YOU Should Start a Drone Business Now – Here’s Why!

50 thoughts on “YOU Should Start a Drone Business Now – Here’s Why!”

1. This is a sign! I was just telling my wife I wanted to go to the next level. I messaged Ken a couple days ago inquiring about how to get started on this path.
   Thanks for making this video Russ! I’m pretty sure you just pushed me over the edge.(In a good way) ?

   1. Glad to help!

2. Russ, I’m a newly retired architect, also Part 107 for 4 1/2 years, and a former board member of one of the local Economic Development Boards. What you stated about contacting the local officials is exactly what I’m in the process of doing. The one item, I believe is the Most Important, but you did not mention, is the absolute necessity of obtaining Liability Insurance, prior to the very first business flight. Starting out, policies can be on a per project basis, hourly fee of approx $25, or on a monthly fee of $100. I’m sure your aware of several insurance companies that offer drone policies. I highly recommend insurance to anyone interested in starting a drone business; not only a necessity, but marketing your firm as having insurance s also very helpful in establishing your credibility.

   1. Excellent point! I will pin this!

   2. Are you talking about skywatch liability for just the drone or something entirely different?

   3. @Joe  skywatch liability. I use them at $47 a month for the LLC I formed. Adjustable coverage but once you have a part 107 and insurance, you’re good to go.

   4. @Shadowofchaos 89 I use Airmoto, $23/1hr or $100/month fir drone liability of $1,000,000 policy. Separate from my corporation liability policy

   5. My mavic 2s got destroyed after falling down from a tall tree overnight since it was stuck up there the whole night. It dropped and I picked it up in the morning, camera broken.

3. Russ, You have some great thoughts and words of encouragement for the newer people in the drone industry. I have my 107 and a couple of drones but am so busy with work I haven’t put the effort into building the business. Thanks for given the incentive I needed to get back in the right mindset.
   As a side note: A few years back when the Baaken Shale play started booming, I would come to North Dakota to work in the oil fields. I love the Scandinavian Heritage Center and Magic City. The winters were brutal on this Texan. I wish I had a drone back then. I would have loved to document the activity of the “Oil Boom,” just like the old spindle top days. No one can believe what all was going on.|

   1. Ha! The Winters are brutal on this North Dakotan!

4. Great video Russ. There is serious money to be made in this business I believe. You highlighted a few ways of going about it. Real-estate, mapping, agricultural, tower inspections, thermal, etc, etc.

   Perhaps a video laying out ALL of the fields that a drone “pilot” could go into and the approximate earnings associated with that particular field.

   1. u call $20 serious money ?.
      every junkie is a professional photographer and has a drone nowadays. now of course they live in the van and don’t have mortgage payment and can afford charge way less.
      these absolute no money in it.

   2. I’d love to see a list of the different possible drone jobs!

   3. @confettihunterminus1 you should also see a list of the costs associated with the high paying jobs, like $30K drones with $20K worth of camera hanging below them

5. Thanks for the great content Russ. I’ve had my part 107 for about 3 years now and am always toying with the idea of making some side $$$. You’ve definitely given me some ideas and a reason to knock the dust off my Mavic 3 classic. Love your positive attitude and keep em coming!

6. Great tips! I am aiming to go for my Part 107 soon in part because I have gotten some local requests from buisnesses in my town to buy some of my photos after posting to social media for fun. I had to turn them down because I’m not Part 107 currently and it wouldn’t be legal for me to accept currently. I just spent about three hours watching youtube study guides and I took a 10 question part 107 sample test and got 80%. I’ve heard that the real test is around 60 questions so I have more work to do.

   1. you could sell them if the original intent was recreation. now if you go out to take pictures with the intent of selling them you need your 107.

   2. Something else to make it easy for indoor real estate, is “walk” with your drone! Since it’s on a gyro/gimbal it’s as good as a steadycam! Have fun!

7. Hey, you made a video about the same topic around a year ago. Back then, I started my drone business because of you. I am 14 years old and earned $3000+ last year just from drone photography and videography. Thanks for inspiring me!

   1. Ik ben ook van plan om geld te verdienen met mijn drone. Zou je kunnen meedelen wat voor werk je verricht en hoe je werk vindt? Bedankt!

   2. That’s amazing!

   3. How’s that possible??? You need to be 16 years of age to take the part 107 test? If your flying without your license that can be alot of trouble/fines

   4. @Beyond The Gimbal I live in The Netherlands, there’s no license required here

   5. @LarsDrone  ahhh I see lucky guy! That’s cool! Keep going dude by the time your my age you will be making some big moves!

8. The trick is networking. As cliche as it is, it’s what works. I’m 16 and have worked with companies like Hyundai, Magazine corporations, ESPN, SEO Level Up and more. It all started by getting to know people. Great video! Biggest thing to take away is don’t give work away free. It will come back to bite you later.

   1. Could you give an example if you have any about your advice on not giving work away free? How will it suck after?

   2. @7Phub I have done some work for free especially when I started. For example, work I should have charged $1500+ for I gave for free because I was afraid the client would say he no longer needed me for the video bc of price. Because I gave it for free, word spread and others were like, “well you gave it free to this company, can I get it free?” Whatever your comfortable charging… so long as it’s something (not $0), add 5%. If the client wants it, they will pay. Now on the other side, if it’s a nonprofit organization etc, that’s one of the few times to give a huge discount or free as long as you can handle what it costs you.

   3. @SkyPath Productions thanks for the insight, I understand it more now thank you ?? I’ll def keep that in mind

   4. Just curios but how did you do your marketing ? He were you able to obtain an audience with these big corporations. I agree it’s all about marketing just don’t know how to get in front of these very busy people, nor do I know which people I even need to talk to

   5. @Travis N Actually I had a bit of luck. I shared my work on social and SeoLevelUp and ESPN Chicago saw it. They then hired me and built a website for my business, then did SEO so my website would come too of search results. Basically, share your work and get it out there.

9. Hi Russ. Very, Very great informative video as always. This is some of the best information for someone interested in starting a business. I have a business 1-1/2 years now and not complaining one bit. I’m a Retired MARINE 30 yrs. Retired after Desert Storm then fully retired from the workforce in 2010 from the Aviation field. What I’m saying is that I can take it or leave it the drone business but why. This is the easiest and fun money I’ve ever made. Keep up the great work, I’ve been subbed to you forever it seems.

10. Russ, another great video. Your approach and delivery on all things important to Drone operators is always spot on. Thanks for another really informative video. Great job!

11. Russ, thanks for the encouragement. I have my Part 107, three drones, a portfolio on Instagram, business cards, and what I think are some pretty decent photo and video chops. I’ve done a few sparse jobs here and there, but really need to get out and beat the pavement, as you say. Thanks for the nudge. I love your channel.

12. Russ! Great information! I love the fact that you encourage others to take the next step. I live along Lake Michigan and I think about all the watercraft in the harbors. Who wouldn’t want a nice image or video of their boat from a different viewpoint. My background in photography goes back to the film days and now my Mini3Pro will take me to new heights (pun intended). I’m a few years from retirement and looking for a new adventure. Thanks for the channel and all the great content it brings.

13. Speaking of niches: I’m currently working on building a drone business around taking pictures of boats/yachts for their owners. I take the pics and have them printed on canvas so the owners can always admire their boat, even outside of the season. Worked with some sailing clubs so far and there seems to be a lot of interest :).

    1. Love this idea. You’re not around SoCal area are you? Dont want to intrude on your business.

    2. @Flying Ace No I’m not even on the same continent. Go ahead and use it!

    3. Good idea!

    4. @Flying Ace Im in SoCal. Going to do this in the OC.

    5. ​@Luchtfoto Hellevoetsluis je woont toch ook niet toevallig in Nederland? Leuk idee namelijk! ?

14. I recently picked up a DJI Mini 3 Pro after flying a friends. I mainly got it for personal use and footage but saw this video pop-up in my YouTube feed. This was very informational and to the point. After I get plenty of flight hours in with my drone I’m definitely going to look into making some extra money on the side!

15. Russ, I just wanted to add that I recently got hired on by a company that does home inspections from wind or storm damage. I go and take photos of the house with my phone and then take aerials of the roof. Literally, everything uploads to an app, and that’s it. The site is finished and uploaded before I leave the clients home. I have been geting 1-3 inspections a week. That’s good side business for me and my family.

    1. What app is that

    2. @mike robertson I am sure it is proprietary to that insurance company so it is irrelevant…

16. Every photographer or videographer should have good drone (get certified ofc) I remember Tony and chelsea Northrop went on a business trip and they were so excited about their wildlife lenses and some big medium format equipment among other things, but everyone was excited and blown away by their casual drone footage. Not the expensive cameras or lenses. Drones while not new anymore are still exciting and different for most people. It’s enough to set you apart

17. Russ, thank you for this excellent video about starting a drone business. You covered a lot of great information in this short video. I did add a comment regarding insurance for any new business. Yes, a website is an inexpensive way to start a business and post a gallery of your photos and videos. Your new business adventure of selling postcards is outstanding. I wish you much success! Well Done, Russ!

18. Thank you for this video! I was scheduled to take my Part 107 Exam as I watched this video and your suggestion to enroll in Drone Pilot Ground School saved me! I had been through the FAA provided study guide for the exam and thought I was ready to test but after seeing this video your suggestion to enroll in a study course convinced me otherwise. It was Memorial Day weekend and I was able to take advantage of their discounted enrollment offer too. I was about 3 or 4 modules into the course and could easily see at this point I would have bombed the test without this additional preparation so once again thank you for this advice! By the way I just received my Temporary Airman Certificate….woohoo!

19. This video is right on time. Just last night I was looking up information about writing off a laptop for a drone business. But making money with my drone has been the goal since I received my license last year in February. I contacted a number of real estate agents to do videos/drone videography for their properties. Not much success with that because, as you mentioned, most agents already have their own videographer. But now I’m going to aim for construction sites doing progress monitoring/photography/videography for buildings being constructed. Another industry to target is architecture. I met an architect in Lima, Peru back in March who saw me flying my drone in a park and said he could use it for one of his projects. We exchanged numbers and a couple of days later I went by to see what the project was. It was a pool he designed for his apartment building. So the next day I went and did some photos for him. There’s also the oil and gas industry, agriculture and films. For anyone thinking of other industries to target. But it’s been on my mind heavily, since I’ve returned to the States, to start making money with my drone. It really is a money making machine. Drone services are in demand. Thank you for posting this video!

    1. Construction is a good one! I’m a contractor just bought the mini 3 pro because drone footage of my jobs/cliff jumping/mountain climbing etc will be a game changer!

20. I’m a real estate photographer, most agents are not just looking for drone photos, they want the whole package available for every job. Drone photos, interior, 360 tours, floor plans, video…etc. Drone is a tiny part of the business honestly and to do it well takes thousands of hours of research and practice…on top of equipment costs. In some high end areas you may be able to sell your drone services direct to re photographers who do not want to deal with drones themselves though.

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