How do you make a million dollars in aviation? Start with two million and know when to quit! You've probably heard that one, haven't you? Heard the one about what makes an airplane fly? MONEY.
In all the years I have been around aviation, I have yet to meet someone that has made money in this business, YET they are still in it. This is an industry with over 1,000,000 employees that back up 750,000 pilots, that meets an annual payroll of $14,500,000,000.00, and an industry that contributes, on an annual basis, close to $50,000,000,000.00 to the US economy.
This is an industry that sells single engine airplanes for over $500,000.00 and has a waiting list for buyers. And as far as I can determine, I have never met a pilot on welfare or any other government "gimme" program. Yet, we make no money!
At the bottom of this poor totem pole is the much maligned Flight Instructor, poor baby! We, of course, as teachers can charge whatever our mouth can say and sometimes get it. We can work more hours, have more students, do more BFRs, do more checkouts, do more ICCs, and before we know what is happening, we are working more, making more, and spending less.
I have always believed that any professional, before graduating from the school of their choice, should take at least one year of money management. Doctors, lawyers, instructorsyou name itwe get so intent on the finished product, getting ready to make it in this hard, tough world, that we just refuse to allow any time whatsoever for the fine art of making money and keeping some of it.
One year of study combined with what you now are doing would let you retire years earlier in more comfort. Everyone knows how to eventually make money, but we never learn how to keep it, invest it, and to charge accordingly.
Being a retired school teacher and almost old enough to draw Social Security allows me a lot of latitude in who I charge and how much, but it was not always like this. Getting started, you must make some money for your efforts or you will desert this profession. Whatever you decide to do in aviation just has to be done as a full-time project and you must charge for your time and expertise accordingly. You will make money.
How to find these people that are willing to pay you money to teach them how to fly? Ask the next one hundred people you meet, "Would you like to learn how to fly?" "Would you be interested in what is involved in learning to fly . . . the costs, the time involved, where when, why, who, how???" Out of the first one hundred, you should get 2 students!
Want more students? Ask another hundred people the same questions. This strategy works. It's called marketing the product, and if it works for anything else in the world, it will also work for aviation, you, and instruction. You have just got to make the effort to try. Actually, what have you got to lose?
I'd be interested in hearing from you if you don't get a student out of one hundred efforts. I might even be persuaded to come out on the street and help you personally. I am so much in love with this aviation stuff that my whole body lights up when I start telling someone about it. You have really got to love the product in order to sell it. People can tell when you are faking it.
I wrote this little article in hopes that it would inspire you to make flight instruction your full-time vocation and not be a part timer at it. I see young instructors that work at a fast food restaurant for $5.00 per hour so that they will have enough money to stay in aviation.
How do we make money in aviation? We run our business in a businesslike manner with every intention of making money. As much fun as it is, you must make money or out you go. Actually what we are saying applies to any and all endeavors. Do it well and it will reward you; do it badly and it will bury you.
How do we make a million dollars in aviation? Here's some thoughts:
The rich are made, not born.
Take a chance, innovate . . . improve.
Live within your means (income).
Save something out of every paycheck . . . anything!
Multiply your age by your annual income, divide by 10, then double that number. This is where you should be. If you're ahead, great! If you're behind, catch up!
No one can be of more help to you in your pursuit of the buck than yourself. Quit putting it off. You could be the first millionaire in aviation . . .
Jim Trusty is the 1997 National Flight Instructor of the Year, the number 1 FAA Aviation Safety Counselor in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a member of the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI). He welcomes your comments. You can reach him at 103 Highland Drive, Old Hickory, TN 37138-1617, or 615-758-8434.