Philosophy
Robert
Ashton is the UK's
entrepreneurial activist - the Barefoot Entrepreneur. Not afraid to tell it as
it is, he was banned by Business Link for doing just that. He holds no punches
when it comes to getting to the root cause of business failure and barriers to
entrepreneurial success.
He
is the most prolific and respected author on business and entrepreneurship in
the UK.
He has 12 books, including ‘How to Start Your Own Business for Entrepreneurs'
(Prentice Hall November 2009); ‘The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists'
(Prentice Hall August 2007 - now printed in it's third edition); and ‘Instant
Entrepreneur' (Prentice Hall November 2008). His works has been translated into
15 languages around 76 different countries. At least two or three of his books
are in the Top 10 most recommended business books by Amazon at any one time.
He's also a Sky Business Channel star.
His
eureka moment was a midlife crisis 10 years ago. After working for other
people, he completely took charge of his own life and became the employer, the
speaker, the consultant, and the author.
Waste in government spending/private sector
With
recession being an overriding theme in the media, Robert has quickly seen that
waste comes from people not joining up the dots. The biggest criminals are
government departments where one department won't talk to another because it's
not in the rulebook. Big corporations equally stay narrowly focused rather than
looking and thinking laterally - caused by a barrier of fear. Fear creates
phenomenal blockages. Robert, no matter what sensitivities there may be, likes
getting to the point and operating from a common sense point of view. He's
about people risking unconventional thoughts. He's about translating anxiety
into excitement about change.
Enterprise
for
charities
Robert
is challenging charities to become more businesslike and entrepreneurial if
they want to survive. There are over 100,000 charities competing for cash, with
many being run inefficiently. Robert's approach to entrepreneurship can assist
charities discipline themselves and engage voluntary resources more effectively
to evoke real social change without resorting to unsustainable government
handouts. It's about charities having a reality check. The future is not
standing on a street corner waiting for the government to hand you a cheque.
Having started the Norfolk Community Foundation, he is not just a commentator
on this issue. The Foundation now has an endowment of over £4 million and in
the past 12 months has distributed more than £750k in grants to voluntary and
community groups. Robert has also developed social enterprises to assist
charities to hold on to more of their cash. He is a director of Ethecol CIC who
provide affordable chip & pin card processing services to affinity and
fundraising groups.
Government funding for business
Government
has disagreed with itself on the impact of Business Link's regional closure.
According to Robert, with changes to Business Link, "start ups are particularly
affected as they are the least likely to know what support they need, the least
able to find appropriate support and the least able to pay for this support."
Then there's the issue of the Regional Development Agencies (RDA's) being
replaced and usurped by the Local Economic Partnerships. LEP's seem like a
repackaging of the RDA's but with a lot less money to share around.
Business and entrepreneurship
Business and entrepreneurship
have become national obsessions. Since the birth of The Apprentice and the
Dragon's Den, no one can get enough of business stars on television. In many
ways these shows have lurched more and more towards the gimmicky ideas and the
quirky celebrities that are created as a result of these shows. Working with
real entrepreneurs with the potential to make real money differentiates Robert
from this.
Mapping and defining Big Society
"Big Society is like lego,
you work with the pieces you have rather than keep asking mummy for more." -
Robert Ashton, 2011
Third Sector and Guardian
columnist, Craig Dearden Phillips, former Social Enterprise Ambassador, said,
"Robert Ashton is helping turn social entrepreneurship from a hairshirt option
for the extremely worthy to something we can all do."
The topic of ‘What is Big
Society?' is a huge debate raging in the media all of the time. Does Big
Society infact exist or is it just a sales ploy by David Cameron to smooth over
savage cuts? Robert has written the ultimate book on social entrepreneurs in
the age of Big Society, ‘How to be a Social Entrepreneur, Make Money and Change
the World'.
"The seminal book on social
enterprise." Martin Murphy (Network 2012)
"I am genuinely impressed by
how comprehensive it is." Social Enterprise
Coalition
Robert engages with other
social entrepreneurs, such as The Big Issue founder John Bird, to discuss the
real meaning of Big Society and stemming from that, social entrepreneurship. He
defines it, maps it, and makes it real for everyone.
The key message is that
there's no more begging bowl - we must help ourselves.
Removing the stigma of mental health issues - once and
for all
Robert, along with Stephen
Fry and Alistair Campbell, are key advocates for discarding the cloak of shame
from mental health issues. After his own battles with depression, an
overcontrolling father, failure at school, low self esteem and self harm,
Robert has battled against the odds and triumphed.
Explosive business and entrepreneurship
Sex and business success - In
our 21st century politically correct, sanitised society, it's all
too easy to forget just how important sex is to success in business. According
to Robert, it's no coincidence that most sports cars are red or that Branson
chose to call his company Virgin. Sex sells. How can we all sex up our business
propositions? How can we use the deepest of human instincts to commercial
advantage? Robert is an x-rated entrepreneur who uses adult content, but
appropriately, not offensively. He uses an eccentric, enthusiastic approach to
discussing the sexuality of entrepreneurship and business.
Mad about business - Taking a
radical, metaphor rich approach to understanding business, Robert has a unique,
impactful approach which may seem mad but is highly effective.
Life changes - the good life
Robert's book ‘The Life Plan'
is about totally transforming your life for the better in every which way. It
has universal appeal and has sold well in South
Korea, Italy
and the USA.
Robert is about creating life transformations, successfully overhauling his own
life, coming out of a chrysalis and learning to fly.