Finalist, twice over: Thomson Content at the Doncaster Business Awards 2026

I'll be honest. When I filled in the entry forms for the Doncaster Business Awards, I did it with the same energy I bring to checking my own spam folder: brief, slightly sceptical, and fully expecting nothing to come of it.

So it's a complete (and rather lovely) surprise to share that Thomson Content has been named a finalist in not one but two categories: Sole Trader of the Year and Creative & Digital Business of the Year.

Four months of membership with a very warm welcome

I only joined Doncaster Chamber of Commerce in May. After spending the best part of a decade writing about warehouse automation and supply chain technology for clients across Europe, local networking was new territory. I'm more comfortable with a robotic picking system than a room full of name badges, and I went into my first event fully prepared to hover near the coffee.

That isn't what happened. From the very first day, people went out of their way to say hello, ask what I did, and introduce me to people worth knowing. Nobody made me feel like the new kid. Within a few months, I'd met clients, collaborators, and people I now look forward to seeing, which is not a sentence I expected to write about networking.

Why these two categories matter to me

Sole Trader of the Year feels personal. Thomson Content is me, a laptop, and a firm belief that B2B content can be specific, useful, and even enjoyable to read. Running it on school-hours days means being deliberate about every hour, and it's rather nice to have that recognised.

Creative & Digital Business of the Year speaks to the work itself. In a year when the internet has filled up with interchangeable AI-generated content, I've doubled down on strategy, human editing, and writing that actually sounds like the business it's for. Being shortlisted alongside Doncaster's creative and digital talent is a huge honour.

Thank you

To my clients: thank you for trusting me with your stories, your technical detail, and occasionally your very tight deadlines. This recognition is as much about the work we've made together as anything I've done alone.

To everyone at the Chamber: thank you for building a community that makes newcomers feel like they belong from the start. It makes a real difference, particularly to those of us who find walking into a busy room harder than writing a 3,000-word white paper.

And to my fellow members: thank you for the conversations, the introductions, the encouragement and the support. I've learned a great deal from you in a short time, and I'm looking forward to learning plenty more.

What happens next

Stage two judging has been and gone (both a terrifying and enlightening experience), and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 3 December. Whatever the outcome, I'm delighted to be there and even more delighted to be part of Doncaster's business community.

I'll see you on the night. I'll be the one near the bar, because it's a child-free night, and why the hell not?

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