Dr. Ebbie Parsons had a negative $300,000 net worth, a three-month-old baby, and a half-million-dollar salary when he asked his wife: "Can I quit and start my own business?" Her answer changed everything.

Ebbie's story traces from growing up in majority-Black Detroit where he learned relationship-building from his father, to walking away from corporate success to build Yardstick Management into a nationally recognized consulting firm. He takes us through the early struggles—including a fraudulent contractor who nearly destroyed everything—and the strategic decisions that led to an 8-figure exit.

We explore what it really means to build generational wealth, from sacrificing sleep and health while refusing to compromise on family time, to the emotional complexity of selling what his wife called "their baby." Ebbie reveals why he chose to build in public long before it was trendy, how authenticity became his competitive advantage, and the moment he decided to spend $300,000 competing directly with McKinsey.

Key topics:

• The difference between being rich versus wealthy
• Building relationships as your greatest business asset
• Why he never hired employees for the first six years
• Creating multiple revenue streams for business resilience
• The real cost of entrepreneurial success on health and family
• How growing up seeing Black excellence shaped his confidence
• What "enough" actually looks like—and when to walk away

This conversation challenges assumptions about work-life balance and reveals why building generational wealth requires sacrifices most people aren't willing to make.