One year ago I started my side hustle. A freelance PR/communications consultancy for aviation projects – Roger PR.
The story was simple and so different from the typical “I was fed up with corpo and decided to pursue my dream”.
I was not.
I had been doing PR for great multinational companies for over 20 years. I had been in my current full-time job at a great energy company for 9 years and really enjoying it. Probably I would have never thought of doing anything else, but there were some hints of possible ownership changes in the business I was serving. And this always brings some uncertainty.
Hence the idea to start a side hustle, just in case…
In the end, the business remained within the group. I am still part of the same great company and I am still immensely enjoying it.
But the consulting experience I got during this year was so valuable and helpful, also to my main job. Being a consultant forces you to have a broader business and brand perspective, it forces you to focus on the ultimate value for the client. A perspective that is very useful in the corporate world, too. I firmly believe, my main employer also benefits from my additional activity.
And the consulting activity was closely related to my hobby – flying.
I helped developed and execute the communications strategy for 2 amazing global aviation projects that have made headlines all over the world: FlyZolo and MackSolo. Both have firm places in the history of aviation now. Two amazing young people have broken Guinness World Records flying solo around the globe.
I have helped SkyDream, a company that is changing the world of general aviation in Poland, develop their brand communications – from the scratch. And they are making headlines already, doing all the comms work themselves. I only helped them find the right direction and taught them how to do professional comms.
In these consulting projects, I could immediately see the value of my ideas and suggestions. In a big, multi-national company, it is more teamwork. There are dozens of great communicators, so the impact of an individual is not so clearly visible.
Seeing my impact so clearly in small consulting projects is extremely rewarding.
And on top of that – all the discussions about flying… Only aviators will understand how much fun it is for a pilot…
By the way – these projects are almost over now. If you are active in aviation and need help in creating a strong brand through expert communications, you know where you can find me😉.
