The First Million Is Always The Hardest
The First Million Is Always The Hardest podcast is your introduction to the mindset and mechanics behind success. In this podcast, host Bo Kemp breaks down why the first million —whether in dollars, impact, or purpose — is always the hardest milestone to achieve.
The First Million Is Always The Hardest
Rebuilding Community & Legacy: Bonita Harrison’s Path to Purpose
Video Format https://youtu.be/-zrbQImTayk
In this episode, host Bo Kemp interviews trailblazing developer Bonita Harrison, the powerhouse behind Sunshine Management, whose mission-driven work is transforming communities, restoring generational wealth, and rewriting the narrative around development in Chicago.
Bonita shares her remarkable journey — from being discouraged by her entrepreneurial family to pursue business ownership, to walking away from a brief corporate career to follow her calling: revitalizing neighborhoods like North Lawndale and West Woodlawn with dignity, inclusion, and long-term vision.
Together, Bo and Bonita unpack how she led the revitalization of 100+ properties, creating 300 jobs for people of color, returning citizens, and women entrepreneurs. her leadership in the “Buy Back the Block” initiative, a nationally recognized effort to preserve Black culture and prevent displacement, and why building for the “missing middle” in housing is critical to urban revitalization — and what most developers overlook.
Featured in Essence, Crain’s, Chicago Sun-Times, and on major national networks, Bonita’s story is a masterclass in purpose-driven leadership and community-based development that’s as personal as it is powerful. This is an episode for builders, dreamers, and anyone committed to changing the game — and the neighborhood.