Jerry Mitchell Jr. went from winning the Liberty Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Cotton Bowl as a former college football athlete at the University of Arkansas, and becoming a scout for the NFL, to taking to the skies as “The Jet King.” In 2016, Mitchell established his premier luxury concierge service that specializes in private jet travel.
In May of this year, a regular day for Grissom Elementary School in Houston turned into a day they’ll always remember. Mitchell visited the school to show the students that they can be anything they want to be. He made sure they knew that their success is not limited to sports and music and that they can feel, taste and touch luxury if it is their desire to do so. He even brought a fleet of Lamborghinis to the school provided by his luxury transportation partner, Luxo Exotics, to inspire the kids and show them that anything is attainable if they believe in themselves.
Mitchell knew that his goals were attainable and utilized his experience and connections in professional sports to launch a private jet chartering company.
What are some of the skills that helped you to become successful in business?
I learned sales skills, marketing and networking. Things like that are all valuable skills and they really carried over to what I’m doing today with Jet King International.
Did you face any obstacles in the building of the brand?
There’s not a lot of Black business owners in this field. So, I didn’t really have a lot of people who looked like me to rely on or to ask for advice. I learned how to pretty much figure it out myself and make my own networking connections. Throughout working in this industry over the years, I have met some really nice Black entrepreneurs, Black pilots, Black mechanics, and other Black air charter brokers in the industry. We like to stick together. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Vomos, who has been a huge mentor and company that I can rely on and they’re also Black-owned.
What is your favorite aspect of being in this business?
My favorite part is having the opportunity to fly on private jets all over the world. It’s just an exhilarating experience to know that it’s a privilege to be able to do what I do. Also, I love being able to help people, encourage people, inspire people, and to show them that we as African Americans can do this thing very well and we can compete with the best.
What would you tell your 21-year-old self?
Be open-minded. Don’t limit yourself to one specific thing. Make sure you’re well-rounded and well prepared for any opportunity presented. I would tell myself to step out of my comfort zone and network with people that I normally wouldn’t talk to, because you never know who knows who. I would also say just stay consistent. The name of the game is consistency, and people respect consistency.
