FBO Connection Featured in B&CA Digest
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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable
We would like to welcome B&CA Digest readers to our blog, FBO Connection. Since our first blog post in 2011, the FBO Connection has been a source for discussion, ideas and general conversation on the FBO industry where you’ll find regular contributions from seasoned FBO professionals sprinkled with bits of wisdom and peppered occasionally with some hot topics. We like to call it “Sage Advice for the FBO Community.”The content of the FBO Connection varies with each post and is written as a source of information for not only owners, operators, managers and supervisors but also for practically any FBO employee. In fact, we’ve received feedback from FBO operators who say they print our blogs and post them in the FBO for all employees to read. “It’s like taking a course in how to run a more successful FBO operation,” one regular reader commented.
With each blog post, we’ll peel back the onion to reveal what we consider to be seasoned FBO insider knowledge. Many topics fall out of our proprietary 10 Steps to Building a Profitable FBO, which forms the basis for our NATA FBO Success Seminar.
Included will be winning strategies and tactics you can put to use immediately and, over time, in the operation of your FBO. Subjects range from leases, minimum standards, reducing your cost of business and operating more efficiently to managing your fuel pricing/margins, finding “free money” hidden in your operation and competing on customer service, not price.
As we prepare for 2015, we’ll be busy blogging about upcoming events that affect the FBO industry. Here is a rundown on some of our forthcoming activities and educational opportunities:
- Jan. 15: Our Annual FBO Industry Survey and Forecast. Each January we conduct a survey of more than 500 U.S.-based FBOs to determine the overall health and direction of the FBO industry. With this information, we write a report and issue a news release stating our findings while providing a forecast for the coming year.
- Feb. 3: NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, San Jose, Calif. Join us at 5:15 p.m. in the Conference Hall as we conduct the Pre-Conference Exhibitor Meeting. Here we’ll discuss how to get the most out of your booth presence at the S&D conference and why “adding a little cheese” can enhance your exhibit investment.
- March 9-10: NATA FBO Success Seminar, Las Vegas. Each year this seminar gets bigger and better as we cover in detail the essential elements in building a more successful FBO operation. For a complete overview of the topics we discuss, click here.
We look forward to reaching out to you through this blog and connecting on everyday issues that affect the bottom line of your FBO operation. If we happen to hit on a subject you’d like to comment on, or if you want us to address a certain issue, please let us know by sending an email to John Enticknap at jenticknap@bellsouth.net or Ron Jackson at rjacksongroup@earthlink.net.
One thing is for certain, we’ll add a little spice to your FBO life and maybe some sage advice along the way.
About the bloggers:
John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com
Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a certified journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection. Ron@thejacksongroup.biz, Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com