Joel and Ben FINALLY have the name of their skincare brand.... thanks to YOU!

0:00The Businessmen, sponsored by BT Business. Thank you for taking part in the naming of the brand. If you've been on our Patreon, if you've been on our social media, on our newsletter, all the polls are now closed. We have taken the votes, they have been counted and verified, and we can now reveal the name for our skincare brand is...

0:28Welcome back. He's Joel Domit. And he's Ben Shepard. And this is The Businessman. The show that follows our attempt to start a men's skincare range from the ground up. How's it been going so far, Ben? Well, a little bit like this, Joel. Ben Shepard from GMB this morning. Yeah. Legend of television. Yeah. And Joel Domit from the jungle. Yeah. From the jungle. we're starting a skin care business

1:03I don't know what I think about your men's care range okay so what's its reason to be okay so oh god this is so stressful so it feels like we don't have a business no and so if we don't have a business if we don't get people signing up to the survey then we can't go to the investors and go like look, well, we've created this community and if we can't get investors, then we don't. Then all of this is pointless. We have to go back to our house with our tail between our legs. It's for nothing. You can catch up on the missed episodes by subscribing on YouTube. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.

1:38Also follow us on Instagram. Please do. Because there's loads of cool stuff on there, isn't there? Loads of cool stuff. Sometimes I'd say too much cool stuff. Hey, Joel. Hello. Did you know that 99 % of UK businesses are small or medium-sized? That is interesting. Yeah, 99%. They are the businesses that are the beating heart of our communities, our economy, and they matter to us, which is why we're teaming up with BT Business for our brand new feature, the Small Business Spotlight. Yes, next month we want to shine a light on your business and the amazing work that you do. It's super simple. Just follow the link in the episode description and drop us a voice note.

2:17Tell us who you are, what your business is called, what you do, and why you deserve to be in the spotlight. Yeah. We'll share your shout outs in upcoming episodes. You can even nominate a small business you love because BT Business knows how hard these owners work. And we all want to celebrate them. Yes, we do. So follow the link in the description or head to our Patreon to record your voice note. And thank you to BT Business for helping us keep small businesses moving at pace with reliable, secure connectivity. What are we talking about today? Oh, my God. We are speaking to Pete Markey on the show.

2:53He is the marketing consultant to this beautiful firm that we are creating. And he is a wonderful man who has loads of knowledge. So I'm very excited to have him across the table for you to all meet him because we've grown to know him very well now. Fast experience in the world of retail business, marketing, beauty. He's going to be talking all about brand values today. And very excitingly, Joel Domit. What? Our listeners and our viewers on YouTube have been voting. We are going to reveal what this skincare brand is going to be called. Oh, I don't think I'm ready for this day. I get quite scared.

3:36Yeah. Whenever it comes to actually, right, this is it. Now, I know that this hasn't just been down to us, though. So people have been voting on the Instagram, on the YouTube, on the Patreon, on the vet. There's loads of different places where people have been sending us their thoughts on the name and the three names. But we are going to reveal the one. We have to do it. Even though I know this is the right thing. Still, I'm like, ah. This is why I don't pick paint colors in my hand. The responsibility is heavy. Oh my God. That's why we put it out to all of our listeners and our viewers on YouTube.

4:12But before then, we need to get some other very important business out of the way. The business of Ben versus Jill. I assume there's going to be something in there that's really exciting. Like music. Bill, closing. Jill versus Ben. And then the noise of a lion eating a tiger. Are you the tiger? Yes. Yes. I think in that metaphor, I'm the lion and the tiger. Okay. So for our new listeners, if you haven't found us before now, where have you been? But if you have, then we have this skincare survey that we're trying to do the biggest ever men's skincare survey. We're looking for 10 ,000 surveys to be completed at some point.

4:57What we've decided to do, though, because we wanted to make this more interesting and more competitive, is if we can have 5 ,000 completed surveys by the day of love, February the 14th, the person who is the fewest contributor to those surveys, whether that be you or me, will have to have a part of their anatomy... Pierced? Pierced. With a piece of iron for life. Is it iron? Is it life? Don't really. I don't think it's for life. I think you need to stop putting parameters on it because the problem is is that I think originally it was like, you can just, let's get a bit something pierced and then it was like, let's let them pick and then everything And let's not pick the amount of time it has to be on.

5:40Stop adding things on, Dan. For God's sake. We definitely need 5 ,000. Unless we've got 5 ,000, there ain't no piercing. But we have an update on numbers and where we are. Russ has an update. Hey, Ben and Joel. So this is where we're at with the surveys. You've had a much better week, both of you. So well done. Whatever you're doing, keep it up. Now, the numbers. Total number of surveys completed are 2 ,756. Nice. And now for the important bit. Ben, you've completed 796. And Joel, you've completed a whopping 975. God! Which means, Joel, you're the new leader. I just don't talk to the router again.

6:25And Ben, sadly, it's your body part up for the piercing. Oh, my God! of body most voted for by the audience to receive that piercing is your nipple and listeners viewers if you want this piercing to actually happen and you haven't filled out the survey well we need 5 000 responses by february the 14th for this forfeit to actually take place and we're going to do it in the studio so come on everyone get surveying or surveying people need to stop adding things to this. We're now doing it in the studio. People just adding things onto this task. That's a big jump in your surveys. It's a big jump in my surveys.

7:07You've gone from like 300 to 900 in a week. I think, again, it's hard to know what works. It's because you went dirty on the Patreon. I went dirty on the Patreon. Well, look, fair play. No, no, no. This is good. This is good. Yes. Because we want the surveys. I'm very happy to hear that you have contributed so significantly this week. Although I don't think I've been helped massively by some of my friends because we were set the challenge, of course, this week to get a celebrity to post about the survey. Yeah. OK, so I managed to get Kat to post about the survey. What are you doing? Well, I'm just trapping for some stuff.

7:46Well, haven't you got that questionnaire that you want everybody to fill in? I know. And isn't the loser going to have their nipple pierced? Well, so I want your followers to take part in our skincare survey, me and Joel's business, we're launching a skincare business. The idea is they do this survey, it only takes six minutes to do, and if we get 5 ,000 by the 14th of February, what person has the least contributors gets pierced. It's like, but I want you to get your followers to vote for me so Joel gets pierced. Yeah, but there's no way you're winning that sometimes. So I've got this to kind of like keep everything in place, first of all, and then it's really ladies' choice.

8:20Do you want like a fancy pin? Do you want a gun? Or shall we just go for the old-fashioned? I'm enjoying the idea of piercing you too much, Nudie. Yes. Okay. Questionnaires. Fill them in. I'll put the link on. If you do the questionnaire, take the survey. It takes six minutes. And please vote for Joel, not my nipples. You work so well together. You should go on telly more often together. I have a feeling like it may be backfiring Because your jump in surveys may well be down to Kat asking everybody to vote for me. This is the problem, Ben, is that your nipples are too good. They're too nice. This is the problem, Ben.

9:00When you wear shirts, the nipples protrude through the shirt so often, then people will want to get those nipples pierced. These nipples ain't for everyone. I think it's backfired for you. But the challenge was to get a celebrity friend to try and post. Did you manage to get a celebrity friend to post? This has been an awful week. This has been an awful week in so many ways, right? Wait, I didn't ask how your week's gone. I asked if you managed to get a celebrity friend to post. I text so many people. It's a mixture, right? Firstly, I don't have any friends. Secondly, it's also like most of my friends that are famous are comedians.

9:43and comedians who, you know, they don't, they have this real protection over their brand. What? Of being funny. And then suddenly I'm like, oh, can you post and say, and they don't, like, no one's replying to my texts anymore. Not even about the survey. No one's just, no one's replying to my texts in life anymore. You just spent two hours with the legend that is Paul McKenna. That's true. Hypnotizing you. I didn't ask Paul McKenna. Why did you not ask Paul McKenna to post about a survey? It's so true. How have your surveys jumped when I'm the only one who's done any work? That is very true. Paul McKenna is the only person I should have asked.

10:24Out of all of those people that I'd text, I should have thought about the fact that I spent a long time with Paul McKenna and I definitely should have got Paul McKenna to do it. By the way, not only did you not, I got a cat to do it, and you didn't even ask Paul McKenna to do it. I didn't even ask Paul McKenna. He was too busy, moisture out. He was, I was too, to be fair, to be fair, the hour I spent with Paul McKenna, 45 minutes of it, I was asleep. Which was the point. But I have since had another friend post for me. Oh my God, stop it. You make me look like a pile of rubbish. Well, just like one of us is making an effort, but you're getting the benefit.

11:01I still don't understand how this works. Here's another one. This is the wonderful Sam Thompson, who has posted for us as well. me in my mission to protect my nipples me and Joel are doing a skincare survey for a brand I need your followers to click on the link and do the skincare survey whoever has the least number of people who have done it yeah we'll have to get a part of their body pierced okay look I'm going to take this away quickly Ben because he said let's protect Ben's nipples I don't want to protect his nipples I want to see him pierced I want to see his nipples pierced but please do do the survey anyway uh because it is actually we'll put the survey link on here but but we do want to protect my nipples don't protect joe's got nipples that he wants to share with the nation with with metal through them or any other part of his body sam don't do that we love you it's great everyone's gonna want his nipples done this is working perfectly this is working perfectly thank you sam thank you cat for being lovely and posting could if you can if you can protect my nipples that would be lovely rather than playing into the evil Domet and his desire to can I be the one who does it?

12:07That's escalated. Now that Russ has said it's got to be done here what are you going to do it with? Your teeth? Yeah and honestly it feels weird when you've got one. Why don't we just do both? Stop. Stop now. We still have a few weeks. The 14th of February we need to have 5 ,000 done by. I think we're at what did Russ say? I've just been sent a text saying that we've just passed 3 ,000. Completed surveys? Yes, 3 ,151. It's getting too close now. I'm starting to sweat. This is very exciting. So keep filling out those. So we are, that is three-fifths of the way. Mrs. Shepard does not know I'm doing this.

12:46She does not know. Again, there's a problem with both of our wives. Both of our wives found out, I think, yesterday when we put it online. And this is, first of all, it proves a lot of things. First of all, our wives don't want us to get a nipple piercing. Secondly, they both don't listen to this podcast. And I'm living about it. They're literally not really interested. But that was the first challenge. Now, what I'm led to believe is that by winning a challenge, you get a lot of bonus points onto your surveys, not completions. And that's going to have to have a bearing. So I win week one's challenge.

13:20You definitely win week one. I should have asked Paul McKenna. I should have asked Paul McKenna. You should have asked Paul McKenna. That was silly. That was very silly. Silly you sleeping on the job. I know. Right. So that's challenge one. We've got a new challenge this week, Ben. What is the challenge this week? The challenge this week. This is a good one, I think. Is to approach a stranger and ask them about their skincare routine and video proof is required. Bonus points if you manage to get them to fill out the survey. Okay. So we've got to go up to a stranger and we've got to just randomly engage with them and ask them about their skincare routine.

13:58Yep. And then ideally get them to fill out the survey too. And if we get one person to do it, I think we should do how many people we can get. So it's basically like, you know, because we don't want to come in and be like, we both got one. So it's like, it's multiples. How many gets the most people going up to them in the street? You didn't get any this week. I didn't get any this week. And you're already asking for multiples. No, but it's easier to ask John from Bradford instead of asking Paul McKenna. Isn't it? I'm not sure it is. Isn't it? Why is that bloke off The Masked Singer asking about my skin?

14:35And what's he making me fill out this thing for? Yeah, yeah. You're all right with that? I think I'm absolutely pretty good with it, to be fair. So we've got to try and film it. We've got to try and get them to fill out the survey. And then we will come back next week and work out where we are. Yes, let's do it. Let's do it. Joel, don't forget, don't forget, don't forget. Don't forget. I can't believe I'm so far behind. I really cannot believe it. I was so far ahead and now I'm so far behind. Damn you, dumbass. It's really fun. I think it's finally in your life working against you that you're so attractive.

15:08Finally, finally. It's got you this far, Ben. My nipples aren't ready for this. Is this what business is really like? Your nipples might not be ready, but the contrary is. I want to tell you guys about a podcast that is near and dear to my heart. And I cannot believe it already came out a year ago. And you can all go listen to it ad-free by subscribing to the Binge Podcast channel. What podcast, Corinne? Tell us. Oh, it's called Blink Jake Handel's Story. I created it about a man named Jake who I met who is the only survivor of a terminal brain illness brought on by heroin use. But there is a lot of mystery and medical malpractice.

15:48and true crime elements that are very shocking and surprising and even some supernatural elements. So this is definitely an amazing story. It's very unique. And you did such an incredible job telling the story and sharing it with the world. So if you have not listened to it yet, my goodness, where have you been? Because Blink is so freaking good. Thank you. Search for Blink wherever you listen. And subscribers to The Binge will get the entire season ad-free. Plus, you'll get exclusive access to the over 60 other true crime stories on The Binge podcast channel. Hit subscribe on Apple Podcasts or head to getthebinge.com.

16:24Right then, should we talk about the names? Let's talk about the names. Thank you for taking part in the naming of the brand. If you've been on our Patreon, if you've been on our social media, on our newsletter, all the polls are now closed. We have taken the votes. They have been counted and verified. And we can now reveal the name for our skincare brand is... Joel and Ben for Skin. Yeah. It feels like there should be a fanfare of something. We're going to put the same thing in of the lion eating the...

17:04Joel and Ben for Skin. so it was of course it was the it was an idea and a name that was thrown out by russ's wife a long time ago it was put into the mix by russ's wife she sent me the message russ's wife charlie sent me the message uh saying how about joel and ben's foreskin i thank you uh so charlie is the inspiration for it thank you charlie we have uh discussed it at length in our naming session which you can get on the Patreon as well. We had the sensible option. We had a sort of fun option. And then we had the more disruptive option, didn't we? And it seems like people have gone for the more disruptive.

17:45Although, actually, what I think was actually very interesting. It was closer than I thought it was going to be. I thought it was just going to run away with it and everyone was going to go, ha ha, call it this. But actually, people really like different names for different reasons. I thought it was fascinating. Lots of my friends that had seen it really thought Duo was lovely. They got the humor and they really enjoy the idea of it being Joel and Ben for skin. But Duo really ran it in close second just in terms of sort of people seeing, I can see why that would work and it looks sophisticated and great.

18:18However, it's happening. What was very interesting, actually, and this is the first time in our business journey so far where the community that we are trying to create has really come into its own and been really beneficial. Because I, the entire time, have been singing the praises of this name Mug. I've been talking about it all the time. Maybe it works, maybe it works. Great, great, great, great. I even went into the naming workshop and was like, this is a great name. And everyone else was like, maybe it is. Oh my God, it's cool. And as soon as we put it out there to the community, nobody liked it.

18:52Like nobody's liked it at all. It's been the lowest in all of the surveys across all of the platforms. And I just feel really glad. This is, again, the first time in this process that I feel glad that we've got this community to be able to ask. To guide us. To guide us, because it's really worked. It did. Yes, and well done for bringing the worst name. Thank you. It's just the first worst thing that I've brought to the table. There's going to be many more. I feel excited about it. It's funny. because it's disruptive. Like Chris Evans said when I showed it to him, it feels disruptive. I know that lots of people are going to have their own feelings about it, but I think that's the nature of it.

19:34So do get in touch and let us know what you think because we really value your thoughts. And actually, as Joel was saying, it's a community that's helping us guide all these decisions along the way. But ultimately, this is it. We've decided on it now. We've all decided on it. This is our thing that we're bringing to the world. Joel and Ben's foreskin. It's fantastic. It's absolutely fantastic. We also want to know, what is the most stupid brand names that you have ever heard of? We'll take a look at these in next week's episode. The link is in the description, so submit them there, please. Also, you can do it on the Patreon, I'm sure.

20:16Give us great brand names, brand names that didn't make any sense, crazy brand names, brand names that started off feeling quite disruptive, but then it sort of came a bit more mainstream. I had a brilliant one the other day that sort of really divided everybody. It's a meal service, a meal prep service, and they do food for you. And it's called Grubby. Okay, so you take an idea of grub, but they've made it grubby. And of course, and it really divided the opinion. The food was delicious, right? It's really fantastic offering, but grubby because it's food, but grubby feels a little bit disruptive.

20:47And the packaging was fantastic, but it was one of those things you kind of go, do you want to eat grubby food? Or actually, is it just really good fun? Look at that, that's great. But also the marketing of it, eat grubby food, that sells, it's like, but ultimately in the long run, if it becomes a success, the name doesn't matter. But getting noticed to start off with does matter. You know, it's like band names don't matter. It's like the, it's, I was in a band when I was younger, right? I was in a band when I was - What was your play? We played new metal music. Of course you did. You sang. I was the lead singer.

21:23Of course you were. You don't put this face on drums, Ben. Okay. See, you sang about new metal, so you want piercings with metal. That would have gone perfectly when I was 15. We were called Cyrus with a silent P. P-S-I-R-U-S. We clearly didn't know psoriasis was a thing. I was going to say, it sounds like a skin infection. you were always drawn to sorting out people's skin when you were in a new metal band. It's so true. And yeah, we played one gig. There were six people there. I crowd surfed. And it turns out when you crowd surf with six people, it feels like your own funeral. Yes, you'd probably get, and it's going to hurt when they drop you.

22:03Yes. One gig's enough if it's the best gig that ever happened. Right, so the name has been decided. It wasn't just us that decided it, and it was our listeners and viewers on YouTube, as well as the team we did the session with. Yes. And one of the people in that session is a legend of the world of retail and he's going to be joining us on the podcast now to share his insights into brand values, marketing, and how on earth we're going to turn Joel and Ben for skin into a world-leaning skincare brand. Joel. Ben. These are the moments I feel like we're doing business. God, it's scary, isn't it? Because our marketing director is sitting opposite us.

22:49I'm in the room. He is in the room. What a commanding voice he has. The brilliant Pete Markey is here. Pete, if you were to describe yourself in three words. No, no, no. If you were to describe your work history, how would you explain what it is that you've done and how you've come to be our cherished and much lauded marketing director? Well, first of all, I'm loving working with you both. We're having so much fun. The name is amazing. Yeah, I've been really lucky enough over the last few years to work on some amazing brands. So most recently, Boots, where I worked for four and a half years, worked on some big campaigns, particularly enjoyed working on Christmas.

23:27Before that, I've worked on a range of financial services. I've worked for TSB. I've worked for Aviva and Roll and Son Alliance. So a bit of financial services as well. But particularly the last few years have been about beauty. And I've been doing some fun consulting, including working with yourselves the last few months. But I love marketing. It's a beautiful craft and it's fun working on new and exciting emerging brands. What is it like working with us? It's brilliant because nothing's a silly idea. The way we brainstorm, we throw all things out there. And often in a business context, you have more constraints on things.

24:00You sort of narrow your thinking. And actually, you guys have been so open to go, look, we're up for trying this, pushing the brand here. The other bit is you're so invested in what you're doing. and actually there are the best celebrity tie-ups i've seen are those where the people behind it are really invested in the brand they care about the values they care about what it means they care about the direction that brand goes in that's what i love about working with you both you both really care about the end point for this brand as do i and that's that's exciting to work with people that feel that way what we are desperately hoping is we're going to create products that that reverse age us.

24:37And ultimately, that's why we care so much. So look, we've got you in because we need to discuss brand values. We've got a name for the brand now. We're all very excited with that process that we went through and honing that down. But we need to discuss brand values. I mean, this is your area of expertise. Can you just explain the importance of brand values, what they are and why we need them? Definitely. So view brand values a bit like your sat nav. they're there to give you direction. Imagine going on a trip and not knowing where you're going. The brand values direct and guide what your brand is about and where it's going.

25:13Without it, you're like this sort of rudderless, directionless thing. I'm not sure what this thing's about or where it's going. Kind of like what we've been doing for most of our lives. Well, I've always felt rudderless, to be honest. But with this brand, the values are going to be really key because it's what connects customers to you. It makes them go, this is a brand that the values I can identify with, If it's about trust, if it's about expertise, if it's about, you know, authenticity and beauty, if those are your values, then people can go, I connect with that. I feel that way. Those values align with my values.