so ive been flying for about two years now mostly just for fun, got my part 107 last spring and people keep asking me to shoot stuff for them. a neighbor wanted real estate photos, a buddy of mine wants aerial footage for his landscaping company, and honestly i keep turning them down because i dont really know how to charge people or if im even supposed to be doing this without some kind of business setup.

i looked into LLC stuff briefly but it just got confusing fast. and insurance ? do i actually need it before i take a single paid job? i know some people just fly and hope for the best but that feels sketchy to me especially if im at someones property. anyone been through this and can kind of walk me through what order to do things in? like do i set up the business first, then get insurance, then find clients or is there a smarter way to go about it

went through this exact thing about three years ago, so i can tell you how i did it for whatever thats worth. i set up the LLC first, took maybe a week through my state's online portal and cost like $75 or $100 depending on where you are. once i had that i got insurance through Skywatch, which lets you do pay-per-flight if you're just starting and dont want to commit to an annual policy right away. hull and liability together is what you want, liability at minimum before you ever show up at a clients property.

pricing is honestly the hardest part and nobody talks about it honestly. i undercharged for like the first six months and then had to awkwardly raise my rates. for real estate i started at $150 for a basic photo package and now im at $275-350 depending on the property size. just dont go so cheap that you cant afford your time, editing takes way longer than the actual flight.

im kind of in the same boat as you so following this thread. one thing i did find out is that a lot of real estate agents will want a certificate of insurance before they hire you, like they wont even talk pricing until they see it. so yeah insurance before clients for sure at least in my experience asking around locally