Bonita Payments CEO Elliott Forman challenges the belief that entrepreneurship is too risky, urging resilience and renewed confidence
There is a quiet crisis spreading through the American economy that rarely makes headlines: the slow erosion of entrepreneurial ambition. When aspiring business owners decide the risk isn’t worth it, when established founders quietly fold rather than fight, and when the next generation concludes that a steady paycheck is the only rational goal, something fundamental shifts in the country’s economic character. Elliott Forman believes that moment has arrived, and his newly released book The Pivot Process is designed as a direct response to that trend.
Forman is the founder and CEO of Bonita Payments, a technology and payment processing company based in New Orleans, and the author of Business is WAR. His latest work, arriving at a moment when economic headwinds are testing founders everywhere, is not simply another business book. It is a pointed challenge to the growing assumption that difficult conditions should deter people from starting or sustaining a business, and it offers a framework for adaptation rather than surrender.
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A Book Written for a Defining Economic Moment
“My new book is more than a publishing accolade; it is my attempt to help right the ship, particularly when so many people are being told that opening and operating a business in today’s economy is no longer a good decision,” said Forman.
“What if everyone gave up and accepted that message? What would become of communities that depend on independent businesses, and who would create the next generation of entrepreneurial opportunity in a time of uncertainty?”
For Forman, the stakes extend well beyond any single economic indicator. He sees the issue as reaching into the very heart of the American economy. The nation depends on the imagination and determination of independent business owners, he argues, and it must reject the notion that entrepreneurial ambition has become too dangerous to pursue.
The Pivot Process: The Strategic Roadmap
At the core of The Pivot Process is a principle Forman considers essential to survival: change is inevitable, and the decisions that produced yesterday’s success may not generate tomorrow’s results. The book walks through the importance of recognizing when a once-effective approach has stopped working, confronting the difficult decisions that follow, and developing the discipline to move forward without abandoning the original mission.
The central message is clear: determination alone cannot save every struggling business. Financial realities must be confronted with discipline and sound judgment, and strategic adaptation should always be considered before accepting defeat as inevitable. Drawing on his background as both a business founder and a former professional boxer, Forman explores the relationship between preparation and resilience, emphasizing that maintaining success requires action, not just optimism.
A pivot, as Forman defines it, can mean adjusting a business model, rethinking an operating strategy, finding a different customer or market, and understanding that changing direction is not the same as abandoning the destination. “Nothing that grows can remain exactly the same, and no business owner should expect the economy to stand still. Survival belongs to those who recognize change and respond with purpose,” Forman explained.
Entrepreneurship Must Remain an American Opportunity
Forman argues that not everyone belongs inside the same professional structure; not every ambitious individual will thrive in a conventional workplace; and not every valuable idea will emerge from an established corporation. “We must support entrepreneurship as everyone doesn’t fit into a box; not everyone is destined to spend a lifetime working inside someone else’s vision, and we cannot afford to discourage the people who have the courage to build businesses of their own,” Forman said.
Independent businesses help sustain local commerce and employment, contribute to the vitality of neighborhoods, and create opportunities for innovation that extend far beyond the businesses themselves. Forman believes that preserving these possibilities requires more than celebrating successful founders; it requires supporting business owners through periods of uncertainty and reinforcing the belief that responsible risk taking remains an important part of the American dream.
From Business is WAR to The Pivot Process
Forman’s first book Business is WAR addressed the realities of competition and the discipline required to operate a business. His latest work advances the conversation toward adaptation, reinvention, and reflection on lessons gained through years of entrepreneurship. As the founder of Bonita Payments, Forman has experienced the operational demands of building a company in a competitive financial services industry, navigating shifts in technology and customer expectations, and making consequential decisions affecting employees and business partners.
His perspective has also been shaped by military service and professional boxing, two experiences that reinforced the importance of preparation under pressure and the ability to adjust strategy when circumstances refuse to follow the original plan. “Business is WAR speaks to the battle of building and defending an enterprise; The Pivot Process addresses what happens when the battlefield itself changes. Both books come from my belief that business owners deserve practical guidance rather than empty encouragement.”
A Call to Keep the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive
The release of The Pivot Process is ultimately an invitation to rethink the relationship between economic uncertainty and entrepreneurial ambition. It encourages struggling business owners to examine their options before walking away and challenges aspiring founders to pursue opportunities with a plan and realistic expectations. Forman does not suggest that entrepreneurship is easy; instead, he argues that economic difficulty makes sound strategy absolutely necessary. Abandoning entrepreneurial ambition altogether would carry consequences far beyond individual business closures.
“Imagine an America where everyone decides that the risk of entrepreneurship is simply too great, where no one wants to open the next restaurant or start the next company, and where generations of innovation disappear because people were reluctant to try,” Forman said. “This is not the country I believe in; this is not the spirit that built American enterprise, and that is why I wrote The Pivot Process.”
For Forman, the message is both a challenge and an expression of confidence in America’s future. The country must continue making room for people willing to build and innovate. The entrepreneurial spirit must remain worth defending.
The Pivot Process by Elliott Forman is available on Amazon.
Purchase the book: https://a.co/d/00rhv7sF
About Elliott Forman
Elliott Forman is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Bonita Payments, an established financial technology and merchant processing company headquartered in New Orleans, and the author of Business is WAR and The Pivot Process. A United States Navy veteran and former professional boxer, Forman brings experience in leadership and disciplined execution to his business philosophy and shares those perspectives through his books and the Business is WAR podcast. His work focuses on entrepreneurship and the realities of business ownership, encouraging founders to approach adversity with strategic thinking and advocating for the continued importance of independent enterprise in the American economy.
Author Website: https://elliottforman.com
Book Information: https://a.co/d/00rhv7sF
Johnathan Thomas
Ascension Branding & Marketing LLC
jt@abmage.com
Why it matters: If a critical mass of potential founders concludes that entrepreneurship is no longer viable, the ripple effects would extend well beyond individual business closures, threatening local economies, job creation, and the innovation pipeline that has long defined American economic strength. Forman’s call to preserve the entrepreneurial spirit is a reminder that the country’s future depends on making room for people willing to take calculated risks and build something of their own.
