How much should I start to charge clients?

[FinlayLaverock]

Hello everyone I recently started my business in greater London area and was wondering how much do you guys usually charge. for reference my package is full 4K/HD 60fps footage on a DJI mavic pro 2 + fully colour graded footage and video edited films/shorts.

Also if there are any 3D modelers I would like to know how much you would charge for a medium to large building and what kind of software you use. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Paul Harvey]

Thanks for posting this, as I want to know too. Sorry I can't answer it. This is just a bookmark in case others answer.

 

[old man mavic]

@FinlayLaverock firstly welcome to the forum
before i reply to your query ,let me just say that my reply is not meant to be rude or demeaning in any way
to be perfectly honest with you ,how do you expect others to give you advice on how much to charge for drone sevices,
mabey ,so you can undercut them who knows
the price of a job is dependant on many ,many, factors,where ,when ,how faraway will i need to travel ect,
amd those costs are what only you will know
as a starting point ,you could look around for people doing the same thing locally ,and ask them to quote you for a drone photgraphy job, so you will have some idea what others are charging
i applaud your efforts in trying something new,and i hope that you do make a success of it

yours OMM

 

[Phantomrain.org]

First off dont make it dependant on the size of the building, your new so flat fee $1500
Your going to need the Drone to take the Pictures , a license for the Dronelink software to get them, a mega fast computer to Render say 20 thousand pictures and a prayer it all turns out ok.

Once you get a few of these under your belt , move up to $3000 but this is because by than you will have gotten a faster computer , and. your turn arround time will also be faster.

Let them know your new to the 3D models an because of that your agreeable to any changes or extra needed , such as more scale if needed.

In the end comes down to Rendering and getting a good result , its not easy , seen many people fail at the end result or a result not usable for the clients needs.

One last note: Be sure to understand what the client is needing the 3D render for , as this can make or break your time spent on the project.

Dont skimp on the Software to take the picures , be sure to start with the best and than if need be work your way down the Software but only after you have sucess.

The Risk the company takes hiring you is that you stall the project , for there meeting and deadlines. With that said the learning curve is steep but the software has gotten more forgiving with the ability to Edit out the nonsense that sometimes show up on the 3d Render.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain and get the job done.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hello everyone I recently started my business in greater London area and was wondering how much do you guys usually charge. for reference my package is full 4K/HD 60fps footage on a DJI mavic pro 2 + fully colour graded footage and video edited films/shorts.

Also if there are any 3D modelers I would like to know how much you would charge for a medium to large building and what kind of software you use. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

For video, you'll find that potential customers who aren't production companies for film or TV will start blathering on about how they will only accept professional pro-res codec footage, when most of the time they haven't got the faintest idea of what it actually is, or how to integrate it into a video workflow.

4K is now classed as second rate and most prospective 'clients' will expect to pay less for A or B roll shot in this format even though the estate agents who will tell you that they only use the professional codecs for producing their 5 minute property shorts on YouTube or other streaming media platforms can't use anything more professional than 4K 30 for their on-line walkthroughs and property videos.

Good A or B roll clips edited together as a 4k 60 short should sell PFVM (Per Finished Video Minute). But... unless you have access to a niche market, there isn't a cheapskate estate agent who will pay anywhere near that kind of money. A niche market client might pay a couple of grand for a well shot and produced short (5 mins).

 

[GFields]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

Just as @old man mavic said, there are many factors that come into play when determining pricing.
1. What is your time worth?
2. How far will you need to travel?
3. Will you cover the cost of fuel, insurance, and hourly rate?

You will need to start out a little low on pricing until you get established.
When I started my business 12 years ago I did a few free Residential Shoots for a couple of agents to build my portfolio. I now have quite a large clientele. But, it takes time, lots of time.

As a rule of thumb, I estimate at least $150 per hour plus travel time of $0.57 per mile. This is just to tell you where I have come to. You can by no means expect that in the beginning. Especially in the Real Estate business.

 

[MavicFlyer2]

Sound advice from the established business owners/operators. Thank you for sharing !

 

[FinlayLaverock]

@FinlayLaverock firstly welcome to the forum
before i reply to your query ,let me just say that my reply is not meant to be rude or demeaning in any way
to be perfectly honest with you ,how do you expect others to give you advice on how much to charge for drone sevices,
mabey ,so you can undercut them who knows
the price of a job is dependant on many ,many, factors,where ,when ,how faraway will i need to travel ect,
amd those costs are what only you will know
as a starting point ,you could look around for people doing the same thing locally ,and ask them to quote you for a drone photgraphy job, so you will have some idea what others are charging
i applaud your efforts in trying something new,and i hope that you do make a success of it

yours OMM

Thank you for your answer, the point of me asking the question was to not undercut other drone operators for that is not good for the industry but thank you for the tip

 

[FinlayLaverock]

First off dont make it dependant on the size of the building, your new so flat fee $1500
Your going to need the Drone to take the Pictures , a license for the Dronelink software to get them, a mega fast computer to Render say 20 thousand pictures and a prayer it all turns out ok.

Once you get a few of these under your belt , move up to $3000 but this is because by than you will have gotten a faster computer , and. your turn arround time will also be faster.

Let them know your new to the 3D models an because of that your agreeable to any changes or extra needed , such as more scale if needed.

In the end comes down to Rendering and getting a good result , its not easy , seen many people fail at the end result or a result not usable for the clients needs.

One last note: Be sure to understand what the client is needing the 3D render for , as this can make or break your time spent on the project.

Dont skimp on the Software to take the picures , be sure to start with the best and than if need be work your way down the Software but only after you have sucess.

The Risk the company takes hiring you is that you stall the project , for there meeting and deadlines. With that said the learning curve is steep but the software has gotten more forgiving with the ability to Edit out the nonsense that sometimes show up on the 3d Render.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain and get the job done.

Hello Thank you very much for all of your insights, I have started doing small models and can tell its a very tricky process and if you miss out a small angle and your 3D model is ruined but I find it to be gratifying work.

 

[FinlayLaverock]

Greetings from Birmingham Alabama USA, welcome to the forum! We look forward to hearing from you!

Just as @old man mavic said, there are many factors that come into play when determining pricing.
1. What is your time worth?
2. How far will you need to travel?
3. Will you cover the cost of fuel, insurance, and hourly rate?

You will need to start out a little low on pricing until you get established.
When I started my business 12 years ago I did a few free Residential Shoots for a couple of agents to build my portfolio. I now have quite a large clientele. But, it takes time, lots of time.

As a rule of thumb, I estimate at least $150 per hour plus travel time of $0.57 per mile. This is just to tell you where I have come to. You can by no means expect that in the beginning. Especially in the Real Estate business.

Hello thank you for the reply, now that you are established do you ever have dry spells where you don't a get work or does tend to be a consistent line of work. Does it depend on the housing market, competition or even the season your in?

 

[GFields]

Does it depend on the housing market, competition or even the season your in?

Like all other businesses, all of that plays into your work. For me, I stay pretty busy. But again, that takes time to get established.

 

[BigAl07]

The best way to figure out how to PRICE YOUR BUSINESS is to fully understand YOUR BUSINESS. I've started several businesses and coached several new potential entrepreneurs (coaching a pair right now) and the single best piece of advice I was given and that I pass on is to ALWAYS, 100% of the time, create a detailed and very comprehensive Business Plan. It takes time and lots of research but a solid Business Plan will teach you about YOUR BUSINESS in terms of products/services, competition, market value of your products/services and help you create a solid Marketing Plan right from the start.

Side Note: We did our Business Plan AFTER we started our UAS business (well because, I knew what I was doing LOL) and after the BP was done we realized we weren't charging ENOUGH for local market. Ironically, it seems like because our prices were so low it "looked cheap" to potential clients. We literally DOUBLED our prices and increased our bottom line and within 6 months our calendar became FILLED. We started in 2012 and didn't create the BP until 2 years later but WOW what a difference it makes. Again it takes TIME and EFFORT but once you're done it's worth it's weight in GOLD.

 

[FinlayLaverock]

The best way to figure out how to PRICE YOUR BUSINESS is to fully understand YOUR BUSINESS. I've started several businesses and coached several new potential entrepreneurs (coaching a pair right now) and the single best piece of advice I was given and that I pass on is to ALWAYS, 100% of the time, create a detailed and very comprehensive Business Plan. It takes time and lots of research but a solid Business Plan will teach you about YOUR BUSINESS in terms of products/services, competition, market value of your products/services and help you create a solid Marketing Plan right from the start.

Side Note: We did our Business Plan AFTER we started our UAS business (well because, I knew what I was doing LOL) and after the BP was done we realized we weren't charging ENOUGH for local market. Ironically, it seems like because our prices were so low it "looked cheap" to potential clients. We literally DOUBLED our prices and increased our bottom line and within 6 months our calendar became FILLED. We started in 2012 and didn't create the BP until 2 years later but WOW what a difference it makes. Again it takes TIME and EFFORT but once you're done it's worth it's weight in GOLD.

Thank you for the reply, I will to be sure to keep this in mind.