Anthony Charles Robinson OBE (born 7 September 1952) is a business speaker, author and micro-enterprise campaigner.[1]
Anthony Charles Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 September 1952 Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Website | |
| www | |
Early life edit
Anthony Charles Robinson was born in 1952[2][3] in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire and attended Beverley Grammar School in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, from 1964 to 1971.[4]
Career edit
Robinson founded Business Advisory Bureau (BAB) Limited, a company which specialises in helping large organisations in both private and public sectors engage with and supply SMEs, in January 1986.[5] In 1998 Robinson co-founded the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) Group,[6][7][8] which despite being independent is the government recognised UK Standards Setting Body for Business Support and Business Enterprise. The Group received £1.2 million of government funding in 2011 to help boost its Get Mentoring scheme.[9][10] Since founding the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI), Robinson has campaigned to make life better for small and business owners in the UK.[11]
Robinson's campaigning led him to co-found and develop the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (IOEE), an educational institute dedicated to recognising individuals who choose enterprise and entrepreneurship as a professional career.[12] Robinson then co-founded #MicroBizMattersDay, an annual day of Recognition, Action and Learning for micro business owners, in 2001.[13] Robinson and co-founder Tina Boden held the first #Microbizmatters on 8 January 2015, and continue the annual day on the 2nd Friday of each New Year.[4][14]
Since September 2004, Robinson has served as a non-executive director for Yorkshire Coast Enterprise (YCE) Limited – a non-profit organisation promoting enterprise in Scarborough, North Yorkshire and currently serves as chair of the organisation.[15] Ahead of the 2015 UK general election, 'Real Business' featured Robinson as part of a five British entrepreneur and executive line-up focusing on the government's support of small companies and the improvements a new government could make.[16] Robinson was also a Judge at the Great British Entrepreneurs Awards in 2018 and 2019 as well as in the simply Business £10,000 Business Boost Award 2020.[17][18]
Author edit
Robinson, alongside Leonora Soculitherz, wrote and published Freedom from Bosses Forever: how to take control of your own destiny by going it alone, a satirical book in July 2014. According to WorldCat, the book is held in three libraries.[19]
Robinson wrote The Happipreneur, which was published in August 2020 by FCM publishing, to help entrepreneurs control their own destiny through their own enterprise in order to make ends meet and live a happy and fulfilled life rather than use wealth creation as the prime motive.[20]
Awards and honours edit
In 2001, Robinson was awarded an OBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List in recognition of his service to small firms and training.[21][22]
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | International Association of Book-keepers Awards | Lifetime Contribution to Enterprise[23] | Won |
| 2016 | Smith and Williamson Awards | Top 100 Power UK Entrepreneurship Influencers[24] | Won |
| 2019 | National Enterprise Network Awards | Enterprise Support Champion of the Year[25] | Won |
Charity work and philanthropy edit
Since campaigning in 1998 to make life better for small and business owners in the UK.[11] Robinson has also campaigned and raised funds for #PayIn30Days, an initiative designed to tackle late payment – one of the biggest issues facing the area's small and medium enterprises,[26] and #ExcludedUK, a campaign to support 3 million business owners and self-employed individuals who have been excluded from UK Government COVID-19 income support since the global pandemic.[27]
Robinson also serves as Patron for the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank, a charity which helps disadvantaged young people with the potential to become entrepreneurs with funding and access to mentors and has run three marathons in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.[28][29]
Bibliography edit
- The Happipreneur Why #MicroBizMatters? (2020, Chronos Publishing, ISBN 978-1916362147)
- A Perfect Little Gift (2019, Chronos Publishing, ISBN 978-0995594302)
- Loose Cannon (2017. Tony Robinson OBE, ISBN 978-1787231849)
- @MicroBizMatters Start Up Guide (2016, CreateSpace, ISBN 978-1535180511)
- Soculitherz on TV – 20 Feisty Enterprise Tips (2015, Tony Robinson OBE, ISBN 978-1849148818)
- Freedom From Bosses Forever (2014 Tony Robinson OBE, ISBN 978-1849144933)
- The Essential Guide to Earning a Living from Independent Consultancy (1996, BAB Publications, ISBN 978-0951248812)
References edit
- ^ "Here's how the Government can help the micro-business boom". Small is Beautiful. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Birth Record". FreeBMD. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Anthony Charles Robinson Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Why daring to be different can be good for business". The Guardian. London. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Business Advisory Bureau". Companies House. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative". Companies House. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Enterprise Alliance UK Launch Event Confirmed Attendance List" (PDF). Alan Barrell. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "InBiz founder named enterprise support champion". businesszone. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "New investment for business mentors". Gov.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Mentee Pocketbook" (PDF). Get Mentoring. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Enterprise Rockers launch micro-businesses campaign in Scarborough". The York Press. 10 January 2012.
- ^ "The Most Influential Business Books for These Successful Entrepreneurs". Ed Goodman. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "Enterprise Rockers". MicroBizMattersDay.rocks. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "National Enterprise Network gets behind #MicroBizMattersDay". National Enterprise Network. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Yorkshire Coast Enterprise Limited". Companies House. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "General election 2015: What the next UK government should learn from British SMEs' frustrations". realbusiness. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Tony Robinson OBE Micro Business Champion". Great British Entrepreneur Awards. 2020.
- ^ Hellicar, Lauren (3 September 2020). "£10K Business Boost judges announced – including ex-Dragon's Den investor".
- ^ "Freedom from bosses forever : how to take control of your own destiny by going it alone". WorldCat. OCLC. OCLC 890005680. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Cocking, Simon (6 November 2020). "Why Microbiz Matters, Startup Wisdom with Happipreneur Tony Robinson". Irish Tech News.
- ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 30th December 2000" (PDF). Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ "New Years Honours". BBC News, 30 December 2000. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ "Lifetime Contribution award for small business mentor Tony Robinson". The Press. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Bridge, Rachel (24 February 2016). "Smith & Williamson Power 100 2016". Fresh Business Thinking.
- ^ "2019 National Enterprise Network Awards Winners Announced At Flagship Event For The Enterprise Sector". National Enterprise Network. 26 November 2019.
- ^ "#PayIn30Days: Addressing the curse of late payments". The Manufacturer. 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Microbiz Champion Tony Robinson OBE dedicates new book to ExcludedUK". Excluded. 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Champion for small businesses to become enterprise bank patron". The Yorkshire Post. 14 August 2017.
- ^ "Tony Robinson OBE 6th Annual Summer Challenge – 5 x Half Marathons". JustGiving. 14 October 2018.