A determined Aussie has revealed how she bought her first home at just 18 during a housing crisis and launched a million-dollar business idea all before turning 21.
Chloe Isabella Hardy has always been extremely hardworking and she started working at 13 in retail and hospitality.
In her later teens, she got into modelling to maximise her income and buy her first home, all before turning 18.
“I just always knew that I wanted to earn money and work and save, and I have saved every single dollar I could,” she told news.com.au.
“I’m also very lucky because of my parents I’m very lucky to have them behind me.”
Ms Hardy bought her first property with her brother, in Broadbeach Queensland, in 2022.
The median house price in the area is now over $1.1 million.
“I bought it with my brother and we really wanted to buy because my parents were constantly telling me that we need property and it is the number one investment we should make and it is really important,” she said.
“I saved every dollar and I was also working as a make-up artist and I did modelling. I did anything I could to get my hands on some money.”
MORE: Home loan trap taking years to escape
Ms Hardy said that the pair paid $1.1 million for an duplux that she now has family members living in.
“The actual deposit was my money and my brother’s money but my parents paid for the stamp duty because we were not eligible for the first homebuyer’s scheme,” she said.
First home buyers in Queensland to qualify for a full stamp duty exemption must buy a property for under $1 million on a new build.
For established homes you can receive stamp duty concessions but the property has to be valued for under $800,000.
Ms Hardy later continued to work hard and bought another property this time a red-brick in desperate need of a renovation in Broadbeach when she was 20.
MORE:‘Risk’: Renos that devalue Aus homes by $36k
When you’re as motivated to succeed as Ms Hardy and already have a mortgage you certainly understand the value of a dollar and that was actually what gave her inspiration for her business Dupes and Co.
She launched the fragrance brand in 2025 because she wanted to create luxury fragrances at affordable prices.
Ms Hardy said the idea came to her when she was travelling internationally and her luggage was too heavy, she ended up having throw-out a premium perfume that she was gifted that retails at $900.
“I had to throw it and I was bawling my eyes out at the airport,” she said.
Even though she was gifted the item throwing out a $900 perfume sucked and it made her wonder why there weren’t more affordable options considering ever young woman she knows is obsessed with scents.
“I had look at the Australian market and a lot of the perfumes are made overseas and I wanted to create something that was made in Australia and I wanted them to be 100ml bottles,” she said.
The idea was simple but clever and the business has managed to drive $1 million in revenue in the first 12 months.
Ms Hardy said she does not shy away from the fact she has launched a dupe brand, where you can buy more affordable versions of iconic scents.
The 21-year-old became an adult in the middle of the cost of living crisis, and she’s noticed that Gen Z aren’t as obsessed by labels as Millennials are.
“Everyone just loves dupes,” she said.
“It funny because dupes used to be a scary term for people, like if you shopped at Kmart it was embarrassing, especially middle-aged women they couldn’t wrap their heads around it.”
The young business owner pointed out there’s less stigma around buying dupes now because everyone needs to save where they can.
“I think my generation is proud to shop the dupe because people don’t have a choice anymore and you feel like you’re betraying yourself if you’re wasting money,” she said.
Ms Hardy said young people are more conscious about spending then previous generations because they’re truly worried about their financial future.
“The rental crisis and the housing crisis has meant that (spending lots of money) just isn’t an option for people and I wanted to create genuinely good products for the Aussie community to indulge in,” she said.
“I think my generation is proud to shop the dupe. Everyone is honestly so supportive.”
She admitted she isn’t sure how much it costs to start the business; at a certain point, she lost track, but she has invested a lot.
The 21-year-old said she has always invested heavily in advertising and sometimes spends over $100,000 a month on marketing.
“You can’t compete if you don’t constantly have marketing and it is a beast,” she explained.
Nevertheless the strategy has worked and the young business owner said her simple idea has become incredibly successful and customers have “gone crazy” for it.
“It has been blowing up and it is exciting and stressful,” she said.
Alongside the success, she’s also mixed things up. Dupes and Co is primarily an online business, but she’s also run pop-ups to connect with customers in person.
She’s done four in Australia, gone international, and even doing a pop-up in Las Vegas, America – next week.
She was certainly onto something with Dupes and Co, and her idea that Gen Z aren’t just brand-motivated because the business is going gangbusters.
She also doesn’t aim to be a sellout brand. The business had massive days late last year on traditional sale days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but she worked hard to keep quantities in stock. Although a few did sell out.
In general, though, she wants her brand to feel accessible, easy, and reliable, and the customers love it.
Ms Hardy said that often, she’s so busy with the day-to-day that she forgets to acknowledge the wins.
“I have said it so many times to my team, ‘Can we just sit down and talk about the fact we have done $1 million in revenue?” she said.
“It is honestly insane to wrap my head around, and I feel so proud of everything.”