Real, legit, bill paying drone business

[wolfwill23]

Hello,

I was curious how many on here had a thriving drone business that was their main (only) source of income. I'm sure there are a lot of people who do it on the side, but I was wondering if a drone business was anyone's bread and butter. And if so, what area do you specialize in? Feel free to post links to your site etc.

Thanks and congrats to everyone who is making money flying drones.

 

[Texas_Willie]

Good Question...Waiting for answers

 

[Skyworks Aerial]

I do, but it’s in the TV industry, a very clicky and competitive world. 1 season produces 9 months of work.

 

[Christopher Enges]

As I stated before elsewhere on this site, I use my drone about 40% of the time in my business to produce documentary style videos for government, tribal entities, businesses, and, private individuals. I do real estate videos, but it remains a small percentage of my total business. So, I may not qualify perfectly with your question wolfwill23 .
I have found that diversifying somewhat is helpful to me. I may make a video for a government entity and never use my UAV. Then the next time it is almost all drone work, depending on what my client is looking for. Real estate sucks. Everyone and his brother at these real estate offices have a drone or know someone who will fly for them …. for next to nothing. Go elsewhere.
You have to be better than your competition. I have mentioned on this site that to have a strong background in video editing is essential for creating awesome films for your clients. Networking is also essential. Nobody picks up the yellow pages for a drone operator in my experience. No. It is who you know. They gotta know you exist and are available.
Learning the basics about good business practices is essential for success of your new business. There is a lot of paperwork in business, including insurance, permits, state stuff (business license, etc.) you need to keep up on.
The last thing I would say …. and in a way the most important ….. you must be sold out to your business. If it is a half-assed attempt to try making money with a drone, you will most certainly fail. You gotta be all in! Live, eat, and sleep your business and the chances are you might succeed. But your chances increase the more time you spend making your business the center of your attention.
Just my humble opinions.

 

[Red90]

I fly 2-3 times a week at the moment, but it is usually as part of a bigger film that we are making. We have few stand alone aerial jobs and certainly couldn’t exist purely on those.

As a relative new comer of three years in the UAV arena, I’ve seen it grow exponentially with brand new companies setting up all the time. Sadly, most see it as a get rich quick business & have no background in either RC or filming - so you get the worst of both worlds. You end up with choppy flying, choppy filming or both. But hey, it’s cheap!

Just the other day I saw a local online news site feature ‘professional’ footage - it was terrible, overexposed & the camera being panned/tilted constantly. This was an edited film sent by the company that were obviously happy for it to be seen by the world.. I checked the CAA website & they have a UK PfCO - they just don’t have a clue how to film!

I’ve been in the media for nearly 30 years & try to make my aerial footage live up to the same quality as my ground-level shots. Being able to film from 400ft up just isn’t enough - it needs to look good too! We do a fair bit for the BBC, so are held to high levels or production value.

Anyway - ahem - back to the original question. Probably 25% of our turnover comes from the addition of aerial filming to our production facility. The constant growth of the industry with people willing to work for peanuts will, imho, make it harder and harder to have a bespoke company unless like some of the other guys here you have a broadcast or movie contract.


Cheers,
Martin.

 

[R.Perry]

The company I work for (Multivista) has full time positions for drone pilots and photographers. However the drone work is a small part of the constructions documentation business, but it is very lucrative. My position there is drone operations only but I only fly two days a week, perfect work scheduled, on two off five.

 

[wolfwill23]

I do, but it’s in the TV industry, a very clicky and competitive world. 1 season produces 9 months of work.

My day job is in TV and I was actually looking at non-TV drone applications because I'd like to be able to replicate my services so it's not just me out there. But from what I've seen, it looks like some of the best aerial money is in TV/film side. Now I'm conflicted.

 

[wolfwill23]

As I stated before elsewhere on this site, I use my drone about 40% of the time in my business to produce documentary style videos for government, tribal entities, businesses, and, private individuals. I do real estate videos, but it remains a small percentage of my total business. So, I may not qualify perfectly with your question wolfwill23 .
I have found that diversifying somewhat is helpful to me. I may make a video for a government entity and never use my UAV. Then the next time it is almost all drone work, depending on what my client is looking for. Real estate sucks. Everyone and his brother at these real estate offices have a drone or know someone who will fly for them …. for next to nothing. Go elsewhere.
You have to be better than your competition. I have mentioned on this site that to have a strong background in video editing is essential for creating awesome films for your clients. Networking is also essential. Nobody picks up the yellow pages for a drone operator in my experience. No. It is who you know. They gotta know you exist and are available.
Learning the basics about good business practices is essential for success of your new business. There is a lot of paperwork in business, including insurance, permits, state stuff (business license, etc.) you need to keep up on.
The last thing I would say …. and in a way the most important ….. you must be sold out to your business. If it is a half-assed attempt to try making money with a drone, you will most certainly fail. You gotta be all in! Live, eat, and sleep your business and the chances are you might succeed. But your chances increase the more time you spend making your business the center of your attention.
Just my humble opinions.

Thanks for the great reply.

I'm in TV as well and have also done some docu-type videos for the Forest Service and DOD before I got into TV full time. Oddly enough, I was really thinking of not doing TV/film stuff with the drone and instead focusing on more scientific areas. Maybe that's crazy since I already know all the post stuff. Not sure. Do you have any experience in inspections etc?

 

[wolfwill23]

I fly 2-3 times a week at the moment, but it is usually as part of a bigger film that we are making. We have few stand alone aerial jobs and certainly couldn’t exist purely on those.

As a relative new comer of three years in the UAV arena, I’ve seen it grow exponentially with brand new companies setting up all the time. Sadly, most see it as a get rich quick business & have no background in either RC or filming - so you get the worst of both worlds. You end up with choppy flying, choppy filming or both. But hey, it’s cheap!

Just the other day I saw a local online news site feature ‘professional’ footage - it was terrible, overexposed & the camera being panned/tilted constantly. This was an edited film sent by the company that were obviously happy for it to be seen by the world.. I checked the CAA website & they have a UK PfCO - they just don’t have a clue how to film!

I’ve been in the media for nearly 30 years & try to make my aerial footage live up to the same quality as my ground-level shots. Being able to film from 400ft up just isn’t enough - it needs to look good too! We do a fair bit for the BBC, so are held to high levels or production value.

Anyway - ahem - back to the original question. Probably 25% of our turnover comes from the addition of aerial filming to our production facility. The constant growth of the industry with people willing to work for peanuts will, imho, make it harder and harder to have a bespoke company unless like some of the other guys here you have a broadcast or movie contract.


Cheers,
Martin.

Thanks for the reply. That's cool you do stuff for the BBC. Do you have samples posted anywhere? Thx

 

[wolfwill23]

The company I work for (Multivista) has full time positions for drone pilots and photographers. However the drone work is a small part of the constructions documentation business, but it is very lucrative. My position there is drone operations only but I only fly two days a week, perfect work scheduled, on two off five.

This sounds great. I wonder if Multivista was a construction company that learned drones and photography or a video biz that learned construction.

 

[Christopher Enges]

Thanks for the great reply.

I'm in TV as well and have also done some docu-type videos for the Forest Service and DOD before I got into TV full time. Oddly enough, I was really thinking of not doing TV/film stuff with the drone and instead focusing on more scientific areas. Maybe that's crazy since I already know all the post stuff. Not sure. Do you have any experience in inspections etc?

Although not a big part of my aerial filming, I occasionally get a job inspecting bluff property. Where I live we have some bluffs that drop 200 feet straight down to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and even by boat it is hard to inspect. But drones? …. they work very well. Thanks for the comment.

 

[R.Perry]

This sounds great. I wonder if Multivista was a construction company that learned drones and photography or a video biz that learned construction.

No, Multivista is a company that specializes in construction documentation, we use drones, cameras, matterports to supply a full spectrum of photographic documentation from ground breaking to completion. The parent company is located in Vancouver BC, they cell franchises all over the world. They have their own training for pilots and photographers. I work for the San Francisco - Sacramento Franchise.

 

[Geo_in_KS]

The company I work for (Multivista) has full time positions for drone pilots and photographers. However the drone work is a small part of the constructions documentation business, but it is very lucrative. My position there is drone operations only but I only fly two days a week, perfect work scheduled, on two off five.

R.Perry, Ive contacted Multivista several times (with info from their site) inquiring about available positions etc and nobody ever replies. I'm curious if they actually do hire drone operators anymore. Seems doubtful.

 

[R.Perry]

R.Perry, Ive contacted Multivista several times (with info from their site) inquiring about available positions etc and nobody ever replies. I'm curious if they actually do hire drone operators anymore. Seems doubtful.

Geo, are you contacting Multivista in Vancouver? If so that won't work, ask them for the nearest franchise close to where you live. You want to contact the franchise not the corporate offices, they don't even answer my emails. I'll check on franchises in Kansas and Missouri, how far are you willing to travel?

 

[R.Perry]

R.Perry, Ive contacted Multivista several times (with info from their site) inquiring about available positions etc and nobody ever replies. I'm curious if they actually do hire drone operators anymore. Seems doubtful.

Sorry for the double reply, try Multivista in Kansas City. There number is (913) 901-7178.

 

[Geo_in_KS]

Thanks for both replies R.Perry. Ill try that number in KC.
As far as the travel question, that brings up a few more questions.
Depends what type/ how much work, pay, etc. And day of the week, I currently work full time.
Weekend work, for the right price I guess I would go up to an hour away.

 

[R.Perry]

[QUOTE="
Weekend work, for the right price I guess I would go up to an hour away.[/QUOTE]

Here in is the problem, most work is during the week, but very little flying. There is a lot to construction documentation. I spend two hours flying and three hours with documentation, uploading, ect.
I'm the only drone pilot for our branch that only flies, the remaining people do interior documentation, aerial, and some still exterior photography. I only work two days a week for Multivista. I'm semi retired so it is perfect for a retired person, but couldn't live off the income alone.

 

[BigAl07]

Here in is the problem, most work is during the week, but very little flying. There is a lot to construction documentation. I spend two hours flying and three hours with documentation, uploading, ect.
I'm the only drone pilot for our branch that only flies, the remaining people do interior documentation, aerial, and some still exterior photography. I only work two days a week for Multivista. I'm semi retired so it is perfect for a retired person, but couldn't live off the income alone.

We started at 12:30pm today (did 3 jobs total) and it's now 11:08pm and I'm still processing, cataloging, and uploading. I plan to be done in the next 45 minutes or so. That's roughly 12 hours (total) for travel, flying, travel more, grabbing a meal, processing images/videos/360s, and uploading to the clients server. Sometimes it's more than just an hour or so in order to do the job right and make some decent pay.

 

[Moosewax]

Hello,

I was curious how many on here had a thriving drone business that was their main (only) source of income. I'm sure there are a lot of people who do it on the side, but I was wondering if a drone business was anyone's bread and butter. And if so, what area do you specialize in? Feel free to post links to your site etc.

Thanks and congrats to everyone who is making money flying drones.

Not sure if this counts as what you arees looking for but the small company I worked for did ok focusing on highly accurate aerial survey/mapping for multiple engineering/construction/environmental companies, then one of our biggest engineering clients bought us after working with them for a year.

Sometimes it is slow but I am flying typically 2-4 times a week. Sometimes all week. Jobs might just be a couple hours for small local projects, all the way too 12-16 hours days several days in a row for multiple projects or several mile long corridors, or big project areas 500-1500 acres.

It is a full time job just dealing with drones mostly RGB and LiDAR aerial survey.

 

[Christopher Enges]

[QUOTE="
Weekend work, for the right price I guess I would go up to an hour away.

Here in is the problem, most work is during the week, but very little flying. There is a lot to construction documentation. I spend two hours flying and three hours with documentation, uploading, ect.
I'm the only drone pilot for our branch that only flies, the remaining people do interior documentation, aerial, and some still exterior photography. I only work two days a week for Multivista. I'm semi retired so it is perfect for a retired person, but couldn't live off the income alone.[/QUOTE]

Would Multivista have offices in Washington or Oregon R.Perry? I would not mind traveling either state if they provide travel pay? Thank you.