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For 38-year-old Justin Herald, the journey to wealth began one Sunday morning at a church in Sydney, when he had a quarrel with one of the churchgoers.
"You have an attitude problem," she told him.
The accusation sparked something in him, and the then-25-year-old borrowed $ 50 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 $ 50 I ever spent," laughs Herald. By the end of the morning he'd sold three of the four T-shirts. With the money, he had another six printed, then 12, then 24. "That first year the turnover was $ 980, 000," he says.
His business, Attitude Inc, is now a multi-million dollar concern with a wide range of products selling in 3,500 stores across Australia. His success was due to clever marketing—the public loved the slogans—but also, he admits, luck. In those days there was very little competition in his sector of the clothing industry, and he was in the right place at the right time.
The media spotlight also helped, with people picking up on 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 person behind the product. They really did support me as an individual as well as the brand," he says.
Herald sold the business three years ago, by which time it was turning over $ 30 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."
Money has meant he has been able to enjoy his other passion—fast cars—but essentially he says he's the same person he's always been. "Time and freedom and choice are more valuable than having a lot of money in the bank," he says.