Podcast Episode: From Digital Detours to Aviation Authority: A Pilot’s Business Breakthrough

Let me tell you about someone who’s going to completely change how you think about finding your niche. Cole Melby is a commercial pilot, flight instructor, and now a successful online business owner with almost 48,000 Instagram followers. But here’s the thing – he didn’t start there.

Cole spent eight months trying to make money online the “normal” way, following the same playbook as everyone else, feeling like a fraud, and getting nowhere. Then he made one decision that changed everything: he started talking about what he actually knew.

If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to figure out your niche, or you think there’s no room for you in your industry, Cole’s story is going to give you a reality check about what’s actually possible when you stop following everyone else’s blueprint.

The Accidental Entrepreneur Who Almost Quit

Cole’s journey started like so many of ours – with optimism and terrible advice. His wife saw a reel from someone selling digital marketing courses (you know the type), and Cole bought in completely.

“I went into it thinking that by the time I get back from deployment in five months, I’m going to be a different person. We’re going to be able to do things differently in life,” Cole told me.

But reality hit hard. Despite following the course to the letter, nothing was working. The approach felt inauthentic, the results were nonexistent, and after eight months of struggle, Cole was ready to throw in the towel.

“I always felt like the way I was approaching it and the way a lot of other people were approaching it was like, it just doesn’t feel right. It’s not authentic. Something doesn’t feel right about it.”

Sound familiar? That’s because most people trying to make money online are following the exact same generic blueprint, competing in an oversaturated space where they have no real expertise or authority.

The Night That Changed Everything

The turning point came during a conversation in a hot tub with his wife. Cole was ready to give up completely when she said something that would transform his entire business trajectory:

“Why don’t you just try aviation?”

She’d been pushing him toward this for months, but Cole had built up mental barriers. “I don’t know how I’m going to make money in that,” he thought. “It’s just this invisible wall that you built with your brain.”

But the very next day, Cole started his aviation Instagram account. And everything changed.

Within months, he went from zero to thousands of followers. Today, he’s at 48,000 followers and has built a profitable business around something he was already passionate about and knowledgeable in.

The Authority-Building Strategy That Actually Works

Here’s what Cole did differently: instead of trying to be everything to everyone, he became the go-to expert in one specific area.

His content strategy was beautifully simple:

• Straight-to-camera educational reels
• No fancy hooks or gimmicks
• Just solid, scripted content teaching complex aviation concepts
• Both visual and spoken hooks that actually served the content

“I script most of my reels because I have to keep myself on track because I will get off on tangents,” Cole explained. “Hooks are everything – they can be visual and spoken or audio. In fact, some of my best reels have both a visual and spoken hook at the same time.”

The result? Cole built massive authority in the aviation space by consistently showing up as an expert who could break down complex topics in an engaging way.

The Reality Check About Competition

One of the biggest insights from Cole’s journey is this: most people in established industries are terrible at marketing.

“You would be amazed at the amount of people who have absolutely no fucking clue what they’re doing. I found that in the aviation industry, there are several people with large followings who are successful, but they are awful marketers. They don’t build an email list. They don’t send out emails.”

Cole realized he didn’t need to reinvent the wheel – he just needed to be better at marketing than the people already in his space.

“I knew very quickly, I just have to be better than them. And I can rise to the top just by being a good marketer.”

This is a game-changer for anyone worried about competition in their industry. The question isn’t whether there are other people in your space – it’s whether you can out-market them.

The Long Game That Actually Pays Off

Cole’s monetization timeline tells the real story of building a sustainable business:

• November 2023: Started posting aviation content
• May 2024: Made first real dollar (one-on-one lessons)
• Labor Day 2024: Launched first digital product with incredible response

That’s nearly a year of building audience and authority before significant monetization. But here’s what’s beautiful about Cole’s approach – he wasn’t trying to rush it.

“I wasn’t focused on monetization at all. I had no plan. I had zero idea of how I wanted to monetize it. I was like, there’s gotta be a way. Let me get started, build an audience, build trust, and then I’ll figure it out.”

The patience paid off. When Cole finally launched his digital product, people who had been following him for 10 months and subscribed to his email for nearly a year finally bought. That’s the power of playing the long game.

The Expertise Advantage (And Why You Have More Than You Think)

One of the biggest takeaways from Cole’s story is this: you don’t need to be the world’s greatest expert to build authority online.

Cole put it perfectly: “It was hard to come up with content and figure out what I wanted to say and how I wanted to come across because I wasn’t an expert in it. It wasn’t something that I enjoyed talking about really. I was just there because I thought there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”

But with aviation? “Everything I know has been about aviation. I grew up in a military family. My dad worked on airplanes. I learned to fly eight or nine years ago.”

The lesson? Stop trying to build expertise in something just because it seems profitable. Start with what you already know, what you can talk about for hours, what people already come to you for advice about.

You don’t need to be the world’s leading expert. You just need to know more than the people you’re trying to help.

The Truth About Building an Audience in a Specialized Niche

Building an audience in a specialized niche like aviation comes with unique challenges and advantages:

The challenges:

• You better know your shit (people will call you out if you’re wrong)
• Global audience with different regulations and needs
• Smaller potential market than generic topics

The advantages:

• Less competition from good marketers
• Higher trust and authority when you do know your stuff
• More engaged, passionate audience
• Clearer monetization opportunities

Cole learned to handle the challenges head-on. When someone called him out for being wrong about something, instead of hiding, he made a reel the next day admitting his mistake and sharing the correct information.

“That was a little terrifying to put that out there, but people were very receptive to it. They were like, ‘Wow, this is awesome. I love that you did that.'”

That kind of authenticity and willingness to be wrong builds more trust than any perfect content ever could.

The Perfectionist’s Nightmare (And Why You Need to Embrace the Suck)

If there’s one thing that could have derailed Cole’s entire journey, it’s his self-described perfectionism.

“I’m an eternal optimizer and I’m a perfectionist, which are both the enemies of a business owner,” Cole admitted.

His advice to his past self? “Probably just fucking do it.”

“Things are not going to be perfect. You just have to hit post. You just have to write an email no matter how much you think it may suck.”

This is the lesson that separates successful entrepreneurs from everyone else. Cole spent eight months being terrible at content creation before he pivoted to aviation. But those eight months of being uncomfortable in front of a camera, learning to edit, and figuring out the basics gave him the foundation he needed to succeed when he found his real niche.

“I was absolutely awful in front of a camera in the early days. By the time I pivoted into aviation, I already felt comfortable in front of the camera. I don’t think I would have been anywhere near as successful as quickly had that been the first foray into it.”

The Entrepreneurial Lifestyle Reality Check

Let’s be real about what building an online business actually looks like. Cole doesn’t sugarcoat it:

“It runs my whole life. I literally am thinking about it when I’m sleeping. There are times I’ll lose sleep because I’ll be thinking about this content idea that I want to do.”

He’ll grab his phone to write down ideas, spend hours after putting his kids to bed working on content, and constantly be thinking about his business.

“There’s no 40-hour work weeks or less. It’s way, way more.”

But here’s the thing – when you’re building something you actually care about, something that aligns with your expertise and interests, that obsession doesn’t feel like torture. It feels like purpose.

From Side Hustle to Full-Time Freedom

The ultimate validation of Cole’s approach? He recently quit his other job to become a full-time flight instructor and content creator.

“It’s the scariest thing ever,” he admits. But now he’s using his online authority to bring in paying clients for in-person flight instruction, creating multiple revenue streams from the same expertise.

This is the real power of building authority in your niche – it opens doors you never even knew existed.

The Bottom Line

Cole’s journey destroys every excuse you’ve been making about why you can’t succeed online:

• “I’m not an expert in anything” → You know more than you think
• “My industry is too competitive” → Most people in your industry suck at marketing
• “I’m not a natural at this” → Cole was terrible for eight months and still succeeded
• “I need to find the perfect niche” → Start with what you already know
• “I need to be perfect before I start” → Perfect is the enemy of done

The opportunity exists in whatever industry you already have knowledge in. You don’t need to become another generic “make money online” account. You don’t need to follow someone else’s blueprint.

You need to start talking about what you actually know, to people who actually need that information, and be willing to suck at it for long enough to get good.

Cole went from zero to 48,000 followers and a profitable business by simply being better at marketing than other people in his space. If he can do it with aviation instruction, you can do it with whatever you’re already good at.

Stop looking for the perfect niche. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel. Stop making excuses.

Just fucking do it.

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Ready to dive deeper into building your digital empire? Subscribe to Beyond the BS and follow me on Instagram @the_no_bs_newyorker. Follow Cole on Instagram: @line.up.and.wait.

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