This year has been one of celebrations for Jaye Edwards. As the owner and founder of hair salon EdwardsAndCo (as well as EdwardsAndCo Education and his own brand of styling products, Jaye Haircare) Edwards has spent the past 12 months honouring the 10th anniversary of his business. When he started out back in 2013, he was off the back of a failed business venture which almost led him to give up altogether. But he chose to persist and fast-forward to today, Edwards has nine thriving salons, with the most recent one located in Prahran, Melbourne (which was the venue for the salon’s 10th birthday party in August, sponsored by O&M). 

Even if you don’t know Edwards, you probably know his signature look: a seamless blend of colour which is all about “future-proofing” your hair. At 34, he continues to find ways to innovate, and while he says his next phase is all about appreciating what he has, we have a feeling he’s not about to slow down…

Take us back 10 years ago—what was your original vision for EdwardsAndCo?
So when I opened the first salon, I kind of did it out of, not desperation, but default. I had bought into a salon with no contracts and lost all my money, so I had to scramble to figure out what to do. I got five credit cards and I opened the first EdwardsAndCo in 2013. When I opened it, I wanted to have a creative space where me and my friends could create beautiful hair. I never really had the dream of opening multiple locations!

Did you have goals or a plan for what you wanted to do? Or did you go with the flow?
Initially, I never had goals or plans. But in the last two years, I have been really focused on a growth plan. I think that it’s easy to lose sight of what you have if you keep growing too fast. So I think my goal right now is to really appreciate what I have, and improve what I have, rather than continue expanding.

What guidance did you have in your early years to get started? Did you have a mentor?
I think that people do a lot of talking about what they want to do and what they want to achieve, when they should just go and do it. People procrastinate on an idea and then get the opinions of 10 different people and they all clash. So I think: go and do it, and if you fuck it up, you fuck it up. You just try again!

I’d love to know what inspires you, 10 years on.
I get so much inspiration from travel. When I can’t travel is when I’m least happy. And I’m lucky enough to be able to travel the world with my job and teach my seminars [for educational platform EdwardsAndCo Education]. Going to beautiful places and seeing the world is what keeps me inspired.

Lastly, what advice would you give to another entrepreneur that wanted to make it to 10 year in business?
I think the biggest piece of advice is just keep going. There are so many times that so many things I’ve done have failed, but you really can’t be too hard on yourself. As long as you treat people well and you support those who help you, then you’ll be able to grow.