Zoe, who has two children, started Trigwell Cosmetics in 2020 after her make-up academy business shut during the Covid pandemic.
Initially she bought a few products to sell to friends, family and clients, funding them by running online make-up tutorials for £2 a ticket.
“I had no idea… investment was a thing, but I had no idea where to turn to or who to ask. I don’t think there’s that much information out there on how to actually get investment for small businesses,” she said.
The 31-year-old said when one product went viral in 2022, people wrongly assumed she was an overnight success and millionaire.
“I paid myself a small wage just so that we could live and get by but I didn’t take any massive chunks of money, especially in those days when we started go viral, because every single penny that was made had to be reinvested to keep up with the demands,” Zoe said.
She said she feels that there’s a lot of pressure for female founders to be perfect and to always make perfect decisions – something she tries to challenge online.
“It’s really, really important, especially for people that are wanting to become entrepreneurs, to show that it isn’t all highlights and not everything is rosy, and you don’t just sell out instantly.
“There’s a lot of hard work and a lot of downs and negatives that do come with it,” she said.