Enterprise Nation

After spotting a gap in the market for a natural skincare product, Sarah Brown set about plugging that gap with Pai Skincare. The business is flourishing in the UK and abroad and the start-up experience has left Sarah encouraging others to follow in her busy footsteps.

When did you start Pai skincare?

January 2007

What gave you the idea to start?

I have always wanted to run my own business.  Having spent eight years as a PR Manager building other people’s brands, I decided it was time to create my own.

The inspiration for Pai came several years after developing a bad skin allergy to everyday skincare products. I couldn’t find any truly ‘natural’ products on the market so started making my own chemical-free creams. Friends started sampling (and loving) them and it all led from there.

What were you doing before becoming your own boss?

I was PR Manager for a big US wine brand.

Do you make the products at home? If not, how and where are they made?

I have a small production workshop next to my home in West London but am looking to move as we’ve already outgrown it! All Pai products are hand-made in small batches and are so fresh a Best Before date is stamped on every bottle.

How are you promoting the site and your products? 

We have various on-going PR efforts all of which we manage in-house. We talk to beauty editors on a regular basis, do in-store sampling, and I write a regular blog. We’ve also been winning a lot of awards so that also really helps generate interest from new retailers and bring in new customers

What are your plans for the next 6-12 months?

Plans for the year ahead are to launch two new products to the range, increase our direct sales efforts through the website and grow our retail accounts both here in the UK and abroad – we already have stockists in Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Australia.

What one piece of advice would you offer to someone considering starting a business from home?

Go for it! I set up Pai on less than £10,000 which meant being extremely resourceful in getting the business off the ground. Initially the business was run entirely from home to cut costs.

It can be quite a lonely experience so you need to be very disciplined. Ensure you have a dedicated space for your work that you can shut the door on and walk away from occasionally!

Don’t lose sight of your vision and keep taking baby steps towards achieving it. Take the time to celebrate the small successes and milestones along the way. Enjoying the journey is what it’s ultimately about.

Sarah Brown talks to Emma Jones

• Pai Skincare