecasting sales and controllable expenses. "I know that if I'm ever in a position where I may not be profitable, that puts the entire organization at risk," says Smith-Edmonds. "I'm responsible for every single employee that I employ. I want to make sure that I am running a business where not only my employees can stay employed, but a business where I'm putting them in a position to continue to get raises, bonuses, and promotions. I don’t want them to just be a crew person forever, but [I want to see them] promoted to the level of assistant manager. Then be a manager. Then become a general manager. Next, a supervisor. With all of those different levels, they get a pay increase. So I must run my business properly so that they are being developed and are ready to be promoted under my leadership."

But, Smith-Edmonds did not stop there. Through the non-profit organization that she co-founded, The Smith Foundation, Inc., Smith-Edmonds gave back to her community as well. The Smith Foundation’s mission is to send children to college, provide food for those in need, distribute Christmas toys, and supply school supplies for underprivileged students in underserved communities. "When you think about [the value of] a college education versus a high school education, the difference of the income over a ten-year period is over $350,000," Smith says fiercely. “So, a college-educated student would make over $1,000,000 more in a 30-year career span, than a high school graduate. That's a substantial difference! This is the gap in economic disparity that we are committed to closing." The Smith Foundation has given over $108,000 in scholarships, in just a two-year period. Aside from McDonald’s and the Smith Foundation, Smith-Edmonds is also a real estate investor. She purchases properties in underserved and underprivileged communities and helps to increase their property value while also giving the residents of the neighborhood something beautiful to look at and dream of obtaining. In the future, the businesswoman plans to branch into commercial real estate.

Smith-Edmonds says, "Now is a good time to purchase property. There’s no bad time to buy property because it’s always increasing in value, and it’s a biblical practice. Anything that's in the Bible, I try to do it. Life is hard enough itself, so I just try to stay grounded in following God’s Word. It gives me strength, wisdom, and peace of mind. I’ve learned in life that the best thing to do is always look at the Creator of the creation to determine its best function. Our Creator knows what our best function is. He gave us a manual (the Bible). That manual will let us know how we can best function in the world that He created. So, anything I see in there, I just try to follow it to the 't.' I’m definitely not perfect by any means AT ALL. I’ve just learned how much mercy, grace, favor, blessings, and anointing are bestowed upon us in life, living a life honoring and keeping God FIRST."

The Kingdompreneur's hard work and successes with McDonald’s and giving back in the community does not go unnoticed. Smith-Edmonds has received both a proclamation declaring an official day be named after her--the "Myasha 'Mya' Smith-Edmonds Day" by the decree of the Mayor of the City of Houston, Sylvester Turner. She has also been awarded a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Joe Biden.

When asked how it felt to receive the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, she exclaimed, "Oh my God, it was extraordinary! To God be All the Glory! I was completely blown away. When you think about the President giving you an award, it's like, 'whoa, wow.' I know that the award is based upon my accomplishments, servant spirit, and leadership in which I influence and impact the lives I’m entrusted to inspire. The reward also takes into account the ability one has to bring hope and relief. But by this being what I live and love to do, I’d do it without any recognition or award. It just feels good to be honored and recognized [for these qualities] in the highest fashion,... the highest honor you can get representing the US." Smith-Edmonds further recalls, “Whenever you receive the award, the organization does a welcome, and then you get the letter from the President. The letter talks about individuals standing in the gap during unforeseen times of struggle and distress. In reading that, it made me think about what it is to be selfless. When you think about giving all of YOU as a service, God just continues to fill you up and just bless you in different ways. It’s not about you or satisfying yourself, but it's all about serving others.”

Being both a boss and blessing can be a lot of work, but Smith-Edmonds says she keeps her mind strengthened by the word of God. "I continuously saturate my mind with God's word, making sure that I stay focused on knowing that He's always here to make sure that I don’t fall, that I come out on top, and that He is ready to bless me exceedingly, abundantly above all that I could hope, ask or think! So, when those negative thoughts come in, I just cast them down and I begin to speak out loud God’s Word. To me, that's my biggest form of self-care: Strengthening My Mental Health," she declares.

So how would Smith-Edmonds describe her swagher? What makes Dr. Mya, Dr. Mya? “My heart, my dedication and commitment to the things of God; my willingness and desire to give. That's what makes me, me. That's basically it." Digging deeper, she explains, “The rest of it--the hard work and the being successful, that's easy for me. But I think that the core ingredients are those three things: my heart, me keeping God first in my life, and my desire to give… Those three things are why I am where I am today,...completely.”

Smith-Edmonds says she has many exciting things planned as we've moved into a new year. She will also be on the cover of more magazines soon. She is the Mistress of Ceremonies for an upcoming stage play Soul Purpose, which was awarded Stage Play of the Year. Soul Purpose is about five women from different walks of life who, after experiencing trials and tribulations, discover they can live out their soul purpose and overcome anything with faith in God and supporting each other. It will premiere in Houston, Texas, on March 5-6, 2022.

“What You Invest In Yourself, DIES With You. But What You INVEST In OTHERS, Has a CHANCE To LIVE ‘FOREVER!’ “

Dr. Mya Smith-Edmonds

The McDonald’s owner/operator is blessed to be a blessing and definitely is a Black woman to watch, as she is one of the most powerful and influential leaders of the present generation to grace the cover of SwagHer Magazine.