Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hakar Torres. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Hakar, thanks for joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When I first started Air Market Group the goal was to
connect skilled and like-minded individuals who all shared a passion for aviation to bring our resources together to be able to achieve more than what we could have on our own. Initially it was just myself on day one creating the marketing content, cold
calling, running the administrative side as well. I remained independent for the first 2 years.

The first person that joined the team I had met through LinkedIn, we were both living in the same city for over a decade and had yet never crossed paths. After connecting online, we then met for coffee in person and started to discuss business immediately.
After that we realized that a friendship was also forming as we had similar interest and dreams within the aviation industry. We worked together for about 8 months before then bringing on two more individuals to the team.

The next three teammates to join were connections made through the Central Florida Business Aviation Association. This has been a great resource for connecting with others in the industry. Two of which had joined at the same time and the third shortly after.

Our recruiting style has been unique considering that we have been very selective towards who we bring on the team. Considering we are such a young company and in the formation stages still the first select group of individuals to join the team lead the way
for the future.

If I could have done anything differently would be to start from the beginning with a team. It gives everyone the sense of ownership and that they play a critical piece to the organization. Having started alone only resulted in a slower start. Had we started
with a team of five we would be exponentially further in our journey in the same amount of time.

Hakar, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Air Market Group is a specialized aircraft brokerage firm focused on saving our clients resources while maximizing their opportunities. Our curated team includes pilots, mechanics, quality specialist, aircraft managers, and sales professionals. We service business owners, individuals, corporate groups, and more with private aviation services.

Our team is experience with handling the arrangement of pre-purchase inspections, aircraft delivery, appraisals, contract oversight, as well as but not limited to facilitation of the closing.

As a team we take great pride in being able to best help our clients in having a quality experience from takeoff to landing. The smallest details are the key factors in ensuring that the average flight becomes an unforgettable memory. Our vision is to ensure
you walk away satisfied with the process.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building my reputation has come down to being present digitally as well as physically (in-person). Considering we are a new firm it was important that we get our name out to the industry. Initially it began with the digital presence, Building the website along
with the various social media handles. Beginning to post regularly on the platforms to document the process. Then as you begin to interact with more individuals in person and they connect with you digitally it builds on the ecosystem that creates your reputation.
As the social validation in person builds from the digital presence, having the digital presence then attracts more in-person interactions.

The key element that really helped build my reputation was being the same person online as I am in person. This shows that you are genuine and a person living a normal life just like everyone else. At the end of the day people want to connect and relate to
one another. Finding that common ground is incredibly important when building a reputation in any industry.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

The best advise that I can provide for building a community that works together towards the same goal starts with the vision. Everyone has their reasons for joining an organization. It’s the leader’s job to learn that reason. It can be to pay for bills, it
can be to learn a new skill, it can be to help pay for family medical bills. Whatever the person’s motivations are for joining the team it’s vital to learn that. Recognizing the person’s motivations, it key to figuring out what motives they have for showing
up to work.

Having a clear understanding of expectations and ambitions is the start. Then you can work towards fostering a space that allows for those with the ambitions to exceed the norm to do so, while also ensuring that those who want to abide to the norm are not punished
for meeting the expectations. Morale is maintained when you focused on the person as an individual with feelings and not just a progress metric to be measured at the end of the quarter.

Contact Info:

• Website: airmarketgroup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airmarketgroup
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AirMarketGroupLLC
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/air-market-group-llc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/airmarketgroup