Hi everyone,
Been flying my Mini 3 for a while now and recently got my CAA certifications (A1/A3, A2 CofC, working towards GVC).
I’m starting to offer drone services to construction companies, through my business.
Curious to hear from others doing commercial work:
What sectors are you working in?
What’s been your biggest challenge going commercial?
Any tips for someone just starting out?
What software are you using for processing? (Currently using Maps Made Easy & map pilot pro but considering options)
Also thinking about putting together an informal meetup/mastermind for those of us doing this professionally - share experiences, refer work that’s outside our areas, discuss equipment, regulations, pricing, etc.
I’m based in West Sussex but happy to meet anywhere in Sussex/Surrey, even further if there’s interest.
Anyone else find the jump from hobby to commercial quite daunting?
Cheers,
Rich
Cheers! I’ll take some time to look through and see what I can find.
I can imagine. I’ve even encountered people doing real estate photography in central Brighton with no licence and looking confused when I asked if they have any permissions from neighbours, etc.
100% agree, I initially intended on focusing on Agriculture, but it seems to be a hard sell to farmers who already operate on thin margins, hence the pivot to construction.
Yep, already taking advantage of the dronedesk discount! And doing the GVC with UAV Academy. Took advantage of the discount provided by the membership as well.
I’ve just started up drone/ aerial data analysis / surveying for construction and infrastructure. Still building my portfolio but focusing on site progress documentation, and other related aspects.
I also do contracting as a Hub Operator with Skyports, but working towards making the drone business full-time once I hit consistent bookings.
I take it you mean multispectral scanning, rather than spraying?
Don’t forget the “Now what?” effect of your delivery though.
The first thing your farmer will say when you show them the CIgreen or NDVI map is “Ok, so now what?”
And that’s where you’ll make your money, by providing agronomy advice and giving them a geotagged variable rate application file on pen drive that they can load on to their sprayer so they can treat their field with the right product, at the right rate, in the right places
Proving to them that they can make a return on their investment in your services will keep them coming back, it’s a no brainer
That’s a bit of a legacy from the PFCO days. To fly under a PFCO you were suposed to notify all neighbouring persons especially if you were overflying, as part of the operational authorisation.
I didn’t think of the “now what” effect. I wasn’t aware of it to be honest. But it’s good to know about this.
Regarding the agronomy advice, this was another reason for the pivot away, as I’m not qualified to provide that advice, and, the agronomists I reached out to were not interested in partnerships.
Morning Rich, I do part-time commercial photography/videography ops around Yorkshire / Humber / Lincs using little more than my Mini 3 Pro’s - I also have an Air 2S and Pavo20 Pro for FPV but they hardly ever make an appearance on site.
I primarily work in construction, as I got some good connections early on through my wife. I’ve also done some work for local authorities and most recently a cable manufacturer who installed a new test-rig and wanted to show-off.
Early days I went down the PfCO route, with Fly ICARUS (now UAV Hub). This only lasted about a year or two, when the CAA turned the industry on it’s head and I decided it wasn’t worth continuing to shell out £££ each year.
The barrier to entry is simply affording the done; which is getting easier each year. Much of the work I used to do has been moved in-house.
My advice would be not to sit back and expect work to roll in - it doesn’t. You need to pick up the phone and call companies, get yourself on approved vendor lists, make sure folks know you’re available. I started off reaching out to local firms on Linked In - with limited success. I then started to visit construction sites, though often the person I needed wasn’t on site. In the end I picked up the phone and called their corporate offices, which started me down the path of getting approval for future projects - these came through thick and fast. I’m currently working with 6 national construction companies and 2 local manufacturers (also in construction). I have a website and occasionally get RFQs.
My post-processing work is limited to editing photos in Lightroom/Photoshop, or creating promotional trailers in DaVinci Resolve. This lack of lateral service offering is simply because I offer what I’m good at, nothing more.
Also, I feel it’s worth mentioning not to sell yourself out. My pricing is certainly on the lower-end and typically ranges from 1hr on site @ £239, to 6hr at £599 - I have soft-limits on quantity of edited photos and distance I’ll travel for these prices but I hope it’s a start.
This is incredibly helpful - really appreciate you taking the time to share such detailed insights. Your journey sounds very similar to the path I’m on.
Interesting you mention the PfCO costs - I am currently doing my GVC but questioning whether it’s worth it now. Seems like A2 CofC + solid insurance might be sufficient for most construction work?
Your pricing structure is really useful to see - I’ve been wrestling with this. £239-599 feels sustainable whilst still being competitive. I’ve been offering free demos to build portfolio but planning similar rates once established.
Do you typically quote per project or offer monthly retainer packages for regular clients?
The phone call approach resonates - I’ve been cold calling construction companies and groundworks firms already, and have had a few say the’ll keep my details on-hand for upcoming projects. However, in a lot of cases, getting past reception to the actual decision maker (Project/Contracts Manager) seems to be the challenge. Did you find any magic words that got you through?
Really encouraging to hear you’re working with 6 nationals! Is that with just the Mini 3 Pro?
If you ever get enquiries for South East/Sussex that are too far, let me know. I’m happy to reciprocate for anything in/around Yorkshire that comes my way. Always good to have trusted operators to refer to.
Cheers again for the solid advice - this is exactly what I needed to hear.
Rich
P.S. - Your cable manufacturer show-off video sounds interesting. I personally will stick to orthos and mapping for construction, etc as video editing isn’t a strong point for me.
No worries, glad to have provided a slice of the drone world from my perspective. It’s not all sunshine and blue skies but I do find it fun and rewarding.
I really struggle to go all in on the drone world. I’m a full time IT Manager which requires nearly all of my time and attention. With the contacts I have, I only see a gig a month on average, then any RFQs on top. It’s a quiet side-hustle.
I also have my A2 CoC, it came for free with the PfCO. No one has ever asked for qualifications, only insurance documents. Also, one quick bit of advice, take your own PPE . I must have seemed so green on my first job.
Freebies are a great way of getting your foot in the door, though I only did these for companies I liked and really wanted to work with. I think they’ve paid off now.
Sorry, no magic words for reception. My wife says I’m a natural flirt, so maybe it’s that?
All have been worked with the Mini 3 Pro. One job did need the Air 2S on the day due to high winds.
I have a standard price sheet I update twice a year to account for inflation, fuel prices, etc. No one seems to complain about the rates. Many of my jobs require me to supply raw photos/video for their in-house teams to work with.
The cable manufacturer is called Brunton Shaw UK, the video is on their LinkedIn. Again, only the video capture is mine - they did the edits (think there are two or more published videos). They had me on site for 2hrs - mainly stood waiting for someone to operate the covers up and down. They were a lead that simply came through my website.
Thanks for sharing the comment - it’s so important to sell the value of what you’re providing, and being able to describe the value provided. Bullshit discounted pricing is a race to the bottom - let the local johnnies do what they want for £35!! But when you factor in expenses, end to end consumed time, post-edit time, liaison time, demand generation, tax work, insurance, equipment costs, account receivables…and myriad other elements, a day rate of £1k is bloody good value!!! A Mini 5 Pro is roughly 30 roof survey and at 4-5 week, will quickly see Johnny sail down the pan until another one also lacking basic business acumen takes his place!!
I could type all day on this, I tried and have been partially successful but mainly unsuccessful in trying to earn money from a drone. I have spent 12 months trying to make something out of it, however in that time I have spoken to most of the spectrum of drone businesses/people and I now know the obstacles why which is the main thing. If you Google Drone Services in Surrey/Sussex I have spoken to the top 3 hits on Google too,they all say the same thing. It looks like you are on the right path attempting to hit construction companies, this is something I haven’t and won’t do as it is not my thing. I posted before about all this but some key points from me:
-You need to invest heavily in equipment, training and advertising to get anywhere. And I am talking well into the thousands. You need uniqueness such as thermal imaging, surveying software, planning, mapping, all the niche skills that industry require to stand out. Single operators that are useful on an editor like me won’t cut the mustard.
-Then you need to spend huge amounts of time fostering relationships. Construction, farming, surveying, agriculture, any related industry that needs your product. Start with introductory rates to board people then nurture from there with a package or ongoing deal/rate. This could take a long time of emails, phone calls and in person self selling. It will be a huge grind (trust me, 99% will ignore you and knock you back).
-In terms of general drone video and photo such as what I offer, you will find there is generally little to no interest in it. People will watch 10 seconds of a reel and they are bored. They will see some photos then realise they have seen aerial images 100 times before and move on. Businesses who want adverts are a good market but then you have the issue of visibilty and reach, targeted adverts and websites cost money (£500 a month upwards) so you need to make sure you can get that back, they aren’t guaranteed to work. The first thing that the uneducated say is “oh surely estate agents would be interested” - mark my words, they are the last people that want the service and also I would not work with them at all now, all they have done for a year is mess me about, take take take and lie. They are the absolute worst of the worst. Any estate agents that need anything drone related buy their own drone and do it themselves, normally badly. Good luck to them. Anything creative, artistic or polished is generally way over the top for their simple “2 second click on Rightmove” needs.
I have so much more to say but can’t keep typing. If you want a more in depth chat my phone number is on my youtube channel which is linked to my profile information. As the main commercial drone operator in Sussex said to me earlier this year “look at it like a hobby that you enjoy, and if you earn a small amount of pocket money on the side then thats a bonus”.
Spot on! The £35 brigade are basically working for less than minimum wage once you factor everything in. When you do the maths, anything under £200 is charity work.
Your day rate point is interesting - £1k for a full day’s comprehensive documentation is probably what construction companies would spend on a single site meeting with consultants. Positioning it as professional technical services rather than “drone photos” would definitely make a difference.
. I must have seemed so green on my first job.