Jo Gumb, Managing Director, White Label Creative
As White Label enters its 13th year, it has already moved into its third age of becoming a teenager – exuberant, adventurous and optimistic.
Like all pre-teenagers, we have spent too much of the last two years staring at our screens, socialising online, and trying to find our way in a world which seems unfamiliar and ever-changing.
But now, as we emerge into the ‘new normal’ of 2022, we find the challenges of the past two years have given us greater self-understanding; we know who we are, and where we are going. And our talented and creative team are facing the future with new ideas, new enthusiasm and optimism for the coming decade.
This week sees White Label mark its 12th ‘anniversary’ as a company. In reality, White Label was actually conceived and born a little earlier than its official birthday of 24 January as its co-founders Katharine Glass and Jo Gumb chose the deepest recession of the time to launch a new business.
The business advanced quickly to its uncertain toddler steps – although this was mainly because we had also chosen to launch in one of the worst winters of the decade and reaching the office had the two of us gently slipping and sliding over ice to get to our first White Label home in Dingwall Road for our official 24 January opening.
However, the growing pains eased, and as we hit our 10th anniversary in 2020, we found ourselves having to shelve exciting birthday plans to face the challenges of a pandemic and lockdown.
So, we emerged rather early into our third age – and harnessed all that pre-teenage inventiveness, energy and flexibility to pivot White Label.
We became the quintessential teenage expert on tech as our clients looked to us when they needed help with the latest technologies (just as I turn to my 13-year-old when I need my smart TV to work – and we invested in a range of modern event management, conference and broadcast tech to establish ourselves as a leading virtual and hybrid events company). Being virtual, we’ve also made lots new friends online, as geographical boundaries were removed and we now have new clients from across the whole of the UK.
In the teenage years, qualifications and learning are key. We’ve learned, worked hard, and upskilled and reskilled in the process, and what we do now will shape our future, and make us stronger – much like those lessons at school when we were younger.
However, as everyone knows by now, a party without cake is just a work meeting, so we promise our ‘proper’ (and long overdue) 10th birthday party will take place – so watch this space. It’s been said more than once, but we’ve got a lot to celebrate, and we want everyone that’s been a part of our journey so far to be there.
