Ever since she was a young girl, owner of Array Hair Design, Jo Couper was mesmerised by the sights, smells and styles of the hairdressing salon.
"It's all I've ever, ever wanted to do," she says.
Her mother, who suffered hair loss due to an illness, would regularly visit the hairdresser to get her wig reset, and Jo never forgot the kindness of the staff or the look of happiness on her mother's face as they walked out.
"It's making people feel better and look better, and making a small difference in their lives. If they look better they also feel better about themselves."
According to Jo, It's this bond with her customers that makes the stress of owning a salon worthwhile.
Born and bred on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Jo completed her apprenticeship locally and worked for various salons before moving to the Sunshine Coast with her husband and young daughter.
They had barely landed when Jo fell in love with the hilltop village of Buderim, a picturesque township overlooking the ocean. Jo and her family made Buderim their new home and later, the site of her own hairdressing business.
Three years after relocating, Jo was blessed with another daughter. However, when her marriage ended, she was left to care for her daughters on her own and work fulltime.
She bought the salon, Array Hair Design, and dedicated herself to the long hours, working hard to support her family and build a business she says is, "stressful, but very satisfying".
Meanwhile, Jo's main source of happiness is her daughters, now 13 and 17, who she describes as confident, determined young women. Her voice fills with joy as she conveys how independent and capable they have become from having a working mother.
"That's my greatest achievement; my girls," she says.
When they are old enough to be out on their own, it's Jo's dream to operate her business independently so she can spend a year travelling across Australia with her partner, exploring as much country, coastline and city as possible.
"To hopefully have the staff keep it going and give the clients the same rewarding results as I have, then I can keep the salon while I travel," she says.
She also plans to keep up the holiday lifestyle when she returns by cutting her hectic schedule back to a four day week, allowing her to slow down and enjoy the profession she says is well and truly part of her.
"I think hairdressers love what they do because they make people happy. The clients are your family, your extended family, you watch each other's lives grow and it's a very special career."
