Lord Sugar invests in Jewish entrepreneur’s label company
Apprentice host was impressed with mum-of-three Jemma Solomon's The Label Lady firm, saying he wants to 'help scale her business and take it to the next level'
Lord Sugar has made his latest investment, and no boardroom, tense exchanges or gruelling interviews in sight.
The Apprentice star was so impressed with entrepreneur Jemma Solomon’s label company that he decided to invest in it. Lord Sugar met Solomon after she wrote to him for business advice.
The Label Lady, launched by Essex-based mum-of-three Solomon last year, creates easy-to-apply bespoke labels to help people organise their belonging be it in the office or at home. Customers can choose from a variety of pre-made labels or customise their own.
Lord Sugar, who plans to start filming the next Apprentice later this year, said: “I was very impressed with Jemma when I met her. She is highly determined, hard-working and with The Label Lady has created a brand that taps into the trend for home tidying. I was particularly impressed with the way she had managed to scale the business in such a short-time on social media, and built such a loyal customer base with little to no marketing spend. I am looking forward to working with Jemma to help scale her business and take it to the next level.”
Solomon, 33, began creating labels as a hobby and to provide release from the pressures of her day job as a paediatric nurse. She bought her first label machine in 2016 and began making labels for water bottles and other household items as gifts for friends and family, and then on everything from balloons, signs, memory boxes, cake toppers and wedding stationery. She says one her best customers is her sister Stacey, who has been getting organised during lockdown.
She started the business from her children’s playroom floor but when her husband lost his job during the first lockdown he built their first proper workspace – The Label Lady Den in their garden, which she outgrew within a few months.
It became her full-time business in January 2020 now employing a small team which produces hundreds of bespoke labels a week. 18 months into the business, Jemma decided that she needed help to scale up the company and take it to the next level. She had always been a big fan of Lord Sugar and decided to write to him for advice.
Lord Sugar got in touch to arrange a call and within a few months made her an offer to invest in her business and become her business partner.
Solomon told the Jewish News: “When I emailed Lord Sugar and received his reply I wasn’t sure if it was spam. My stomach turned over. And I was completely taken aback.
“They say everything happens for a reason and my goodness I can honestly say I never expected that in 18 months I would have worked my absolute butt off enrolling family, friends and even neighbours during what would be the busiest time of my life, and to go on to meet such an amazing person in Lord Sugar is nothing short of surreal.
I cannot believe I can officially call him my business partner now. I have so many amazing ideas and plans and every day I wake up so excited about what I can create next!”
Follow the Label Lady on social media:
INSTAGRAM – @Label.lady.1
WEBSITE – www.thelabellady.shop
TWITTER – @the_labellady
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/thelabellady.shop/
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