People ask me all the time, “Denise, how long does it really take to make a million dollars?”

For me, the magic number was five years.

Five years from starting my business to pushing over the threshold of $1 million in annual revenue.

But that’s not the whole story.

Because truthfully, I was waiting in the wings for years before starting my business. Listening and learning – gathering all the information I needed to be successful.

I didn’t wake up one day and think, “I’m going to make a million dollars!” and then five years to the day later had a huge check in my hands.

But maybe that could be your journey.

Today on the Chill and Prosper podcast, I share the struggles I faced when scaling my business, from my first try at nine years old to everything I have today.

Black Women Leaders: Navigating the Intersection of Gender and Race