Hello everyone. I am going to warn you, this may get a little long winded. Understand that while I am not new to drones, I am new to running a business. So strap in, and enjoy the ride.
I am really not sure how to start this. So in about January of this year, I saw some videos of the Mavic and was really impressed. Its size and portability, coupled with its camera, made it a very appealing package. Having been flying racing drones and other RC devices for the better part of ten years, I thought the Mavic, with its laid back controls, would be a nice change from the norm. But tere is a kicker: I am 20 and in college.
Now those two things, "20" and "in college", bring back a myriad of different emotions from those older than me. "Oh when I was college I only cared about _________". While some people will judge me for my age, I must defend myself, while trying not to be arrogant, and say that I am "different" (to be polite) than others my age and may not live the same way others did when they were in college. I am not bashing them, just different life choices, but back on topic. With the $1300 burning a hole in my pocket, I tried to devise any way for the Mavic to be mine. I then stumbled across a video a guy did of a house for sale in the mountains using a Mavic. LIGHTBULB!
I have family in real estate that could help open doors for me. So I scrounged up the money for a Mavic, studied like CRAZY for the Part 107 (I studied too much), and I was on my way. After getting all the tax and legal stuff out of the way, I started making videos. My first job allowed me to pay off the Mavic, after a month, I had enough to a P4P, now I am getting a Lumix GH5 to supplement my interior videos. All this in just a few short months. While the money I made couldnt put a dent in some of yalls six figures salaries, I am doing good for a young college student. The issue now is this: Where to proceed?
From my basic knowledge of business and stuff like that, you can see a general formula. Lets take a real estate company for instance. You open up and sell a few listings, your name gets out, sell a few more. After awhile, you go get come commercial listings, then start working with developers, and going up more and more doing different things that make more and more money. But with drones, the path has not yet been paved. Small time guys like me either seem to stop doing it, or go into the movie industry. But we hear of stories of people doing cell tower inspection, and things like that, yet the path to get those jobs is hidden in obscurity. While I am not looking to make $60,000 year, I can make some more money before the IRS limits me.
So to the people who do this "full time" or make a decent sum of money from drones and the industry that surround it, where should I go next? I have hit real estate pretty good. The videos are simple but can be elegant. I have worked with some small time production companies to provide drone footage for their short film which will be shown at Sundance. Beyond that is world unknown. With hurricane Irma rolled through, I tried to work with insurance agencies, but got no response. I mentioned cell tower inspection, what is the process of contracting out those jobs? I am starting to expand into more of the general video production than just the drone market. With the price of the drones dropping, the market is maybe 7 months to a year from being over saturated with others "just like me" (dont get me started on skill or talent) which means I must differentiate myself so that when that occurs, I stay on top. The only other issue is with the Phantom 4 Pro. When people think of drones, they think of the Phantom. But when rolling up to a set or shoot with a white Phantom, it seems to give off an armature vibe (despite it being overkill for most things). One of my clients asked why I dont use the Inspire 1. I told him that the Phantom shoots better footage than the Inspire and he was baffled. Part of me wants to upgrade to something like the Inspire 2 or Matrice 200 just for the more professional vibe they give off, as well as the new opportunities they present just by owning them.
So whats next?
I am really not sure how to start this. So in about January of this year, I saw some videos of the Mavic and was really impressed. Its size and portability, coupled with its camera, made it a very appealing package. Having been flying racing drones and other RC devices for the better part of ten years, I thought the Mavic, with its laid back controls, would be a nice change from the norm. But tere is a kicker: I am 20 and in college.
Now those two things, "20" and "in college", bring back a myriad of different emotions from those older than me. "Oh when I was college I only cared about _________". While some people will judge me for my age, I must defend myself, while trying not to be arrogant, and say that I am "different" (to be polite) than others my age and may not live the same way others did when they were in college. I am not bashing them, just different life choices, but back on topic. With the $1300 burning a hole in my pocket, I tried to devise any way for the Mavic to be mine. I then stumbled across a video a guy did of a house for sale in the mountains using a Mavic. LIGHTBULB!
I have family in real estate that could help open doors for me. So I scrounged up the money for a Mavic, studied like CRAZY for the Part 107 (I studied too much), and I was on my way. After getting all the tax and legal stuff out of the way, I started making videos. My first job allowed me to pay off the Mavic, after a month, I had enough to a P4P, now I am getting a Lumix GH5 to supplement my interior videos. All this in just a few short months. While the money I made couldnt put a dent in some of yalls six figures salaries, I am doing good for a young college student. The issue now is this: Where to proceed?
From my basic knowledge of business and stuff like that, you can see a general formula. Lets take a real estate company for instance. You open up and sell a few listings, your name gets out, sell a few more. After awhile, you go get come commercial listings, then start working with developers, and going up more and more doing different things that make more and more money. But with drones, the path has not yet been paved. Small time guys like me either seem to stop doing it, or go into the movie industry. But we hear of stories of people doing cell tower inspection, and things like that, yet the path to get those jobs is hidden in obscurity. While I am not looking to make $60,000 year, I can make some more money before the IRS limits me.
So to the people who do this "full time" or make a decent sum of money from drones and the industry that surround it, where should I go next? I have hit real estate pretty good. The videos are simple but can be elegant. I have worked with some small time production companies to provide drone footage for their short film which will be shown at Sundance. Beyond that is world unknown. With hurricane Irma rolled through, I tried to work with insurance agencies, but got no response. I mentioned cell tower inspection, what is the process of contracting out those jobs? I am starting to expand into more of the general video production than just the drone market. With the price of the drones dropping, the market is maybe 7 months to a year from being over saturated with others "just like me" (dont get me started on skill or talent) which means I must differentiate myself so that when that occurs, I stay on top. The only other issue is with the Phantom 4 Pro. When people think of drones, they think of the Phantom. But when rolling up to a set or shoot with a white Phantom, it seems to give off an armature vibe (despite it being overkill for most things). One of my clients asked why I dont use the Inspire 1. I told him that the Phantom shoots better footage than the Inspire and he was baffled. Part of me wants to upgrade to something like the Inspire 2 or Matrice 200 just for the more professional vibe they give off, as well as the new opportunities they present just by owning them.
So whats next?
