When Maxine Laceby started Absolute Collagen from her kitchen table aged 50, she didn’t know the business would take off to such stratospheric heights in just a few short years.

She didn’t know she’d be recognised in the street as “the Collagen Lady”, or win awards including the prestigious CEW Award (the Oscars of the beauty industry!), and an Everywomen award, create a brand beloved by thousands (including celebs!) or become a leading beauty entrepreneur known for trailblazing and empowering women everywhere.

She just knew her collagen supplement could help people - and that was where it all began.

For Maxine, helping people and showing kindness is key to the formation and success of Absolute Collagen - so today we’re taking a look at what this actually means.

Maxine’s Mantra: The Power of SIR

You may have heard Maxine mention treating people with the power of SIR before - but what does this mean?

Well, this is Maxine’s most important mantra, and guides all her business decisions. It means every Absoluter, and every AC team member, deserves to feel Safe, Important, and Respected. It means treating people as individuals, and respecting them and their needs, voices, feedback, and opinions.

From product development to marketing to customer service, every part of Absolute Collagen operates with this at its heart - and the flourishing community of Absoluters is testament to the success of this mantra.

Maxine on the Importance of Giving Back

For Maxine, kindness is inherent to her business practices - specifically, the kindness involved in giving back, and paying forward with her success and opportunities.

Maxine says: “For me, giving back is a duty born of the consequence of Absolute Collagen’s success - I see it as a moral duty. And giving back doesn’t mean just financially; it's also in terms of time and commitment to others.

For that reason, I’m particularly proud to support the Prince’s Trust - their work with young people, helping them make the most of their lives and achieve their full potential, is something that really resonates with me and is so close to my heart.”

As a patron of the Prince’s Trust, Maxine supports aspiring young entrepreneurs, and also recently hosted a Brilliant Breakfast event as part of the Trust’s ‘Women Supporting Women’ initiative, raising essential funds to support young women who have been disproportionately adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

A Quality We Can All Learn

Maxine is a big believer in the fact that anyone can learn to be more kind - and it’s the little things that really make a difference.

She says: “Looking at the word kindness, the meaning is ‘the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate’. A quality is something we can learn - and something we can always be improving at, too.

Friendly. It doesn’t take much to be friendly - a smile, a polite opening of a door, or a simple hello. All these things are gestures of friendliness - some of them are so simple that we do them without thinking about them at all, which is a lovely thing to realise! After being kept apart from one another for so long with lockdowns, I think these little friendly gestures are all the more wonderful now.

Generous. It’s not just about material things; generosity comes in many forms. It can be an act of giving someone your time, your attention, and reminding them that they matter. There are lots of ways we can be generous in our actions.

Considerate. For me, consideration is a big one - we have no idea what is going on in someone's life or head at any given time, so if someone appears vague, distant, not present or a tad rude, be the bigger person and give them the benefit of just having a bad day. (And if they're rude twice, then give them a wide berth and apply your precious energy to someone more worthy, knowing that it’s not your problem.)

This World Kindness Day, I’m proud to share the importance of kindness in business and beyond, and I hope you’ll join me in working for a kinder future together!”

Learn more about the work of the Prince’s Trust.

Learn more about what Maxine’s been up to in her monthly roundups.