Establishing your drone business
This is a follow up to the blog we wrote on how to start a drone business about two year ago. Again, if it helps anyone coming into the business then that’s what it’s all about.
These are our key points to make your drone business work. I have placed text in red for crucial points:-
It’s a business not a hobby
Must be your full-time profession. You just cannot provide a service with another job in tow.
It’s you people buy into, then the business. Perfect your personal skills and be cheerful. The customer is always right. Watch how people in the USA sell, it’s an artform.
Do not over sell what you can do, be honest. If it cannot be done say you will investigate it.
Do free work first to establish yourself, perfect your skills.
Invest in a professional website. This is a must, do not try to cut corners.
Have a great website home page with a really good show reel and lots and lots of photographs. Make sure they are good ones.
Hire a good accountant to make sure you get back from HMRC what you are due.
Go on a digital marketing course.
If you have worked for a blue-chip company like we did prior to a drone business use all the skills you acquired there. From the training courses you did, dig out all those old files and PPTs
Invest to be the best. So do not rely on one drone have at least three good drones. You cannot run a business on a £500 drone and one battery. You really need to be in a ballpark figure of £10K min for all the gear and drones to start.
Diversify, we have perfected the short cut edit and aim to deliver in 24 hrs for the hospitality industry. Also now provide time lapse, internal drone shooting, consultancy and drone training to help newcomers perfect their camera and flying skills
Write blogs and write more blogs.
Keep your website updated every week.
Update your Google business dashboard on a weekly basis with blogs, videos and photographs.
Do talks at photographic societies, surveyors’ meetings etc
Do talks to schools.
Do charity work.
Practice and practice flying the drones.
Practice your camera skills.
Establishing your drone business
History
In 5 years since we have been going, we now operate all over the North West and now go as far as Nottingham, North Wales and the North East. We are on the books of another major drone film company to fly their drones when needed.
Seventy percent of our work is now referral from small business to major TV Channels.
Fifty percent of our work is now survey work and have long term contracts over 3 years for utility companies.
We also drone film for major car manufactures and have carried out a recent shoot at MIRA test track.
Stats
From the beginning of this year we have carried out 340 deployments, (drone taking off and landing) and have provided film or survey for 3 customers a week on average.
We have now found that 60% of our work are for corporate customers now, such as Virgin Trains, LNER, Jaguar, ITV, BBC, Sony, Flymo, BAE Systems etc.
Investment
We have also invested in time lapse side for the business with professional time lapse cameras. We found that our large contracts also ask for ground time lapse as well.
Conclusion
So not all doom and gloom. But you do have to work hard, network and work on your business every day.
Expect long hours, more than you would carry out as a PAYE job. Such as during your evening working on admin, social media to at least 10pm during the week and early morning starts (7am) to make your business work.
https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk
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