I grew up on farms and ranches in Colorado and South Dakota where I learned a lot of life lessons, most important of which was that my integrity was the one thing that mattered most in everything I did. My stepfather instilled in me that the truth mattered, despite the consequences. Later in life, I would spend 20 years as a California Highway Patrol Officer, and there were many occasions when my integrity was all that saved me from embarrassment or false accusations of wrongdoing. As a result, I taught my children that they were to accept responsibility for their actions, be they good or bad. In my opinion, if a person is willing to accept responsibility for a less than perfect action, only then are they entitled to claim the reward for having done well.

I have been engaged in various small business activities for just over 40 years, some successful beyond my wildest dreams, at the time, and some not so successful. All have taught me lessons I needed to learn. The one lesson I learned that has had the biggest impact on me is that I truly enjoy sharing my knowledge with others. Flight instruction has been my passion for over 35 years but recently health issues have grounded me. Then my son-in-law asked me why I don’t try consulting, pointing out how I have mentored one of my grandsons in his business startup. I have done some consulting type work over the years, mostly helping students purchase airplanes that actually could accomplish their mission, rather than buying the first pretty one they saw.

So, here’s what I might be able to do for you.

1. While I am not a lawyer, I did complete the first year of law school and did pass the “First Year Law Student’s Examination” in California. That means I have a little bit of knowledge of Contracts, Torts, and Criminal Law. That was also what convinced me I did not really want to be a lawyer. But I can certainly point out some things that you need to be wary of when it comes to business law and ethical behavior. There will always be times you absolutely will need legal advice from a licensed attorney.

2. I have done personal and business taxes since 1969, and in fact managed a tax prep office for a season. While I have no desire to do your taxes for you, and I am certainly not an accountant, there are some strategies you can use to help your business which I’ve used and I’d be happy to share with you.

3. I am not a financial planner, but I’m happy to share with you what I’ve learned over the years. I can, however, give you some pointers about managing the financial aspects of running a business. I use a group of spreadsheets to track my business operations that suit my needs and I can help you develop your own that you can customize to suit your needs.

4. Most of my expertise is in the Flight Instruction arena. The largest company I’ve owned had 12 aircraft and 17 staff, 15 of them instructors. We were on a track to hit $750,000 in revenues our 3rd year when 9/11 happened, and that ended that. I learned several business lessons from that fiasco. So, yes, most of what I can help you with is what NOT to do.

So, the bottom line here is that I might be able to help you with many aspects of running your aviation business. We won’t know if you don’t call, and I’ll be the first to tell you if I don’t know the answer to your problem. I don’t like people who waste my time and I won’t waste your time or your money.

Elliott A. Arthur, President/Treasurer

NorthEast Planes Aviation, Inc.

970-888-0088