Meet Heather Howley

We recently connected with Heather Howley and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather , thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

As a young child, both of my parents worked full time jobs, attended night school and at times worked additional jobs to support our family with 4 kids! I attribute my work ethic to both of my parents and my grandparents as I watched them all work so hard and struggle to support their families.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I started Independent Helicopters with $25 when I was 25 years old. I leased my first helicopter and desperately worked to survive the first 3 years in business. It takes a lot of grit, determination and resilience to succeed with a small business and more so starting during a recession in 2008. Independent Helicopters now has 2 locations in NY; one in the hudson valley and another in Saratoga springs. With 9 helicopters serving the northeast, we offer flight instruction, airport transfers, charter, aerial photography, power line and pipeline patrol and scenic tours.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I feel like my problem solving skills, my determination to never give up and my positive outlook are all things that helped me succeed and still propel me forward. One of the things that I continue to pass on to some of my coaching clients is to surround yourself with a team. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to hire all of them, but create a team of people around you that are better at things than you are and don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’ll go much farther with people than you will on your own. My banker, attorney, staff, social media manager are all parts of my business decision making and part of keeping me going when things feel tough.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I hired a business coach shortly after reading the E-myth revisited (great book for entrepreneurs). She has helped me to talk things out, make decisions, hire and fire people in my team, grow financially, emotionally, mentally and in relationships. We now work together mentoring other entrepreneurs and sharing in successes with them using the same blueprint we created together. It’s such a fun transition to go from starting a business, growing it to be successful, learning from my coach and now sharing all of that with those looking to grow themselves.

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