I’ll be honest with you about the drone business idea. I’ve been in a similar industry, photography and graphic design, and let me tell you—it wasn’t an easy ride. When I started, I already had clients from my day job. Still, I struggled, living on ramen noodles, driving around trying to get my foot in the door with businesses. The market is saturated, especially with people willing to do things for free to get experience. It took me years of hard work, cold calling, cheap jobs, and nearly giving up to finally build a sustainable business. Now, I rarely do the thing I love, which is taking photos; most of my time is spent managing clients and editing. The bottom line: it’s hard work. You’ll spend more time marketing yourself than actually flying the drone.
@Thayer
You put in 80 hours a week and it feels like the business owns you, not the other way around.
Joss said:
@Thayer
You put in 80 hours a week and it feels like the business owns you, not the other way around.
Exactly! I work more than I ever did before, but I can’t imagine going back to working for someone else.
@Thayer
I started freelancing too and have a part 107. My main income is from engineering, but flying drones is something I do for extra. Having a network is key. For me, freelancing gave me more free time compared to my corporate job, but yeah, it’s stressful if work slows down for a while.
@Thayer
I’m a photographer too, though I only do it as a hobby. It’s mostly a business skill, not just being good at photography. I have better photos than many who make money, but I’m just not into running a business.
@Thayer
Thanks for sharing! I know it’s going to be tough, but I won’t give up easily. Appreciate the advice.
@Thayer
Congrats on your journey.
@Thayer
Spot on. This is a pretty accurate description of how it goes.
@Thayer
Y’all hiring? Might save your wife the stress, lol.
Zion said:
@Thayer
Y’all hiring? Might save your wife the stress, lol.
I wish, but I had to let my last employee go due to rising costs. And I actually don’t use drones for my business much.
It’s a pretty crowded space. You’ll need something unique or already have a client base.
Wil said:
It’s a pretty crowded space. You’ll need something unique or already have a client base.
And it’s only going to get harder. FAA and lawmakers are making it more expensive to do commercial drone work, especially with talks of banning certain drones. The big companies want to raise the barrier to entry so they can control the market.
Keep your expectations realistic. You might only get a few jobs unless you’re really skilled at video editing. Also, make sure you get your Part 107 license and understand the laws.
Lior said:
Keep your expectations realistic. You might only get a few jobs unless you’re really skilled at video editing. Also, make sure you get your Part 107 license and understand the laws.
Even if you’re great at editing, that alone won’t be enough.
You shouldn’t just look at the success stories. Focus on the failures too—there’s probably a lot of them in your area.
I used to fly expensive drones for industrial projects before joining the Air Force. It was great money but involved a lot of traveling. Now I plan to use my background in electronics and drones for defense contracting when I leave the military.
What kind of business are you planning to start? Do you have any experience with drones or running a business?
Morgan said:
What kind of business are you planning to start? Do you have any experience with drones or running a business?
I’m planning on focusing on supercar cinematics and real estate work. I’ve also run other businesses, so I’m no stranger to starting something new.