Simon Church is an ex Welsh international footballer and Co-Founder of CBD Performance.
His mission with CBD Performance is to make high quality purpose led CBD products more accessible to everyone.
- Tell us a little bit about your business…
CBD Performance is a premium brand of 100% natural and vegan friendly purpose led CBD products. We aim to make premium CBD products more accessible for regular use in health, fitness, sports and in general use. We have a range of products like vegan friendly protein, night sprays and multivitamins all with premium ingredients for each purposeful product so we are “more than just CBD”
- How did you get into the industry?
CBD Performance was born after struggling throughout my professional football career with pain management and sleep. I was reliant on pharmaceutical aids which eventually were having an adverse effect on my body. I tried CBD after a lot of research and had a really positive experience myself. Alongside my Co-Founder Russell Short we saw a huge gap in the market for purpose led CBD products in the health and fitness space.
- What are the biggest opportunities and challenges in your industry?
Our biggest challenge is education and removing the stigma of CBD which historically is thought of not as a compound of cannabis but in its entirety and will get you “high” which is not the case. The industry is still in its infancy and with regulations recently allowing more transparent products on the market the opportunity of CBD becoming part of mainstream retail with demand growing year on year is very exciting, especially how we position the brand with a health and fitness focus.
- How would you describe your leadership style?
Becoming a professional footballer you have to be very ambitious, extremely dedicated and be an action taker, things I have taken naturally into this business. I’m extremely fortunate to have a brilliant Co-Founder in Russell who keeps the ship a float, very meticulous, detailed and organised in each task.
- How do you get the most out of the people who work for you?
We are very lucky that we only work with like minded people who share the same values as us. Being understanding of everyone’s situations and future goals, innovation and not afraid to push the boundaries is something we live by.
- What are the most crucial elements to your business running smoothly and being successful?
I don’t think I know of a business that runs smoothly and hasn’t had its challenges but I think the difference for a successful business is managing to pivot and not panic when something goes wrong. Dealing with people from a human perspective to understand and get the best out of each other.
- How has the past 12 months been for you?
This last 12 months have been extremely exciting for us. We are really happy with our brand and product offering alongside the growth and retail listings and partnerships we have made this year. We are looking forward to finishing the year off strong and into a successful Q1 next year.
- Is there anything you’ve learnt during the pandemic that you’ll take forward in your business?
I mentioned earlier about pivoting instead of panicking and certainly gave us an opportunity to look at our business and make some adjustments to future proof and it also highlighted some areas for us to improve.
- What will the next 12 months look like for your business?
We have some very exciting things in the pipeline including branching out internationally and a couple more big Uk retail partners and partnerships in professional sport. We are also seeking and in talks around investment which again is something that is going to help us accelerate our growth.
- What are the highlights of your career so far?
After a successful footballing career was cut short through injury I think off the back of that being proud that we have created a brand from scratch with no experience in a sector and industry we are passionate about.
- What’s the biggest business mistake that you’ve learnt from?
Working with the wrong people that didn’t share our values or fundamentals.
- What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
It’s actually advice I got when I was playing football which is champions are made when no one is watching. Put in the hard work and dedication which people won’t see and you won’t get rewarded or congratulated for but it will set the foundations for success.
