Maxine Laceby is the founder of Absolute Collagen. A full time mum until last year, Absolute Collagen is her first business and already is standing out in the beauty world due to its striking branding and the results its customers are seeing.

Maxine started Absolute Collagen from her kitchen table after researching the benefits of collagen as she approached 50, and started boiling up chicken feet and pigs trotters in her kitchen (to the horror of her children) and seeing her skin, hair, complexion and nails transform. At 50, with her children growing up, Absolute Collagen was born (and produced by a proper manufacturer).

Describe a typical day for you?

Well, I have just hung up my school run keys and boy am I happy about that. My day always starts with fresh coffee and brazil nuts around 7, checking emails, social media and website. I then walk/run with the dog. Respond to emails and calls etc, make sure all orders have gone out. Deal with any paperwork relating to AC or one of my properties as I have 3 bungalows I completely gutted, all are rented out and up for sale as I need money to invest in AC. So it’ll be around lunchtime now and I’ll make beds, tidy house, empty bins etc. Grab lunch, have a catch up with my brand managers Jayne and Katy, speak to any salons I am in touch with or catch up with any trials I am currently running.

So I guess it’ll be around 2 pm now, put a wash in the washing machine, empty dishwasher and back to desk to ensure everything is dealt with, speak to digital marketing company, branding company, printers etc. As I have no school run my working day is really long which is perfect for now.

My youngest daughter Margot (17) gets home around 4.30 and we’ll catch up. Dinner is usually a Caesar salad or something quick and light, then back to my desk. My day will end with a final social media catch up to discover as usual that I’ve missed a friend’s birthday. And finally zzzzzzzz.

What do you feel are your biggest achievements?

Aside from my two amazingly capable girls and all the years I was dedicated to being a full time mother to them, finally believing in myself and starting a business aged 50. Absolute Collagen came about as I got older, got divorced and realised I had to own what I put into my body and also who I was. When I started researching collagen and extracting it, my children thought I was mad, but fast forward a few months and I realised I had a business. More research led me to hydrolysed marine collagen and proper manufacturers.

What’s in your handbag/ satchel?

Toothpicks are an obsession of mine. There’s also a protein bar which has been there forever, iPhone, photo of my girls in the back of the iPhone case, lipstick which I forget to put on, sunglasses which I never wear, purse, receipt for some brazil nuts,and chewing gum-terrible habit but I love fresh breath.

What are your ambitions in life?

To never stop learning and to go through life with my eyes wide open and to be on full alert. And now that my children are reaching adulthood, my ambition is to make Absolute Collagen a global leader in the growing market for collagen supplements and drinks.

What do you wish you’d known at the start of your career you now know?

Ask me in 5 years as I think this is the start of my career.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Encouraging women to tune in to themselves, we have every skill needed for any job we just don’t know it.

What advice would you give a budding beauty entrepreneur?

Own who you are, be kind, be thoughtful, show respect to others and to yourself and never try to fool another woman.

What do you wish you’d known about motherhood before having kids?

That one day I would become their public enemy number one but that it’s not the end of the world. All kids go through phases of rallying against their parents… And that they do come back!

Finally, happiness is…

The now, the present, this exact moment, it’s no dress rehearsal.