Terrand Smith has started, grew, managed and renewed businesses for more than 12 years, and her vast range of experiences has allowed her to touch every aspect of operating a productive business. She was intrapreneurial at CVS/ Caremark, Sears Holdings, 7-Eleven and Steelcase in managing categories by procuring products; effectively marketing and merchandising; establishing pricing; launching innovative businesses models and streamlining inefficiencies all while meeting business metrics and budgets. Combined, she managed categories for over 15,000 retail outlets; $700 million in sales; thousands of skus and hundreds of vendor partners. She has learned what levers to pull, and when to pull them, in order to propel a business forward.

She then decided to take more of a risk and become entrepreneurial by co-founding a business in which she played to her strengths as Chief Operation Officer. This echoed much of what was done in her corporate jobs, but without many of the same resources. Her Bachelors of Science in Business and Entrepreneurial Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park (GO TERPS!!!), and her MBA from Providence College in Strategic Marketing set a strong foundation for her career in managing successful businesses.

While at a crossroad of leaving the start up she co-founded or going back to a corporate career, she decided to follow a passion she toyed with for years. How can she use her expertise and experience to help retail businesses succeed.

You can now find Terrand following her passion of helping take businesses from problem to profit. Focal Point is a consulting company that specializes in helping retail businesses succeed.

When she’s not streamlining operational processes or identifying new business models, you can find her enjoying a marshmallow campfire, attending a local Chicago theater or answering the question “why” for the eleventy-bajillionth time. Follow her on Twitter or connect on Linked In.