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Adrian Ashton

@adrianashton2.bsky.social

supporting people & organisations (social / otherwise) deal with uncertainty; occasional anorak; a tiger striped chaise lounge with a flamingo cushion.

335 Followers  |  537 Following  |  291 Posts  |  Joined: 20.11.2024
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Posts by Adrian Ashton (@adrianashton2.bsky.social)

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Adrian Ashton (2025 Winner: Corporate Excellence Awards) - Corporate Vision Magazine Adrian Ashton is one of the 2025 winners of Corporate Excellence Awards.

Nice to end February on a high - being named as the UK's Charity Consulting firm of the year, in the Corporate Excellence Awards.
www.corporatevision-news.com/winners/adri...

27.02.2026 12:02 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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"This is not a 'how to build a business' manual.
It is a lived, scraped knuckles, learned the hard way kind of book.
Part memoir, part guidance, part 'I probably shouldn’t admit this but here we are'."

= possibly the best description of my book, 'Flushed!', from a reader.
amzn.eu/d/0hHvOIMA

25.02.2026 07:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Adrian Ashton - 2026 bingo edition.pdf

We may be facing the prospect of it being nearly the end of February already, but there's still plenty of the year left to play my 2026 bingo card...
drive.google.com/file/d/1zTwR...

23.02.2026 07:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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In the years since my first book, 'Loving your doubt', was published I've noticed a spike in sales of it each spring - is there a correlation between imposter syndrome and the ending of the winter months that I've somehow missed in my researches on this subject..?

amzn.eu/d/022Xw1bU

20.02.2026 08:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Very chuffed to be (re)named as the corporate consultancy of the year in the global M&A Today awards.

17.02.2026 07:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Very excited to see myself in the pages of the
@financialtimes.com at the weekend, sharing some of my hopes and fears about what the impact of #MakingTaxDigital will be - not only on individual businesses like mine, but also the wider ecosystems and support services we rely on...

16.02.2026 07:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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When confusing one Adrian for another can lead you to some very unexpected adventures...
open.substack.com/pub/adrianas...

11.02.2026 08:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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As a accredited 'Good Business' myself, it's always exciting to see how others are harnessing their respective enterprises to make dents in the world that help all of us, during this #GoodBusinessWeek.

#GoodBusinessMatters

09.02.2026 10:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
​Unpaid Carers in Manchester's Social Economy: The Cost to the Community | Manchester Community Central

Proud to be able to share the outputs of this fast research report about unpaid carers with volunteer/paid roles in social economy groups with @mcrcommcentral.bsky.social

While no surprises about inclusion, some concern about impacts to wider community
manchestercommunitycentral.org/blogs/create...

05.02.2026 12:28 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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ISBE member plays bingo in 2026 Adrian Ashton is encouraging more play through his marketing in 2026. Following on from the porcelainΒ celebrationsΒ of his business reaching its 20th anniversaryΒ in 2025, ISBE member Adrian Ashton is e...

Feeling a little mischievous after managing to get the august @isbecommunity.bsky.social to showcase the bingo card I've made for my business this year...

www.isbe.org.uk/isbe-member-...

04.02.2026 09:29 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

After being 'flushed with success' last year, I'm now trying to avoid being 'brassed off' in this one...
substack.com/home/post/p-...

02.02.2026 08:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Adrian Ashton - 2026 bingo edition.pdf

It's international Lego day today - and did you know that these magic bricks form one of the squares on the 2026 bingo card about me, that you can play along with this year?
drive.google.com/file/d/1zTwR...

28.01.2026 09:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It's #ReclaimTheEconomyWeek! Around the world, people are coming together to demand an economy that puts people and planet first - and showing how it's already being done.

Sign the petition calling on leaders to redesign our economies to put people and planet at the centre: vist.ly/4p5xr

26.01.2026 07:59 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 31    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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Excited to see my reflections and insights on how to accidentally create a business that outlasts over 90% of all others is back in the Amazon top100 best seller list!
www.amazon.co.uk/Flushed-firs...

24.01.2026 11:02 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Petition: Update business mileage allowance from 45p per mile (not changed since 2011). The business mileage rate has been stuck at 45p per mile since 2011 – despite fuel, insurance, and maintenance costs soaring. It’s an unfair, outdated rate that penalises the self-employed and small b...

For anyone who claims travel expenses as part of their work - did you know it's been 15 years since HMRC last reviewed the amount you can claim for business mileage (and the costs of driving have risen by about 40% since then...)
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

22.01.2026 14:48 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How I'm (apparently) dangerous - in the best possible way Last year I wondered what one of my literary heroes, Sherlock Holmes would make of my book about imposter syndrome (if you missed it, you ca...

What if your imposter syndrome isn’t a flaw, but evidence of care, conscience, and intelligence?

(the time I asked Dr Who what they thought about my take on the subject - thirdsectorexpert.blogspot.com/2026/01/how-...)

22.01.2026 07:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Always exciting when the latest issue of Freelancer Magazine lands on my doormat - but doubly so this time as I've spotted myself in no less than 3 different places in it (and all for separate reasons!).

20.01.2026 07:42 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I know that a lot of people rate the on-line (and in-person) training courses and workshops I deliver - but I've just had an enquiry from Australia to lead sessions in that time zone!!

19.01.2026 07:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Adrian Ashton - 2026 bingo edition.pdf

Each year I try something in my business I've not done before (you may recall that for 2025, this involved a lot of toilets...) - for 2026, that means it's a bingo card that I'm offering people to play along with!!

drive.google.com/file/d/1zTwR...

12.01.2026 14:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Select tickets – What the Duck! Challenging What’s Possible Online with Adrian Ashton – Zoom What the Duck! Challenging What’s Possible Online with Adrian Ashton – Zoom, Thu 22 Jan 2026 - How far can you really go online? Many facilitators quietly carry limits in their minds: You can’t do tha...

Excited to be invited to "duck about" in sharing ideas as to how far in-person facilitation practices and techniques can be stretched to be done on-line, with the Facilitator's Cafe later this month - www.tickettailor.com/events/thefa...

12.01.2026 07:31 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How I'm (apparently) dangerous - but in the best possible way Doctor Who has added my book to the TARDIS library...

"Villains are always the ones who are absolutely sure they’re right - Daleks don’t doubt; Cybermen don’t doubt; Time Lords stopped doubting (and look how that went)."

Dr Who makes a cameo in my book about imposter syndrome, so it's only fair they get to review it?
substack.com/@adrianashto...

09.01.2026 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€œDoubt isn’t a weakness. It’s a moral compass.”

- what might Dr Who might make of my book exploring imposter syndrome, if they added it to the TARDS library?
substack.com/home/post/p-...

07.01.2026 09:29 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Bar chart showing FTSE 100 CEOs are paid a year's median full time wage in just 29 hours, compared to Β£594 for median workers after 29 hours.

Bar chart showing FTSE 100 CEOs are paid a year's median full time wage in just 29 hours, compared to Β£594 for median workers after 29 hours.

As you're reading this β€” literally right now β€” FTSE 100 CEOs have just been paid as much as an entire year's wage for the median full time worker. After just a couple of days back. I haven't even cleared my inbox yet.

06.01.2026 11:30 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 25    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 4
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Co-operative Conversations with Adrian Ashton

Some say that with a family bloodline that tracks back to Rochdale, it was inevitable I'd end up supporting coops - but my university years and early working life almost meant I didn't...

Looking forward to sharing some stories with @ukcoopstudies.bsky.social soon:
www.ukscs.coop/events/co-op...

05.01.2026 07:41 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Flushed!: The first 20 years - a view from the b(l)og Flushed!: The first 20 years - a view from the b(l)og : Ashton, Adrian: Amazon.co.uk: Books

Instead of templates, worksheets, or challenges to start your 2026, how about reflections and insights from someone who accidentally started a business which has now outlasted 90% of all others, won lots of awards, and has changed laws and influenced national polices?
amzn.eu/d/dqgfRfn

02.01.2026 13:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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When was the last time you spotted someone wearing a monocle on a zoom call?

(for the full story - www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...)

02.01.2026 08:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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In-between mince pies and leftover Brussel sprouts, I've been dipping into the just released latest research into the state of social enterprise in the UK.

(and bracing myself to be on the naughty list for next Christmas as a result...)
substack.com/home/post/p-...

30.12.2025 09:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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An alternative way to reflect on the year that was - asking an AI bot to tell me what it thought of me, based on my 2025 LinkedIn activity...

(with thanks to CoAuthor)
full post at: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

23.12.2025 08:01 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Proud to have been able to share some of my stories and insights into the self-employed who are also unpaid carers for multiple family members, to inform the wider work of the national Working Families charity.

If this also sounds of interest to you:
workingfamilies.org.uk/about-us/par...

22.12.2025 08:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Not sure if it's a sign that I'm on the naughty or nice list, when I get a Christmas card from my local MP...?

20.12.2025 11:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0