From a young girl in foster care who really didn't like school, to a hair salon owner at the age of 25, Canberra's Jenn McGrath is the epitome of determination and resilience.
Not only has she this week opened the new salon Hip in the Westfield Woden shopping centre, she is also focused on helping other young people - especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds - break into the hair industry.
A single mum to four-year-old Alice, Jenn originally had dreams of becoming a physiotherapist, but didn't like school.
So she got her first job in a hair salon eight years ago and hasn't looked back.
"I started my apprenticeship and just fell in love with it," she said.
After working at Moe and Co at South.Point in Tuggeranong and Gungahlin and doing hair from home, she opens Hip in Woden on Friday, a co-owner of the salon and its public face.
Still close to her biological mum, Jenn grew up with foster families and wants to use the Hip salon as a place where young people might get their first job in the industry, especially those who might need an extra helping hand.
"The goal is to inspire young people to join the industry because there is a shortage of hairdressers not only in Canberra but nationwide," she said.
"It's more so inspiring disadvantaged kids to come into the industry because for myself, I come from the foster care system. I was very lucky to be around the people I was around and to get into the position I'm in now. I was lucky I had the support around me that I had at the time."
Apart from her biological and foster families, she counts Canberra hairdresser Amy Clare "Clarey" Holder as a major source of support and guidance.
"I genuinely believe I wouldn't be the person I am today without Amy's support," she said.
Amy said of Jenn: "She's an incredible person".
It's given Jenn the confidence to branch out into a salon.
"It feels bit surreal," she said.
"It's scary but it's also fun, like it's exciting. Every day can be different. You get different people who come in but I think it's just being able to talk to everyone who comes in and have a conversation with different people from different walks of life, it's really nice.
"And then for people to leave with fabulous hair, feeling good about themselves."
Jenn said she was inspired by her daughter Alice to succeed in the industry.
"I think you need determination and the right support but also knowing why you're doing what you're doing," she said.
"If you don't have a 'why' then when the bad days come, you don't have something to fall back on and think, 'Why the hell am I doing this?'.
"The reason why I'm doing it is I've got my daughter and I want to show her that, 'We've got this. If I can do this, you can too'."
And what would she say to her younger self? "You did it. Good job. Keep going, there's more to come - Bentleys and Birkins baby," she said, with a laugh.
- Hip salon is on Level 2 of Westfield Woden. It is open seven days a week with Friday nights open until 9pm.
