Ever wondered how you become a millionaire? Reader's Digest uncovers the secrets behind becoming successful from three entrepreneurs who took a risk, explored their passions and yes — made a million and more…

When you think 'millionaire', what image comes to mind? For many of us, it's a flashy '80s entrepreneur who flies a private jet and lives the kind of decadent lifestyle that most of us can only dream about.

But many modern millionaires live in middle-class neighbourhoods, go to work and shop in discount stores like the rest of us. What motivates them isn't material possessions but the choices that money can bring.

"For the rich, it's not about getting more stuff. It's about having the freedom to make almost any decision you want," says T. Harv Eker, author of 'Secrets of the Millionaire Mind'.

Wealth means you can send your child to any school or leave a job you don't like.

Living the good life?

According to the 2008 World Wealth Report, more people are living the good life than ever before. The number of South Africans worth more than R7.8-million has grown from 48 000 in 2006 to 55 000 in 2007.

This 13.9 percent increase in millionaires, worth over R7-million was well ahead of the six percent world average increase.

If more people are getting richer, why shouldn't you be one? Here, four people who have millions in liquid assets share some of their secrets.

No guts, no glory

Many of us dream of becoming our own boss but rarely spot an opportunity to do so, and this desire is what prompted Annah Stretton (48) to take a risk.

Twenty years ago, Stretton was working as a product sourcer for a clothing company. She flew around the world, spotted fashion trends, brought samples back to her home in New Zealand, and sold redesigned replicas in bulk to department stores.

"I was really good at it," she says. "I knew how to pick styles and wheel and deal."

Then when the opportunity arose, Stretton decided to set up her own wholesale clothing business. She converted buildings on her family's Tatuanui farm and took out a bank overdraft. Stretton then got busy contacting business connections and, before long, started to get orders — her first being for 20 000 dresses.

"It was a hell of a task for one woman sitting on a farm," says Stretton. "But I never doubted I could do it."

There were times when Stretton couldn’t make her monthly payments, but she communicated with her creditors, telling them when she'd have the money: "I was very upfront with them." By the end of its first year, Stretton Clothing Company had turned over R5.2-million. Stretton was too consumed with the business to enjoy her success. She worked hard, driving around in her Mitsubishi L300, sourcing fabric and visiting customers.

But as the Asian import market started to grow, many of the big retailers began buying through their parent companies rather than independently for the New Zealand market.

"I wasn’t prepared to follow the same path," she says.

To strengthen her business, she broadened her product line and launched a boutique-collection line of clothing, Sam & Libby. Stores were paying a wholesale price of about R200 a garment and selling them for about R1000. Eventually, Stretton decided to open her own boutique.

Within two years, she had seven stores. Today, there are 32 Annah S. and Annah Stretton stores in New Zealand, her company exports to around 150 boutiques throughout the world and generates over R50-million revenue a year.

As her business grew, so did Stretton’s public profile; she started writing a monthly column in 'Her Business' magazine. One day, the editor emailed saying the future of the magazine was uncertain, cheekily adding, "you don't want to buy it, do you?" Stretton made the snap decision to do precisely that.

Today, the mother of two runs both of the companies, is heavily involved in charity fundraising and mentors women on how to succeed in business.

Stretton's top tip: "If you don't love what you are doing — get out and find something you do!"

Passion pays off

For 38-year-old Justin Herald, the journey to wealth started one Sunday at church, when he had a run-in with a member of the congregation.

"You have an attitude problem," she told him.

This sparked something: the cheeky Australian then borrowed the equivalent of R65 from his brother to have four T-shirts printed with the slogans: 'I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem' and 'When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you'.

"It was the best money I ever spent," Herald says with a laugh. By the end of the morning he'd sold three of the shirts. With the money he made he had another six printed, then 12, then 24.

"That first year the turnover was R6.4-million," he says.

His business, Attitude Inc, is now a multimillion-rand concern with a wide range of products selling in 3500 stores across Australia. His success was due to clever marketing — the public loved the slogans — but also, he admits, lucky timing.

In those days there was very little competition in his sector of the clothing industry.

The media spotlight also helped, with people taking to Herald's likeable personality and infectious passion for his business: the night of one TV appearance, 187 stores rang to get his products into their shops.

"The consumer liked the bloke behind the product. They really did support me as well as the brand," he says.

Herald sold the business three years ago, by which time it was turning over R190-million a year, and now spends his time as a motivational speaker. His message: anyone can be financially successful if they set their mind to it.

"You have to have a lot of stick-ability — not everything is going to work the way you plan it."

Still living in a middle-class Sydney suburb with his wife and two children, Herald thinks too many successful people become caught up on the trappings of wealth.

"I've lived here since I left school at 16," he says. "In this area, you don't forget where you came from."

Money lets him indulge his other passion — fast cars — but essentially hasn't changed him.

"Time and freedom and choice are more valuable than having a lot of money in the bank," he says.

Set your sights

When he was 19, Rick Martin hardly seemed on the road to wealth. After leaving school at 15, the New Zealander spent the next years changing jobs. He worked as a deck hand and a welder. Eventually Martin got a job labouring on building sites — and he loved it.

But thinking like a millionaire is crucial to becoming one. In 1991, he saw a block of land for sale in Auckland and it sparked an idea. By going into partnership with a friend, he raised enough money to buy the land and build a block of factory shops on it. It was the first of many land sites he would go on to develop, and by the age of 35, he had made his first million.

What counts most, he says, is mindset: "You have to be willing to take risks. When I have an idea, I follow it through — I focus on the start and the finish. Your idea doesn't have to be brilliant; you just have to be committed to seeing it through."

Martin has experienced major disappointments in his career, including a failed plan for a high-rise building.

"I spent R2.4-million of my own money, issued a prospectus, but it wasn't right. I saw it wasn't working and canned it."

Today, after 17 years in property development, he is the founder of the Cornerstone Group, which turns over approximately R690-million a year and whose portfolio includes the Nautilus Building in Orewa.

But despite an impressive bank balance, Martin is unaffected by his success. He has lived in the same house for 13 years, in the same area where he grew up, and his kids go to the same school he did.

"My fundamentals haven't changed. You can’t put a price on good friends and family, and that's who you need to surround yourself with."

The biggest secret?

Stop spending. Every millionaire we spoke to has one thing in common: not a single one spends needlessly. Ray Scicluna still takes home shampoo samples from hotels and buys his T-shirts from chain stores.

Annah Stretton recycles every piece of paper and always prints on both sides.

It's not a fluke: Wealth Benchmarks' research shows that most millionaires said they were prudent and below average spenders.

"It's never too late to get on top of your finances," says Doug Turek, the research project's founder and managing director of Professional Wealth.

South Africa millionaire facts

Two South African families are listed in 'Forbes' magazine's 2008 list of richest people in the world — the Oppenheimers at R44.1-billion and the Ruperts at R29.4-billion, followed by mining magnate Patrice Motsepe at R18.5-billion.

The number one driver of wealth is time — for savings to accumulate and investments to compound.

Many careers pathways can lead to wealth. The rich include entrepreneurs, executives, business owners, partners in professional firms and medical specialists.

Divorce can permanently impair long-term wealth by about 25 percent.

Blips in the property market and other economic downturns are unlikely to stop the long-term wealth building of most people.

Wealth doesn't equal happiness, but people without debts seem to be less unhappy.

Courtesy Wealth Benchmarks