All of the extremely financially successful pilots with whom I’ve spent time have one thing in common: additional streams of income, beyond their airline job. Take a page out of their (and most financially successful people’s) playbook and increase the income you have coming in “on the side.”
Why you should increase your income
Regardless of where you are in your career, the greater your income, the faster you build your net worth. The faster you build your net worth, the shorter the leg to your financial freedom.
In addition to building greater wealth faster, having income from multiple sources is the prudent thing to do as a pilot. Why? Because the aviation industry goes through uncertain times, and it’s wise “diversification” and risk management to have income beyond your flight pay.
Increasing your income is easier than you think
When I work with pilots to establish side jobs or increase income, I almost always hear that it’s “too complicated” or it’s “not for me.” Even though it may feel overly complicated or out of your control, it’s not!
Increasing your income is much easier than you think. Simply put, it’s about finding where you add value to others and then exchanging the value you can (or already do) add for money.
Follow five steps that always work and you’ll be well on your way.
Step 1 – Look for “gold” with your current employer
It’s rare that one cannot find an opportunity to add more value (in exchange for more compensation) with their current employer. This is especially true if you’re working for a flight school building hours or for a regional looking to hire new pilots.
Spend time reviewing where you see “gaps” with your current employer and come up with a proposal to fill those gaps in exchange for a small percentage of the gains. You’ll be surprised at how often you can find these opportunities.
For some, this may provide sufficient income to offset other costs or save additional money. If you’re looking for more, move on to step two.
Step 2 – List your current skills
Make a written list of all the skills you currently possess. Come up with as many as you can and don’t worry if some don’t seem relevant, because they very well may be in the next step.
For some individuals, it can be hard to come up with a solid list. If that’s the case for you, simply ask those you’re closest to what your best skills – your “superpowers” – are. You’ll be surprised at the feedback you’ll get! Be creative and don’t stop until you have at least ten.
Once you have your list of skills, move to step three.
Step 3 – Identify where the money is and who has it
There’s an old saying in business: “Go where the money is.” When you’re looking to increase your income and income streams, find out who has money and needs one or more of the skills you listed.
Don’t overcomplicate this step! The most common mistake I see in this process is people looking to make more of this than it is. Simply find those who have money and would benefit from your skills.
Now that you have your list of skills and people or organizations that would benefit from them, you’re ready to move to step four.
Step 4 – Exchange your skills for that money
This is the fun part because it’s where you start to bring in the additional income. Don’t worry about whether you are “good” at sales or not. Simply focus on sharing the value you can provide the people or organizations on your list and share it with them.
Start with five people, share the value and skills you can bring, and ask them to do business with you.
Nervous about taking this step? Rest assured and read the next step.
Step 5 – Take action
One of the paradoxes of taking action is that confidence follows action – it doesn’t lead it. This means you only feel comfortable after you take action, not before.
Money, success, and opportunity always follow action. Take a leap of faith and make the first call or send the first email. Then do the second. After each small step, you’ll build your confidence and realize that the worst that can happen is you end up right where you started, but a little bit stronger!
Three real-life examples
Here are three real-life people who have followed the steps to increasing their income to give you a little extra motivation as you start your journey.
I recently heard of a flight school student who also started work at the flight school in a non-instructor capacity. He’s not only receiving extra income from his job, but he’s getting discounted flight hours as he acquires his ratings.
I have a client who is a captain with a regional airline and is very much interested in photography and motivation. He uses his downtime on trips to take great photos and attach motivational quotes and sayings to them. He’s licensed these to a t-shirt company and has several other deals in the works.
I also work with a first officer at a regional who uses his downtime to drive for Uber (including his trips to the airport). He is taking ½ of the money he earns from Uber and investing it in sales training and coaching to improve his value and skills. His plan is to use his new skills to replace the Uber driving and continue the cycle until he’s earning more from his side income than his flying!
Final thoughts
With the right plan and desire, you can increase your income and shorten you path to wealth. Doing so is always smart risk management as you increase the number of income streams you have.
Take the time to see if there is income you can generate from your current airline or employer, then list your skills, followed by those who need those skills and have money. Then, exchange your skills for their money and deliver as promised.
If you’re not happy with your immediate side job, take some of your extra income and invest it in improving yourself so you can command even higher income going forward.
Let me know if there’s anything I can do along your journey. Just remember – you can increase your income and take command of your finances!
