How do you go from being a professional oboist and music teacher to owning a jet company?
Fasten your seatbelts, because Denise Wilson’s entrepreneurial dream has taken flight… and Glambition Radio is taking you along for the ride!
Denise is the CEO of Desert Jet, an aircraft charter company that she founded in 2007. Desert Jet offers on-demand jet charters through its fleet of aircraft based in Palm Springs, California.
Denise led Desert Jet’s growth as one of the nation’s fastest growing, privately-owned companies, ranking the last three years on the Inc. 500 list with a growth rate of over 600%!
Denise and I are both in the Ernst & Young Winning Women program, and became friends at an EY event last year where we met.
Back when she was falling in love with flying and building her business from scratch, Denise’s husband AND her best friend told her she was crazy… that no one wanted to see a woman flying them around in a private jet. (Only 6% of all pilots are women.) Here’s the kicker: Now her husband works for her! 😉
This week’s Glambition Radio episode is loaded with valuable advice on following your heart and NEVER taking no for an answer. Here’s a sneak preview for you from Denise, in her own words:
Tip #1: Don’t listen to your critics
“Don’t ever let anyone deter you. If you have a vision and you know that you’ve worked the numbers, you know your target market, you know all the details behind it… don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it, or there’s a reason why you can’t be successful in what you want to do.”
Tip #2: Just say “YES”… and figure out the details later
“If you’re given an opportunity, and you’re not quite sure that you can execute or deliver, just say ‘Yes’—especially if it’s an opportunity that you want. Just say ‘Yes’ and then figure out later how you’re going to get it done!”
Tip #3: Market yourself as “the expert”
“When you’re first starting out, what really worked for me was marketing myself as the expert. I wrote a lot of content on aviation, and I was able to be seen with credibility right from the get-go when I started my company… instead of having to have a time period where I had to prove myself.”
You’re going to love Denise’s story about the first time she ever flew an airplane. This Glambition Girl has guts!
Denise also lets us in on a little secret: You don’t have to be a gazillionaire to charter a private jet! Lots of great stories and wisdom from Denise, so listen to this episode of Glambition Radio by clicking the play button below. And if you want to hear my most recent episodes head over to iTunes to listen or subscribe for automatic updates.
Love and success,
P.S. We need your review!! We’ve had more than 50,000 downloads, but it seems few take a minute to write a review. If you enjoy what we shared in this episode, please leave a review and a comment on iTunes. I would really appreciate it. Thanks! 🙂
