If you have gained your National Aviation Authority approval for commercial work you may be finding yourself working in a very crowded market. You will get lots of advice suggesting you look for a niche. Why? Perhaps more importantly How and What?
Why? Well, it is now relatively easy to buy a drone, pass the appropriate tests and take photos or videos. If anybody can do it then why should people beat a path to your door?
The truth is that you need an angle. If you are to rely on creative photography for instance you need to be really good at photography…same with video.
For roof inspection imaging you don’t need to be fantastic at composition, but you need good control of your drone, be able to pick out the important parts of a structure that need extra detail and turn around the data to your client quickly and efficiently. Perhaps there is something in your previous career that you can look to use here?
You may have come to this industry with little understanding of imaging but fantastic flying skills. Your niche may be flying with a separate camera op…perhaps teaming up with local photographers who don’t have the time or interest in doing the flying bit. OR you may have spent your teenage years building race dornes….so can you turn those skills to servicing kit for your region?
My background is in commercial contracts, management, quality systems etc. Useless for drones, right? Well, it turns out that my skillset suits the requirements of the UK CAA quite well in terms of how documents are structured and written. I can therefore add value to other drone operators by helping them formulate good safety arguments for exemptions, allowing them to bid for higher value work. It’s not flying drones day to day but it is work that can be done when others can’t fly and the day rate is a good one.
So, when the phone stops ringing and you’ve got some time to reflect, look at what you’re good at and have a think about what you can do really well and how you can focus on that. It doesn’t stop you doing more general work, but it will give your company an edge in a particular field and help you focus your marketing efforts.
I would love to hear about how others have taken their previous background, however “unrelated” it appears and used it to open up a particular niche in your area.
Why? Well, it is now relatively easy to buy a drone, pass the appropriate tests and take photos or videos. If anybody can do it then why should people beat a path to your door?
The truth is that you need an angle. If you are to rely on creative photography for instance you need to be really good at photography…same with video.
For roof inspection imaging you don’t need to be fantastic at composition, but you need good control of your drone, be able to pick out the important parts of a structure that need extra detail and turn around the data to your client quickly and efficiently. Perhaps there is something in your previous career that you can look to use here?
You may have come to this industry with little understanding of imaging but fantastic flying skills. Your niche may be flying with a separate camera op…perhaps teaming up with local photographers who don’t have the time or interest in doing the flying bit. OR you may have spent your teenage years building race dornes….so can you turn those skills to servicing kit for your region?
My background is in commercial contracts, management, quality systems etc. Useless for drones, right? Well, it turns out that my skillset suits the requirements of the UK CAA quite well in terms of how documents are structured and written. I can therefore add value to other drone operators by helping them formulate good safety arguments for exemptions, allowing them to bid for higher value work. It’s not flying drones day to day but it is work that can be done when others can’t fly and the day rate is a good one.
So, when the phone stops ringing and you’ve got some time to reflect, look at what you’re good at and have a think about what you can do really well and how you can focus on that. It doesn’t stop you doing more general work, but it will give your company an edge in a particular field and help you focus your marketing efforts.
I would love to hear about how others have taken their previous background, however “unrelated” it appears and used it to open up a particular niche in your area.
