Lord Sugar called me bossy, now who's the boss! Last years finalist Zoe Plummer reveals how her brush with the boardroom changed her life
She may have been only 16 years old, but right from the start it was clear Zoe Plummer meant business when she appeared on Junior Apprentice last year. Displaying a no-nonsense attitude worthy of a hardened boardroom veteran, she stunned even Lord Sugar with her bossiness.
It sounds like you were taking over, Zoe, he remarked after several tasks. And his sidekick Nick Hewer was moved to call her a precocious girl who deserved a smack, after she said Michelin-starred Tom Aikens was, like, one of my favourite chefs.
But a year on, Zoe has not only survived but is thriving, running Victory Vintage, the clothing store she co-owns with her 26-year-old sister Rebecca, and now revelling in her first year at Nottingham University.
Success story: Zoe Plummer is now running Victory Vintage, a clothing store she co-owns with her 26-year-old sister Rebecca
Id been selling vintage clothes at Greenwich Market in London since I was 14, making money, reinvesting, and then doing bigger fairs, she says. Then I got the opportunity to have a couple of temporary pop-up shops, including one at Londons Whiteleys shopping centre. It was so successful that I was offered a permanent space. Im looking to open another store in Nottingham too. Then Im going to set up an international translation agency, she proclaims. Im studying modern languages with business so Im well-placed to make good contacts over the next few years.
Zoe was one of the contestants on the first series of the show (renamed Young Apprentice this year) a spin-off of the adult version which pitted teenage entrepreneurs against each other to win a 25,000 trust fund from Lord Sugar. When the series was first mooted, there was concern the young participants might not withstand the public criticism that comes with taking part.
In the event, while there were a few tears and a few fragile egos exposed, most of the contestants showed magnificent sang-froid, and none more so than Miss Plummer. She was a stand-out character from the start, brimming with confident, occasionally cringeworthy declarations, from I lead from the forefront, to, Youve got to look good if you want to make a deal. Ugly people dont win.
SO, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER FINALISTS?
Sports fanatic Kirsty, 19, is studying international business at Edinburgh Napier University. Raised in Stonehaven in Scotland, she was inundated with job offers after the show, and opted for a two-month work placement with a large Scottish food company. I helped them launch a new range of desserts. They told me the door is st! ill open if I ever want to go back.
TIM ANKERS
A farmers son from Lancashire, Tim, 19 is studying economic history at the London School of Economics and runs a weekly club night in the capital. He wants to work in banking before launching his own business, and says, The show matures you. It also taught me that you have to have a range of abilities its not enough to excel in just one area.
ARJUN RAJYAGOR
The winner was Essex boy Arjun, 19, whos been running his own computer repair business since he was 12. Hes now studying electronics at University College, London. He says his 25,000 winners fund, donated by Lord Sugar, is still largely intact. The idea is not to spend the money all at once but to use it as and when you need it, so some of its gone into expanding my business
She was soon in pole position for the role of series villain. Back in the boardroom after her first task trying to sell cheese Lord Sugar was moved to declare that the adage that cheese gives you nightmares must be true. It certainly is in this case, he said. It didnt stop Zoe reaching the final four, although she lost out to the shows winner, Arjun Rajyagor, then 17.
Not that its held her back. Here she is, still only 18, both wise and sanguine about some of the brickbats that accompanied her 15 minutes of fame. I dont think you can complain about how youre portrayed on shows like that, she says. Yes, its business-focused, but ultimately its still ! a realit y show. They want to create caricatures and I was shrewd enough to realise that.
Thats not to say some of the comments about her didnt hurt at first she had, after all, only just finished her GCSEs when she took part, and its not easy when people are taking to television forums and calling you a monster, and headlines are declaring you pushy and domineering.
Obviously it was a shock to start with, she says. Im a bubbly person and I get on with people. I went into it wanting to do well, but it came across as a bit ball-breaking. Obviously there were cringeworthy moments. But I realised very quickly that it was about good TV, and if anyone judges me from that, they dont know me well enough.
Even she acknowledges that she was responsible for a number of memorable moments, however. Like the one when she tried to sell cheese to one passer-by with the exhortation that he looked like a cheesy kind of guy. I know, she groans. Although I thought it was quite funny. There was a Facebook appreciation society set up on the back of it. I was just trying to sell.
Zoe on the show last year
What about the favourite chef comment, when told that her winning team would have dinner cooked for them by Tom Aikens? I wasnt trying to show off, she insists. It was just a natural reaction.
London-born and bred her parents are artists who live in Crystal Palace Zoe beat 28,000 young hopefuls to get on the show, and once on it she soon won Lord Sugars approval. While the tycoon labelled her bossy, he also declared her a born saleswoman, and its clear he was impressed by her drive. So much so that hes kept in touch with her since. Lord Sugar has been really kind, she says.
At the end of the show he gave me his personal email address and mobile number and hes been really supportive. When I set up my shop I! invited him to come to the opening. He was abroad and so couldnt make it, but he said hed let people know and he tweeted about it for me. It actually caused my website to crash as so many people visited it. I think he sees something of himself in us, as he was very young when he started out, so the show particularly chimes with him.
Shes kept in touch with the other contestants too, despite the fact it looked like there was no love lost between a lot of them at the time. Many of the disagreements got blown out of proportion, she insists. We all got on well in real life and its all been very amicable since. At the end of the day, everyone knew what they were in there for.
What would she say to this years crop? I honestly think you have to be yourself and not worry about how youre coming across, because it will hold you back. And dont hide in the background people who dont contribute always get picked up on. Lord Sugar would prefer you to take a risk and get it wrong than not take a risk at all.
Would she have done anything differently, in hindsight? I dont think so. I went in there to try and perform as well as I could, and I did. Sometimes it seemed like a bit too much of a popularity contest rather than a focus on getting the job done, but there was nothing I could do about that. In retrospect I might have waited and tried to apply for the adult version instead, but who knows I might not have been picked for it. Im happy with how my life has panned out.
With one business on the go, another in the pipeline and her studies to contend with too, no wonder she says she probably wont have time to watch the latest series.
I actually dont have a TV in my room at university, she reveals. Though maybe Ill catch up with it on my laptop later. Something tells me she wont be able to resist.
THIS YEARS YOUNG GUNS
Theyre barely out of the classroom, but this years 12 hopefuls are as determined as ever. Meet the tee! nage can didates battling to win Lord Sugars 25,000 trust fund.
THE GIRLS
1 ELIZABETH MAGEE, 16, from Liverpool, is a published author. Im very, very determined and if I know how to get something I will get it.
2 ZARA BROWNLESS, 16, from Hertfordshire, is a former child model. Dreamers dream; people who achieve get out there and make their dreams happen.
3 HANNAH RICHARDS, 16, is a football fanatic from Berkshire. I want to show you can succeed in the business field without relying on qualifications. The right attitude is much more important than 12 A*s.
4 HAYLEY FORRESTER, 16, a farmers daughter from Shrewsbury, says, I wear wellies, and Im not afraid to muck in.
5 HAYA AL DLAME, 17, is a self-proclaimed bossy-boots from London. I have a big ego. Im the deserving winner of the show.
6 GBEMI OKUNLOLA, 16, from London, has already started her own clothing line. If I believe what Im saying is right, I will argue until my full opinion is heard.
From left: James McCullagh, Harry Hitchens, Zara Brownless, Mahamed Awale, Hannah Richards, Ben Fowler, Elizabeth Magee, Harry Maxwell, Karren Brady, Lord Sugar, Nick Hewer, Lewis Roman, Hayley Forrester, Haya Al Dlame, Gbemi Okunola
THE BOYS
7 JAMES MCCULLAGH, 17, from Northern Ireland, is passionate about economics. I have integrity, but when integrity gets in the way of winning, it goes out the window.
8 HARRY MAXWELL, 16, fr! om Oxfor dshire, already runs three businesses. In terms of my intellect, self-motivation, confidence, and business instinct for my age, I am unrivalled. I have an entrepreneurial gift waiting to be unleashed and harnessed.
9 HARRY HITCHENS, 17, from Brighton, runs his own photography business. I dont aim low ever, what are you going to gain from that? I aim high and I get there because Im determined and ruthless.
10 MAHAMED AWALE, 16, from London, started working by selling TV satellite systems. I have so many abilities and so many talents. I want to prove what an entrepreneurial person I am.
11 LEWIS ROMAN, 16, from Merseyside, has worked in a hair salon. Im not arrogant or backstabbing, just a great guy.
12 BEN FOWLER, 16, from Birmingham, started his own gardening business in 2008. Im an ordinary lad who wants to do the best, not just for myself but for everyone.
Young Apprentice starts on BBC1 on Monday at 9pm.
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