The March8 Mentorship Programme works to pair ambitious women at the start of their career with successful female leaders. This fantastic opportunity gives rising stars the opportunity to share their experience and expertise with other like-minded women.
You may recognise our first mentor, Pamela Laird, from BBC’s popular TV series, The Apprentice, where Sir Alan Sugar awarded her third place in season 15. Pamela will spend one hour each month with her mentee to provide business advice, support, and to have a positive impact on their future goals.
After working closely with a number of beauty professionals, Pamela decided to launch her brand Moxi Loves based on her extensive experience within the industry. She says: “It came to me one day that I could develop my own beauty brand based on my knowledge and the gaps that I saw in the market. And that’s how Moxi Loves was born.”
Some of Moxi Loves’ most popular products include the Powder Pod Cleanser and Detoxifying Powder Face Wash, and the Barefaced Cleanser Infused Make-Up Removal Pads.
Pamela shares that although launching a new business is exciting, it definitely comes with its fair share of challenges. In fact, she confesses that her biggest blunder was ordering 60,000 units, but forgetting to put a barcode on the packaging.
“When running your own business, the challenges are endless. We had EU legislation come in and we had to discontinue our first product a year into getting started, so there have definitely been huge challenges to overcome. Honestly, they never stop, they just change shape and form, but you just learn to deal with them a little bit better,” Pamela adds.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Pamela shares that seeing her product for the very first time in Primark was the biggest ‘wow’ moment of her career to date. She explains that after all the hard work put into creating Moxi Loves, seeing her products physically in a retailer that she regularly shops herself made her feel giddy with happiness.
Pamela is excited to combine her knowledge and experience during the March8 Mentorship Programme, where she will work closely with the mentee she is paired with.
“Being a mentor means everything to me,” Pamela adds, “as I think if I had known that there were people out there just willing to give their time to me when I was starting out, I would have achieved maybe even more than what I have, or at least saved myself a bit of time.
“I’ve relied on mentors in the past few years for support, and I firmly believe that that never ends. I love the fact that I can hop on a screen to give my time and to give my opinion on what I would do in that situation.
“Being a mentor is a safe space to give independent advice, and to speak to someone who has your best interest at heart, purely from a business perspective.”
You can find Moxi Loves products on sale online, at Boots, Ocado, Primark, and Lloyd’s Pharmacy in the UK.