A dad who grew up on a 'tough' council estate and was mocked for wearing hand-me-downs is now a multi-millionaire, and he's explained how he made the big bucks.
Mark Harvey was so poor as a kid that he grew 'obsessed' with thinking of ways to make money.
Reflecting on his humble beginnings, Harvey said: "I grew up in a village in Leicestershire called Thornton on what was referred to as 'the estate' - which was completely separate from the rest of the village in so many ways.
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"You were from 'up the village' or 'down the estate.
"A lot of people didn't work and that was the environment I grew up in.
"There was violence too - people would beat each other up for no reason."
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Harvey lived with his parents and two older sisters, explaining: "My sisters always looked after me, but when you don't have much money, you have to rely on your siblings' hand-me-downs.
"I'd be wearing girls' jeans and trying to make them look like they were boys'."
Although his family always did their best for him, the future businessman dreamed of a better life.
Harvey said: "I always had a feeling inside there had to be more to life.
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"I'd even put vouchers and Monopoly money in my pockets when I went out to have that feeling of having cash in my pockets."
After a construction company he set up at the age of 19 was hit hard by the 2008 recession, Harvey took up a job at an IT company.
He soon became head of sales and then partner of the company.
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Harvey said: "That really was a game-changer for me.
"We did £3.5 million of sales in 18 months, turning round what had been a struggling company losing money every month.
"That's where I started to get into training people and realised that business is people - when I helped others to become better versions of themselves, the company won."
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In 2017, he began investing in property and had a portfolio worth £4.5 million within eighteen months.
Since then, his property firm, Harvey Property Solutions, has done £16 million in deals.
Harvey also has a firm called Real Life Group, which has companies across sectors including construction and training.
He wanted to create a business where people 'wanted to come to work'.
Harvey said: "Not everyone has to be a believer, but they should know they can create a life where they are comfortable enough and have the resources to deal with it when things get really tough.
"If I can do it with some of the things I've come up against, then many other people already have a head-start.
"I'm always drawn to people who need help and want to know whether they, deep down, want to help themselves."
Topics: Money
Ben Thompson