Sarah Taylor, founder of Pamoja, benefited from tailored support through BIPC North East’s Expert in Residence programme, working closely with Sales Expert, Moira Barnes. Through a series of structured sessions, Moira helped Sarah sharpen her sales messaging and translate ambitious goals into clear, achievable actions.
This support gave Sarah greater confidence and direction, enabling her to communicate more effectively with her target audience and approach growth in a more focused, strategic way.
Please introduce yourself and your business:
My name is Sarah Taylor and I am the founder of Pamoja, a natural skincare brand designed specifically for women navigating hormonal skin changes. I am a trained skincare formulator, and I handcraft every product in small batches from my solar-powered studio. The range is built around a simple 4-step ritual: cleanse, hydrate, moisturise, and boost. It is kind, effective, and created with women aged 35 to 55+ in mind. Women whose skin has changed and who want a routine they can actually trust, stick to and look forward to every day. Pamoja is approved by ‘Cruelty Free International’ and ‘Made in Britain’, and in 2025 was recognised as one of the SmallBiz100 by Small Business Britain.
What was the inspiration for your business idea, or how did you come up with the idea?
Pamoja came from my own experience. I had left my career in social housing to take a career break and settle my young daughters into school, and had always held an ambition to one day run my own business: to follow a passion, have more freedom, and build something that fitted around family life. It was during that career break, around the age of 40, that my skin began to change. Products I had used for years started causing reactions. I later came to understand that hormonal shifts can alter how skin responds, and for me that coincided with developing skin allergies.
Finding suitable skincare became genuinely difficult. So I started formulating my own. What began as a personal solution quickly became something more purposeful: I trained formally in skincare formulation, gaining certificates and diplomas that gave me the technical grounding to refine my products and clarify exactly what I wanted Pamoja to be. The more I spoke to other women, the more I realised how many were in a similar position: overwhelmed by complicated routines, let down by products that didn’t deliver results, and feeling like their skin had become something to manage rather than care for. Pamoja was created to change that.
Which Expert(s) in Residence did you work with?
Moira Barnes
How did the Expert(s) support you and help you develop your business idea?
The support I received was invaluable at a point when I was trying to make sense of a lot of moving parts. Moira gave me 12 hours of her time and expertise, completely free of charge, and she packed an enormous amount into every session. One of the things I appreciated most was how the time was structured: spread out in chunks so that I could go away, take action, and come back with real progress to build on rather than trying to absorb everything at once. Moira helped me think carefully about my sales messaging and how to speak directly to my ideal customer. She helped me break my annual sales target down into something far less daunting: monthly and weekly figures that gave me a much clearer sense of what to focus on and how to measure progress.
Moira also kept in touch with me afterwards and connected me with other experts in her network, which added to the value of our time together well beyond those 12 hours. It was exactly the kind of practical support that is very hard to find and even harder to afford when you are building something from scratch and it made a real difference.
What are your plans for the future in the shorter and longer term?
In the shorter term, my focus is on three things: growing my email and social community, making the free 1-2-1 skincare consultation more widely known, and updating my website so that more women can find Pamoja when they are searching for answers. The consultation in particular is something I want to talk about more. It is a no-obligation conversation, and I know from experience that it changes things for women who are curious to try something new but want someone to talk to who understands.
Longer term I would like to grow the product range and help more people. Pamoja is built around simplicity and I want to protect that, so a small number of thoughtful additions feels right. Ultimately, I want Pamoja to grow and become a go-to brand for women who are tired of complicated skincare and ready to invest in something that actually works and helps them feel proud of the skin they’re in. The ambition is to scale without losing what makes Pamoja what it is: small-batch quality, proven ingredients, and a founder who genuinely cares.
What is your advice for those who are thinking of starting their own business?
Start with the problem you are solving, not the product you want to sell. The clearer you are about who you are helping and why, the easier everything else becomes. Get the foundations right early too: understand your intellectual property, start building your community, and do not be afraid to ask for help. That is exactly what the BIPC helped me to do too.
I would also say: trust your instincts, but test your assumptions. Surround yourself with people who will challenge you as well as support you. And give yourself permission to take it one step at a time. You do not have to have it all figured out before you start.
