From council estate to Dubai: millionaire shares five rules for success

A self-made multimillionaire has revealed the five simple rules that helped him amass his vast wealth.

Dr Byron Cole, an award-winning entrepreneur, author, keynote speaker and investor, penned the Sunday Times best-selling book 'Rich Forever: What They Didn't Teach You about Money, Finance and Investments in School' alongside his wife Bianca Miller-Cole.

Hailing from north-west London, Byron was raised on one of Europe's largest council estates and built his business empire from scratch. During an appearance on the Savvy Wallet podcast, Byron shared that he attended a local school in Edgware where he failed his GCSEs.

However, after his mum relocated to south east London, he enrolled in college and began to 'excel'. On the podcast, he said: "I started to excel a little bit and understand how I learn as an individual. I went to university. I went to Greenwich University to study business and economics."

He continued: "In school, I was always like a bit of a hustler. I would buy sweets from the local shops and sell them in school.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

Byron would also sell CDs and clothes on eBay to earn money, which he described as "his first experience of entrepreneurship".

He further added: "Then I went to university and I got into property very early on. I was obsessed with a show called Homes Under the Hammer."

This early foray into property laid the foundation for a successful career as an entrepreneur and investor, helping him accumulate his millions.

In a recent podcast, Byron, a successful entrepreneur, shared some of his top tips for success in life and business.

Despite living in a plush pad and driving a Bentley to the recording, he revealed that he keeps his overheads low and doesn't splash out on luxury items. He said: "I know people are going to think I'm crazy that I know me. I don't, I don't have high overheads to live. And I know it sounds crazy because I have like luxury cars."

I have a beautiful home with a swimming pool and blah, blah, blah.

But like, because I've cashed out on most stuff, I don't have high overheads. So it's like, I don't need that much money to survive in a month.

Your mortgage is more than mine. You know what I mean?

"He added: "And unless your bank account is spilling over, and even the most, I see people all the time, they make a lot of money fast and then lose it fast because they just overspend.

Right. And for me, like, I don't have any, like, it sounds kind of, as I'm saying, I know people like, I don't spend like that much on anything like, I don't go shopping.

"You are not going to catch me in Louis Vuitton."

"One of his key pieces of advice was to be prepared to put in the hard graft required to become a millionaire. It might sound obvious, but it's a crucial part of the journey to success.He explained: "Next thing you need to think about when you're talking about being a successful entrepreneur is the unwavering commitment, drive, determination that you require in order to be successful. because it's not going to be easy.

"Form partnerships for successCharting the entrepreneurial path solo isn't something Byron advocates. Sharing his experience on climbing the financial ladder, he advised budding entrepreneurs to pair up with someone who can contribute positively to their venture, be it a savvy business partner or a clued-up mentor ready to guide them through.Byron emphasisied: "Next thing I'll say, look, you need to get someone. If you can solve your problem with someone, you're winning.

Whether you call that your network, whether you call that your mentor, whatever you call that. If you can solve your problem with someone helping you, it just saves the pain.

It takes too long to learn it. "Risk Management is KeyMaking a splash as a big-time player in the business field often involves daring moves, but Byron underscored the importance of strategic risk-taking. He's keen on assessing potential gains and consequences before diving into any business venture headfirst.His approach to risk comes from experience: "I don't think I'm a high risk taker anymore.

I don't think I was that high risk before. I was calculated risk.

"He continued with a realistic take on failure and resilience: "Also, when you look at it, it's like, what's the worst that can happen?

Like, what is the worst thing that can happen?

When you go to zero. You can get a job.

True. If you're living at home with mom, and you've got no bills, first of all.

""You're finding the money every month to pay for these things. So what's the worst that can happen is go and get a job.

That's the worst thing that can happen. "In a recent podcast, Byron illuminated the concept of scalability in business with his insightful nuggets of advice. His primary takeaway was about ensuring your business model has the potential to expand without constant personal oversight. "Is it scalable?

First of all, is it scalable without you?

It's very important that I have found for the businesses that I've done, that have done late six figures, seven figures and above.

"Byron then emphasised the significance of addressing an urgent need within the market to encourage swift business growth. He explained, "And I always say, when you're looking at the pain point of a business, how urgent do you need this service?

If the urgency is high, fantastic. It's so scalable and quickly scalable because when somebody comes and lands on it, when you're doing ads that is, when somebody comes and looking for it, it's urgent, they need it.

Like a plumber or a locksmith, the need is there, it's now. So that helped me scale my first business.

"He wrapped up by driving home the point, "So if you can find a scalable business that can be scaled without you, tick box number one. ".