How a pilot is using his skills to help entrepreneurs through difficult times

Paul Green lost his dream job as a pilot due to redundancy, but he has turned the skills he learnt in the cockpit into a thriving coaching business that helps entrepreneurs with decision making and mental health.

Paul shares the story of The Cockpit Method and how the Amazon Small Business Accelerator has boosted his entrepreneurial skills.

How did you come up with your business idea?

I am a qualified commercial airline pilot. In March 2020 I lost my dream job after the airline I was working for entered administration. I spent a few months trying to work out what I could do with my transferable skills and the decade of aviation experience I had under my belt.

I realised that the commercial cockpit is a unique place and many of the methods we use day to day would be a huge benefit to other industries. The Cockpit Method was born.

I started working with business owners to teach decision making processes. A pilot is trained to make life or death decisions in a matter of minutes, something business owners were beginning to do during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of the future of their businesses.

I then began to coach in stress and fatigue management. This was picked up by the NHS and I started delivering training to frontline NHS staff.

What start-up challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for me was having no business experience. I had never planned to set up my own business.

I have overcome this challenge by creating a support network of other business owners who I can turn to for advice. A lot of this happened during the monthly Enterprise Nation networking events.

Why did you sign up for the Amazon Small Business Accelerator?

To gain knowledge for building the foundations for my business. As someone with no experience of business, having a resource which is my go-to for information and learning is incredibly important.

What tips have you picked up from the Amazon Small Business Accelerator e-learning programme?

I have been inspired by the importance of creating and nurturing an audience as a service-based business provider. When I set up my business, I naively thought I could use social media to talk about myself and my services and the customers would come flooding in - how wrong I was!

The Amazon Small Business Accelerator showed me the importance of building an online community. I was inspired to create content that really speaks to my ideal clients through pain and desire drivers.

My content is now no longer about me, and instead it is centred around my client and how I can help them. Without this e-learning course I would still be trying to 'hard sell' my services with very little to show for it.

What are your plans for the future of your business?

I plan to continue to build my relationship with the NHS to provide training to frontline staff in stress and fatigue management.

I have also developed an online training programme for business owners called The Wellbeing Contract. The programme inspires and empowers business owners to take control of their wellbeing with long-term solutions.

It is accompanied by a support network of wellbeing professionals that I have put together. In 2021, it is important that we work together rather than in competition to provide wellbeing support to as many people as possible.

I have a long-term goal to help one million people with wellbeing strategies. I plan to achieve this through my training programme, my social media content, by being a guest on podcasts and through the press.

Finally, what is your top tip for business success?

Consider every opportunity that is placed in front of you. When I first set up my business, I didn't think I would end up working in the wellbeing industry or having the NHS as a client. When an opportunity arose to have a discussion about it, I welcomed it with open arms and it changed the direction of my business for the better.

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