Time for a career change!

[MikeSinOC]

Thinking about changing my career and get into some sort of drone business for myself, I still need my Part 107.

I have an opportunity to attend this three day seminar for Drone Command Live. Has anyone taken this course or something similar to start a venture like this? Can you recommend different steps?

 

[BigAl07]

Thinking about changing my career and get into some sort of drone business for myself, I still need my Part 107.

My biggest piece of advice is to not quit your day job until after your new career proofs out. Unless you can "Create" a niche for yourself and become an expert in it. Otherwise you'll be competing with every Tom, ****, & Harry out there for scraps.

I don't have any experience with those type of seminars but go into it knowing they have an agenda "to sell you" and take anything you learn from it with a grain of salt. Don't dip too deep into your wallet for a Feel Good seminar.

Good luck and SAFE Flights
Allen

 

[RCdancer]

Good advice, Allen.

 

[MikeSinOC]

My biggest piece of advice is to not quit your day job until after your new career proofs out. Unless you can "Create" a niche for yourself and become an expert in it. Otherwise you'll be competing with every Tom, ****, & Harry out there for scraps.

I don't have any experience with those type of seminars but go into it knowing they have an agenda "to sell you" and take anything you learn from it with a grain of salt. Don't dip too deep into your wallet for a Feel Good seminar.

Good luck and SAFE Flights
Allen

That was kind of my thought to hold out where I'm at (in construction) and parley that into a side until I can build it for myself. OR do I hold off on the program and get my cert and experiment to build a side gig? The program is "hands on" for $199 and offers some marketing advice also.

Thanks for your input BigAl

 

[ZX14-R]

Steady Steady...

Do lots of training until you get the basics right .

Little steps.

 

[AMann]

Thinking about changing my career and get into some sort of drone business for myself, I still need my Part 107.

I have an opportunity to attend this three day seminar for Drone Command Live. Has anyone taken this course or something similar to start a venture like this? Can you recommend different steps?

You really have to be good at marketing, business, social networking and smoozing with a politician’s smile to be successful at starting any type of one-man photography business. The most money I have ever made from photography was weddings and chasing down copyright violators that used my stuff online!

If you can use drone photography as a tool at work, that would be cool. What type of construction do you do? I use mine at school occasionally as a teacher with our tech club and get paid for that (I am 107 certified), and occasionally with my wife’s job for archaeological site mapping. I could have used one a lot back in my former career as a environmental monitor/biologist, but it was too long ago. Man, I would have loved to use a drone at some of the construction sites I had to do monitoring work at, that would have been awesome!! I am registered as a freelancer on the droners.io website, but most of those gigs are either a joke or require you to have a high end mapping drone and a surveyors license, or engineering experience.

Like BigA107 said, keep your day job. If you have a good camera, use it with your drone. Trust me, a good DSLR or video camera can make much more money
for you. Are you good at graphic design? If so, combine drone photography with Illustrator and Photoshop to make stuff like travel cards or other media. Take some surveying apprentice and GIS classes and get into aerial mapping as an intern with a local surveying firm? And also consider accident/insurance type of photography... get creative with it whatever you do, and always keep several pokers in the fire.

 

[Meta4]

I have an opportunity to attend this three day seminar for Drone Command Live. Has anyone taken this course or something similar to start a venture like this?

You might be interested to read this:

Drone Command Live

Has anyone here heard of this? I'm thinking about going. Drone Command Live

phantompilots.com

 

[BigAl07]

This is a good read and a little bit of a Reality Check for many of us:

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[AMann]

It’s the specialists that will be more able to make a career of it: roof and structure inspection services, mapping and surveying, power and utilities, science and environmental related positions, security and public safety, etc.

 

[THE CYBORG]

A drone business is rather like the music business in that just because you are good doesn't mean you get the gigs, lots of others doing the same thing.
Getting your name out there and getting noticed to the extent that people will want to contact you is the hard part.

Good luck all the same.

 

[jagraphics]

In the UK this lot https://www.flyicarus.co.uk have been in the arial photo/video business for years . They have helicopter pilots as well as drone operators. They do the approved courses for the UK PfCO training and examination for commercial opperations. They are very good at it.

Over the last year they have started doing more Business orientated courses.

When I spoke to them recently they said that 80%+ of those who did their commercial course did not renew their CAA registration the following year. (CAA is UK version of FAA and annual registration is about $300 a year) The problem was most who went into drone photo/video had no idea how to run a business much less make money at it.

As noted above it is a BUSINESS that just happens to be in the drone sector.

You have to be able to run a business.

I would warn against jumping into it.

The reason is about 15 years ago I saw what happened to photography. Every man and his dog got a digital camera and broadband internet. Suddenly "everyone" was a photojournalist or a "citizen journalist" . the bottom dropped out of the market. Prices plummeted. no one cound lake a living bar a few with good networks, ruthless business sense and well just being ruthless.

The same happened in the wedding market. People doing it as a hobby or semi-pro undercut everyone else. The market was flooded and often a family friend did it for free. Many/most averagely good wedding photo outfits had a very hard time or closed.

In Corporate photography the same thing happened. The photo enthusiast in the office now takes the photos for the web site and desktop published PDF catalogue.

You are looking to go into aerial photography.... as is everyone and his dog. The Semi-pros and hobbyists will flood the market and drop the prices. If companies have a member of staff with a drone they may use them (for overtime payment + a free lunch)

In ALL these cases a few very good people survive at the top, those in niche markets survive. Those who are in an isolated area geographically will survive ie the only game in town. The majority will not make any money at it. Unless they are ruthless and very very good at business.

Keep the day job.

Only quit the day job when it is in the way of your drone work and the drone work is generating more than enough to live on. May be not as much as the day job but make sure you are established and it is REAL money in the bank not something that "will" happen next month. As any of the pro's on here will tell you unless it has happened (and then you have to chase payment) there is no guarantee ot will happen.

But that's business.
I have been running one nealry two decades.

 

[Peter Hughes]

My biggest piece of advice is to not quit your day job until after your new career proofs out. Unless you can "Create" a niche for yourself and become an expert in it. Otherwise you'll be competing with every Tom, ****, & Harry out there for scraps.

I don't have any experience with those type of seminars but go into it knowing they have an agenda "to sell you" and take anything you learn from it with a grain of salt. Don't dip too deep into your wallet for a Feel Good seminar.

Good luck and SAFE Flights
Allen

The idea of these seminars is to entice people in with tales of riches and fame (depending on the hype). In reality it’s to make money for those hosting the seminar. I always remember being told that the only people who got rich in the Klondike Gold Rush were those selling the equipment! If you do take it up professionally, best of luck in your endeavours. Take care. Peter.

 

[BigAl07]

The idea of these seminars is to entice people in with tales of riches and fame (depending on the hype). In reality it’s to make money for those hosting the seminar. I always remember being told that the only people who got rich in the Klondike Gold Rush were those selling the equipment! If you do take it up professionally, best of luck in your endeavours. Take care. Peter.

^^^^^^^^^ Bingo!!

While you'll often get some good ideas and pointers from these events I do think you can get the same things by talking to others and watching YouTube videos. Save your $$ and invest it in YOUR business not theirs

 

[MikeSinOC]

You really have to be good at marketing, business, social networking and smoozing with a politician’s smile to be successful at starting any type of one-man photography business. The most money I have ever made from photography was weddings and chasing down copyright violators that used my stuff online!

If you can use drone photography as a tool at work, that would be cool. What type of construction do you do? I use mine at school occasionally as a teacher with our tech club and get paid for that (I am 107 certified), and occasionally with my wife’s job for archaeological site mapping. I could have used one a lot back in my former career as a environmental monitor/biologist, but it was too long ago. Man, I would have loved to use a drone at some of the construction sites I had to do monitoring work at, that would have been awesome!! I am registered as a freelancer on the droners.io website, but most of those gigs are either a joke or require you to have a high end mapping drone and a surveyors license, or engineering experience.

Like BigA107 said, keep your day job. If you have a good camera, use it with your drone. Trust me, a good DSLR or video camera can make much more money
for you. Are you good at graphic design? If so, combine drone photography with Illustrator and Photoshop to make stuff like travel cards or other media. Take some surveying apprentice and GIS classes and get into aerial mapping as an intern with a local surveying firm? And also consider accident/insurance type of photography... get creative with it whatever you do, and always keep several pokers in the fire.

Whoa, very good information. I work for a general contractor (estimating) for retail and theaters both new construction and tenant improvements so I think this would be a good start. I would most definitely combine DLSR and Adobe Creative Cloud suite to the mix to give clients exactly what they want creatively. I used to be a very creative resourceful person and after some many years of construction B.S. I want a change to make me happy again.

Thanks for your input AMann

 

[MikeSinOC]

You might be interested to read this:

Drone Command Live

Has anyone here heard of this? I'm thinking about going. Drone Command Live

phantompilots.com

Hey Meta, this is the course I was looking at it will be local to me and was considering it.

 

[MikeSinOC]

A drone business is rather like the music business in that just because you are good doesn't mean you get the gigs, lots of others doing the same thing.
Getting your name out there and getting noticed to the extent that people will want to contact you is the hard part.

Good luck all the same.

Thanks Cyborg, I totally understand that you need a niche if you set out on this now.

 

[MikeSinOC]

In the UK this lot https://www.flyicarus.co.uk have been in the arial photo/video business for years . They have helicopter pilots as well as drone operators. They do the approved courses for the UK PfCO training and examination for commercial opperations. They are very good at it.

Over the last year they have started doing more Business orientated courses.

When I spoke to them recently they said that 80%+ of those who did their commercial course did not renew their CAA registration the following year. (CAA is UK version of FAA and annual registration is about $300 a year) The problem was most who went into drone photo/video had no idea how to run a business much less make money at it.

As noted above it is a BUSINESS that just happens to be in the drone sector.

You have to be able to run a business.

I would warn against jumping into it.

The reason is about 15 years ago I saw what happened to photography. Every man and his dog got a digital camera and broadband internet. Suddenly "everyone" was a photojournalist or a "citizen journalist" . the bottom dropped out of the market. Prices plummeted. no one cound lake a living bar a few with good networks, ruthless business sense and well just being ruthless.

The same happened in the wedding market. People doing it as a hobby or semi-pro undercut everyone else. The market was flooded and often a family friend did it for free. Many/most averagely good wedding photo outfits had a very hard time or closed.

In Corporate photography the same thing happened. The photo enthusiast in the office now takes the photos for the web site and desktop published PDF catalogue.

You are looking to go into aerial photography.... as is everyone and his dog. The Semi-pros and hobbyists will flood the market and drop the prices. If companies have a member of staff with a drone they may use them (for overtime payment + a free lunch)

In ALL these cases a few very good people survive at the top, those in niche markets survive. Those who are in an isolated area geographically will survive ie the only game in town. The majority will not make any money at it. Unless they are ruthless and very very good at business.

Keep the day job.

Only quit the day job when it is in the way of your drone work and the drone work is generating more than enough to live on. May be not as much as the day job but make sure you are established and it is REAL money in the bank not something that "will" happen next month. As any of the pro's on here will tell you unless it has happened (and then you have to chase payment) there is no guarantee ot will happen.

But that's business.
I have been running one nealry two decades.

JA, I have had a lot of self doubt about this for some time and figure if I get certified to fly commercially I could turn my hobby of doing creative things into something more.

Thank you, very good feed back I appreciate it.

 

[MikeSinOC]

^^^^^^^^^ Bingo!!

While you'll often get some good ideas and pointers from these events I do think you can get the same things by talking to others and watching YouTube videos. Save your $$ and invest it in YOUR business not theirs

And THAT us what I was thinking and why I put the question out to you guys. This was my first post and thought it'd be good. Thanks

 

[jagraphics]

Whoa, very good information. I work for a general contractor (estimating) for retail and theaters both new construction and tenant improvements so I think this would be a good start. I would most definitely combine DLSR and Adobe Creative Cloud suite to the mix to give clients exactly what they want creatively. I used to be a very creative resourceful person and after some many years of construction B.S. I want a change to make me happy again.

Thanks for your input AMann

You have a niche market, contacts and knowedge.
You are a specialist photographer in a niche.
It would make a good side line

Look at the real costs of getting commercially licensed. (I have no idea what it is where you are)
Then get a few jobs as a side line to see if it can break even. Or even just make it an almost free hobby

NOTE it might be worth doing one job for your current employer as a free one. (cue long arguments on this supporting for and against)
However I would do this on the understanding that they *rent* the gear from you. Ie your time, as you are employed by them. they have paid for but the kit they rent.
They should understand this.

This will mean that you have a paid job and an example on your portfolio. Over a few of these it could pay for the costs in the certification/registration etc of the costs in seting up the company (the one your current emplyer rents the gear from) You could then get other jobs for your self.

I was going to suggest that your employer might offer this as a service but they would then buy their own drone for you to operate.... so beware of that trap

Once you are off the ground so to speak you need to think like a business, You will need back up kit, all sorts of bits and pieces. I have seen a "Professional" Wedding Photographer with only one camera and flash gun..... disaster if it fails. Real Pro's have a reasonable amount of back up kit. This is a long term thing.

You do need a plan. A busines plan on where you want to go and how to get there, (not the sort of busines plan the bank wants)
You will get lots of suggestions on here.


BTW The Creative Cloud is irrelevant there are lots of similar tools. As is the actual name/model of thre camera or Drone, Clients generally don't care.

 

[Boricua Pilot]

You already received excellent advice, so just as an add on: visit a local fly training school, you may be to obtain an older sectional chart (Free) that will provide you with excellent airspace info. You can see it electronically by visiting Airnav.com (Free) . (Excellent source of info for your part 107) also just chat with some of the Pilots or CFI’s (flight instructors). Don’t spend more than 5K initially, Max tax deduction (U.S.). Learn the Pilots lingo, phraseology. Set learning goals and stick to them. Be realistic