Emma Sansom wins Businesswoman of the Year 2026!
We are delighted to announce that Emma Sansom, Managing Director of Flamingo Marketing Strategies, has been named Businesswoman of the Year as part of Business Awards UK's Warwickshire Business Awards!
Back in 2019, Emma started Flamingo from her back bedroom. Within her first year however, she was met with a global pandemic, meaning over half of her clients paused or cancelled their contracts.
This setback would cause many to give up, but Emma continued to invest her time and effort into building her dream business, miraculously doubling the turnover during this period!
More money in the business meant more clients, more work and, in turn, more team members, with eight full-time staff now in our office in the Warwickshire countryside. The Businesswoman of the Year 2026 award is just one of a growing list that Flamingo and Emma have won over the years.
Emma's last few years have been especially intense away from the business environment, with her undergoing IVF to start her family while continuing to take Flamingo from strength to strength.
This award shows how Emma has managed to balance her drive and ambition for Flamingo, whilst also pursuing her own family goals.
Now, with baby Hallie Rose almost two months old, she's taking some well-deserved time out with her daughter and the team are working hard to keep things on the right track.
Congratulations Emma!
We cannot wait to have you back in the office and continuing to grow Flamingo long into the future.
The full award entry...
I'd like to nominate my boss, Emma, for this award.
Over the past seven years, with her anniversary approaching on 3rd June 2026, Emma has built her business from the ground up, starting alone in a back bedroom at home. Within the first year, she had already grown the business to £100,000 turnover, laying strong foundations before facing what would become the biggest challenge of her career.
When the Covid pandemic hit, nearly half of Flamingo's clients had to pause or stop their services entirely. Many of the sectors they supported, including schools, airlines and hospitality, were among the hardest hit. With no clear roadmap and no safety net, Emma had to think on her feet, completely reworking strategies and finding new ways to support clients through an incredibly uncertain time. Rather than stepping back, she leaned in, protecting both her clients and the business she had worked so hard to build. As a result, she not only sustained the business, but went on to double turnover during this period and was later featured in a book on resilience, sharing the lessons she learned during this time.
Today, the business has grown into a team of eight, based in a beautiful countryside office in Warwickshire. Year on year, the company has continued to grow, reaching £500,000 turnover in its fifth year and now on track to exceed £550,000 this year. At its core, the business exists to help SMEs stand out and achieve more through strategic, impactful marketing, something Emma has remained deeply committed to since day one.
What makes Emma's journey even more remarkable is what she has been navigating personally alongside this growth. For the past two and a half years, she has been trying to start a family and, after multiple rounds of IVF, is now expecting her baby at the end of May. She will be stepping away from the business for 12 months.
During this time, Emma has shown an exceptional level of leadership and foresight. While facing significant personal challenges, she has consistently invested in the development of every member of the team. This has included structured monthly and quarterly 1:1s focused not just on performance, but on personal growth, confidence and career progression. She has created a culture where success is shared and celebrated, from recognising "Star of the Quarter" to regularly highlighting team and client wins across social platforms, ensuring everyone feels part of the journey. For someone who has a never-ending workload, and can often be in the office over ten hours a day, she has always put me and the team first, to give us all the support we need to thrive in our roles.
Importantly, Emma has empowered the entire team to step up. Having been part of the business for over five years, I've personally experienced this investment, and alongside my colleague Eddy, have been trusted with the responsibility to lead and hold the fort in her absence. That level of trust and preparation does not happen by chance, it is the result of years of intentional leadership.
This is why I believe Emma is truly deserving of Businesswoman of the Year. She represents not just commercial success, but resilience, consistency and genuine empowerment. She has built a thriving, growing business through adversity, while also creating a culture where people are supported, developed and trusted. Her exceptional leadership has now put her in a position to spend a whole year at home with her soon-to-be new family, which she so deserves.
Emma's ability to combine ambition with empathy also sets her apart. She has built a business that is not reliant on her day-to-day presence, which is a testament to the strength of her leadership and the environment she has created. Her story is not just about growth, but about doing it the right way, with people at the centre. Everybody at Flamingo behaves like it's their own business, and that in itself is so rare nowadays - but again, it comes back to Emma's approach to building and running a business.
At a time when many would understandably prioritise stepping back and maybe even letting the business slip whilst going through such a challenging time, Emma has instead ensured the business continues to move forward with confidence and got everything in place to make the business what she called 'baby-ready' so she can sit back and reap the reward of her hard work over the next 12 months, knowing that me and the team are fully in her corner and want to make her proud. That balance of strength, resilience and people-first leadership is exactly what this award should recognise.
