A Day In The Life of Absolute Collagen Founder, Maxine Laceby

I started Absolute Collagen at my kitchen table when I was 50 years old, going from full-time mum to a beauty entrepreneur in just one short year.

That ‘kitchen table’ mindset is still prevalent in the business today. My team and I run everything directly from my house...working with you from the moment you place your order to the minute it lands on your doorstep. Customer service is at the core of what we do, and I treat every customer as I would like to be treated myself.

My core values run through the business like a rod. Every person, whether they are a customer or they work on my team, needs to feel three things: safe, important and respected.

Here is what it’s like behind the scenes at Absolute Collagen HQ:

The day starts off bright and early at 7 am, when my daughter, Darcy, joins me in my bedroom with her laptop and we run through the day's schedule.

I then take the 6 or so steps to my lounge (well, what used to be my lounge- it’s now the main packing area for Absolute Collagen!). I check through my emails, social media, and the website to respond to any messages and emails.

To the surprise of many, I directly respond to a lot of customer queries. There are no automatic answering machines or sales reps - if you phone Absolute Collagen, you get through to me and my team. That's the reason you will not find Absolute Collagen in any shops. I want to be in contact with my #Absoluters and hear what they have to say.

I wholeheartedly care about making sure every customer feels valued and helping them out with any issues or questions they may have. Personal customer service and wonderful products are what make us stand out from the crowd.

Another amazing thing about Absolute Collagen is that the business is a family affair. By my side, I have my two outstanding daughters, Darcy, as I have mentioned above, and Margot.

Darcy is Head of Operations and makes sure everything is running smoothly. She’s my ultimate side-kick in the business-development world and heads-up the logistics and manufacturing side of Absolute Collagen. Margot is our Fulfilment Officer. She’s in charge of packing the orders, so you can bet that your daily dose has been packed by Margot herself.

The rest of the team is made up of Charlotte and Katy. Katy is our very own social butterfly and responds to all your social media queries. Charlotte is based at HQ and is our customer service expert and Brad is our website developer and looks after all things tech. Our motto in the office is "keep calm and ask Brad!"

There’s also Rosie, the family dog who loves lunchtime runs, which is also my time to think. After taking her out, it’s back to the lounge/office.

Throughout the day, I’ll consult with the printers and branding company to make sure everything is going smoothly regarding future orders. I’ll end each evening by reading what our amazing #Absoluters have to say about their daily dose and skincare ritual.

From mum to beauty entrepreneur:

Making this transition from mum to beauty entrepreneur has changed my life dramatically, but every skill I need as a CEO I learned from being a mum: Patience, flexibility, organisation, and, most importantly, taking risks.

Since starting Absolute Collagen, I've also decided to re-write the rulebook and completely eradicate two words from my vocabulary, office, and business life (as well as encouraged my team and daughters to do the same): the words 'wrong' and 'mistake' no longer exist.

Instead, I now call these missteps. If I had not made some missteps along the way I would not be who or where I am today and Absolute Collagen would certainly not be the million-pound business it is today.

I find myself a beauty entrepreneur purely by default. I started Absolute Collagen simply because it works. I wanted to bring affordable beauty to everyone, and show them that they can be the best version of themselves. But the most rewarding thing about creating Absolute Collagen and the success we are having showing my two girls that ANYTHING is possible, YOU just have to make it happen!

Shop Absolute Collagen here.