Key Takeaways
Key takeaways from What Happens When Entrepreneurs Stop Believing? Elliott Forman Releases The Pivot Process as a Call to Restore Entrepreneurship, in brief.
- Elliott Forman, founder and CEO of Bonita Payments, has released his new book, The Pivot Process
- The book challenges the idea that today's economy makes starting or running a business a bad decision
- Its core principle: change is inevitable, and strategic adaptation should come before accepting defeat
- A pivot can mean a new business model, operating strategy, customer or market, without abandoning the mission
- The Pivot Process follows Forman's first book, Business is WAR, and is available on Amazon
NEW ORLEANS, LA | November 8, 2026
What happens to the economy when aspiring entrepreneurs hesitate to start businesses, established owners surrender to economic uncertainty, and the next generation believes that working for someone else is the only realistic path to success?
Elliott Forman believes that question deserves national attention, and his newly released book The Pivot Process represents his response, arriving at a critical moment for entrepreneurship.
Forman is the founder and CEO of Bonita Payments, a technology and payment processing company headquartered in New Orleans, and the author of Business is WAR.
His latest work delivers a message that goes far beyond publishing another business book. He challenges the assumption that difficult economic conditions should discourage entrepreneurship and offers business owners a renewed perspective on adaptation and survival.
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 issue extends beyond economic indicators, reaching into the heart of the American economy. We need the imagination and determination of independent business owners, and we must reject the notion that entrepreneurial ambition carries too many risks.
The Pivot Process: The Strategic Roadmap
At the heart of The Pivot Process is a principle that Forman considers essential to surviving in business. Change is inevitable, and the decisions that created yesterday's success may not deliver tomorrow's results.
The book examines the importance of recognizing when an established approach has stopped producing the desired results, confronting difficult decisions, and developing the discipline to move forward without surrendering the original mission.
The central message is that 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.
Through the perspective of a business founder and former professional boxer, Forman explores the relationship between preparation and resilience, while emphasizing that maintaining success requires action rather than optimism alone.
A pivot can mean adjusting a business model, reconsidering an operating strategy, finding a different customer or market, and recognizing 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 the country must also reconsider how it defines a successful working life, particularly as traditional employment structures change, and as individuals seek greater control over their economic futures.
Not everyone belongs inside the same professional structure; not every ambitious individual will thrive in a conventional workplace; not every valuable idea will emerge from an established corporation.
"We must support entrepreneurship because not everyone fits 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 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, while 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, encouraging struggling business owners to examine their options before walking away, and challenging 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. Read more about Elliott.
Author Website: https://elliottforman.com
Book Information: https://a.co/d/00rhv7sF
Website: https://elliottforman.com
Media Inquiries and Interview Requests
Johnathan Thomas / jt@abmage.com Ascension Branding & Marketing LLC On behalf of Elliott Forman Business Is War Podcast abmage.com
Elliott runs Bonita Payments from New Orleans. He writes General Quarters to share the playbook most ISOs would rather their agents and merchants never see — pricing math, residual structure, and what actually separates a partner from a vendor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about this topic, answered by Bonita's New Orleans team.
What is The Pivot Process about?
It is Elliott Forman's book on adapting a business when the approach that built yesterday's success stops working: recognizing that point, confronting difficult decisions, and changing direction without abandoning the original mission.
Who wrote The Pivot Process?
Elliott Forman, founder and CEO of Bonita Payments in New Orleans. It follows his first book, Business is WAR.
Where can I buy The Pivot Process?
The Pivot Process by Elliott Forman is available on Amazon at https://a.co/d/00rhv7sF.