‘Everyone thought we were nuts’: Woman’s idea that turned into a multimillion-dollar success

A clever Aussie has revealed the simple idea she came up with while working in a salon that is now making her millions.

Jose Bryce Smith was running a hair salon when she risked $80,000 to back her own simple but innovative idea.

Back in 2007, Ms Bryce-Smith conceived the idea to launch Original & Mineral, a haircare line that focused on using natural ingredients instead of chemicals.

The 50-year-old said even though $80,000 was a staggering amount back in 2007 she always knew what she could afford to spend.

“Although $80K was a lot in the early 2000s, we had a good business, our hair salon! So if we did lose it, we knew we could make it back,” she told news.com.au.

“We believed in the product.”

Jose Bryce Smith was running a hair salon when she risked $80,000 to back her own simple but innovative idea. Picture: Supplied

She said when the brand started everyone “thought we were nuts”. Picture: Supplied

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Ms Bryce-Smith might have been sure about her plan, but not everyone else was sold on the idea.

“Everyone thought we were nuts,” she said.

“Some people told me to get a proper job, since I’d had a career in advertising in the UK, and for many years I earned no money doing O&M.”

She also found it hard to get people to believe in the product because many claimed it wasn’t possible to make hair products without ammonia.

There was one person though who completely supported her even when she wasn’t making a wage from the bold idea.

“My mum always had an unwavering belief in me and my ability to do anything.” she said.

“I’ve never been afraid to back myself, I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? You fail. I’ve done a lot of that, and I learned a lot from it, which set me up for success.”

Ms Bryce-Smith said her mother has always supported her. Picture: Supplied

She advised you have to chose the right people when you’re running a business. Picture: Supplied

The fact that Ms Bryce-Smith always believed in herself and the brand turned out to be a winning recipe.

Original & Mineral is now stocked at over 50,000 salons globally and a product sells every 8 seconds.

That doesn’t mean the success didn’t come without failure along the way. Looking back, she can see the mistakes she made.

“I think one of the biggest mistakes was choosing the wrong people, letting people pick me instead of me picking them,” she said.

“Starting a business is a very entrepreneurial mission, and the lows are not for everyone. There’s a lot of pivoting and problem-solving.”

She said customers embraced the brand even more after the pandemic. Picture: TikTok/originalmineral

The brand is now worth millions. Picture: Supplied

There has been so much success along over the years, but Ms Bryce-Smith is still buzzing about launching their hair colouring product a decade ago.

“We cracked the formula in 2015,” she said.

What makes the product special is that it doesn’t smell and there are no fumes. As Aussies have come to care more about wellness and health, the product has grown in popularity and really took off during the pandemic.

The success has led to the brand growing even further, and now there are over 50 people working in the head office in Sydney.

The annual turnover is in the tens of millions and has grown four times the size in the last few years, with the business continuing to scale up.

Most importantly though, Ms Bryce-Smith is proud of what she’s created and still believes in what she’s doing.

“It was never about the size and growth (that is) a by-product of doing what you love,” she said.