EO Louisiana: A Remarkable Rebound Powered by Align<\/h1><\/div>Following a drastic decline in membership after Hurricane Katrina, Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Louisiana chapter struggled to rebuild membership base. When Erik Frank took over as board chair, he switched to Align to manage the chapter\u2019s growth efforts. The results were a turnaround that saw the chapter become the region\u2019s, and eventually the world\u2019s, fastest growing EO chapter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
![](\"https:\/\/aligntoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EO-LA_624x624.jpg\" "\\"EO-LA_624x624\\"")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![](\"https:\/\/aligntoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/157875-9f13877a7b404b3390866802738e2ee3-2-300x277-1.jpg\" "\\"Erik")
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>It all comes down to accountability. Can you hold your team and yourself accountable to doing the things you say you\u2019ll do. It\u2019s the hardest thing in business, and it\u2019s also what Align does best.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Erik Frank, Board President - EO Louisiana<\/h6><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cEngaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the mission of Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization<\/a> (EO), a nonprofit founded in 1987 by 22 entrepreneurs led by Verne Harnish, whose books \u2014 and Scaling Up<\/a> \u2014 compiled the guiding leadership and management principles thought to make John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil one of the great success stories in American business history.<\/p>\nEO\u2019s founders saw the positive impact entrepreneurs could have on everything from national economies to local communities; but they also understood how difficult starting a business was, and they believed they had the experience to help.<\/p>\n
EO brings business owners together to learn from each other and offers resources such as global events, leadership-development programs, an online entrepreneur forum, executive education opportunities and more.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s working! Today, EO is a massive network comprised of more than 14,000 entrepreneurs in 193 chapters from 60 countries.<\/p>\n
But not all chapters have had the same level of rapid growth attracting and affecting entrepreneurs in their regions. This is the story of one of those 193 chapters \u2014 EO Louisiana<\/a> \u2014 who has climbed from a long stretch of challenging years following Hurricane Katrina to become the fastest growing EO chapter in the world.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\nStagnation<\/h2>\n
When Katrina made landfall in August 2005, the storm and its aftermath upended lives and leveled entire communities. EO\u2019s Louisiana chapter \u2014 like just about everything on the Gulf Coast \u2014 struggled in the months and years that followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the storm, EO Louisiana had close to 100 members,\u201d explained Erik Frank, the chapter\u2019s current president, and an entrepreneur who built, scaled and successfully sold two New Orleans businesses. But, after the storm, they dropped down to as low as 30 member-entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
Erik got his introduction to EO in 2012, when he joined their Accelerator<\/a> \u2014 a program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs discover the tools to grow their business to more than $1 Million in revenue. \u201cIt changed so much about the way I do business,\u201d he said, \u201cit was so important to me.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter hitting the $1 Million sales mark in 2014, Erik graduated from the EO Accelerator and joined the regular Louisiana EO chapter and its Board, serving as the Accelerator program chair for two years before transitioning to other roles.<\/p>\n
His first five years on the Board, Erik admits, included a frustrating stretch for the chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just in this constant state of treading water,\u201d he remembered. \u201cNo matter what we planned, we couldn\u2019t get above 55 members. We\u2019d gain six members, and then we\u2019d lose six members. And it went on like that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\nAccountability Crisis<\/h2>\n
The central EO office traditionally gives each of their chapters an annual roadmap that suggests what should be done, for example, in the year\u2019s first 30, 60 and 90 days. That\u2019s the foundation for a chapter\u2019s strategic planning.<\/p>\n
Following a drastic decline in membership after Hurricane Katrina, Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Louisiana chapter struggled to rebuild membership base. When Erik Frank took over as board chair, he switched to Align to manage the chapter\u2019s growth efforts. The results were a turnaround that saw the chapter become the region\u2019s, and eventually the world\u2019s, fastest growing EO chapter.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>It all comes down to accountability. Can you hold your team and yourself accountable to doing the things you say you\u2019ll do. It\u2019s the hardest thing in business, and it\u2019s also what Align does best.<\/p>\n<\/div>
Erik Frank, Board President - EO Louisiana<\/h6><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cEngaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the mission of Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization<\/a> (EO), a nonprofit founded in 1987 by 22 entrepreneurs led by Verne Harnish, whose books \u2014 and Scaling Up<\/a> \u2014 compiled the guiding leadership and management principles thought to make John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil one of the great success stories in American business history.<\/p>\nEO\u2019s founders saw the positive impact entrepreneurs could have on everything from national economies to local communities; but they also understood how difficult starting a business was, and they believed they had the experience to help.<\/p>\n
EO brings business owners together to learn from each other and offers resources such as global events, leadership-development programs, an online entrepreneur forum, executive education opportunities and more.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s working! Today, EO is a massive network comprised of more than 14,000 entrepreneurs in 193 chapters from 60 countries.<\/p>\n
But not all chapters have had the same level of rapid growth attracting and affecting entrepreneurs in their regions. This is the story of one of those 193 chapters \u2014 EO Louisiana<\/a> \u2014 who has climbed from a long stretch of challenging years following Hurricane Katrina to become the fastest growing EO chapter in the world.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\nStagnation<\/h2>\n
When Katrina made landfall in August 2005, the storm and its aftermath upended lives and leveled entire communities. EO\u2019s Louisiana chapter \u2014 like just about everything on the Gulf Coast \u2014 struggled in the months and years that followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the storm, EO Louisiana had close to 100 members,\u201d explained Erik Frank, the chapter\u2019s current president, and an entrepreneur who built, scaled and successfully sold two New Orleans businesses. But, after the storm, they dropped down to as low as 30 member-entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
Erik got his introduction to EO in 2012, when he joined their Accelerator<\/a> \u2014 a program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs discover the tools to grow their business to more than $1 Million in revenue. \u201cIt changed so much about the way I do business,\u201d he said, \u201cit was so important to me.\u201d<\/p>\nAfter hitting the $1 Million sales mark in 2014, Erik graduated from the EO Accelerator and joined the regular Louisiana EO chapter and its Board, serving as the Accelerator program chair for two years before transitioning to other roles.<\/p>\n
His first five years on the Board, Erik admits, included a frustrating stretch for the chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just in this constant state of treading water,\u201d he remembered. \u201cNo matter what we planned, we couldn\u2019t get above 55 members. We\u2019d gain six members, and then we\u2019d lose six members. And it went on like that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/h2>\nAccountability Crisis<\/h2>\n
The central EO office traditionally gives each of their chapters an annual roadmap that suggests what should be done, for example, in the year\u2019s first 30, 60 and 90 days. That\u2019s the foundation for a chapter\u2019s strategic planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngaging leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the mission of Entrepreneurs\u2019 Organization<\/a> (EO), a nonprofit founded in 1987 by 22 entrepreneurs led by Verne Harnish, whose books \u2014 and Scaling Up<\/a> \u2014 compiled the guiding leadership and management principles thought to make John D. Rockefeller and his Standard Oil one of the great success stories in American business history.<\/p>\n EO\u2019s founders saw the positive impact entrepreneurs could have on everything from national economies to local communities; but they also understood how difficult starting a business was, and they believed they had the experience to help.<\/p>\n EO brings business owners together to learn from each other and offers resources such as global events, leadership-development programs, an online entrepreneur forum, executive education opportunities and more.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s working! Today, EO is a massive network comprised of more than 14,000 entrepreneurs in 193 chapters from 60 countries.<\/p>\n But not all chapters have had the same level of rapid growth attracting and affecting entrepreneurs in their regions. This is the story of one of those 193 chapters \u2014 EO Louisiana<\/a> \u2014 who has climbed from a long stretch of challenging years following Hurricane Katrina to become the fastest growing EO chapter in the world.<\/p>\n When Katrina made landfall in August 2005, the storm and its aftermath upended lives and leveled entire communities. EO\u2019s Louisiana chapter \u2014 like just about everything on the Gulf Coast \u2014 struggled in the months and years that followed.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the storm, EO Louisiana had close to 100 members,\u201d explained Erik Frank, the chapter\u2019s current president, and an entrepreneur who built, scaled and successfully sold two New Orleans businesses. But, after the storm, they dropped down to as low as 30 member-entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n Erik got his introduction to EO in 2012, when he joined their Accelerator<\/a> \u2014 a program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs discover the tools to grow their business to more than $1 Million in revenue. \u201cIt changed so much about the way I do business,\u201d he said, \u201cit was so important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n After hitting the $1 Million sales mark in 2014, Erik graduated from the EO Accelerator and joined the regular Louisiana EO chapter and its Board, serving as the Accelerator program chair for two years before transitioning to other roles.<\/p>\n His first five years on the Board, Erik admits, included a frustrating stretch for the chapter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just in this constant state of treading water,\u201d he remembered. \u201cNo matter what we planned, we couldn\u2019t get above 55 members. We\u2019d gain six members, and then we\u2019d lose six members. And it went on like that for years.\u201d<\/p>\n The central EO office traditionally gives each of their chapters an annual roadmap that suggests what should be done, for example, in the year\u2019s first 30, 60 and 90 days. That\u2019s the foundation for a chapter\u2019s strategic planning.<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
Stagnation<\/h2>\n
<\/h2>\n
Accountability Crisis<\/h2>\n