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Graham Degg

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Greetings to you all!

I will come out right now and admit that I have dipped my toe into full-time drone work, found the water very chilly indeed and had to back out into "normal" full-time employment,

But...and it is a HUGE but... in doing this (taking the full-time job) I took the pressure off myself and the result is that the drone related work (I still have my company) is doing better than ever!

Some of this is timing. I am UK based and before I got the proper job I had applied for a CAA exemption by writing an in depth Operating Safety Case. Having achieved this within my first year I have been able to start a side-line advising others on how to do the same. On top of this I have been able to fly jobs for pilots who don't yet have the special exemptions. For our non-UK brethren, the exemptions allow you to fly closer than normal to things outside your control, people, vehicles, structures etc.

On top of this I have, by necessity, found a niche that allows me to choose pretty much when I fly and leverages others to do my selling for me. This is a work in progress which I expect to pick up as the weather improves so fingers crossed.

So what changed my business when I started working full-time? Well, the worry went away and my mind opened to different possibilities. I'm now moving in directions and making contacts I never thought possible when I was at it full-time. With luck, the drone business will continue to develop (I have a very supportive wife!) and provide a bit more than a hobby income. Hell, if it pays for a holiday a year and an I2 I think I'll be happy!

Good luck to everybody with their endeavours. It is a great industry and a fantastic time to be involved.
 
Great news and well done, it nice to hear a success story. I have dabbled over the last 12 months with building survey work but never really found it worthwhile. I also have a "normal" full time job which includes flying drones so it s not all bad! I am going to see how the next year goes but not really sure what "niche" I am interested/capable of specialising in.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. We are glad to have you on board. I'm confident you'll find lots of helpful and enlightening information throughout this forum.
Allen
 
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Greetings to you all!

I will come out right now and admit that I have dipped my toe into full-time drone work, found the water very chilly indeed and had to back out into "normal" full-time employment,

But...and it is a HUGE but... in doing this (taking the full-time job) I took the pressure off myself and the result is that the drone related work (I still have my company) is doing better than ever!

Some of this is timing. I am UK based and before I got the proper job I had applied for a CAA exemption by writing an in depth Operating Safety Case. Having achieved this within my first year I have been able to start a side-line advising others on how to do the same. On top of this I have been able to fly jobs for pilots who don't yet have the special exemptions. For our non-UK brethren, the exemptions allow you to fly closer than normal to things outside your control, people, vehicles, structures etc.

On top of this I have, by necessity, found a niche that allows me to choose pretty much when I fly and leverages others to do my selling for me. This is a work in progress which I expect to pick up as the weather improves so fingers crossed.

So what changed my business when I started working full-time? Well, the worry went away and my mind opened to different possibilities. I'm now moving in directions and making contacts I never thought possible when I was at it full-time. With luck, the drone business will continue to develop (I have a very supportive wife!) and provide a bit more than a hobby income. Hell, if it pays for a holiday a year and an I2 I think I'll be happy!

Good luck to everybody with their endeavours. It is a great industry and a fantastic time to be involved.


I'm with you on this one Graham......same thing happened to me........
 
Welcome to our newest forum .
Take a little time and look around all our subforums to find what suits you and besure to read our Guidelines and ask if you have any questions in a message to any of the staff .
Enjoy all the knowledge members have to offer .
0rojyyg-png.60

Also be sure and visit this thread CDP Giveaway - Phantom 4 Pro... :)
 
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Hello,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the CommercialDronePilots forum.
I hope that you will be able to use the forum for the exchange of innovative ideas and as a resource for current developments in the commercial drone field.
Enjoy!
 
Great news and well done, it nice to hear a success story. I have dabbled over the last 12 months with building survey work but never really found it worthwhile. I also have a "normal" full time job which includes flying drones so it s not all bad! I am going to see how the next year goes but not really sure what "niche" I am interested/capable of specialising in.
Don't worry Mike...it'll probably find you!
 
I'm with you on this one Graham......same thing happened to me........
Excellent Ed. I've found that the more contacts and connections you make, the better. Forums like this and the Facebook ones are a fantastic source of information. Some of it appears irrelevant at the time but 6-months later that little nugget comes out in a conversation and all of a sudden something develops from it.
 

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