Button - Out of Business

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I'm the owner and founder of YonderWest Aero LLC, the nation's preeminent corporate aviation service company. We provide corporate aviation, dispatch scheduling, international trip support, aircraft strategy, and aircraft procurement and entry into service for wide-body and heavy Gulfstream jets. Primarily, our focus is on private aircraft of similar sizes to Cessna Citation X and larger for ultra-high-net-worth individuals and Fortune 100 companies.

I'm a very reluctant entrepreneur. My background is in corporate aviation services and I provide day-to-day operations for private jets. I created the business to address serious issues within the business aviation community.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Button?

I needed someone to refresh my site. My initial website was very bare-bones — I had someone put together a super basic website and a branding that was deliberately designed for the long term. I'm not a copy guy, so I don’t really like writing offers and talking about myself. I needed a more concise, long-term, and established digital presence.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Button designed and developed a brand new website that included a blog, contact and request form, and a series of videos ranging from 15–90 seconds. The team also built out a five-piece digital marketing campaign, which included a call to action (CTA) and a 10-page white paper. Their work was basically a mix of creating web development marketing materials, copy, and video production. Eric (Founder) coordinated and worked on it on the airfield in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I didn’t have a particular game plan, so I relied on him to guide me. Since I wasn't particularly clear on what I wanted, the project became a little disordered. The website was the priority, but it required a lot of work so we had to branch out the scope. Beyond their web solutions, they also offered other services within it like video services and copy.

In terms of web development, they came with an idea for it during their initial pitch, but the idea required some tweaking. They showed certain elements that they thought would suit our business and presented criteria that were important for marketing and convincing people of our market viability. The website was tailored to our existing branding, but they refreshed our online corporate presence as a whole.

The video was the biggest element we had to work on. Button provided a list of things that they wanted to shoot along with a script, which included an interview, and they then handled the editing. They also created material for social media, as well as the overall copy of the site. Additionally, they put together a blog for me to post on.

The team also delivered a white paper that was tailored to our business. The last page contains an image of an airplane along with a few ideas like the future of business aviation. I am the co-owner of a wine brand as well, so they found a way to include that in the white paper. After the website went live, they continued to work with us on updating it.

What is the team composition?

Eric was my point of contact who handled the entire project. He outsourced a videographer, but the Button team handled everything else.

How did you come to work with Button?

I sent him an email asking for a proposal and it ended up working out great.

How much have you invested with them?

The project cost around $2,600–$2,700. Aside from that, I also spent $1,500 on transportation and accommodations to facilitate the entire project.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from May 2020–February 2021.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The whole project went perfectly. My business is quite unusual, so there's no real way to ascertain deliberate data and tracking. However, one of the things that I had agonized over was the white paper, which the Button team helped me put together. My business partner and I threw some ideas together, but Eric delivered the final product. 

He made it eye-catching, creative, and tongue-in-cheek —  he referenced a common problem with business aviation, proving his insight into the nuances of business aviation. This really helped us get more engagement. For example, it just so happened that an aircraft owner who had gone through that exact situation saw that reference, and that single line was all it took for him to pick up the phone to call me. 

How did Button perform from a project management standpoint?

They were a really patient team. We communicated via email and phone calls, which was all I needed. I delivered some of the requirements late, so none of the delays was his fault, and it was primarily because of my schedule. I'm very particular, so I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but Eric remained very patient with me. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the project got a bit waylaid but the project went well overall.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I love that they understood my mindset more than I did. The team knew what would resonate and what wouldn’t. The insight Eric provided me was astounding — he’s a generation younger than I am, but he’s wise beyond his years. 

They also gave me a killer deal in terms of price. I approached him because he was young and friendly — he was still establishing the company, so he tried hard to get what we were trying to do instead of treating us like any other project. The patience they gave me was great, too.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything they could have improved upon. We’re in the middle of a pandemic, so we're all just trying to keep our heads above water at this point. The private aviation marketplace is back to 100% now, so I’m satisfied.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to not just rely on the Button team. You have to execute the work, as well. That's what's critically important — the entire hemming and hawing over money and content will waste your time. Don't agonize over how you could do things perfectly and just do the work.