[1][2] In 1947, Smith's father helped him start his own pharmaceutical firm, Physicians Products Company Inc.
[1] In the late 1960s, Smith briefly owned the Triangle Dodge auto dealership and was executive secretary of the Virginia Pharmaceutical Association.
He served as senior vice president and became general manager of the pharmaceutical division in 1976 and later retired in January 1982.
He served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Petersburg, Prince George and Dinwiddie counties, from 1952 to 1973.
The Coalition supported Mills Godwin, John N. Dalton and Chuck Robb for Virginia governor.
[1] In 1982, Smith and Godwin were co-chairmen of a steering committee for Paul S. Trible Jr.'s senate bid.