Courageous Entrepreneurs With Eric Anderton
Eric Anderton, CEO of the ABC Group, joined me on Money 2.0 to discuss the various aspects of being and operating as an entrepreneur.
Eric has a long career as an entrepreneur and businessman, and is also a keynote speaker, trainer, and business consultant.
Our discussion begins on the shared view Eric and I have on the necessity of entrepreneurs in this economy and generally as the backbone of our country. Eric mentions that he is working on a book about entrepreneurship called The Courageous Entrepreneur, set to be released late in 2014.
Eric explains why he believes courageousness is an integral part of being an entrepreneur.
He says entrepreneurs need courage and intelligent action to be successful. Eric says that innovation & marketing are the basic elements that make an entrepreneur. Eric maintains that innovation, the introduction of something new – a new method or device – is best thought through when you ask three key questions:
- What is desirable to people; to the market?
- What is possible – with the people you work with; with your own skill set; with technology?
- What is viable; will people pay for it?
Eric says you need to ask these questions to get an idea going. You need to ask yourself these questions continually as well to reevaluate what you are doing and where you are going.
Eric talks about his consulting business where he walks business owners through these questions and more to help them formulate their business and marketing plans. Eric believes strongly that business is guided best through “intelligent and consistent action that is inspired through a higher purpose”.
Eric says when he first sits down with potential clients, he asks: “Why does your business exist?” and “Where is it going?” He says some entrepreneurs/business owners struggle to answer those two basic questions. Eric maintains that it is critical to know what you are about and what your direction is to make intelligent decisions in your business. Eric offers the example of Nike to prove this point. He says that Nike’s mantra is “to experience the emotion of competition, winning, and crushing competitors”. He says Nike married this with where they wanted their business is go, which they identified in the 1960s as “to crush Adidas”.
Eric explains his own long-term business plan. He says he is on a “20 year journey building a business education company on the foundation of courage, excellence, and value – generously giving of myself so that others experience abundance“. He says he marries this to 90-day planning windows. He says the 90-day strategic plans are where he reevaluates and repurposes efforts. During these evaluations he asks such questions as: What should we start doing/What should we stop doing to get where we want to go?
Eric is adamant that every business owner should stop and think every 90-days to be truly innovative. He says the 90-day evaluations should be translated into monthly, weekly and daily activities. He says this is where courage as an entrepreneur gets really practical.
If you would like to hear my conversation with Eric, please click here.
I could not refrain from commenting. Exceptionally well written!