The Achieve Podcast - Carl Sporie (SkyFox Flyovers)

Welcome to another episode of the Achieve Podcast, the show where we highlight leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs who are building meaningful businesses, shaping their industries, and having an impact. I'm Taylor Baker Baker, your host, and today excited to be joined by Carl Spory, the owner of Sky Fox Flyovers, and you can find them at skyfoxflyovers.com. Carl, first, thanks for joining us today. And coming on the show.

I'm excited.

So give us the backstory a little bit. How did you get into this niche, into this space, and who are you currently serving?

Okay, so quick backstory, I'll keep it short and sweet. My background is 20+ years in low voltage construction, so all smart home automation, all that good stuff. Um, towards the end of my career in that, I was in business development position And I actually acquired my first drone to use on the dirt bike, uh, and I started trying to figure out a way I could incorporate that as a business development tool. And I was noticing on like online, LinkedIn, things like that, there was, uh, you know, high-end custom home builders were showcasing aerial footage of their properties. And I just thought that might be a really cool foot in the door to just kind of be able to go sit down and have a conversation with them. I'd bring them a flyover of something they're building in a really nice area and bring it on a thumb drive and just say, hey, this is for you. Do with this footage whatever you'd like. And just a nice way of me to introduce myself and, and what we do. And so it just kind of all spawned from there. I started to see the, the need for this service out there and the interest in it and I just really thought to myself, what if I just started my own thing doing this? And that's what I did. So I just went all in on it.

That's awesome. So how big is the team and organization now?

Currently it is me. I'm an army of one. So I am the pilot, I'm the editor, I'm the business development guy, I'm, I'm the tax guy. I'm doing it all. So I'm excited to expand down the road for sure, but right now just being me is kind of comforting and, uh, something I can have the reins on, and, and we'll expand as we go for sure, starting with pilots.

That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Now, what would you say is actually driving growth for the organization, for the business?

Driving growth— the number one thing that I can hands down say is networking. Um, getting out there, meeting people, making new connections, introducing the brand, introducing me I've met so many cool people going out to networking things, and that's where I've driven my business, is all by meeting people at cool functions. And it just really is, you know, being someone who is in a business development role solely before starting my own venture, you know, there's a lot of things you can try, but tried and true, going out and meeting people, that's by far the way to go.

Absolutely. Now, for you, what turning points, positive or negative, kind of molded the way you think about running the operation, the organization, why you got into this space?

And oh wow, um, yeah, that's, that's a, that's a big question. I've, I've learned so much as I went along, um, starting Skyfox Flyovers. And I tell people all the time, if you would have told me how many things I would have run into starting my own business, so I'm so glad I didn't know. Um, but, uh, I probably wouldn't have started it. But anyways, yeah, every day is learning something new. I mean, between running your own income, finances, and billing, to, you know, making sure you're straight with Uncle Sam and taxes and everything like that, there's just a ton that I've learned along the way. Um, that just— every day is a molding piece to just get better at my craft and and better at what I do. I hope that answered the question.

Yeah, yeah, no, I appreciate that. Now, as you try to grow and expand, what have been the biggest bottlenecks or obstacles that show up?

Um, biggest bottlenecks and obstacles, hands down, are, um, untrained pilots out there. So, um, case in point, a great thing I run into all the time is I could meet like a GC or a builder or a contractor, and I start telling them what I do, and then they say, oh yeah, I've got a drone, and we just kind of do our own flying. Uh, and, you know, nothing against them because it's really hard to know the rules even to this day with drones because they're kind of sold as almost a toy. You know, it's a flying camera. You can see them in your big box stores. People buy them, they think, I'm going to have a blast. Nothing's stopping you from sending that thing right up into the airspace when you buy it. Um, and so yeah, a lot of folks don't know. So then at that point, it's just, um, kind of a way of me educating people like, hey, just so you know, you need to be really careful. You really can't fly a drone for business-related purposes at all unless you've got your commercial pilot's license. And pretty much unless you're flying for personal enjoyment or hobby, Everything else requires the permit.

Wow.

You're posting anything online, anything that could generate any kind of business, even if someone asks you a favor, like say, um, your kid's school, they want you to fly over the football game. You can't do that either because you were asked. Uh, and so the intent of the flight is now no longer just for your personal interest or hobby. It's something you were asked to do. So there are so many rules that go into it, but short of the That's the biggest hurdle I've run into, and to this day it's still the biggest hurdle. It's just uneducated people kind of out flying illegally, basically.

Yeah. What are the legal ramifications or repercussions of that?

Wow. Yeah, you can get— because it's still— I mean, the rules have been in place for years and years and years, but because it's still kind of, you know, unknown to a lot of people, you could get a warning. You could get a really quick $10,000 fine. They'll go all the way up to $90,000 and, you know, prison time and all that stuff. It's going to depend on the, uh, you know, the magnitude of what you're doing wrong. Um, so if you were flying over like a football stadium, big trouble there. Uh, if you're flying after manned air traffic, even in like an emergency event, you see like a fire or something, you go fly over there, now you're in, you're in their way. That's big trouble. Trouble. But yeah, if you were just out flying, uh, you know, getting some cool pictures and then selling those pictures online, you're probably going to get hit with a stern warning and maybe a small fine first. And then if you, you know, continue to do it when you're asked not to, then it's going to get worse from there.

Wow. How hard is it to get a license to make sure you're up above board?

You know, uh, with a lot of studying, it's not too bad. It's actually affordable. You know, it's $175 to take the test That is a pass or fail. So if you, if you fail it, you don't get the $175 back and you don't get to try again. You can try again in 4 weeks for another $175, but the test is very heavy on airspace questions because that's really what the FAA wants you to be aware of when you're flying a drone, is that there's air traffic up there and we're all sharing it. So if you know how high you can fly and how fast and all these rules, it's going to help prevent any any kind of unfortunate accident, things like that. And they do make this test extremely hard on purpose, so every question is going to have very similar answers because they're wanting you to, to get tripped up on it. So you really have to study. I just— I studied for months everywhere I went. I just had my earbuds in, I was listening and learning. And, and yeah, I was lucky, fortunate enough to pass on the first try. There are actually, um, also quite a, quite companies out there that will guarantee to pass you if you study using their course. It's going to be, you know, a fee to take that course. But, um, yeah, I was lucky enough to just kind of study on my own and pass it. So, wow.

I can definitely see how this is becoming more of a, more of a concern, one with more, uh, just pilots up there flying the drones, but also like the motorized— I don't, I don't know if they're like, like a motorcycle-like device where people can ride now. And like, like, how do you regulate all that? So yeah, wow, that's a space that It's gonna be a lot of years in the development. So when it comes to your messaging and your outreach, your marketing systems, what have you found that's been working well and where are you still filling those gaps and frustrations?

Well, so I was, uh, you know, dating myself basically. I, I was kind of reluctant to do a lot on social media before starting my own company, um, but that is a big one. Uh, having a presence is huge. Uh, no matter what age is going to look you up, um, they want to see you online, they want to see you on, you know, probably Instagram, things like that. See that you have a presence, you know, in an industry like mine, showcasing what you can do is the biggest thing, right? So if someone finds out I'm a drone operator and photographer and they want to look me up, they want to see some really, uh high-quality portfolio, you know, images so that they can feel good about it. So me personally, LinkedIn is probably my favorite. Um, it's just business forward. Everyone's kind of on there for a similar purpose. Uh, you build connections, people support each other after that, and it just kind of helps you grow and expand. And you can just notice how, you know, your posts, obviously when you're new, are going to start out with a couple likes here and there, and then all of a sudden you know, they're getting bigger and bigger every time you post as you build your, your connections. So LinkedIn is probably my favorite. Um, Instagram is a fun one. It's a, it's a difficult one because they, you know, they broadcast in different formats. So LinkedIn and YouTube are going to be more on a landscape picture, and Instagram and TikTok, those ones are going to be the vertical, like what you would take with your phone. So Sometimes you have to shoot something twice in two different formats to be able to post to them. But, um, yeah, LinkedIn, I'd say that that one's a lot of fun.

Wow, okay, that makes a lot of sense. Now, when it comes to the AI and automation, with all the buzz around that, where have you found ways to utilize it internally?

So AI, I'm still kind of playing around with it. I'm really having a lot of fun learning from my peers kind of what they're doing with it. The, the most I've done with AI so far is just kind of some image adjustments to my logo for like a holiday. So I could do like a holiday post, you know, put a Santa hat on, on the fox head, and I'm going to post that. However, that being said, what I am excited to, to go into seeing, um, basically how AI could help me would be on the video editing side of things. That is definitely something that is very time-consuming, especially when you really want, you know, cool effects and nice transitions something that a 5-second clip someone sees and goes, oh, that's cool. And they might not know that took you 2 hours to make that 5-second clip. So, um, excited to see what kind of happens with that. And, uh, you know, that would be just a huge time saver. But overall, um, I do really like being kind of genuine. I don't use AI to help me with my posts. I kind of want the wording to sound like me. Sound authentic and just kind of spread the message to people that, you know, if they want to work with Skyfox, they're, they're going to work directly with Skyfox, and, and the finished product is going to be something created by us and, and pretty much by us alone. So I just kind of— I like putting my stamp on my work, and that's a big part of it.

That makes a lot of sense. Now, when you look at your own journey, Carl, the wins, the mistakes, what lessons stand out to you, and what do you wish you understood sooner?

Oh boy, um, I think the one that probably stands out the most, um, is that, you know, you have— so you have to meet people to spread your business. You have to get the word across somehow. Some people are going to be naturally, um, you know, more inclined to use social media and things like that. Like I kind of said earlier, I really believe it's the in-person stuff that, that works the best. But my What I wish I would have known probably a long time ago is, you know, you can be nervous to go up and just talk to people you don't know or think maybe, oh, they're this huge GC, they're out of my league, I'm new, they're not. And that's not the case. Everybody is out there for the same reason. Everybody loves to help each other grow. Everyone likes making new connections. And the coolest thing is meeting genuine people. So being yourself is the best thing. Don't act like you have all the answers because you don't, um, or that you know everything. If people, if they see you're vulnerable, are going to be more likely to, to just want to interact with you and pay attention to you and, and kind of shrug off the guy who's over there pretending like he knows everything. So yeah, I think that if I could have learned that sooner in the journey, um, it would have just helped me grow that much faster. But hey, all in good time.

Words of wisdom to live by right there. So, Carl, last question: if you had to pick one constraint to focus on and solve over the next 90 days, what would it be?

Oh, being a one-man army, uh, that— there's a lot, uh, but if I were to pick one that I could solve over the next 90 days Um, yeah, I would say probably looking into something that speeds up the video editing process. I think for, for me, um, that's a big, that's a big one that would be a huge help. And, uh, again, my, my editing, I take a lot of pride in it. Um, it's, it's more than just a couple quick cuts and things like that. So, um, you know, it would have to be some really cool stuff to be able to do what I wanted to do, but, um Yeah, that would be, that would be a huge one.

That makes a lot of sense. So, Carl, thank you for joining us and sharing. Any final words for our listeners or others on a similar journey?

Do it. Just go in and, and, and, you know, jump, dive in head first. I'd say don't overthink stuff, just get it done. I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and I can tend to just keep working at something because I'm going to get it perfect. And it's like, just get it done and move forward. But if you're thinking there's something in your life that you're interested in, or even you just wanted to kind of start your own thing, just do it, um, and then you'll figure it out as you go, and you'll be happy you did. And we all know time is a thief. It doesn't work the other way. It only goes one direction, and, and it just gets less and less. So just go all in and do it, and you'll be happy to.

Oh, I love that. Go all in and do it. And so for those who want to learn more, then go to LinkedIn. They can also go to skyfoxflyovers.com. Anywhere else? You said Instagram?

Yeah, Instagram. We've got Skyfox Flyovers LLC on Instagram. LinkedIn would be currently the best place to check us out, and my web page is actually under construction right now, which I'm extremely excited for because I, uh, you know, going in headfirst and going all in. I designed it on my own, and I've never done that before. So my current page was more of a landing page, just a way to get in touch with me, and, and I had like one video on there. And kind of going back, Taylor Baker, to what we were talking about earlier, uh, in my line of work, you really need to have a, a, um, a standout portfolio. And so that's what my new web page is going to be. So I'm extremely excited for that. So stay tuned on that. But yeah, LinkedIn is, um, got a lot on there on what I can do, and I even do try to post informational videos as well, um, just kind of stuff we talked about earlier with all the airspace and, you know, how to fly legally and, and safe and all that good stuff too.

So that's good wealth of knowledge there. So yeah, if you're considering flying and looking into that stuff, like, check that out. And thank you to our sponsors of today's episode, Achieve Fractional, which provides fractional executive leadership for growing businesses. And if you enjoyed the episode, share it with a friend, with a colleague. If you're looking at doing some videography and you need some help with that, reach out to Carl and the team. Glad to help you out, give you some pointers, do some work for you. So reach out, and we will see you all on the next episode of the Achieve Podcast.