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Johndronebusiness

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Hello Ladies and Gentleman,

First of all, I apologize if this isn't the right section to post this or you guys heard this millions of times before.

I am just a simple guy from Delaware who enjoys flying his drone and taking pictures as a hobby. I have been flying my Mavic Pro for over 2 years now.

I finally contacted my favorite realtor who we became friends with after she sold us our house a little 2 years ago and she told me to dip into drone aerial photography busines ASAP and she will give me some business and there is a huge potential to grow BIG TIME around where I live.. and maybe more chances in another states in the future as well, who knows.


Anyways, I just never owned a business or looked into it.

I know that I have to go get my remote pilot license to be able to do commercial...

I tried to a little research on my own and It looks like I could just register my company in my state and start a Single Member LLC....

SO my question, what steps should I took for the small business owners?
or
DO I HAVE TO? start an llc or any kind if I work and do jobs for realtors or lets say wedding photos, videos, etc?

Thank you for your advice!
 
Do it legally - as you mentioned - and get your Part 107 card.

Start slow, and build it. It’s like raising a child. At first, you think you’re ill equipped, and soon the child is grown, and happy, and healthy, and you realize you did a great job.

The LLC can probably wait until you begin to have steady work, but liability insurance would be smart for any and all commercial operations, and there are multiple options for app based policies that charge a flat rate during each flight. I seem to recall it being around $10/hr. Others here may know more details.

Lastly - IMO - with the FAA LAANC program rapidly expanding as it is, there has never been a better time to start an aerial imaging business.
 
I agree, get your 107 and then start an LLC. Don’t forget to look into any sales tax requirements in your area. If you are charging for your work you will need to add tax and submit it biannually or quarterly (check with your states attorney). In order to get a sales tax license you will more then likely need to file a business name LLC, to get a tax ID, and start a checking account to run all your transactions through so you can show profit and loss, equipment costs and log any charitable work you may do. You may need to fix, replace or update a drone, get a laptop, printer, website, business cards etc. I started a website, not to draw customers, (more expenses to track) but to develop a gallery of past work to show any interested parties, that keeps the web cost low and simple. I have a couple of steady customers that do commercials for car lots, and some realtors (I’ll do a realtors first shoot free) so I can grow my gallery. Slow and steady is my business plan. Many business won’t work with you if you don’t have a tax license. I also got a peddlers license from the city so I can go door to door and offer photo packages for up scale homes and acreages. That way if anyone gets upset I have my part 107, tax ID and a peddlers license to show the authority’s along with a print out of any NFZ (no fly zone) authorizations. Check with any other production companies and offer to take their overflow. They may be charging $1500/hr but have a full blown production company to support. Many times their equipment may be down and they may use you to fill the gap. Try not to under cut but complement what they do, they may be more help for the little jobs they don’t want to fool with. I don’t advertise the cost because every shoot may be different and you don’t want to box yourself in. I have a set per flight hour cost (minimum 1 hr) and then add on for different expenses, travel (over a set distance), memory cards, post production (if needed) and liability insurance.

I also invested in a set of DJI goggles for the customer to sit down and wear to make sure I am getting the shot they want so there are little or no complaints with the finished product.

I have full time employment so this is not my bread and butter business, more of a way to pay for my toys and not get in trouble.

If you run out by the seat of your pants you can make a bad name for yourself before you get a good start.

I hope there is a nugget or two that will help you.

Dronesview4u.com
 
Do it legally - as you mentioned - and get your Part 107 card.

Start slow, and build it. It’s like raising a child. At first, you think you’re ill equipped, and soon the child is grown, and happy, and healthy, and you realize you did a great job.

The LLC can probably wait until you begin to have steady work, but liability insurance would be smart for any and all commercial operations, and there are multiple options for app based policies that charge a flat rate during each flight. I seem to recall it being around $10/hr. Others here may know more details.

Lastly - IMO - with the FAA LAANC program rapidly expanding as it is, there has never been a better time to start an aerial imaging business.

Thanks for your advice,I appreciate it.

That's exactly what I am planning to do, get my part 107 card and I have a few realtors who already said they'd give me their aerial photography business.

I am thinking in the future with the experience i'll have, there might be big money involved.
 
I agree, get your 107 and then start an LLC. Don’t forget to look into any sales tax requirements in your area. If you are charging for your work you will need to add tax and submit it biannually or quarterly (check with your states attorney). In order to get a sales tax license you will more then likely need to file a business name LLC, to get a tax ID, and start a checking account to run all your transactions through so you can show profit and loss, equipment costs and log any charitable work you may do. You may need to fix, replace or update a drone, get a laptop, printer, website, business cards etc. I started a website, not to draw customers, (more expenses to track) but to develop a gallery of past work to show any interested parties, that keeps the web cost low and simple. I have a couple of steady customers that do commercials for car lots, and some realtors (I’ll do a realtors first shoot free) so I can grow my gallery. Slow and steady is my business plan. Many business won’t work with you if you don’t have a tax license. I also got a peddlers license from the city so I can go door to door and offer photo packages for up scale homes and acreages. That way if anyone gets upset I have my part 107, tax ID and a peddlers license to show the authority’s along with a print out of any NFZ (no fly zone) authorizations. Check with any other production companies and offer to take their overflow. They may be charging $1500/hr but have a full blown production company to support. Many times their equipment may be down and they may use you to fill the gap. Try not to under cut but complement what they do, they may be more help for the little jobs they don’t want to fool with. I don’t advertise the cost because every shoot may be different and you don’t want to box yourself in. I have a set per flight hour cost (minimum 1 hr) and then add on for different expenses, travel (over a set distance), memory cards, post production (if needed) and liability insurance.

I also invested in a set of DJI goggles for the customer to sit down and wear to make sure I am getting the shot they want so there are little or no complaints with the finished product.

I have full time employment so this is not my bread and butter business, more of a way to pay for my toys and not get in trouble.

If you run out by the seat of your pants you can make a bad name for yourself before you get a good start.

I hope there is a nugget or two that will help you.

Dronesview4u.com

I appreciate your response and sharing your experience with me.

I will definitely do everything legally and make sure to get a tax ID and a checking out for my business after I start my LLC.

I also have a full time job, this is something I want to do on the side and maybe it will turn out to be something very big, we shall wait and see.
 
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I agree, get your 107 and then start an LLC. Don’t forget to look into any sales tax requirements in your area. If you are charging for your work you will need to add tax and submit it biannually or quarterly (check with your states attorney). In order to get a sales tax license you will more then likely need to file a business name LLC, to get a tax ID, and start a checking account to run all your transactions through so you can show profit and loss, equipment costs and log any charitable work you may do. You may need to fix, replace or update a drone, get a laptop, printer, website, business cards etc. I started a website, not to draw customers, (more expenses to track) but to develop a gallery of past work to show any interested parties, that keeps the web cost low and simple. I have a couple of steady customers that do commercials for car lots, and some realtors (I’ll do a realtors first shoot free) so I can grow my gallery. Slow and steady is my business plan. Many business won’t work with you if you don’t have a tax license. I also got a peddlers license from the city so I can go door to door and offer photo packages for up scale homes and acreages. That way if anyone gets upset I have my part 107, tax ID and a peddlers license to show the authority’s along with a print out of any NFZ (no fly zone) authorizations. Check with any other production companies and offer to take their overflow. They may be charging $1500/hr but have a full blown production company to support. Many times their equipment may be down and they may use you to fill the gap. Try not to under cut but complement what they do, they may be more help for the little jobs they don’t want to fool with. I don’t advertise the cost because every shoot may be different and you don’t want to box yourself in. I have a set per flight hour cost (minimum 1 hr) and then add on for different expenses, travel (over a set distance), memory cards, post production (if needed) and liability insurance.

I also invested in a set of DJI goggles for the customer to sit down and wear to make sure I am getting the shot they want so there are little or no complaints with the finished product.

I have full time employment so this is not my bread and butter business, more of a way to pay for my toys and not get in trouble.

If you run out by the seat of your pants you can make a bad name for yourself before you get a good start.

I hope there is a nugget or two that will help you.

Dronesview4u.com

Thanks for the great advise. I am looking at going commercial in the near future and can use this type of guidance.
 
Scout UAS does real estate photography pretty often, if not weekly... my advice is to practice, practice, practice. Practice on your house, ask your neighbors for permission to fly their houses, ect. Look up all the different real estate shot lists and practice those shots until they are second nature. It will make the difference between a 15 minute visit to a job or a 45 minute-1hr visit.
 
Also, real estate work is not only about aerial images of the involved property. Be prepared for doing it all, inside and out. I would think the Osmo Pocket would be a good solution for ground work.
 
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