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”.