A Black Country businesswoman has overcome dyslexia and ADHD to start anew in her 50s and build a £10 million-turnover beauty company.
Maxine Laceby, who gave up work at 25 to become a full-time mother to her two daughters, decided to launch a new chapter in her life when she started Absolute Collagen.
The company manufactures and sells sachets containing a high dose of type 1 marine collagen which is said to help restore healthy looking skin and hair.
The 53 year old now runs the business full-time from her home in Wolverhampton and even employs her daughters Darcy and Margot, aged 22 and 19 respectively.
Turnover grew from £500,000 at the end of the first year and is now on track to hit £10 million by the end of its third financial period.
Ms Laceby said she was inspired while doing a project during her second year at university which she had returned to aged 50.
She began making a broth by simmering chicken feet and pigs trotters in pans at home for hours to make a gelatinous stock which she drank, producing results so noticeable that her friends started asking for some.
"My skin was glowing, my hair was shiny. The only thing I could attribute it to was the broth," she said.
"I looked into it and realised it was the collagen in the bone broth that was having an effect so I began making massive vats of it at home."
Ms Laceby researched the collagen supplement market and found that many products available contained only small amounts.
She wanted to create one that could contain the maximum amount of marine collagen which could be absorbed into the bloodstream yet for the lowest price.
She found a 'blender' to help her make the sachets, ensuring they were both palatable and not too gloopy to drink.
"He told me I could add less collagen and make more money but it was never about money, I wanted results," Ms Laceby added.
"It was about finding a product that I knew worked and to bring it to as many people as possible.
"People told me I was selling it too cheaply but I don't think beauty should be pocket deep.
"I knew I couldn't afford a retail store or a distributor and that I'd have to do it myself from home.
"I spoke to competitors and they told me I was a little fish in a big lake and that I'd get eaten alive but I could see there were faults in all of the products out there."
Her website launched in May 2017 and daughters Darcy and Margot now help with marketing and shipping around 26,000 products a year from their home.
The company has grown to a point where the Laceby family is ready to move the business out of their crowded house and into a new warehouse in Telford in March.
Looking back on the journey so far, Ms Laceby says having dyslexia and ADHD is a positive as it has enabled her to see differently to other people.
She added: "My mum was illiterate so I always assumed I had poor reading and writing because of that.
"It wasn't until I went to university aged 50 that I was diagnosed but looking back it was obvious. Both my children are dyslexic too.
"I see it as a gift because it means I have the confidence to ask for help. I've always had to and I've always had to say when I don't understand something.
"So many people feel they have nowhere to go once their children have flown the nest but 50 is young nowadays."
