Dronebase job

[R.Perry]

Drone base offered me a job about a week ago. Bear Valley Ski resort, map both slopes. $90.00 dollars. This is a 4 1/2 hour round trip up in the Sierra mountains. I told them I would do it for $300.00 and that was my bottom line. Well they up the offer to 120, I declined, then 150, again I declined. Yesterday the offer was 200, and I didn't respond. Today it went back to 150. I though my offer at 300 was too cheap but I have friends that live up there.
What gets me, is they brought the offer up to 200 then brought it back down to 150, that just doesn't make sense.

That brings up another issue, mapping the steep slopes, haven't done anything like that yet.

 

[MikeA]

I am interested in a good method for mapping steep slopes with a planned mission as well.

As far as the cheap rates I have had that too, they send me the same job that is 2 hours away, $75, $85, etc. I finally just emailed them a quote and never heard back.

 

[Gahan Haskins]

The quote they offered is major lowball - for any job with 4 hours traveling. If you hired Illegals at Home Depot they would be in for $20 hr+ for all the time you need them, which is way more than what this company offered.

I am new to this but I see that many of the jobs people speak of are bottom fishing rates.
I bet this company put out a bid for this and received much better money for the job.

IMHO, the only way around it is for UAS pilots is to try direct solicitation of companies like ski areas that might need mapping.
I bet getting out of the basement is difficult in this Industry. The Tech works against you - you have to have the latest and greatest to win a job etc.

 

[R.Perry]

Most of the work I get is by knocking on doors. I called Bear Valley because we go skiing there frequently. Talked to one of the managers and he wouldn't tell me what they had quoted him and I understand that, and since Drone Base already offered me the job I can't ethically bid the job. However, is someone else was to offer to do it for $400 I bet they would get the job. (Scott hope you see this)

 

[GFields]

I have not negotiated with DroneBase. Didn't know you could actually

 

[R.Perry]

I am interested in a good method for mapping steep slopes with a planned mission as well.

As far as the cheap rates I have had that too, they send me the same job that is 2 hours away, $75, $85, etc. I finally just emailed them a quote and never heard back.

I have a request in to Drone Deploy regarding mapping rough terrain. It is my understanding that their beta was using google earth for AGL & MSL elevations. If you have terrain that has say a 500-foot elevation difference and you're flying at 200 feet AGL you better hope their elevation data is very accurate especially if there are a lot of tall trees in the area that is being mapped.

 

[R.Perry]

I have not negotiated with DroneBase. Didn't know you could actually

If you are going to be in business, you need to negotiate. There are several good books out about that very subject. Let's face it, as a client I want to get what I need done as cheaply as possible, and the vendor or service provider wants to make as much as they can. If you work too cheaply you will go broke.
Example, my wife wanted a new car. Picked out the car, dealer gave her a price. She offered a few thousand dollars less. The dealer refused her offer. We walked out, thirty minutes later dealer called and accepted my wife's offer.

 

[Wavepilot]

Except for long-term recurring jobs, I won't even charge a battery for less than $250 for a standard photo flight within a thirty-minute drive. Longer drives incur a travel surcharge. I would like to see all drone operators fairly compensated for their talent and time. Most solicitations from RPIC commoditizers like DroneBase and Droners.io go right into my trash. If most RPICs charged more for their services, our entire professional community would benefit economically, and those who undercharge would be incentivized to raise their prices and enjoy the greater ROIs they deserve.

 

[MikeA]

Most people starting out in any industry can’t realistically charge the median rate until they show that they’re capable of delivering some value, so some cheaper jobs have to happen at the beginning. But I agree that the $50-$100 jobs aren’t even worth it for new people and don’t help anyone except the middle man.

 

[Enorda]

I disagree that cheaper "jobs" need to happen. I have a ton of mapping and modeling experience by just going out and mapping and modeling places that didn't need it, but allowed me access to do so. Then I normally throw them a few aerial photos for the trouble, for their website or whatever, and we all leave happy. I've done parking lot inspections with analyzed outputs and grades, I've done building models, I've done 20 acre fields for DSM/DTM (I don't have drones for actual AG use yet, but contours can help in planning). I did my roof as my first roof inspection, complete with report. I've also done videos for friends who own businesses, etc. You can build your portfolio really fast if you just go out and show what can be done, what your export/output reports are, and use real data often without confidentiality agreements so you can use the output for marketing. Treat these as jobs, and then you can show them as completed jobs, without the expense, nor being exploited as a new pilot.

I get that the experience isn't the same as a paying job, but set yourself up as if it were a paying job, do it, track time, expenses, etc (tax write off anyway for advertising at a minimum).

But I also agree that an apprenticeship somewhere would make things a lot easier to get in.

 

[MikeA]

"I disagree that cheaper "jobs" need to happen. I have a ton of mapping and modeling experience by just going out and mapping and modeling places that didn't need it, but allowed me access to do so."

That is the definition of a cheap job. You gave them some pics for free or cheap, or flew a mission for a friend for free or cheap. And after that you have some deliverables in your portfolio to show to future clients. If DroneBase or Droners paid you $100 for the exact same thing when you just started out it would be an extra $100 in the budget and some portfolio filler, not undercutting expert pilots with cheap labor. It seems like the pilots here arguing against doing cheap jobs are the ones who don't need to do cheap jobs any more to fill their portfolio, but used to do cheap jobs when they started.

 

[GFields]

If you are going to be in business, you need to negotiate. There are several good books out about that very subject. Let's face it, as a client I want to get what I need done as cheaply as possible, and the vendor or service provider wants to make as much as they can. If you work too cheaply you will go broke.
Example, my wife wanted a new car. Picked out the car, dealer gave her a price. She offered a few thousand dollars less. The dealer refused her offer. We walked out, thirty minutes later dealer called and accepted my wife's offer.

I fully understand the art of negotiation. I have been a business owner for many years and have a Master's degree in Business. My point was that I didn't know there was an option to negotiate with DroneBase. I have always just declined a job that didn't pay enough and accepted those that did.

How do you negotiate with DroneBase? Email?

 

[JimD]

If that $85 job was five minutes away would’ve been a great deal.
If you look at the rates online for Dronebase they’re not really lowballing.
If it’s a far drive just don’t take the job.

 

[R.Perry]

I fully understand the art of negotiation. I have been a business owner for many years and have a Master's degree in Business. My point was that I didn't know there was an option to negotiate with DroneBase. I have always just declined a job that didn't pay enough and accepted those that did.

How do you negotiate with DroneBase? Email?

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have solid business knowledge, I was also speaking to the community here.

As for dealing job brokers, figure what you're willing to do the job for and send them your offer in an email response. My experience has been that generally you won't hear back from them.

Best of luck to you.

 

[GFields]

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that you didn't have solid business knowledge, I was also speaking to the community here.

Not a problem. However, you still didn't answer my question. How do you negotiate with DroneBase? Email?

 

[R.Perry]

If that $85 job was five minutes away would’ve been a great deal.
If you look at the rates online for Dronebase they’re not really lowballing.
If it’s a far drive just don’t take the job.

So, what are you paying for insurance, and what did your drone and equipment cost? Do you know what Drone Deploy charges for their services to do mappings? What do replacement batteries cost for your drone? Are you going to claim that 85 bucks on your taxes as income? Now let's be realistic, how many jobs are going to be five-minute drive?
My normal rate is $100 dollars an hour, since I do live in a remote area, I give a little on travel. With inflation going as it is I'm going to raise any new jobs to $120 an hour.
The other thing is if you go in cheap, your clients will wonder how professional you are.

One of the issues I have with the FAA is regarding the 107 licenses, you don't even need to know how to fly a drone to get a commercial license, on the other hand if you want to get an ATP rating you need a minimum of 1500 hours. Something wrong with the FAAs logic. That is a different issue.

 

[R.Perry]

Not a problem. However, you still didn't answer my question. How do you negotiate with DroneBase? Email?

Yes I did; when they send you a job respond back with what you are willing to do the job for.

 

[GFields]

Yes I did; when they send you a job respond back with what you are willing to do the job for.

If by your experience, you generally don't hear back from them, I would say that is not a negotiation at all. Nonetheless, best wishes to you.

 

[JimD]

So, what are you paying for insurance, and what did your drone and equipment cost? Do you know what Drone Deploy charges for their services to do mappings? What do replacement batteries cost for your drone? Are you going to claim that 85 bucks on your taxes as income? Now let's be realistic, how many jobs are going to be five-minute drive?
My normal rate is $100 dollars an hour, since I do live in a remote area, I give a little on travel. With inflation going as it is I'm going to raise any new jobs to $120 an hour.
The other thing is if you go in cheap, your clients will wonder how professional you are.

One of the issues I have with the FAA is regarding the 107 licenses, you don't even need to know how to fly a drone to get a commercial license, on the other hand if you want to get an ATP rating you need a minimum of 1500 hours. Something wrong with the FAAs logic. That is a different issue.

All of that is either fixed expenses or already sunk cost.
I do get jobs that are five minutes away because I don’t live in a remote area.
And 85 bucks for 10 pictures with a five minute drive is well worth it to me.
My real points is if the job doesn’t make sense to you businesswise then just don’t take it and stop complaining. Find another way to get jobs that’s just the way Dronebase works.
I’ve never seen a job go un taken. Because it made sense to someone else.
Having said that because I am a senior pilot for them I get some really great jobs and make some good money.
I will drive an hour each way for a $500 gig.

 

[TreeLineView]

Not a problem. However, you still didn't answer my question. How do you negotiate with DroneBase? Email?

I have been doing solar and roof data collection for DD for a 4 years. I have never directly negated with them, but I did have a 1MW farm last month at the end of a runway in a zero grid location. Took me a couple tries to get manual authorization. Only when I added a VO and some other additional risk mitigation steps. Those steps were going to cost me another 100 dollars. I emailed them and said I would do if for the additional 100 added to the original. Also added I had a 30 day authorization in hand. Nothing. The job expired because nobody could get a waiver. A week later it posted again for 150 more and and I gladly took the job. Glad I got 30 day authorization. Side note. I called my UAS rep at my local FSDO office and he helped me with correcting the risk mitigation plan to get the authorization. Love those guys