The Lilies Funeral Directors Story

Lee Solomon and Nathan Scully are the proud owners of Lilies Sutton Coldfield Funeral Directors. From back in 2015 when Lilies was just an idea, to now in 2022 where many local families are being cared for, the journey that these two gentlemen have been on is one not many would take.

Lee and Nathan first met when they were a few months old. They grew up together in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield and have been friends ever since (33 years to date). In 2015, Lee was working in digital marketing and Nathan was working for a national funeral service. They had comfortable jobs and a life they were content with when the opportunity to start their own funeral service came knocking on their door.

The duo signed a lease for a premises that was in the heart of where they had grown up. It was an old lighting shop and they had to fully renovate the premises to ensure it was up to the standards they wanted to serve their families. This was a mighty task as it was a large old building. Many obstacles were tackled throughout the refurbishment, but, once it was complete the team knew it was perfect for their families.

The location they chose was and still is opposite the Princess Alice Shopping Centre and directly in the middle of three crematoriums: Streetly Crematorium, Birmingham Crematorium and Sutton Coldfield Crematorium. With the bespoke funeral home and its location, Lee and Nathan knew they could serve their families and their loved ones in the way that they deserved.

These new business partners were not taking their venture lightly. They had planned to literally live and breathe their work by building two on-call bedrooms in the upstairs storeroom so they could be available to their families 24/7.

When it came to opening day there was still a fresh smell of paint in the air. The crisp new carpet had been laid and the traditional writing desk had been polished. To the outside it had looked like a smoothly run project, but this was not the case. Lee and Nathan had overspent their budget on equipment to serve their families better. This meant there was not enough to finish the on-call bedrooms in the storeroom. Determined to be available 24/7, Lee and Nathan slept on the floor and, as they didn’t yet have running water upstairs, they would shower and have breakfast at their parents’ houses before starting their day in the office.

The two told me a story about watching TV on their phones in one of the bedrooms as they couldn’t afford a TV or heating. They ate with reused plastic cutlery because it was gifted to them, and they couldn’t afford to buy proper knives and forks. The pair were immensely grateful to their family who would bring them lunch and cook for them on an evening. If it wasn’t for their families, they would have both had to have found jobs and not be able to devote their entire time and focus to their funeral business.

From listening to both Directors, the first year of business was extremely difficult financially, from overspending on the initial build, to affording the running costs and paying back the debt they had built up. The resilient duo worked seamlessly to ensure Lilies was a success and did everything they could to build up the name and good reputation of Lilies Funeral Directors in The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield. Whilst not taking a salary for over 12 months, the pair would help other local funeral directors, volunteer in their local community, raise money for local charities, work tirelessly for their families and be available 24/7 just in case they needed to see a family anytime of day or night.

The devotion to their service had families gifting them beautiful thank you cards and leaving very complimentary reviews on platforms such as Google and Facebook. This helped grow their business through recommendations. I was told about several families who brought in chocolates and alcohol as a special way to say thank you. There was one family in particular who had spent a lot of time with Lee and Nathan at their funeral home before their family member’s funeral. Following their loved one’s service this family returned with a bottle of whiskey to say thank you. Instead of keeping it for themselves the bottle was opened and Lee and Nathan along with the family shared the gift and drank into the early evening where the family shared stories of their loved one.

One question I asked was about how they find time to ensure all families are cared for and their answer was lovely. Lee and Nathan knew they had to hire staff to help with the increased amount of work, but they both found it difficult to hire members as they wanted to ensure their level of care wasn’t compromised. After finding the right people after a very long search, they instantly knew they had made the right choice as families were writing thank you cards addressed to the new team members. They said it was this recognition from families that made it easier to trust other people when caring for families that entrust Lilies with their loved one’s final journey.

From my time with the directors of Lilies, it was clearly evident that they truly care about their service to families and they have worked immensely hard to achieve where they are today.