Founder of Skin Woof, Ben May, 28 from Haslemere, shares how his illness inspired him to quit his corporate job and launch his own health supplement business which is now stocked nationwide.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

There were a number of things that inspired me to launch Skin Woof. When I was 21, I caught an MRSA infection from a knee operation. I went from being fit and healthy to having to spend 44 nights in hospital across three months on extra strong antibiotics which as a side effect left my skin gaunt and blemished. I was incredibly unwell and at one point the conversation was had as to whether my leg would need to be amputated. This experience changed my perspective on life and when I recovered, I wanted to chase fulfilment and have a bigger impact. This, combined with meeting a number of successful entrepreneurs in the beauty and personal care industry inspired me to take the leap.

The end goal for Skin Woof is to be a top UK skin supplement brand and to be sold online and in stores across the world and we are working hard to make that a reality.

What are your thoughts on failure?

I have a few thoughts on this. If you learn from your failures, is it really failure? In school we are taught that not passing a test is a bad thing - we get conditioned that 'failure' is bad. However, I think society's relationship with failure stops a lot of people from taking any risks at all through fear. You cannot be scared of failure, it is always a possibility but if you let the fear control you, you will never see how far out of your comfort zone you can go and therefore never realise your full potential.

I also believe that you only fail when you give up. However, you have to be careful with this one because it is also important to cut your losses if something is simply never going to work. If your idea is getting a bit of traction, but not as much as you'd like. Find a way to get more traction. If a few people are liking your product or service but not enough, find a way to get more. Look for the signals as to whether your idea has legs or not and if it does, persevere until it succeeds. If it doesn't, don't be afraid to cut your losses. If you do end up failing at something, pick yourself up, learn from the experience and go again.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

Patience tied in with perseverance. There have been many times where things were difficult and it would've been easy to give up. However, every year, more and more momentum has built up with Skin Woof and in the last few months our products launched across the UK in Superdrug. This happened for a number of reasons, a key one being determination to get our products on shelves. I had my eyes on Superdrug as a retail partner for Skin Woof from the very beginning when we launched online in 2017 and I used to go into their stores and take pictures of the shelves, visualising Skin Woof one day being on there. And now we are.

How did you fund the business in the early stages?

In the early stages, Skin Woof was funded by a start up loan from the start up loans company which is a government initiative to support business financing in the UK. They offer loans of up to £25,000 and some mentoring alongside the money. Skin Woof's loan was for £15,000 and this allowed us to build the website, set up the business admin and just about purchase our first batch of stock. Since then, the business has been bootstrapped and in the early stages all profits were reinvested into the business to bring out more products and expand our marketing. I worked several part time jobs to help pay the bills as at this early stage of the business I did not take a salary.

What does your business offer its target audience?

Skin Woof offers a range of innovative, natural skin supplements and skincare to women and men. Our products cover different individual target audiences for example our Tan Enhancing Vitamins are very popular with people aged 18-30 and our Collagen Beauty Drinks are popular with those aged 30+. It is our mission to help people feel more confident in their own healthy and radiant skin.

Tell us about your journey into this market.

When I finished university I worked for a period as an investment banking analyst in the beauty and personal care sector. I was analysing 100's of beauty and personal care brands and saw there was a new trend for beauty supplements. I always felt that one day I would run my own business and when I spotted the opportunity for a quirky skin supplement brand, I quit my job in finance, spoke with dermatologists and nutritionists and found a manufacturer who could supply us with what we wanted. Once the foundations were in place, we launched our first product through our website in August 2017.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

Social media and the internet have made it accessible for brands big and small to get the word out there. I'd recommend staying on the pulse for trends and new social media platforms. Have a strategy which you refine as you learn. Don't be afraid of doing anything to get your products out there. If you are on a low budget like we were with Skin Woof, think of ways you can make your money stretch as far as possible. One thing that worked very well for us was partnering with micro influencers.

Do you prioritise self-care as an entrepreneur?

In all honesty, not enough since I started Skin Woof. In the beginning, I was so focused on getting our products out there, launching new products and doing everything I could to make sure Skin Woof would be a success. I certainly neglected and definitely didn't prioritise self-care. Today, I am much more aware how important it is to prioritise self-care. This was largely driven due to the COVID-19 pandemic which stopped the world in its tracks and for myself personally it gave me some time to reflect on how I could look after myself better. I now try to fit in exercise most days and spend time relaxing which for me is through spending time with my friends and family. I have also set a limit on the amount of hours I work at weekends which I try my best to adhere to unless there is an emergency. I have found that through exercise, socialising and being disciplined on the hours I work that I have felt much better and have more energy when I am working on Skin Woof.

What would be your top three tips to fellow entrepreneurs to look after their mental health?

My 3 tips would be to have a strong support network around you, don't be afraid to delegate tasks and to exercise every day. Having friends, family, business partners, colleagues and other entrepreneurs around you that are really rooting for you, can give you honest advice and share their own overlapping experiences massively helps keep you on the right track. Founders usually start off by doing everything in the business and it can be hard to relinquish control. You have to have faith and trust in other people that have specialist skills in areas you may not be quite so good at so that you can delegate parts of your business to them. If you try to do everything yourself, you will end up burning out and probably not doing any of it very well. And finally, I have mentioned it before but exercise is one of nature's medicines - try to exercise every day and release those feel good hormones. If you are fit and healthy physically, it will massively help you to feel fit and healthy mentally.

What keeps you motivated as an entrepreneur when you hit bumps in the road?

I think it is very hard to be an entrepreneur unless you are an eternal optimist. I have always believed everything is going to work out eventually so when those bumps hit (which they inevitably will for any entrepreneur), it is important to remind yourself that this is only a moment in time and the difficult times will pass. It is also useful to have a problem solving mindset - every problem has a solution. If you can't solve it yourself, find and contact someone who can. You have to be resilient and have the belief that you are going to succeed whatever gets thrown in your path. Others may doubt you, but never doubt yourself.

What plans do you have for Skin Woof over the next two years

Currently, we are focused on growing our partnership with Superdrug through the launch of innovative new skin supplement and skincare products and further store roll outs. On top of that, we are growing out Skin Woof's international distribution. Watch this space.