Seen that question asked a lot, and read a bit on the subject
Some thoughts.
How do you price
So far I have only dabbled in this and since it is not my day job I can afford to just collect a few bucks and be OK with it,
But if I were operating as a business I would be in real trouble because I have spent way more than I have earned just getting this far.
I come from the consumer service industry
In that industry you are actually running two businesses.
A business defined as buying materials and developing skills that you can resell at a profit
In the repair business you buy technical labor, and service parts
then you determine based on what you paid, what the market will then pay you back for your investment.
Tech labor is harder to calculate than parts.
Basically it is payroll costs, for a skilled individual who can do things others cannot
For us, that would be a drone / camera / production technicians time.
So what is that worth?
I prefer not to break it up at the moment but I am lazy. And charge a flat fee for a finished product.
But again, I would most likely be broke if I stay that path.
Say it takes you 1 hour to go on site, deploy your drone. Take stills and ground video, and maybe even interview the consumer and or some customers
Then you get back to home base, and from what I can figure out so far. If I spend an hour collecting content, I will spend 10 hours or more turning that raw content into usable product.
So 11 hours in.
In that 11 hours I have applied several skill disciplines, that the average person does not have
Right now I am basing an hourly rate on what I would need to feel compensated. Roughly 70 bucks an hour.
Will the market support that? who knows.
Now there is equipment cost
I own three drones, and all in have probably spent 4K on those
I own four cameras from gopros to mirrorless DSLRs
I have a jib and crane, lighting, audio recording devices
Two computers
And the ever popular adobe subscription
There is wear and tear on those.
So maybe an equipment fee of 100 bucks per job?
The thing is, you cannot just go into this and not give that serious thought.
Because if you don't, it will just be a hobby that turns into an underpaying job..
Right now I really think I am going to try and figure out an hourly rate that includes my equipment costs, and then estimate a finished product based on how many hours it will take me to complete the deliverable.
A clear definition of the finished product would be required. And if the customer then makes additional requests I would need the ability to change the number of hours involved.
What approach are you taking to set your rates, to insure you will turn a profit
Some thoughts.
How do you price
- As a product, where you deliver a finished piece.
- A finished map
- Survey set with observations
- A x minute video production
- As a Service where you price components of your work based on time or resources
- Site Charge for collecting the content (video, photos, audio, samples)
- Processing charge for turning the content into a product
- Distribution were you actually present the content to a target audience
So far I have only dabbled in this and since it is not my day job I can afford to just collect a few bucks and be OK with it,
But if I were operating as a business I would be in real trouble because I have spent way more than I have earned just getting this far.
I come from the consumer service industry
In that industry you are actually running two businesses.
A business defined as buying materials and developing skills that you can resell at a profit
In the repair business you buy technical labor, and service parts
then you determine based on what you paid, what the market will then pay you back for your investment.
Tech labor is harder to calculate than parts.
Basically it is payroll costs, for a skilled individual who can do things others cannot
For us, that would be a drone / camera / production technicians time.
So what is that worth?
I prefer not to break it up at the moment but I am lazy. And charge a flat fee for a finished product.
But again, I would most likely be broke if I stay that path.
Say it takes you 1 hour to go on site, deploy your drone. Take stills and ground video, and maybe even interview the consumer and or some customers
Then you get back to home base, and from what I can figure out so far. If I spend an hour collecting content, I will spend 10 hours or more turning that raw content into usable product.
So 11 hours in.
In that 11 hours I have applied several skill disciplines, that the average person does not have
- The ability to effectively pilot a drone, and operate cameras and audio gear
- The ability to do post production on media
- The ability to convey a customer story
Right now I am basing an hourly rate on what I would need to feel compensated. Roughly 70 bucks an hour.
Will the market support that? who knows.
Now there is equipment cost
I own three drones, and all in have probably spent 4K on those
I own four cameras from gopros to mirrorless DSLRs
I have a jib and crane, lighting, audio recording devices
Two computers
And the ever popular adobe subscription
There is wear and tear on those.
So maybe an equipment fee of 100 bucks per job?
The thing is, you cannot just go into this and not give that serious thought.
Because if you don't, it will just be a hobby that turns into an underpaying job..
Right now I really think I am going to try and figure out an hourly rate that includes my equipment costs, and then estimate a finished product based on how many hours it will take me to complete the deliverable.
A clear definition of the finished product would be required. And if the customer then makes additional requests I would need the ability to change the number of hours involved.
What approach are you taking to set your rates, to insure you will turn a profit