Now that is a fantastic idea. Never though of that one.
We used something similar getting my Wife's business set up.
Thanks for adding
We used something similar getting my Wife's business set up.
Thanks for adding
How much to charge?
- Thread starter Tim Jones
- Start date
I went through a Entrepreneurship program here at University of Central Florida 7 years ago, great program, They will help you in all aspects of your business, including meeting with angel investors. These guys will pick your business apart in a helpful way.
QuadKid
Member
There are many different types of business you can establish, everything from full blown corporations to pass through entities like LLC & S Corp's. I owned and managed a successful environmental contracting business for 25 years before I sold it here in CFL, now I work for them under a 5 year contract running the estimating department until I retire. The first and maybe the most important decision is to incorporate or not to incorporate and have the right Liability Insurance for the work you perform. Personally I do the Aerial thing to cover my Drones, Post Edit Equip and travel, it has more than paid for these items, that being said I would never give up my day job just starting out.
Well said. I've been here going on 25 years this February, what might the business be? No need to disclose that though.
I'll be sure to pass that along right now LOL! Thank you for the kind words. I like to try and help when I can.
That last sentence really hit the nail on the head. That's a HUGE understatement but in a good way.
Maddog
Well-Known Member
Wow guys- great exchange of ideas and information!
Folks like you are going to make this forum rock.
This is a great change from forums full of trolls and people who just want to argue and throw grenades around to see what happens.
Folks like you are going to make this forum rock.
This is a great change from forums full of trolls and people who just want to argue and throw grenades around to see what happens.
I would say it is a function of how much it costs you to get to the site, the time it takes you, and the difficulty of the shoot. If it costs $50 in gas to get to a location, you should add that on to their bill.
In the end, it is a deal between you and your customer. You can be flexible.
In the end, it is a deal between you and your customer. You can be flexible.
Which is why I still wonder if the best way to go at all this is to figure out, what is my time worth. Then mark that up for profit.
Then when looking at the job, determine how much time it will require and calculate that total bid coast.
That takes care of the labor side of things, in my analogy, my tech payroll expense versus return on that cost.
Now that leaves how do you value, or charge for the non labor items. Such as equipment, insurance, travel etc.
Then when looking at the job, determine how much time it will require and calculate that total bid coast.
That takes care of the labor side of things, in my analogy, my tech payroll expense versus return on that cost.
Now that leaves how do you value, or charge for the non labor items. Such as equipment, insurance, travel etc.
QuadKid
Member
Know your potential clients needs, below is a sample of a roof tile damage assessment I did right after hurricane Irma blew through central Florida, the hotel owner was looking at $ 3,800 p/day ( 2 days to inspect by crane ) to have a crane that could reach the 13 story roof of this beachside hotel/condo, part of my planning was to call some local high reach companies to find out what their costs were, Part 1 of planning, below is a sample of the roof layout I did using google earth as the aerial shot, met with the client, presented the layout, licensing & insurance & finally the quote for $ 3,800.00 ( half of what the crane would cost ), he would have also had to clear the parking lot(s) of cars for the crane ( very inconvenient for owner & guests ) needless to say he signed my authorization to perform on the spot. Also needless to say the roof didn't look like the photo below after the storm.
He was so impressed with the 4K photos that he could zoom in on and see the incredible detail of the damage he requested 10 business cards, within 2 weeks I had done 6 high rise hotel roof damage assessments by referral.
Little long winded but you need to do some research before pricing any job! I spent 2 hours doing the actual shoot, 3 hours putting the thing together another hour with the client to receive approval ( They do not pay unless it's OK ), my motto and marketing technique. Then I went out and bought me a new P4P
He was so impressed with the 4K photos that he could zoom in on and see the incredible detail of the damage he requested 10 business cards, within 2 weeks I had done 6 high rise hotel roof damage assessments by referral.
Little long winded but you need to do some research before pricing any job! I spent 2 hours doing the actual shoot, 3 hours putting the thing together another hour with the client to receive approval ( They do not pay unless it's OK ), my motto and marketing technique. Then I went out and bought me a new P4P
Bingo! That's what the business plan does for you. You figure how much you need to make per hour and this starts your pricing profile.
Equipment: You figure out what the life of the equipment is and factor that into the equation so that your equipment gets paid for long before it's value plummets.
Travel Expenses: Travel is pretty easy. Have a flat rate for X# of miles (your home market) and then add travel expenses into the formula for anything over that. You can usually look up what the standard travel rate is for your state/area and factor that into your pricing profile. We had a client pay us to drive across the entire state of NC 2x last year in a 3 day period. I couldn't believe they were willing to pay it but I gave them a price and they took it.
Time is valuable whether traveling, processing, flying, planning or whatever. If you're not getting paid for your time you have an expensive hobby.
QuadKid
Member
Most people refer to 4K photos as frames from a 4K video. And even amongst serious photographers it is a practice that is growing
Nice job on the roof inspection
Nice job on the roof inspection
QuadKid
Member
Thanks, had a flurry of them after the storm, not that any hurricane is good, but it is a boost for business.
On my new mirrorles, they have the feature to do post focus in 4K shots
basically it takes a 4K image that is focused on different objects in the frame, then in camera you touch what you want in focus. then save that frame
basically it takes a 4K image that is focused on different objects in the frame, then in camera you touch what you want in focus. then save that frame
BritishBigfoot
Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2018
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- 38
We have a cost calculator, and usually when I'm working on a quote with a client I use it in person (I show a new version, with blank inputs) and this generates the cost. I charge for each aspect individually - flight planning (paid up front minimum £80/$110) as this covers my time even if the flight never happens - in the UK here we have a lot of stuff to do, and often a lot of calls to make. This is fair and I explain that this is essential; no flight plan fee = no flight. We can't just rock up and fly.
After this we have a sliding scale for mapping. Many operators will undercut us, however our fees include straightforward provision of DSM, point cloud data, and the original raw data. If the client needs more, we charge for processing (£40/hr iirc) This is proved through the log files, if there is a query. Minimum 2 hours on that!
Rate Card 2017 • DroneFactor states our basics, however having an excel spreadsheet with the individual costs of aspects of flights (£200/hr for 'just flying for photos + the flight planning) means we're never left feeling we're underpaid, plus the clients knows to use our/the time effectively.
I hear what you are all saying about business plans, mentors, startup courses and workshops: I've been there and done them all. They are very useful; the way to leverage them once you have done those courses however is to call the mentors, call the people who ran the workshops and to ask them to share and help you with your social media stuff, help share your material and get the word about your business out there.
They get something out of it too: validation! They want to show people who are thinking of starting up thier ice-cream business that they are the people to help them! What better way than to showcase a success!
We joined local chambers of commerce, and more recently BNI. BNI is making a big difference to our workload and flow of meetings with the right people.
Networking events are often free, and fun if you know how! Drones actively attract attention: take one with you, show it off, be 'that drone guy'. Best of all; don't negotiate. Your prices are your prices because you are damned good at what you do and noone else has a hope of coming close.
After this we have a sliding scale for mapping. Many operators will undercut us, however our fees include straightforward provision of DSM, point cloud data, and the original raw data. If the client needs more, we charge for processing (£40/hr iirc) This is proved through the log files, if there is a query. Minimum 2 hours on that!
Rate Card 2017 • DroneFactor states our basics, however having an excel spreadsheet with the individual costs of aspects of flights (£200/hr for 'just flying for photos + the flight planning) means we're never left feeling we're underpaid, plus the clients knows to use our/the time effectively.
I hear what you are all saying about business plans, mentors, startup courses and workshops: I've been there and done them all. They are very useful; the way to leverage them once you have done those courses however is to call the mentors, call the people who ran the workshops and to ask them to share and help you with your social media stuff, help share your material and get the word about your business out there.
They get something out of it too: validation! They want to show people who are thinking of starting up thier ice-cream business that they are the people to help them! What better way than to showcase a success!
We joined local chambers of commerce, and more recently BNI. BNI is making a big difference to our workload and flow of meetings with the right people.
Networking events are often free, and fun if you know how! Drones actively attract attention: take one with you, show it off, be 'that drone guy'. Best of all; don't negotiate. Your prices are your prices because you are damned good at what you do and noone else has a hope of coming close.
This cost calculator, proprietary?
Would not be that hard to build one. Just wondering if this is something you got from another source
Would not be that hard to build one. Just wondering if this is something you got from another source
BritishBigfoot
Member
- Joined
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- Reaction score
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- 38
Hi Tim, yes it most definitely is.
My advice however is free.
Get a pen and paper, and work out the sectors you work in/for/aimtotarget.
Find prices for these services, but not by fudge calling other operators, that's seriously frowned upon.
Average those prices. Consider what you will work for, for those jobs, is it sustainable at that rate? Is it likely your area (geographically) will sustain that rate? If yes, great, if no adjust accordingly.
Then crack open Excel. Put everything in your list(s) across the top, so you can add jobs up from left to right.
Use the very top row as a title, then the row below the price for that thing.
I use multipliers, so for example for the first column (let's say it's '3D Mapping' and in the row below it is £30 per acre... our price isn't this but this server as an example) In my new job specific row below I can do a formulae :
=[mapping price cell]*[number of acres]
and get a number. Say it's 10 acres, that'll automagically tell me it's £300. This, plus another column for flight planning costs (£80 in my case). Do a SUM function on the far right and it'll add up that jobs row: bingo, there's your price for the job. You can add multipliers after this such as
=[price]*.8
to do a 20% off, or *.5 to do 50% off... this can often swing it when a client is a bit shocked at the price but you want to work with them... ultimately you say 'I'll do it at 80% the cost as a first gig to show good will and to show you it'll work. If you don't like it after that then you at least haven't paid full price!
There's tons of cost calcs out there for excel, I just suggest you start with your pricing on paper so you can think things through with a coffee in the lounge or kitchen rather than doin it under self induced pressure in the office.
Happy to advise, but can't give away too much of my business practice for free!
My advice however is free.
Get a pen and paper, and work out the sectors you work in/for/aimtotarget.
Find prices for these services, but not by fudge calling other operators, that's seriously frowned upon.
Average those prices. Consider what you will work for, for those jobs, is it sustainable at that rate? Is it likely your area (geographically) will sustain that rate? If yes, great, if no adjust accordingly.
Then crack open Excel. Put everything in your list(s) across the top, so you can add jobs up from left to right.
Use the very top row as a title, then the row below the price for that thing.
I use multipliers, so for example for the first column (let's say it's '3D Mapping' and in the row below it is £30 per acre... our price isn't this but this server as an example) In my new job specific row below I can do a formulae :
=[mapping price cell]*[number of acres]
and get a number. Say it's 10 acres, that'll automagically tell me it's £300. This, plus another column for flight planning costs (£80 in my case). Do a SUM function on the far right and it'll add up that jobs row: bingo, there's your price for the job. You can add multipliers after this such as
=[price]*.8
to do a 20% off, or *.5 to do 50% off... this can often swing it when a client is a bit shocked at the price but you want to work with them... ultimately you say 'I'll do it at 80% the cost as a first gig to show good will and to show you it'll work. If you don't like it after that then you at least haven't paid full price!
There's tons of cost calcs out there for excel, I just suggest you start with your pricing on paper so you can think things through with a coffee in the lounge or kitchen rather than doin it under self induced pressure in the office.
Happy to advise, but can't give away too much of my business practice for free!
good information
I actually develop in Visual Basic. So will most likely do mine in Microsoft Access.
Already built a pretty handy customer, Job and flight log application.
This would not be that hard to build into what I have started
Thank you Sir!
I actually develop in Visual Basic. So will most likely do mine in Microsoft Access.
Already built a pretty handy customer, Job and flight log application.
This would not be that hard to build into what I have started
Thank you Sir!
