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What Would You Tell Yourself 12 Months Ago About Drones?

thecordman

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If, you could travel back 12 months would you tell yourself differently about drones. For example, would you focus on a specific sector, target specific customers, put a better website together. Would you have done differently?
 
If, you could travel back 12 months would you tell yourself differently about drones. For example, would you focus on a specific sector, target specific customers, put a better website together. Would you have done differently?

We spent about a year and a half doing our homework and writing our policy and ops manual before we made our aircraft purchase. Then we tested and got our certification from the FAA. The only thing I would do differently would have been to beef up the initial investment and purchase an aircraft that was designed for what we actually do instead of buying a pro-sumer aircraft that was ill-suited to the task.
 
We didn't do these things but it's something we see just about every day for new start-up companies (in all industries)

  • 1) Don't go and bust your bank getting loans for the latest/greatest equipment. Buy equipment that you can afford and when the company is doing better you can upgrade. By that time something newer/shinier will be available anyway.
  • 2) Don't buy that new car/truck etc and spend a fortune wrapping/painting it right out of the gate
  • 3) Spend the time to develop your skills (flying, photography, editing, marketing, SALES) long before you get the first client. It's hard to erase a bad first impression
  • 4) If you can start the company withOUT a loan then do it. You'll be profitable much quicker if you're not paying off loans for a startup company.
  • 5) This is my MOST important one: Take the time to develop a solid and through BUSINESS PLAN. It takes a good while but during that time you will learn your market, your competition, your industry and you will develop a marketing campaign and a pricing strategy that you can tweak going forward. Our BP saved us a lot of time and money from the get-go.
 
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5) This is my MOST important one: Take the time to develop a solid and through BUSINESS PLAN. It takes a good while but during that time you will learn your market, your competition, your industry and you will develop a marketing campaign and a pricing strategy that you can tweak going forward. Our BP saved us a lot of time and money from the get-go.

But Master Aliwon, can't you just wing it?
 
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I would have told myself to give up racing and concentrate on Aerial Photography as soon as possible.
 

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