Have you ever wondered what it takes to own, manage, or broker private planes? 

This episode dives deep into the operations of a thriving aviation business, exploring everything from aircraft customization to the levels of ownership and the true value of mentorship in scaling a business.

Learn how private aviation is not just about luxury but also a tool for efficiency and growth. Don't miss this crash course in private aviation success!

📒 Show Notes and Resources 📒

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Kellen Ketchersid
Kellen is a co-founder of Stag Business Coaching, business strategist, and a systems thinker. He leverages his extensive experience in biotech and consulting to empower entrepreneurs to navigate complex challenges with strategic growth solutions.

Albert Gillispie
Albert is a serial entrepreneur, business efficiency expert and co-founder of Stag Business Coaching who has founded several multimillion-dollar companies. With expertise in optimizing operations and innovative systems, he mentors business leaders who want to unlock their business’s full potential.

🎤 Scott Oshman

Scott Oshman is the president and owner of Oshman Aviation, a private plane dealer based in North Texas. Founded in 2017, Oshman Aviation specializes in pre-owned aircraft sales, brokerage services, and aircraft management, offering clients across the world expertise in acquiring, maintaining, and upgrading private planes.
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EPISODE 30 TRANSCRIPTION

Introduction

Albert [00:00]: Welcome to the Business Growth Masterclass, where business growth is made simple. Listen as we discuss best practices to streamline your operations, increase your profits, and ultimately create healthier, more stable, and more valuable companies. Today's guest is the president and owner of Oshman Aviation. Oshman Aviation is a private plane dealer based in North Texas that provides aircraft sales, management, and consulting services for clients across the world.

Albert [00:29]: If you've always wanted a crash course in private planes, what that means, and the place it has in your business and life, this is the episode for you. Without further ado, welcome to the podcast, Mr. Scott Oshman.

Scott [00:41]: Albert, thanks for having me, man. I'm excited to be here and thank you for the invitation.

Albert [00:45]: You bet. For our listeners here, I've known you since junior high. It's been almost two decades since I've gotten to see you. We've recently caught up online and checked in to see how life's going since we left Keller High School.

Scott [00:56]: Yeah, it's crazy to think it's been 18 years, like we talked about today. Yeah, man, I really appreciate you inviting me on here. I really enjoy listening to your podcast. Look forward to it whenever a new episode comes out, so I appreciate what you're doing.

Albert [01:10]: You bet, man. So tell us, what do you do? What is Oshman Aviation? I know I read the bio from your website and dug into it a little bit, but tell the listener, the business owner—what do you do? What problem do you solve for people?

Scott [01:24]: Sure. Oshman Aviation was founded in 2017, so we're coming up on our eighth year. We are a pre-owned aircraft dealer, a brokerage firm, and a management company. What that entails is, imagine a car dealership, but it's pre-owned airplanes. Then we have a brokerage division as well.

Scott [01:44]: If we don't have what you're looking for in our own inventory, we'll represent you very similarly to how a realtor represents a property, whether it's commercial or residential. We'll help you find the right airplane. Or maybe you own an airplane, and you're looking to sell it—whether it's to upgrade, get out altogether, or make some sort of lateral move. We'll represent you, your asset, and your best interests, acting as your representative.

Specialization in Aircraft Sales

Albert [02:27]: And then our management division, we've actually kind of curtailed over the last couple of years, but we'll manage the aircraft for you. So similar to a property manager in the commercial real estate space, we'll do that. If you don't have a flight department, we'll come in and manage that asset for you. We'll hire the crew, get your insurance taken care of, handle all your maintenance oversight, planning, scheduling, trip logistics—anything and everything that touches that airplane. If you don't have the skill set or the desire to manage it, we make it turnkey for you. So three different arms, with the transactional side being the aircraft dealership and brokerage, is really our bread and butter.

Albert [03:05]: Okay. I'm fascinated by the management side. My dad owns like a 1973 Cessna—really old—and it's nicotine yellow. They recently completely redid the interior, but it's still a little bitty plane. So, what kind of planes do you sell? I guess before you answer that, what's your bread and butter as far as private planes?

Scott [03:23]: First, I didn't know that about your dad. I didn’t know he was into aviation. That’s cool. So, our niche or specialization, if you will, is in turboprops and light jets.

Scott [03:33]: That's going to be King Airs, which are made by Beechcraft, now owned by Textron. So, Textron products and then light jets and mid-sized jets, like the Citation and Phenoms. Lately, we’ve gotten into a couple of Falcons, which are larger than mid-sized jets, but our main focus is on King Airs and Citations.

Scott [03:52]: In this business, there are so many different manufacturers, which means there are so many different makes and models, some going back as far as the 1960s. There’s a lot of knowledge and experience required, and because of that, in my opinion, specialization is key to success. So yeah, King Airs and Citations are really our forte.

Albert [04:14]: Awesome. For the listener, what is the typical speed and distance on a tank of fuel for something like a Cessna versus a King Air versus a Citation?

The Role of Aircraft Management

Albert [04:51]: What does that look like? So Cessna is actually a manufacturer of Citations, even though your dad owns a small Cessna. Yes. They make all the way up to business jets. So that "Cessna" word kind of gets misinterpreted.

Scott [05:08]: We live in Texas, obviously, right? And the airplanes that we specialize in are airplanes that suit our region really well. So to answer your question, a King Air, for example, is going to be able to get from DFW to Lubbock in a very short amount of time—we’re talking an hour and a half.

Scott [05:25]: Depending on which model you get, it could be four passengers all the way up to nine or 10 if someone sits in the copilot seat. Speed-wise, depending on the model, it could be in the mid-200s in terms of ground speed, all the way up to 300 knots. There are some performance-enhancing modifications that can make it go up to 330 knots. So you’re covering a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

Scott [05:48]: So much so that if you take off in an airliner going from DFW to Lubbock, and you take off in a King Air, they’re going to land virtually at the same time. There might be a five- or ten-minute variation, depending on weather, altitude, or vectoring by air traffic control. For where we’re at, King Airs and Citations serve the mission really well.

Scott [06:11]: Those airplanes generally focus on a mission profile of around three and a half hours or less. They can certainly go longer—up to five hours for a King Air—but in terms of comfort, space, and being ready to stretch your legs, three and a half hours is what most people shoot for.

Scott [06:29]: The great thing about Texas is you can touch coast to coast in either a turboprop, light jet, or mid jet. For example, you can go from Lubbock to somewhere in Southern California nonstop, as long as the winds aren’t too bad. If the winds are bucking 100 knots, you may have to stop in Arizona to top off with a little bit of fuel.

Customizing Aircraft Refurbishments

Albert [07:11]: But routinely, we see airplanes go out of DFW to Southern California nonstop or all the way to the East Coast, whether it's Charleston or anywhere in Florida. Of course, you can cut across the Gulf of Mexico. Yeah, turboprops and light jets are our specialty. We love them. They do a great job.

Scott [07:31]: Case in point, a couple of weeks ago, we did a Falcon 2000EX. When we delivered it, we went from LA to Melbourne, Florida, nonstop. That airplane can go to Europe or Hawaii from California. But our bread and butter are King Airs and Citations.

Albert [07:50]: Okay. So the King Air is really that 700-mile radius—like six or seven hundred miles. Is that kind of the three to three-and-a-half-hour range?

Scott [08:00]: You can go pretty far with that. For the most part, it's about 1,500 nautical miles or less where those airplanes fit the mission best. The best number to use—so you’re not stopping for fuel or worrying too much about passenger load and weight—is 900 to 1,000 miles. If you draw a circle around Lubbock and think about a 900 to 1,000-mile radius, that’s where you can go. Winds become a factor, of course. Going west, it might be slower; coming east, it’s a lot faster. For Texas, there’s no better place—it’s called King Air Country for a reason.

Albert [08:34]: That’s Texas. That’s awesome. Back to the management piece. I’ve seen some before-and-after pictures on your website, and it’s awesome. You’re taking those nicotine-yellow planes from whatever decade, and they look incredible. Tell me about that process. Do you guys have a team at your hangar? If I was to bring you a King Air that has seen a lot of miles, what does that look like? How customizable is that?

Scott [08:56]: It’s a good question. Management can be tailored to whatever your needs may be. For example, say you’re a commercial real estate company, and you don’t have a pilot or any interest in managing the airplane—it parallels real estate quite a bit.

The Value of Private Aviation

Albert [09:30]: So you may say, hey, we'd love to hire you. We're going to look for this airplane, and we'll go out and make sure we get the best airplane possible that's available for you to purchase. Once that purchase is done, there's an onboarding process, and we take it into our management. At that point, you can say, hey, we're going to fly 200 hours a year, and we want to put it down 90 days into that because we want to do some refurbishment—whether that's paint, interior, or avionics.

Scott [09:58]: If it's not a situation where you want to base the airplane at our airport, which most of the time it's not—it’s Fort Worth Alliance Airport—most owner-operators want to have their plane close to where they're located, whether it's their home or their business. It's very easy to manage the asset even though it's not right there in your hangar. It's circumstantial to where you're based.

Albert [10:17]: Right.

Scott [10:18]: We make it as turnkey as it can be to make your ownership experience as enjoyable as possible. There are so many variables and details that are unknown—things most people don’t realize go into it. It's not just show up, kick the tires, light the fire, and go. These airplanes require a lot of maintenance, a lot of money, oversight, and there's a lot of risk involved. We do everything we can to keep risk low, mitigate costs, and provide supervision.

Albert [10:45]: Right.

Scott [10:46]: Unfortunately, it can be easy in our industry to be taken advantage of due to a lack of experience and knowledge. What we provide is not rare—these types of airplanes require management. Very rarely will you see an airplane that’s not managed because the company feels comfortable doing it on their own. If we do see that, it’s because they’ve hired a full-time pilot who has the experience and is willing to take it on—not only to fly the trips but also to manage the airplane, which is a full-time job.

Albert [11:15]: Absolutely.

Scott [11:16]: So yeah, you have to have the right team and the right mentality amongst the team and the owners. You create this cohesive environment where everybody understands how each other works and what the expectations are. It’s a lot of fun.

Typical Customers in Aviation

Albert [11:54]: But like I mentioned, we've kind of curtailed out of that. We're down to one management airplane now. For us to continue adding airplanes, it would have to make a lot of sense—meaning it’d have to be based in Fort Worth, Texas. The transactional side of the industry, the business aviation side—buying and selling airplanes—that’s just a passionate part of my heart and my goal for my business and my career. So yeah, we decided to pull back on management.

Scott [12:23]: But I will say that most management companies would agree with this: it does fuel transactions. At some point, those owners are going to be looking to make a change. We just really enjoy the aircraft transaction side more.

Albert [12:36]: Yeah, that blew my mind. Especially my dad's little plane—it’s an itty-bitty, four- or five-seater. He’s a do-it-yourself, Mr. Fix-it kind of guy. He always worked on the cars growing up, but he can’t even turn a screwdriver on that thing. You have to have a certified mechanic touch every inch of it. And back to the risk portion you pointed out—I don’t want him using bailing wire on that plane. That is such a different world. Can you describe who your typical customer is and what problem you're solving?

Scott [13:02]: The problem we're solving is time. Of course, there’s safety and comfort—that came up a lot with COVID. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to time. We are helping people buy back time. Our typical customers fall into three categories. The first is high-net-worth individuals, who almost always roll the plane into some sort of company, even if it’s a single-purpose entity. Then, we work with privately owned companies and publicly owned companies.

Albert [13:27]: Got it.

Scott [13:28]: We’ve always worked with all three and will continue to do so. They’re all looking to solve the issue of buying back time. Think about how long it takes when you wake up in the morning for a business trip. For example, if you’re going from Lubbock to DFW, the time it takes to navigate that process is significant.

The Journey into Aviation

Albert [14:18]: Or down to Houston or Austin, San Antonio—if you start the clock from the time you roll out of bed to the time you drive to the airport—Lubbock's a little better than DFW, but you get there, you clear TSA, and your airplane may or may not be on time, right? There are so many variables that factor into it, like checking bags, whether they get there or not, pilots showing up or not, mechanical issues.

On a great day when nothing goes wrong, if you look at the time it takes to leave your home and arrive at your destination, it’s nearly double what it would take if you were leaving your house, driving to your airport where your airplane is based, boarding that airplane. Your crew has already been there for an hour or more, pre-flighted the airplane, and it’s ready to go as soon as you arrive. Your car gets valet parked, you’re on the airplane, and you’re off. The mission is to buy back time. That’s where we’re able to step in and help people. That’s really the drive in this—helping people achieve that goal.

Albert [15:20]: Yeah. A lot of my friends and colleagues who have planes, their businesses require frequent travel, especially to rural towns like those in the Rio Grande Valley. Even getting from Lubbock to El Paso—that’s an all-day trip. You’ve got to go to DFW, then wait on the two or three flights a day to go from DFW to El Paso. By the time you look up, the whole day is gone. Sure, you could drive six hours, but that’s only if nothing goes wrong, right?

Scott [15:47]: Correct.

Albert [15:48]: A lot of my friends who fly privately are in businesses where they need to travel. Whether it’s oil and gas, checking on crews all over West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, or building car washes across the Western U.S., they need to go from location to location. They still want to have a family and be present in their kids' lives. This is a tool to do that.

Scott [16:11]: It is. It comes down to one word: efficiency. The reason Texas is King Air Country is because of the oil and gas industry. You can hit multiple spots, likely in rural areas, all within one day rather than flying to a large airport and driving two, three, or four hours to get on site. Your efficiency is much higher by flying privately and going into airports closer to your job site.

Scott [16:39]: You look at that for oil and gas, real estate, college sports recruiting—even sport fishing. One of our customers is a sport fisherman who travels worldwide for tournaments. That airplane allows him to go from one tournament to the next. There’s no way he could pull that off otherwise. It’s about buying back time and accomplishing efficiency. Campaign trails, for example, with politicians—they couldn’t make their commitments flying commercially. Business aviation is an incredible space, and it’s really intriguing. There are so many ways and companies involved in the services that make it work. Efficiency—that’s the word.

Albert [17:25]: How in the world did you get into this?

Scott [17:27]: Growing up, my dad—thankfully I still have both my parents—was someone I always looked up to and still do. When I was a teenager, he went flying with a buddy. Growing up, we traveled a lot. I was blessed to be in a family that valued travel and vacations. Both my parents worked and rotated who was home and who was working. When we had family time, we usually vacationed together.

Scott [17:51]: I always had a natural desire to be around airplanes because I loved flying commercially. My dad didn’t take a flying lesson but went out with a buddy who had recently gotten his private pilot’s license. They flew around Fort Worth. He came home, took the film to Eckerd’s to get a photo developed, and showed me a picture of the airplane they flew in.

Albert [18:11]: Eckerd’s—I haven’t heard that in forever.

Scott [18:13]: Right? He showed me the photo, and I thought, "Man, that is the coolest."

Pivoting to Aviation Transactions

Albert [18:56]: It was probably, it actually was, a 152, so a little smaller than your dad's airplane. And back then, at night you'd get on AOL Instant Messenger or whatever. Well, there was a corkboard behind our computer, and I would pin up photos on there. I pinned up that photo. I just always loved looking at my dad in front of an airplane. It was intriguing. I said, "Man, airplanes are so cool." That led to me buying Flight Simulator to play on the computer at night.

My freshman year of college, I was playing football at Midwestern State University, and there was a local airport nearby. Private airplanes and general aviation aircraft would take off and land there all the time. One day after practice, I decided to go out there, hang out, and watch these airplanes. I just thought, "I need to figure this out. How can I fly?" So the goal was to become a pilot.

Albert [20:15]: I went over there, and it was a mom-and-pop flight school with one airplane at the time. This was back in 2006.

Scott [20:20]: At Midwestern State in Wichita Falls?

Albert [20:23]: Wichita Falls, yeah. Huge city.

Scott [20:26]: Yeah, not where we were from, right?

Albert [20:28]: Not compared to where we were from, correct. Ultimately, I stopped playing football and said, "Okay, I want to go to flight school. I don’t want to stop going to college, but I’m going to pick a school near a good flight training facility." That ended up being the University of North Texas. I moved closer to home, went to UNT, and got deep into aviation. Within a year and a half, I went from my private license to my instrument, then my commercial, and finally became a flight instructor through the FAA by getting my certification.

Albert [21:19]: Hang on, hang on. That’s a lot of hours to get to that point.

Scott [21:22]: It was. It was almost like doing college and a double major at the same time. It was intense. I had my undergrad work and my flight training. But because I was passionate about it, it was enjoyable. It wasn’t just a monotonous class that didn’t relate to my career goals. I enjoyed it. If I wasn’t at UNT, I was in an airplane.

Albert [21:44]: Right. So you became a flight instructor with the ultimate goal of being a commercial pilot, right?

Scott [21:50]: Exactly. That was the plan.

Albert [21:52]: What was your undergrad degree?

Scott [21:54]: Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science. It’s a unique degree. You pick three topic points to study, and that makes up your degree.

Albert [21:59]: Got it.

Scott [22:00]: So it was a Bachelor of Science. To become a flight instructor, you need 250 logged hours to apply for your commercial certificate checkride. Each certificate or license involves a written exam, an oral exam, and a flight exam called a checkride with an FAA representative. That was three different rounds before becoming a flight instructor. I worked for the flight school where I trained and became a flight instructor for them. Eventually, I worked on a program training Chinese flight school candidates who came over from China.

Albert [23:06]: That’s fascinating.

Scott [23:08]: It was a unique experience. These students had recently graduated from college, learned English as a second language, and checked all the aptitude boxes to become commercial airline pilots. When they finished training, they returned home to fly for their respective airlines. It was a really neat experience, being around them and their culture. These were smart, passionate guys because they were chosen for this role. In China, their career paths are often selected for them, so they took it very seriously.

Albert [23:45]: I can’t imagine being in the air with a language barrier. Communication is key, especially in aviation.

Scott [23:50]: Absolutely. Aviation English is its own terminology. Even for native English speakers, it’s something you have to learn. These guys were sharp. There was no Plan B. They were going home to become airline pilots in China. It was a lot of fun.

Albert [24:04]: That’s amazing. When did you pivot from wanting to be a commercial pilot to something else?

Scott [24:09]: This will age me, but do you remember Craigslist?

Albert [24:12]: Of course.

Scott [24:13]: You used to be able to find jobs on it. I actually found a job through Craigslist for a charter operator in Addison. They hired me for a charter sales role, which involved selling charter flights. I handled inbound inquiries and reached out to local businesses to drum up business for executive travel.

Albert [24:30]: Interesting.

Scott [24:31]: That evolved into flying a little for that company. They hosted an aircraft expo, bringing in other aviation businesses. At the expo, I met an aircraft dealer from Fort Worth who said, “If you’re ever interested in the transactional side of aviation, let me know.” I didn’t think much of it at the time, but about a year later, I left aviation to work for an oil and gas company.

Albert [24:57]: What brought you back?

Scott [25:00]: The oil and gas company purchased a King Air 350 through that same dealer. We flew all over for asset valuations—tax work, county renditions, pipe inspections, processing plants, saltwater disposal wells, oil rigs. We covered North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and beyond. Aviation became integral to the work we did. That’s when I realized I wanted to return to aviation.

Mentorship and Business Growth

Albert [26:05]: If one of the managers was not on the plane, or if there was, we were going on the King Air. And it was there that, who's now a mentor, was that chief pilot. He said to me, "Man, you need to get out of doing this. You've got a passion for business aviation." He would offer me to come sit up in the right seat with him on our trips. And so I did.

To make a long story short, I reached out to that dealer when I heard that one of his right-hand men had left and started his own company. The dealer said, "Come on." So I went to work for that aircraft dealer for almost four years. This was a turning point in my life and career. I accepted that job, leaving a very stable position that offered reliable growth and opportunities. But being an entrepreneur at heart, I bet on myself.

My wife was due the week I was set to start that job, and I was leaving a job to take on a nearly 100% commission-based position. It was a lot of risk, but I went for it. Working for that aircraft dealer was, bar none, one of the best decisions I've ever made. I learned a lot—what to do and what not to do. It was in Fort Worth, and we dealt in the same airplanes I work with today. I'll always be thankful to my mentor there. He’s now a competitor, but I owe him a lot.

Albert [27:45]: Funny story—when I was there, I sold a King Air to a gentleman in the commercial lightning protection business in Ponder, Texas.

Scott [27:51]: Lightning protection?

Albert [27:53]: Yeah. Next time you're at a commercial building or stadium, look for those lightning rods on top of the building, spaced about every six feet. They create a grounding system so if lightning strikes, the electricity is grounded. I sold a King Air to him, and I’ve sold 15 to him since. We hit it off when I was working for that company. He said to me, "Man, I see something in you, something entrepreneurial."

He invited me on a fishing trip to Port Aransas, Texas. Down there, he said, "If you ever decide to go out on your own, I’m with you." That was all I needed to hear. He meant he’d back me. So, in late 2016, knowing he had an airplane I could immediately manage and generate some income from, I started my own business. I went from having a lucrative job to starting with a newborn at home and one management airplane that cleared just $2,000 a month. The heat was on. I had to go out, find an airplane, and resell it. That’s what I did, and I haven’t looked back since.

Albert [28:55]: Along the way, we added a second investor. These weren’t company investors—they were investors in each deal. Similar to commercial real estate, you put together a proposal, pitch it, and they decide whether or not to back the deal. It was a great start.

Albert [29:15]: Take a step back—you mentioned chartering planes. Can you give me a lay of the land? There are different levels to private aviation: NetJets cards, chartering your own plane, co-ownership, and outright ownership. Can you give us a quick breakdown of those levels for listeners who might be wondering where to start?

Scott [29:30]: Absolutely. The abbreviated version is this: There’s charter, which is for people who don’t want to own an airplane outright but still want to avoid the hassles of commercial airlines. For example, let’s say you want to take a seamless, luxurious trip to Aspen this Christmas. You’d call a charter broker or charter company, and they’d provide you with a quote.

Levels of Private Aviation Ownership

Albert [30:57]: And they possess the required charter certificate by the FAA, which is called a Part 135 certificate, a hard requirement to offer that service. Then, yeah, you look at the quote and decide if that's for you. So that's charter. The general rule of thumb is if you're flying less than 100 hours a year, charter is always the most economical. That can increase to 150 hours depending on the type of travel you're doing, but 100 hours or less is definitely where charter makes sense.

Now, maybe you're considering owning a piece of an airplane—that's fractional ownership. You mentioned NetJets earlier. NetJets offers fractional ownership, so you, me, and two other buddies could call NetJets. They'll put a proposal together, and we'd buy a fourth, an eighth, or a sixteenth of an airplane and share all those costs. We may not be flying the exact airplane by serial number every time, but we'd be buying into a class of models, like a Phenom 300, Gulfstream, or Challenger. Whatever the airplane may be, you own a portion of that program, and your airplane use reflects your share.

It's also a business tool. Yes, you're buying time, but you also gain the depreciation factor with ownership. Fractional gives you that. Charter does not allow depreciation, but you still have the expense of traveling privately. From there, there's whole ownership, which is buying an airplane outright. You might have a partner in whole ownership, but it's your airplane. You're not buying into a fleet; you can customize it—paint, interior—and base it wherever you want. It's entirely yours, not part of a floating charter fleet.

Albert [33:18]: Is there an hours-per-year threshold that separates fractional from whole ownership?

Scott [33:22]: Between whole ownership and fractional, it's less defined compared to charter versus fractional or charter versus whole ownership. It really depends on what you want your annual costs to be. If you're flying 100 hours or more, fractional or whole ownership is worth considering. For our customers, we often see around 150 hours or more as the threshold.

That might seem like a lot, but depending on your business or personal travel, it adds up quickly. When we managed multiple aircraft, with five-plus airplanes, 300 hours per year was typical. There's a honeymoon phase when you first get the airplane, but as you realize its capabilities for your business or family, you use it more.

Albert [35:15]: I wanted to touch on this—you posted something about mentorship recently. It pulls on my heartstrings when someone sees potential in you and encourages you to reach higher. Talk about that—how did that relationship evolve?

Scott [35:35]: That mentor was pivotal while I worked for him for nearly four years. When I left, he and another mentor became my first investors. They came to me and said, "We want to put our money to work. Bring us the deal, we’ll underwrite it, and if it makes sense, we’ll do it."

Mentorship is intangible but foundational. I’ll always be grateful to that mentor who said, "I see it in you." One moment that changed my life was when I sat down with him and asked, "If you were me, what would you do differently?" He said, "I would get to a point where you don’t need me." At first, I didn’t understand why he’d say that. He had a 60-40 profit share, so why would he encourage me to move on? It was because he genuinely cared. He wanted me to grow to a point where I could succeed independently, and eventually, that opportunity came.

Albert [37:15]: That’s incredible. Did that mentor relationship lead you to Lubbock?

Scott [37:20]: Yes. I ended up selling an airplane to a local bank here. The CEO invited me to Amarillo for golf at Amarillo Country Club. He said, "Tell me more about your business." We had built trust through that sale, and it opened doors for me to expand. Trust is everything, especially in this industry.

Albert [37:41]: My best friend forever is from Groover, Texas, and this guy's from Groover, Texas. Man, we’re connecting dots, right? We start knowing a lot of people. And you know how it is in West Texas, in the Panhandle—your reputation is everything.

Scott [37:54]: Yep.

Albert [37:55]: And when we started connecting the dots, I was like, this is the opportunity I want, right? And I’m assuming he saw something in me because he said, "Send me your financials." So I did. And he’s like, "Man, you don’t need investors anymore. We’ve got you." So I started banking with them. Now, all the inventory airplanes we do at this point are financed through that local bank.

It was special because it earned a lifelong customer, hopefully. And now, I consider them a partner in my business—although they’re not actually a partner, they’re an asset. I’m forever thankful for that relationship. And we talked about doing the before and afters. We did one on their airplane.

Scott [38:35]: Yeah.

Albert [38:36]: It was probably my favorite one yet. We were involved in avionics, paint, interior—the whole thing, maintenance. It was awesome. Good experience.

Scott [38:44]: Okay. Shout out to the Groover Greyhounds. That is fantastic.

Albert [38:47]: They almost went to state—they were in the semi-finals last week.

Scott [38:50]: You’re in touch with it. I appreciate that.

Albert [38:52]: The mentor thing is—I mean, I love the story there of just guys that you were contacting, talking to, developing relationships with. There are people who are honest, who could speak to you, kind of set you straight. But also, it wasn’t just about them and what they could gain. That’s amazing.

I would say a lot of, especially younger guys and girls that talk about wanting a mentor—

Albert [39:41]: You know, I’d say from my experience, it’s a lot like what you described. It’s not necessarily this formal relationship where they’d say they’re my mentor. But there are these coffees or lunches where I’m intentional. Like, "Hey, I want to go to coffee or lunch with this guy once a month or four times a year."

And really, I’m just developing a relationship, you know, where I’m asking him questions about himself: "How’s business going? What are you dealing with? What are you working on? What are you excited about?" And then, when we’re talking about what I’m doing, what I’m excited about, or maybe what I’m struggling with, it’s this organic thing.

It’s not transactional where you’re paying them a coaching fee or anything—it’s a real relationship. Those have been some of the most fun relationships I’ve had but also the most impactful. Because regardless of anything you want to do, you could go on Craigslist for a job. But most jobs I’ve had, I’ve had somebody speak on my behalf—some kind of intermediary.

A lot of times, that’s what a mentor can do—someone you have a relationship with. Maybe you want to talk to that client, or you want that job, or you want that deal, or that property. If you have someone who can introduce you to those parties, speak for your character, and speak for who you are as a person, you’re going to get the deal.

Scott [40:45]: Absolutely.

Albert [40:46]: You’re going to make that introduction. That’s the secret to a lot of businesses—these relationships you build along the way. They may not tell you what you want to hear sometimes, though, right?

Scott [40:58]: Right. But that’s the beauty of it because we live in this world of instant gratification. But for the most part, you’re talking to someone more aged than you are, wiser than you are, probably a little calmer. Their perspective is invaluable. It may not be what you want to hear or the way you want to hear it, but it’s special. Mentorship is everything.

Albert [42:05]: I really enjoy your story of trying stuff. Like the management—managing these planes—you did that, especially with a newborn. "Babe, we’ve got to put some groceries on the table, and I’m going to do some stuff that maybe I don’t want to do forever." I love that you tried that, built it out, and now you’ve found this niche that feels geared towards you and is more in your wheelhouse.

What does the future look like? What do you want Oshman Aviation to look like five, ten years from now?

Scott [42:37]: I focus on RPAs—revenue-producing activities. I tell myself every day, "What are your RPAs today?" The decision to get out of aircraft management was based on that. It takes a lot of time and energy, and there’s a lot of risk involved because it’s an asset that’s flying.

Where is your best time used? For us, that’s staying in buying and selling airplanes. We do more aircraft brokerage than inventory—what’s called dealing. In our industry, there are far more aircraft brokerage firms that exclusively do brokerage, acting as a realtor for the airplane, whether buying or selling.

There aren’t as many aircraft dealers. Those that are dealers often offer brokerage services, but we at Oshman Aviation do more brokerage deals annually than inventory deals. Over the next five years, I see both paralleling each other as inventory continues to rise, and we correct back to a pre-COVID market. Hopefully, absorption remains strong, and interest rates scale down.

Albert [44:05]: So growing that—what does your team look like today? Are you looking to bring in some sales reps and grow the team?

Scott [44:11]: Yes, we just hired one last week.

Future of Aviation Business

Albert [44:32]: Last week—TCU guy—so looking forward to him joining in January. Yeah, growing the team, getting sales guys underneath them, and just—it’s all been organic from day one. It's income over expenses, no doubt. I like to be lean and mean, never want to be over-leveraged or out over in front of my skis. So it's been organic growth, without a doubt.

Remember, starting with one airplane in management to being a name brand in King Airs. Yeah, organic growth and just seeing where it goes from there. In my opinion, this business is calculated, and the money's made when you buy the airplane and manage your return along the way. Sometimes, a bird in hand can be better than two in the bush. We project everything on a six-month holding period. So that's kind of our strategy—six-month term.

Scott [45:29]: Yeah, you don't want any birthdays with airplanes. I've had one.

Albert [45:33]: Thankfully, it was a breakeven, but you don't want birthdays with airplanes. There’s so many good one-liners—like the RPA, the revenue-producing activity. I love that. And that's something every business owner needs to focus on. You’ve got to go to work every day thinking, "All right, what am I going to do that's going to make some actual revenue?"

Scott [45:52]: Yeah, it’s the little guy on your shoulder. What are you spending your time on, and how is that affecting your bottom line?

Albert [45:58]: Man, I love it. I love it. Okay, I think it's time for a fire round.

Scott [46:03]: Okay.

Albert [46:04]: All right, Scott, what's your favorite movie?

Scott [46:06]: So this was a tough one, and I’m kind of a guy who always has two answers. But I’m going to go with Remember the Titans on this one. I’ll just keep it to one answer.

Albert [46:16]: Okay.

Scott [46:17]: The Blindside was the second, so was The Help. Both football movies. I’m a football movie maniac—Friday Night Lights, you name it. But Remember the Titans, Denzel Washington.

Albert [46:27]: I like it. That’s a great movie. My son's been wanting to watch that for months. We haven’t watched it yet. Okay, favorite—aside from the Bible—what’s your favorite nonfiction book?

Scott [46:44]: Probably going to be Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Albert [46:46]: Yeah. Okay.

Scott [46:47]: I really like that book. And then The Intentional Father.

Albert [46:51]: Dude, how did I forget The Intentional Father? Is it John Tyson?

Scott [46:55]: Yes, it is.

Albert [46:56]: Dude. So I can’t remember who introduced me to it, but man, that’s a book. As a father, we’re not pro athletes, but we’re trying to be pro fathers and pro husbands. That’s a book that can help you be a pro father, without a doubt.

Scott [47:10]: Right? And it’s not—it’s The Intentional Father.

Albert [47:13]: Is it The Intentional Father?

Scott [47:14]: The Intentional Father. Pretty sure that’s it. It can be used—some reason, I thought it was raising specifically for boys. But yeah, The Intentional Father can be—it doesn’t matter if you have a boy or a girl. It’s a book you’ve got to revisit, probably on a bi-yearly basis, just to stay on top of it. And all the different stories in there and little tips on things to do—like taking a trip with your boys when they reach a certain age or having quiet time with them in the mornings when they’re 12 or 13 years old.

That’s stuff I look forward to. My boys are 10 and 8—well, he’ll be 8 next week—but I look forward to revisiting that book because they’re getting close to that age. This stuff’s starting to come about, right? To become almost like a man in the home. Like when you’re gone, you know your boys have got it.

Albert [47:58]: It’s The Intentional Father. I could hug you right now. I love that book. And for the listeners, the main topic is initiating boys into manhood. That’s one of the biggest issues affecting our culture, our nation, the world—boys are self-initiating. They don’t know what it means to be a man. They don’t know how to model that. They’re looking to TV, music, movies, all these things, and that’s not really how you—

Scott [48:28]: And music is probably the worst thing to look at right now.

Albert [48:31]: Yeah, it’s—anyway, such a good book. Man. Rich Dad Poor Dad was brought to me by a client. In fact, the Falcon 2000EX I was telling you about—we did it from LA to Melbourne when we closed it two weeks ago. He introduced that book to me—life-changing. My boys will read that.

Scott [48:50]: I wish the title was different.

Albert [48:52]: I do too.

Scott [48:53]: It makes people defensive real quick.

Albert [48:55]: It does. Yeah, because I think it’s misrepresented. The title—

Scott [48:58]: Every commercial real estate guy, they read that, and it screwed them up for life. They’re just like, "Okay, I’m ready to start."

Albert [49:04]: "Let’s go." Okay. What is a common piece of advice in your industry that you don’t agree with?

Scott [49:12]: So, our industry is not regulated—shockingly. You can go up the street and get your haircut, and that person has to have a license to cut your hair. You do not have to have a license to buy or sell airplanes or represent somebody in that transaction. Yet, if you’re selling a home, you do.

So, it’s an unregulated industry. And because of that, there’s a misconception that anybody can do it without any experience. The advice that "anybody can do it" is wrong. It goes back to mentorship, like we were saying earlier.

This industry and proper representation require deep knowledge, strong ethical practices, intense training that doesn’t happen overnight, and continued education through accreditation.

What we have today is an organization called the International Aircraft Dealers Association—IADA. We’re part of that. It’s a very strenuous process to get accepted into. But it accounts for over 50% of all transactions in the world in aircraft. It’s a limited amount of brokers and dealers that are a part of it. And then there are service companies as well. But it’s unregulated. Not just anybody can do it with a laptop and a cell phone. You’ve got to have training, mentorship, and continued education.

Albert [50:25]: Man, that’s one of those that I’m so surprised is not regulated. Great answer. How can people get in touch with you? Our listeners here—I want to send them your way. How can they get in touch with you?

Scott [50:39]: I appreciate that. So, oshmanaviation.com. Of course, LinkedIn, Instagram, or our office line is 817-661-0234. Or shoot us an email at info@oshmanaviation.com. It’ll get to me.

Albert [51:07]: Awesome. Man, I’m so glad we got to do this. This is going to be great. I can’t wait for this episode to come out.

Scott [51:13]: Thank you very much. It’s good to see you. Keller High School Indians, right here.

Albert [51:17]: There you go. Indians—it’s still a mascot. All right. I hope you enjoyed that episode. I know I learned so much. And if you want more like that, go ahead and click subscribe and keep coming back for more great podcasts. Thank you, and we’ll see you on the next one.