Exploring Life & Business with Eric Walker of The Next Step Agency

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eric Walker. Him and his team share his story with us below.

Please kick things off for us with some background on your story.
Eric Walker moved to Arizona in 2001 and attended both Collins College and Arizona State University. Inspired by the beautiful weather and thriving business community, he decided to stay and continue to his education – completing his MBA and MSc. After working for several large Fortune 100 companies and leading technology initiatives, he decided to branch out on his own.

Leveraging strong relationships, industry expertise, and drive for success in entrepreneurial endeavors, his current company has grown over 700% in two years – and was recently recognized as one of the Valleys Largest Minority-Owned Consulting Firms.

Eric has been fortunate to have strong mentors and advocates who share his desire for success, giving back to the community and helping others achieve. He credits his parents for building his character, belief system and always encouraging him to ‘focus on character and integrity – and be kind to others.’

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges is continuing to push forward and not stress too much – even when things don’t go as planned. There have been countless times when challenges seemed insurmountable. Looking back, I realize that each of those challenges meant much less to me in the long run than I believed in the moment.

It can be hard to ‘right-size problems in the moment. Most business owners believe that today’s problem is the most critical, and once solved, everything will be smooth sailing. I try harder now to trust my intuition, make decisions quickly and remember there will always be more challenges. Summary? Worry less and do more.

We’ve been impressed with The Next Step Agency, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Next Step Agency started with one simple idea. Do things better. We have served clients throughout the US and developed a reputation as a firm dedicated to helping customers solve the most challenging problems. We provide resources, insight and technology to demanding clients who have expectations to be great. According to a recent survey, 70% of organizations have suffered at least one project failure in the prior 12 months. Much of the strategy and advice that business leaders turn to is unreliable or impractical.

The primary driver of a successful company is the ability to out-think and out-innovate the competition. We align organizations so they can build better products and focus on real revenue creation. We specifically do two things for our clients. 1) Better Products – We build products for our clients to ensure that they successfully compete on key product differentiators other than price. 2) Increase Revenue – We establish service lines that assist clients in the creation of new profit generation instead of only focusing on cost reduction.

The single most important measure of our success is client satisfaction. Last year we conducted a ‘client satisfaction’ survey to gain insight from our clients on our performance. Net promoter score is the industry standard to measure success from the customer. Last year, we conducted a survey, and we obtained a 100 percent NPS. This was a huge accomplishment for our company, our team and ultimately our clients.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I really like ‘How I Built This on NPR with Guy Raz, lots of inspirational stories, ideas and people with similar life experiences. A couple of great books I keep on hand are: Zero to one, Peter Thiel: This is a great read which I recommend for anyone looking to start/join a small business.

The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande: This has become a book I reference often and helps me keep things organized.

Search Inside Yourself, Chade-Meng Tan: This is a great read for anyone looking for new ways of thinking about health, happiness, and creativity.

Contact Info:

• Email: info@thenextstep.agency
• Website: www.thenextstep.agency

Image Credits
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