Through video instruction, John and Martha King have taught more pilots than anyone in the history of aviation – for many years teaching more than half the pilots in the United States learning to fly.
Now, for the first time, John and Martha share their evolution of entrepreneurship, including the highs, the lows, the failures, and the accomplishments experienced along the way, in the book LIFT: How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Successful Business [978-108-0758173; $19.99 (paperback); $9.99 (e-book); October 2022].
In 1975, John and Martha began flying across the country to teach aviation ground school courses. A decade later, they started producing video courses in a spare room of their house.
Today, King Schools, Inc. is a leading producer of aviation training videos and computer software – operating from an 18,000 sq. ft. complex, housing a dedicated video and software production facility, in San Diego, California. King Schools has delivered more than 700,000 video-based knowledge courses and millions of short-subject video “Take-off” courses.
In "LIFT: How to Start, Run and Grow Your Own Successful Business," John and Martha share more than 150 practical business lessons, covering everything from the importance of entrepreneurship, designing your winning business and testing your concept to hiring and motivating employees, creating an outstanding customer experience, and their “hard-and-fast rules for success.”
“You have a wonderful opportunity. You live in the time and place where you can pursue your passion and start your own business to improve your life and the lives you touch,” John and Martha write in the book’s introduction. “In flying and in business, you’ll always need to make corrections along the way. But in flying, when you are a good pilot in a well-built plane — just like when you’re a good entrepreneur running a well-designed company— you can make progress others only dream of.”
Success opened many doors for the Kings, even in unrelated areas. Their work as teachers in the aviation community opened the world at the highest levels. They have played a role in the lives of incredible people from billionaires (including Ray Dolby) and Hollywood personalities (including Harrison Ford and Clint Eastwood) to famous pilots (including Chuck Yeager), political figures (including Betty Ford), journalists (including Walter Cronkite), and many more. These associations are detailed in sidebars throughout the book.
