Thinking of Starting Drone Buisness

[zhuebner]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate. To begin with, I am not looking for this to be a main source of income at all, I have a job after college and just looking for this to be side hustle during the remainder of last year. I recently had a Mavic Pro Platinum but sold it to fund other wants. I enjoyed flying but never learned the editing half which is why I am currently looking at learning adobe premier pro before buying another drone again. My plan is to buy either a Mavic Pro 2 or a Phantom 4 2.0 after I become comfortable with editing and then get my Part 107 license. My plan would then be to go around to local real estate offices and offer to fly properties for free to practice my flying and editing skills and go from there. I have a couple questions regarding all of this.
1. Would you recommend the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 2.0 for professional photography?
2. Should I get my Part 107 license before I buy the drone?
3. Is Adobe Premiere Pro a good beginner editing program to learn?
4. When would be the appropriate time to create an LLC?
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too. Thanks in advance!

 

[HuistonPhill]

1. I like Mavic 2 Pro
2. I think yes
3. Better use DaVinci Resolve

 

[Saladshooter]

1. I would go with either a used Mavic 2 Pro or a DJI Air 2s. They will both serve you well and will cost under 1500 with three batteries. Phantom 4 Pro+ V2 is great drone but is bulky and costs a bit more to maintain.

2. You need your 107 as soon as you make your first flight that isn't for your own enjoyment or practice. I would get the certification ASAP because you never know when a business opportunity will show up.... but it doesn't matter if its before or after the drone.

3. Adobe Premier Pro is a good choice as is Final Cut Pro for Mac. If you have an Apple computer, even iMovie, which is free can be enough for the type of work you are doing. Real estate work needs good footage and simple editing, nothing too fancy.

4. Create a simple LLC when you form your business... that is the right time. You will likely buy your drones through the LLC and will need appropriate business insurance for your equipment and liability.

One of the best thing you can do is study some of the real estate photography and videos that are being used and practice the types of shots and video footage that are used. There are YouTube videos that can help if you search.

 

[Meta4]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate.
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too.

Don't give up your day job.
There's not much money in flying for real estate.
Everyone and his dog has a drone these days including many RE agents and the people they use for their regular photography.
To do real estate work, you need to be able to provide the whole package, not just aerials.
And on top of that, real estate agents are notoriously cheap

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

..
This is a recent thread posted by someone in a similar situation.

Photography Business

I’m interested in starting an aerial photography business to work with real estate agents and developers in my small-ish town of about 30,000 people. No one has aerial shots on their sites so I think it could bring a lot of demand once they see how powerful they are. My only concern is being...

mavicpilots.com

The advice about drone photography being a small part of what the RE agents require is quite important.
You really need to be able to give them the whole package to compete.

Other good info here too.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do, it sounds like you are in a similar position as the other thread poster, nothing to lose and can start up slowly, build a reputation and portfolio etc.

 

[BigAl07]

In addition to what others have posted/linked:

I have done the "I'll work for free to build portfolio/gain experience" and it has never worked out. I thought it would get me in the door and allow me to convert those into PAYING clients. Not a single time did any of the "Freebies" end up being paying customers down the road. Once you devalue your services you have to do something BIG to change your value to that client and that's NOT going to happen in the cheap world of Real Estate.

If you want to practice/build a portfolio ask friends and family if you can practice on their homes "just for fun". This way you're not putting yourself out there in the market as a "practicing newbie". Real Estate Agents are the best Networking people on the planet. Give ONE of them a mediocre/bad product and you might as well walk up and slap everyone in your region in the face. Why risk it?

I'm all for people getting a Side Hustle but I don't know that spending the time to learn to edit (it can get deeply involved if you let it), buying the equipment, learning to be a proficient and efficient pilot, and going through the hoops to create a business (LLC, insurance, state/fed taxes etc) is even remotely worth it for a "possible one year job". I'm several years into "this" and it takes a LOT of time, effort, skills, and TIME (duplicated on purpose for emphasis) to get a small business up and running smoothly and even longer to get it to be profitable.


Good luck and SAFE FLIGHTS!!

 

[Dale D]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate. To begin with, I am not looking for this to be a main source of income at all, I have a job after college and just looking for this to be side hustle during the remainder of last year. I recently had a Mavic Pro Platinum but sold it to fund other wants. I enjoyed flying but never learned the editing half which is why I am currently looking at learning adobe premier pro before buying another drone again. My plan is to buy either a Mavic Pro 2 or a Phantom 4 2.0 after I become comfortable with editing and then get my Part 107 license. My plan would then be to go around to local real estate offices and offer to fly properties for free to practice my flying and editing skills and go from there. I have a couple questions regarding all of this.
1. Would you recommend the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 2.0 for professional photography?
2. Should I get my Part 107 license before I buy the drone?
3. Is Adobe Premiere Pro a good beginner editing program to learn?
4. When would be the appropriate time to create an LLC?
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too. Thanks in advance!

Wow! What a loaded question. Each question is enough to keep us all busy the remainder of the day with the usual arguments about Adobe Premiere vs free DaVinci Resolve. I can adress several of these issues but have no experience with others.

RE: Video editing- I think that the prime need of most rest estate agents is interior views, showing each room, and even interactive views. The very first thing my east estate agent did was to schedule a photographer who spent about an hour or so in my house with special lighting to make the house look so good I wanted to but it for myself. The aerial view is an additional goodie that applies if there is a special location, like proximity to water, a river, lake, or a nice neighborhood. Bottom line, perfect your interior photography first. Get some light and good wide angle lens.

For video editing, Adobe Premier Pro is a professional grade program and is expensive but has all of the editing tools you will ever need. However, it requires an annual fee paid monthly, and usually you can make a deal with Adobe to package Photoshop ,Lightroom, and Premier for a better fee. Learning Premier is a steep curve.

I cannot advise on licensing, 107, etc. I am strictly a hobbyist.

Finally, never give your work away! Start to charge a competitive rate from day one!

Dale
Miami

 

[Andrex]

Every estate agent I have encountered just does the aerial shots themselves. So perhaps you would be better training to do the whole thing and just work in property.

 

[African wildlife]

Hi zhuebner

Learning to run a successful business has got to be an extremely useful skillset that will bring additional life rewards in itself. But this is easier said than done. And to do it properly, even on a part-time basis to begin with, will take a lot of work.

I'm a huge fan of the Phantom 4 Pro, so you can guess which of your two options I would suggest.

Don't waste your money on the monthly rental of the Adobe editing software. DaVinci Resolve (free version) is superb.

You will need to learn to compose your video/still shots - which is a specific skill in itself. This is the main task. If you can do it with a camera, or even with a smartphone, you should be able to do it when flying a drone. Learn about the rule of thirds, etc etc.

Second, your editing will need to be tight and professional (so no gimmicks).

I would echo BigA107's advice about offering a free service. Learn to fly/film/shoot/edit first, then charge the going rate.

Ultimately, to succeed, you'll need to be excellent at what you do. This, however, becomes a transferable skillset.

 

[MS Coast]

I agree with Big Al and Dave D. Don't give your work away. I tried that with web development and it seems that people value your work by what they paid for it. If it's free, they think they've gotten something of little value.

One thing I tried web sites and other consulting was quoting a reasonable fee and telling the client that if they weren't completely satisfied they could cut the charge as much as they wanted, even down to zero, as long as they'd tell me honestly what they didn't like. I never had one case where anyone wanted a reduction.

Good luck to you. It sounds like you don't have unrealistic expectations and you're asking yourself the right questions. Have fun.

 

[BDMavic505]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate. To begin with, I am not looking for this to be a main source of income at all, I have a job after college and just looking for this to be side hustle during the remainder of last year. I recently had a Mavic Pro Platinum but sold it to fund other wants. I enjoyed flying but never learned the editing half which is why I am currently looking at learning adobe premier pro before buying another drone again. My plan is to buy either a Mavic Pro 2 or a Phantom 4 2.0 after I become comfortable with editing and then get my Part 107 license. My plan would then be to go around to local real estate offices and offer to fly properties for free to practice my flying and editing skills and go from there. I have a couple questions regarding all of this.
1. Would you recommend the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 2.0 for professional photography?
2. Should I get my Part 107 license before I buy the drone?
3. Is Adobe Premiere Pro a good beginner editing program to learn?
4. When would be the appropriate time to create an LLC?
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too. Thanks in advance!

I started out with the Mavic Pro 2 and worked from there to the Part 107. Make sure if you go recreational to check your local TRUST regulations as even recreational in some states is required to pass and it's an open book (you can't fail) to pass. After I got my part 107 I went LLC and it costs me a couple hundred. For tax purposes you have to be up to 5K to right anything off so between the Drone purchase and fly more combo plus everything else it shouldn't be too hard to get to that level. Just make sure you keep all your receipts for anything related to the Business. I just acquired a Mini Mavic 2 for backup on the Pro and feel more confident having a backup for my business. The instructor for the Part 107 pre-test must have about a dozen drones and is hooked up in New York big time with Engineers and Real Estate Developers etc. He recommended a program called Divinci Resolve I've been learning to use and it's free and has lots of features. Anyway, good luck with your future.

 

[TridentFlyer]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate. To begin with, I am not looking for this to be a main source of income at all, I have a job after college and just looking for this to be side hustle during the remainder of last year. I recently had a Mavic Pro Platinum but sold it to fund other wants. I enjoyed flying but never learned the editing half which is why I am currently looking at learning adobe premier pro before buying another drone again. My plan is to buy either a Mavic Pro 2 or a Phantom 4 2.0 after I become comfortable with editing and then get my Part 107 license. My plan would then be to go around to local real estate offices and offer to fly properties for free to practice my flying and editing skills and go from there. I have a couple questions regarding all of this.
1. Would you recommend the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 2.0 for professional photography?
2. Should I get my Part 107 license before I buy the drone?
3. Is Adobe Premiere Pro a good beginner editing program to learn?
4. When would be the appropriate time to create an LLC?
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too. Thanks in advance!

So, did you get the business 'off the ground'?

 

[Dale D]

So, did you get the business 'off the ground'?

I will try to address several of your questions.

Firstly I have never sold a single image or video. I am purely a hobbiest. I had a Mavic 2 Pro for 3 years and I loved it but when the Mavic 3 started to get hyped by everyone I watched for a while , then took the plunge and am very happy with the Mavic 3. The images are spectacular. The only thing missing was the pre-programmed pathway which I rarely used.(Waypoints).
I continued using the Mavic 2 Pro interchangeably with the Mavic 3 and when I became comfortable with the M3, I sold the Mavic 2 Pro for $1000.00. The buyer got a good drone at a good deal, in my opinion. I was fearful when I began reading about DJI discontinuing support and battery manufacture for the Mavic 2 Pro. Mavic 2 Pro batteries will become difficult to find. So I'd suggest starting with a drone you can learn on like the Mavic Air 2.

With respect to video editing software, I imagine that most on this forum will advise Da Vinci Resolve free version. Since I am so familiar with Adobe products over my lifetime,(Photoshop, Lightroom, timelapse program using Lightroom,) I went with Premiere Pro but you will need to commit to the monthly cost which many on the forum as well as me, disdain. So I guess starting with the free version of Da Vinci Resolve wold be your best path.

Good luck to you.

Dale

 

[Marty Markoe]

I am currently a college student and considering starting a aerial photography business for real estate. To begin with, I am not looking for this to be a main source of income at all, I have a job after college and just looking for this to be side hustle during the remainder of last year. I recently had a Mavic Pro Platinum but sold it to fund other wants. I enjoyed flying but never learned the editing half which is why I am currently looking at learning adobe premier pro before buying another drone again. My plan is to buy either a Mavic Pro 2 or a Phantom 4 2.0 after I become comfortable with editing and then get my Part 107 license. My plan would then be to go around to local real estate offices and offer to fly properties for free to practice my flying and editing skills and go from there. I have a couple questions regarding all of this.
1. Would you recommend the Mavic 2 Pro or Phantom 4 2.0 for professional photography?
2. Should I get my Part 107 license before I buy the drone?
3. Is Adobe Premiere Pro a good beginner editing program to learn?
4. When would be the appropriate time to create an LLC?
I'm open to any advice y'all have for me too. Thanks in advance!

Only thing to add, forget the Phantom 4. Had one and excellent. Just heard DJI will no longer support it.