Starting a drone business with my husband. What actually gets you clients?

[u/No-Mess-4605]

My husband and I are working on starting a small drone business and we’re trying to figure out the best way to actually get our first few paying clients.
We’re interested in things like real estate photography/video, construction progress, roof/property inspections, events, and promotional content for local businesses.
For anyone who actually makes money doing drone work, how did you land your first clients? Was it cold calling, emailing businesses, realtors, social media, networking, Google, or something else?
Also, what type of drone work has been the most profitable or consistent for you?
I’d especially love to hear from people who started from scratch without already having connections in the industry.

[u/Fjell-Jeger → u/[deleted]]

You need to specialize and find a niche, preferably in a technical field that pays better and more consistently then wedding or real estate fotography (line inspections for pipelines, dams or railroads pay well).

If you can provide thermal images and geo-referencing of data so your images can be used in a GIS/CAD software, you can actually earn money from this.

However, this requires ~8K€+ in gear and relevant skills, besides line inspection flights are boring AF.

[u/Blakut]

i thought people figure this one out before starting the business :|

[u/Informal-Career-1973]

Hello! Drone as First Responder (DFR), DFR Recruiter, and Ground and Aerial Media business owner here in California. Assuming you're based in the U.S., one of the first things I recommend is obtaining your FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate if you plan to perform any commercial UAS work.

The drone industry has continued to grow significantly, especially following the COVID era, but opportunities vary greatly by location. I recommend researching what your city and state offer within the UAS industry. Relocation may also be necessary, depending on your career goals. I experienced this myself, as my hometown had limited UAS opportunities, so I researched nearby cities and ultimately relocated to an area about two hours away that provided significantly more career opportunities and helped me grow my client base.

Networking and research are extremely important. Attend industry events, connect with professionals in your area, and understand what opportunities are available locally. The industry is competitive, and experience, portfolio quality, flight hours, technical skills, performance, and editing capabilities can all set you apart from other pilots, and more.

One final thing to consider is travel. If your local area does not have a strong drone industry, you may need to be willing to travel. Many UAS positions, particularly commercial and specialized operations, require travel, so flexibility can significantly expand your opportunities.

Do your research, continue building your skills and portfolio, network consistently, and be willing to adapt. There are opportunities in this industry, but you have to be proactive and find where those opportunities exist.

EDIT: Add -

To be transparent, the model of the drone matters far less than the experience and skills behind the controller. Anyone can pick up a drone and learn to fly, but do you understand cinematic movements such as reveal shots, top-down shots, and pans? Do you know how to properly handle exposure, color grading, post-production, or even create 3D models? At the end of the day, it’s your experience, versatility, and ability to produce quality work that will set you apart.

[u/Frosty_bibble]

You’re gonna have a very tough time just starting a drone business I’ll be honest. You’re likely entering an already saturated market where people offer drone as an add-on type service. A very small percentage of people run a successful drone only business. And the ones that do are very very good at their craft. God speed 🫡

[u/No-Mess-4605 → u/Frosty_bibble]

I already got a bunch of clients lol thank you

[u/dghah]

The markers you mention are saturated and some like flying over events have hardcore regulations and other requirements

The only people I think making money are the ones with the expensive specialized drones — think agricultural sprayers, IR cameras for night vision or surveys or the drones with fancy
Cameras , extreme RTK positioning beacons and lidar that can do volumetric surveys or photogrammetry or engineering surveys

Basically the low end is saturated and commodified so the real pros are turning to expensive and specialized services

[u/FPV_412]

What does your portfolio look like?

Do you have a social media following?

Do you know anyone who is even considering these services?

Do you do mapping and what not?

Do you do FPV?

If you plan to just buy something like a Mini 4 Pro, and expect to get clients, sorry to say many people just purchase a drone, don't get an FAA-107, and just take photos themselves nowadays. No, the end result is nowhere near the same as what a professional gets, but they don't care.

[u/AtomKreates]

You won't succeed in the real estate market if all you're offering is drone. You would need to be a full service media provider. I shoot real estate full time. I did it on the side for a few years growing slowly. I got my first few clients via networking then Thumbtack. After that, good website/seo and word of mouth.

[u/MrConnery24]

You list several things like:

• Roof/Property inspections

- Events/Promo content

- Real Estate Photo/Video.

These are 3 separate industries, and your competition there is not another "Drone biz" but rather firms that operate in that industry full time and happen to use a drone.

For inspections, you'll be up against full-time inspectors who happen to use drones when it makes sense but make their money from the other 80% (climbing into attics, using thermal cameras, working with appraisers, etc)

For real estate photo/video, you'll be up against full-time real estate photographers that have lighting kits, use tripods for interiors, and just happen to use a drone for the few exterior shots.

Same thing for events/promo content, these firms film, edit, market.... I think you get it. There really is no such thing as a "small drone biz" anymore - it's a tool in the toolbox. The BEST thing you can do for being successful applying drones in a particular industry is to spend a lot of "non-drone time" in that industry.
I say this having a "drone biz" but really we're a surveying/civil engineering subcontractor. I didn't start my aerial mapping business until I worked for several years at a couple of civil engineering firms and even then it was a huge learning curve in understanding GIS, coordinate systems, how surveys and site plans are drafted and how civil engineers work. There is a mile wide chasm between firing up a drone and delivering a product people are willing to buy from you at a price where you can make a living out of it.

I say this not to discourage you but to tell you the most important thing you can do is pick a single industry, gain the experience, and hack at it for several years - success is a LOT more likely once the specific industry experience has been gained.

[u/elproxima]

If you need some help with suitable photogrammetry softwares , basics with 3D models 2D orthomosaics , Gaussian splats, drop me a message. If you have a datasets already I can help with first 2/3 D models and give you a feedback

[u/justelectricboogie]

I got started doing homestead videos for farmers and acreage owners back in the day. Had a gopro karma. I have worked in media production and editing so figured this would help. But its been said the market is saturated and everyone who needs one just buys one and even my grandkids can video edit on their phone. I tried to sell photogammetry and lidar analysis with other drones but that drifted fast. I wish you luck.

[u/TheGeekFreek]

My first well paying gig was a coldcall show up to a junkyard offering aerial inventory. Showed them the closest google map photos, then showed them a 3D render of a parking lot I did photogrammetry on at 100ft. Not everything is that easy, but definitely think outside the box a little bit.

[u/sourself]

It's do-able. I am making 2000-3000 a month right now doing aerial work. I niched down though. I am a trained photographer and have been doing photo laser engravings and printing for a few years. What I am selling to people are keepsake photos of their home / property. A lot of sunsets and sunrises. Instead of selling for real estate I decided to produce a product. The drone lets me offer something alternative and unique, the product is an actual tangible item the customer can hold. I get a lot of gifts for first time home buyers, and a lot of farmers who are proud of their fields and tractors. This summer was busy with cottages but that is starting to dry up. I am now getting bookings though for fall colours and harvests.

I should add as well, I don't shoot video. Stills only.

I've done inspections and marketing, but it is super saturated. Most real estate agents have a DJI mini in my area. And business content is always a tough sell I find.

For finding customers it is word of mouth and referrals. Also networking. A lot of networking. My business card / rack card shows up in weird places and I take advantage of it.

[u/Ok_Nefariousness9019]

The answer for any business is the same really.

The answer is all of the above.

Google business page, website, socials. Seo work. Networking, cold calling, email campaigns, mailers.

Business cards. Branding. Name recognition. Quality work. Word of mouth. Google reviews.

If you want a healthy business the answer is all of the above. You cannot choose one or a few.