OK BigA107, but what do I call you for short? Al? Big? BigAl? A1? 007?
I will begin my tutorial tomorrow continuing in this thread. After PART 1, I'll answer questions and rants for a day or two and then post PART 2 and so on. I think there will be three or four major sections, but I guess it could expand.
This is The Wild West in a new industry, and change will seem overwhelming. But when I was fresh out of Brooks Institute and on my first job, I was trying to make the perfect photograph and stressing about it. I was ranting to my boss about all the things I wanted to do, but the schedule was impossible. He told me "Calm down. This is the time and day we have. Do your best and remember: "There's nothing new under the sun." Meaning, I was unlikely to find a new solution that had never been found before.
There is still nothing new under the sun. See you tomorrow.
OK, here's my attempt to suggest a way forward in this business. I was going to do this in a few different parts, but I decided to be a little more economical and get it all out. So, critics - Fire Away!
Photography: hobby vs. profession
Photography is a fun and popular hobby. So is sUAS. Combine them and you have an unlimited horizon for self-satisfaction. As long as you keep the activity stress-free.
Photography as a business is a serious matter, as is any business. Most of us who become professional photographers do it because we have a passion. Everyone wants to work a job they enjoy and at which they excel. The "excel" part takes more that passion: it takes education, research, and generates a lot of stress.
Much of the hard work involves determining how to make a living. Knowledge, sales ability, communication and organizational skills must be developed. Brutal honesty with the guy in the mirror surely helps.
Many hobbyists turn to photography as a side or second job. Some develop to the point where they provide a good product at a fair price. But mostly, they
LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE. And that's a shame.
So my first admonition is to
decide what you are. Please, either enjoy your hobby, or do the work it takes to become a professional, even a part-time one. Don't destroy a market where you don't belong in the first place.
DON'T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE.
Markets
A market is composed of geography, products, buyers, and sellers. With a little research, you can find everything you need to know about your market. You determine your offering, your service area, who buys at what price, and who sells at what price. There will be a range of product quality, purchasing ability, and pricing power.
Your market is presently being served by (mostly) full-time professionals. The pricing part of the market has been developed over the years by pros determining how many days they need to shoot in order to cover their expenses and make a profit.
Someone earlier in this thread said you can shoot every day for small $$ or shoot one or two days for large $$. No offense,
BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE. You cannot shoot consistently more than a couple of days a week. Arranging for each project, communicating with clients, post production and administrative stuff will take up all of the rest of your time. (Caveat: this is assuming you're a one-man band. You can always hire employees to do all of that other stuff, but then you have REAL problems!)
Math -
Full Time
(These numbers are for illustration only. Determine yours carefully)
So - let's say Pro "A" has $3K per month of living expenses, and he wants to add $1K to sock a little away. His fixed expenses are $300 per month, and his variable expenses are $100 per assignment. And of course there are taxes and deductible expenses. So let's set his 'nut' at $6100 per month. If he is able to book 2 days per week, that's 8 days per month.
This means that if he runs a really tight ship, he'll need to charge $750 per assignment, minimum (or approximately 64 hours at $100 per).
Math - Part time
Just because you have a day job or a working spouse (or you're a trust-fund baby) doesn't mean that you should
LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE.
Now, you have legitimately lesser expenses. You probably haven't invested as much as Pro "A", and you probably don't have some of the other expenses he has. You may be able to deliver as good a job as your pro competition (or you may not) at a lower price. Or maybe you're a real hot-shot - if so charge more!
But
DON'T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE. You probably don't have to bid that full day job at $750. But for crying out loud,
don't bid it at $250! Don't leave $500 on the table. YOU ARE DESTROYING THE MARKET.
If you're any good you can bid $600 and still get the job.
Destroying the Market vs. Disrupting the Market
Good competition is healthy. It is an important part of the making of a market. Full time pros have advantages over part-timers and vice versa.
Disrupters have been all the rage lately - Uber, AirBnB, SpaceX to name a few. They're finding opportunities in established markets and they change everything. If they aren't profitable, or if their business plan fizzles, they'll be gone.
Market destroyers, however, do real financial and moral damage. The race to the bottom that starts with "But I can do it cheaper" can be fatal to good creative people trying to make an honest living. If you want to read about a recent spectacular failure that cost investors billions and caused real human jeopardy, search Lizzie Holmes and Theranos.
Evaluate your self-image, respect that guy in the mirror, and do work of which you'll be proud. Get paid a fair amount for your work.
AND DON'T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE.