Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Eric’s early life was unremarkable until at age 11 his father, a Vietnam veteran, passed away from cancer due to exposure to Agent Orange. His mother then worked full time and wen to school in the evenings, earning an accounting degree so she could earn a better job to raise Eric and his younger sister. To help around the house, Eric taught himself how to cook.
Growing up, Eric suffered from numerous medical conditions including hypoglycemia and having a tumor removed from above his eye. His ongoing medical problems kept him inside for long periods of time where he learned he had talents for writing and computer technology.
Eric had his first newspaper article published in April 1987 and he started his career as a freelance writer. Working his way through college he split his time working in a graphic design studio and the I.T. department at Brooklyn Law School. His ability to combine writing, design and technology allowed him to work in the communications field as a creative director in advertising, an operations manager at media companies, and other roles. His time working in communications taught him to manage people, keep projects on track and on budget, and streamline the organizations for which he worked so that they ran easily and profitably.
Eric founded The Modern Observer Group in 2002 as a name to promote his freelance communications work. Wanting to use his skills and talents to help small businesses and executives achieve their professional as well as personal goals, Eric reformed The Modern Observer Group in 2009 to bring in a greater range of coaches and consultants to enhance the services available.
As he was retooling The Modern Observer Group, he suffered a setback when he was diagnosed with a condition called Cone Dystrophy. Within nine months of the diagnosis he was declared to be legally blind.
Unwilling to quit, Eric found computer technology that would allow him to continue working, even as his vision deteriorated. He also switched his focus to coaching clients instead of general business consulting. He designed the Businetiks system to be used in both coaching and consulting. The system works on seven elements of success: mindset, focus, operations, communication, innovation, evaluation, and improvement. He applied the system to his own life and business, enabling him to succeed despite his medical problems.
Eric’s philosophy as a coach is based on the idea that one cannot separate oneself from one’s business. A business owner or executive’s personal life is inexorably connected to his or her business – one cannot succeed while the other flounders. Eric takes into account the whole person – both their personal side and their professional side – when developing a plan to help a client. His evaluations are impartial, and his solutions are practical since he has learned how to successfully run a business the hard way so that his clients will not make mistakes that could be easily avoided.
As The Modern Observer Group grew, Eric was able to use it as an incubator for other ideas. The first project launched through the incubation program was SupportInfo-Go. SupportInfo-Go creates email and web-based calendars and communities to connect people with medical conditions to support groups, medical information, and other resources to assist them. Starting with MS, the company is working to create connections for people with Parkinson’s, Cancer, Dementia, and many other conditions.
Today, Eric splits his time between running The Modern Observer Group and SupportInfo-Go in his quest to help people find the success they deserve.