We were lucky to catch up with Julio Aguilar recently and have shared our conversation below.

Julio, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Learn to hear the words “no” or “no I am not interested” and move on. Learn to let rejection roll off of your shoulders and move on. Expect a lot of eye rolls and giggles and move on. I encountered many prospective clients and kept hearing those words repeatedly. I took it hard because I believed that I was offering a service that not many were or could offer. There were many times when I second-guessed my decision to enter the UAV (drone) industry. I was headstrong and deliberate in my decision to continue learning everything I could and network with people who were presently in the industry. I believe if you are passionate about an art form or a hobby, work to master it but also realize that you never really master anything because it will evolve, you just get really good at it. Stick to it and one day those “no’s” will become more “yes’s” than you can count. When someone you reached out to in the early stages of your journey for work reaches out and wants to work for you, you’re doing well. If you’ve never seen the movie “A million miles away,” I highly encourage you to watch it. The story is inspiring but more so is the “road map” to success mentioned in the movie.

“Find your goal”
“Know how far you are”
“Draw a roadmap”
“If you don’t know, learn”
“When you think you’ve made it, you probably have to work harder”
These were given to Jose Hernandez, one of NASA’s few Latino astronauts, by his father. Write them down, memorize them, live by them. They are the recipe for success.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Julio Aguilar and I was born in the Dominican Republic to a Cuban father and Puerto Rican Mother. I spent the first 27 years of my life raised in Miami, Florida and now live in Boston but conduct a lot of my work both in Massachusetts and Florida.

As a child, I was always fascinated by wildlife and aviation. We made constant trips to the public library where the majority of the books I would bring home were on animals and airplanes. My step father at the time was an aviation mechanic for a major airline, so I was exposed to aviation from a very young age. My uncle was also an aviation enthusiast and would also gift me books on airplanes which helped to fuel my interest. On the weekends, my step father and a big group of vets would gather at a rural area in South Miami where they’d fly RC planes and ultra lights further exposing me to aviation. By the time I was 10, I could pretty much name any airplane in the sky as well as most species of wildlife especially reptiles.

Around the age of 15, my step father was involved in an aviation accident and unfortunately lost his life. At that point, I strayed away from aviation and developed a strong fear of heights. As a teenager, my interest swayed towards football and athletics. After high school, I attended college for a couple of semesters at Broward Community College but decided that college wasn’t for me, so I left school and took whatever work I could find to make a living.

Around the age of 19, I began working for a wildlife refuge and alligator farm in Homestead, Florida. Throughout my 10 years working with wildlife, I was exposed to many production crews that would come down and film wildlife documentaries in the Florida Everglades. On numerous occasions, I was asked by producers and directors, if I would be willing to get close ups of the wildlife so that their cameraman wouldn’t put him/herself in danger. I picked up a knack for camera work, saved up money and bought my own camera. Every morning I’d go into work an hour or two earlier and practice filming wildlife up close. I started to post my wildlife footage on Youtube (the early years of Youtube) and began getting contacted by networks such as National Geographic who were interested in licensing footage from me. After a while, I developed an artistic style to capturing wildlife that I was hired by many production companies to assist and at times travel with them to film documentaries and advise them on wildlife safety.

Eventually, I started the family and decided to take a job in retail management which was stable and safer which I did for 14 years. I can remember running a store in Kissimmee, Florida, when two younger men walked in wearing drone
t shirts from a local electric company. Because of my interest in aviation and rc planes as a child, I struck up a conversation with them. They were half my age making almost as much as I was but enjoyed their work. I remember going home that night and basically telling my wife that I wanted to fly drones for a living since they were just flying cameras. Keep in mind that we have 4 children so switching from a stable career to an industry in its infancy was extremely risky. I remembered that my uncle had a Walmart drone he was willing to gift me, so I made a phone call and had the drone a day after. I had experience flying small rc’s as a child and picked up the skill quickly. After some weeks, I bought a more expensive Walmart drone and set up obstacles all over the house. I looked into getting my commercial drone certification (14 CFR Part 107) and began studying for the exam. One day while my wife was on Best Buy’s website, she noticed a drone and a type o in the price. She was quick to order the drone and I shortly after took and passed the exam.

It was very difficult to break into the drone industry in Central Florida since it was in it’s infancy. I flew and filmed a lot to master the drone and my artistic style, and began reaching out to realtors in the area to offer my services. I was able to do a job or two here and there, but my droning never really “took off.” I was never discouraged by people and companies I reached out to telling me they weren’t interested in my services because eventually I knew I’d develop something that would be in demand. I spent two years flying my drone for scarce work while working full time at the store mastering my style and educating myself in the industry. I had a mentor at the time, whom is still my mentor to guide me through some of the challenges I would face. Eventually, my name got around in the industry and I acquired many hours flying different types of drones. I began applying for jobs in the industry and eventually took a position as a Director of Flight Operations for a robotics company in Boston, MA where I currently work.

My story is literally one of turning my passion and hobby into profit. Today I continue my work for the robotics company, but have also started a drone service which provides drone photo/video, construction progression, orthomosaics, aerial inspections, drone classes and other services. The one thing I will tell anyone that’s struggling to find their career or way is don’t give up. If you love an art or craft and are good at it, master it; specialize in it. Don’t get discouraged when you hear “no” or “no, we are not interested,” just move on and continue working on it. Eventually someone will say “yes” and doors will begin opening. I knew I started to succeed when many of the people that told me “no,” started to call me for my services. I was not only able to get my name out to television production companies during my time working with wildlife but have been able to achieve the same in the drone industry. If anyone is interested in seeing my work, my website is Jaerial.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/drone_van_gogh.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

(I went into detail in the first question on this) I faced a ton of challenges! Firstly, where would I find the time for a side hustle? I worked 45-50 hours a week with my full time job and 4 children but was hell bent on making a career change. I wanted to show my kids that if you are good at something, master it, learn from the pros and aim to be the best at it.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Two keys to this: don’t be afraid of networking and ALWAYS remaining humble. Never be afraid to strike up a conversation with a stranger or cold calling. Building relationships with potential clients is the best way to get your name and services out into the open. Always remain humble! No matter how good you are at your craft, there is always someone better. Never stop learning and always be willing to help “the little guy” who may beginning their journey in your same industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: Jaerial.com
• Instagram: drone_van_gogh
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dronevangogh/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julio-aguilar-310128a/
• Twitter: drone_van_gogh
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuxDYFfpQkHqDmXJpmWilzA

Image Credits
All images were taken by me.