I nearly didn’t enter.
The form sat open on my laptop for days (in the smallest office in the house, wrapped in a blanket and gloves, as usual), and every time I started typing a little voice asked who I thought I was. Then I remembered I spend most of my week telling solo founders to stop hiding and let people see the brilliant thing they’ve built. So I took my own advice, filled it in, pressed send and tried very hard not to think about it.
This week I found out GiniB Digital is a finalist in the Creative category at the Tunbridge Wells Business Awards 2026, sponsored by Chilliapple. I’m one of ten local creative businesses on the shortlist, and I’m still a bit giddy.
Where it all started
GiniB Digital exists because of my boys and my aunt.
While I was on maternity leave, the business I worked for was bought out and my part-time marketing role became full-time. My son was poorly at the time, and dropping him at nursery unwell and crying broke my heart. I knew I couldn’t go back full-time.
My aunt has been a freelance journalist all her life, and she showed me there was another way. So I started working for myself, and I didn’t know a single other solo business owner. It was lonely, and that feeling has shaped everything I’ve built since.
The year that got me here
This has been my most significant year in business, and it’s all down to the people.
I launched The Marketing Mix Lab, an eight-week small-group programme where solo founders learn marketing together and keep each other going. Ten founders have been through it across two cohorts, and a third is under way. When my second cohort were bereft that it was ending, I created The Show Up Circle, a free two-week group where founders show up online together and cheer each other on.
In September, emotional intelligence coach Kathryn Allen and I ran our first Confidence to Be Seen workshop at Caracol Glamping. We sold ten tickets, and it was my first ever public speaking after twenty years of avoiding it (my knees were shaking, nobody noticed, or they were very kind).
Alongside all that I’ve worked with 20 clients, from communications agencies and motorsport to mindfulness teachers and farming, and I’m marketing manager for Make It Your Business, a not-for-profit women’s networking group where every ticket donation goes to West Kent Mind.
Why I do it this way
Here’s the thing. A lot of small business marketing advice is loud, fast and fear-driven. Post every day, go viral, do all the things. I believe the opposite. You don’t need to do all the things. You just need to do the right ones, consistently.
I take what works for big brands and turn it into something one person with a few spare evenings can actually do. My clients own their websites and know how to change them, and the Lab is designed so founders leave in the driving seat, with me cheering from the sidelines. Your business should work with your life, not the other way round.
My proudest moment this year was watching people arrive saying “I don’t like social media” and leave with a plan and the confidence to actually use it. That’s the bit that makes it all worth it.
A huge thank you
To every client, every Lab graduate and everyone who came to the workshop, thank you for trusting me with your businesses. To Kathryn, for holding my hand on that first stage. To The TN Awards Company and Chilliapple, for championing creative businesses in our town. And a big congratulations to my fellow finalists. What a brilliant bunch to be listed alongside.
The awards night is on Tuesday 10 November at the Assembly Hall Theatre. It’s black tie, so I now need to find something to wear that isn’t gloves. Whatever happens on the night, I’ll be there cheering for every one of us, because I firmly believe that when we find our tribe, we rise.
If you’re a solo founder who feels like marketing is the bit holding you back, come and say hello. You might just find your tribe too.
Gini x