The British Bearded Baby creates male
grooming products with a difference - it’s all about using natural and organic ingredients
to create the ultimate products for beards. With a growing client base in the
USA, it’s a unique business with strong Merseyside roots to shout about.
We caught up with managing director, Daniel
Bridges, to find out more about his business and how things have changed since was
last saw him on our ‘Boost Your New Business’ course…
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| The British Bearded Baby uses organic and natural ingredients |
Born out of a drive to find healthier options to his usual drug store buys,
The British Bearded Baby refuses to use any synesthetic ingredients.
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| Daniel with his son, Henry |
When asked about the businesses’ roots, founder Daniel says: “I had used
cheap products (beard oils, soaps etc) and honestly, I never really bothered to
look what ingredients were used in such products until we found out we were
expecting our first child. My partner became conscious of what was in certain
products and one day this made me read the label on a product I was using. I
wasn’t sure at first if it was in English and then realised that it was just
the fact that I had no clue what the ingredients actually were! After a
bit of research (Google search, obviously), I soon found that most of
them were synthetic chemicals.
“I decided to see what healthier options were on the market and although
there were a few out there (which took a long while to find), when I looked
into the certification they had it showed that, although they stated they were
‘organic’, in some cases they actually only contained 30% organic ingredients.
I lost my trust in the saturated marketed already out there and decided to have
a go at making my own and just have some fun with it as I went.
“A little over a year later and many, many terrible blends tested (on
myself!) along the way, I was pleasantly surprised with myself and the products
I had created. So, why not share them with others and have some satisfaction in
knowing my products were 100% what they claimed to be?”
And with that, The British Bearded Baby was born.
It’s safe to say that Daniel quickly settled into his new role and is enjoying
the benefits of running his own business. “When stuff goes wrong, it is down to
me. I’m learning every day how I can improve on the previous day, week, month
and we’ve gone from selling products locally, to now regularly shipping to our
ever-growing USA customers”.
Despite his fast-growing customer base, Daniel still finds that most of
his regular and loyal customers are from the Merseyside area, he puts this down
to the fact that “they love the products but they also love the idea of a local
start-up”.
With no previous experience in the business world, Daniel admits that
starting a business of his own presented its fair share of stress and challenges
– with plenty of lessons along the way! Not to mention the daunting task of tackling
EU legislation to ensure his product was safe for sale. Months of meticulous
online research led Daniel to Liverpool Library’s Business & Intellectual
Property Centre, where he discovered the work of The Women’s Organisation and its
Enterprise Hub programme.
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| Founder and Managing Director, Daniel Bridges |
Balancing his busy new workload between being a dad to son Henry, his bar
and restaurant work, as well as perfecting his business model, Daniel decided
to take advantage of Enterprise Hub’s ‘Boost Your New Business’ programme to take
time out from his busy schedule and reflect on where his business is going.
Getting his business structure just right was one of the major challenges
for Daniel, but what did he take away from the course? “The Business Model
Canvas had to be the main point for myself. It not only made me take a step
back and plan again - we need to be constantly revisiting what we have
previously put in place to see if it’s still relevant - but it also helped me
to realise planning is key in all aspects of starting a business.
“I found the most help was bringing me back down to earth and making
sure that the basics and fundamentals were covered and in place. Starting a new
venture can get very exciting and you can get carried away with ideas and
plans, forgetting to build a solid structure for all this to actually stand a
chance of working”.
So, how is Daniel managing to fit it all in? It sounds like his support network
and family are the key to his success. He says: “Other than juggling the 20/30
hats that a founder has to wear daily when starting a business, I am a father
to the most wonderful boy Henry and fiancé to my rock. Both of us not coming
from Liverpool, we have no family here and work full time, so we have had to
juggle between us parenthood and starting a business, but I personally feel
that I am now art of the most amazing team I’ll ever be part of.”
Any parting words of wisdom for those wanting to take the plunge to set
up their own business? “Don’t be scared, it is going to be the hardest choice
you have ever made, but you are going to love it! Don’t become a perfectionist
as you will just waste time trying to create something in YOUR mind that is
never going to be perfect and you will miss out on so much. But mainly, buckle
up tightly as this will be the craziest ride you have ever gone on!”
If you’ve been inspired by Daniel’s story and would like to see how
Enterprise Hub can help you boost your new business, then get in touch with us.
Email hello@thewo.org.uk or ring us on 0151 706 8111.
