We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dawn Zoldi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Dawn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later
I started my business in October 2019, while still a federal civil servant for the Department of the Air Force. The backstory is that, a month prior, I had received the Women & Drones Women to Watch in UAS (uncrewed aircraft systems or drones) Award in the Leadership category, for the work I had done throughout my almost 25-year military career. The receipt of that award, at the InterDrone Conference, combined with the fact that folks wanted to start working with me on the business side of the house and that my Air Force bosses’ did not believe drones were part of my federal duties, inspired me to create my company, P3 Tech Consulting. P3 stands for People – Platforms – Policies. I resigned that federal position shortly thereafter and took a very different non-lawyer temporary position in the Air Force for the next year. I did “leadership by day, drones by night” and grew my company throughout that time (which also coincided with the COVID 19 pandemic). I jumped full time into my company in February 2021. I can’t imagine I could do what I do today in my business – which includes consulting, content creation, branding and education in emerging technologies – had I not gained the invaluable lessons and knowledge in the U.S. Air Force, as a military attorney (“JAG”), Associate General Counsel and then as the Deputy Director of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Center for Character & Leadership Development. All of that experience made me who I am as a person and a professional. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing, other than to spend more time with my family.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
At P3 Tech Consulting, our mission is “To connect people and companies who are passionate about advanced tech platforms with the plans, policies, programs, and information they need to succeed.” We do that through consulting, branding, content creation and education. We help emerging technology companies succeed in their target markets by connecting them with the right audiences and stakeholders. We do this through our three podcasts: the Dawn of Drones (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwa7XjWIb91qbwGzsd9-tqjx343-IlVne), Full Crew newscast ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwa7XjWIb91rI_yRnFoDi6ZOuS3xcB2kr) and Full TILT (Tech Industry Leadership Talks) podcast (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwa7XjWIb91rxquJwUy_3JJ_PpDBtEcMk). We also create Product Releases (https://www.p3techconsulting.com/copy-of-videos), write articles and white papers (https://www.p3techconsulting.com/blog) and run Law-Tech Connect Workshops (https://www.p3techconsulting.com/law-tech-connect). For this body of work, we’ve garned recognition, not only as a Woman to Watch in UAS, mentioned previously, but also:: MOVE America (Mobility) – The Disruptors (2022), Airwards People’s Choice – Industry Impactor (2022), eVTOL Insights Powerbook (2022) and One of the Top 100 Women in Aerospace and Aviation to Follow on LinkedIn (2022, 2021).
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is a huge part of our presence and contributor to our success. For the first year of my business, I spent 1-2 hours every morning posting across several platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). I would post 2-3 things daily across all of these and multiple forums or pages within them. It was a huge investment of effort and time. I found that consistency, and relevance, is key. It paid off. In the first year of my business (and the next), I was listed as one of the Top 100 Women in Aerospace and Aviation to Follow on LinkedIn. That said, one piece of advice that I would pass along to any business person looking to build a social media presence is, when you can afford it, hire an expert to help you. I did just that and it’s worth every penny. Not only did it give me my time back, my social media expert (who also is awesome at graphics and analytics) made our social media presence more targeted and thus better. This made our company even stronger.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
In business, as in life, relationships are key. The most effective strategy to grow clientele and customers is to connect with people. Be real. People can spot a poser a mile away. If you are passionate about what you do, it shows. Get out there, get to know people and let them know you. Then make things happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.p3techconsulting.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p3techconsulting
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p3techconsulting
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnzoldi/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/DawnP3T
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DawnZoldi
- Other: LinkTree – https://linktr.ee/dawnzoldi
Image Credits
Dawn Zoldi, P3 Tech Consulting