After earning his bachelor's degree, he worked for AlliedSignal Aerospace Company in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1980s.
In 1990, he returned to South Dakota State University to serve as the assistant athletic director.
He served as the executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association from 1996 to 2007, resigning to pursue a career as a full-time public speaker.
Smith is also the author of several books, including The Richest Man in Town, the biography of a Walmart employee in Brookings, South Dakota.
As a public speaker, Smith frequently tours the United States to perform speeches at schools.