so ive been flying for about two years now, mostly real estate and some landscape stuff for fun, and a few people have actually asked me if i do this professionally. i said yes kind of jokingly but now im actually considering it. the problem is i have no idea where to start with the actual business side of things. like do i need an LLC right away or can i just operate as a sole proprietor for a while? and what about insurance, is the recreational coverage i have through my flying club even valid if im getting paid? i genuinely dont know.

also pricing is a huge mystery to me. ive seen people charge anywhere from like $150 to $800 for a real estate shoot and i cant figure out what puts someone in one category vs the other. is it editing? turnaround time? experience? i feel like im leaving money on the table or about to massively undercharge and ruin it for myself before i start.

anyway if anyone has been through this process id love to hear how you handled the early stages. dont need everything figured out just a rough idea of what order to tackle things in

ok so i went through almost exactly this about three years ago and honestly the order matters more than people think. first thing i did was get my part 107 if you dont have it already ? that's non negotiable once money changes hands, your recreational cert means nothing the moment a client pays you. after that i set up a single member LLC mostly for liability protection, its like $50-150 depending on your state and took me maybe an afternoon online. sole proprietor is technically fine to start but the LLC just gives you that little extra shield if something goes sideways.

for insurance get a dedicated commercial UAV policy, i use Skywatch on a pay-per-flight basis while i was starting out and then moved to a yearly hull and liability policy once i had regular work. your club coverage absolutely does not cover commercial work, i had someone at my club learn that the hard way after a minor incident on a paid shoot.

on pricing ? the $150 guys are usually undercutting to get clients and burning out within a year. for basic real estate with edited photos i charge $275-350 depending on the property size, video packages start at $450. what separates you is delivery speed, editing quality, and showing up reliably. clients will pay more for someone who doesnt flake.

not super far ahead of you honestly but one thing i noticed is that getting your first few paying clients is weirdly more about knowing the right people than anything else. my first three gigs all came from a realtor i know through a friend and i basically gave her a deal on the first shoot so she could show her broker, and now she sends me pretty regular work. once you have a few examples in a specific niche it gets easier to pitch yourself. still figuring out the business structure stuff myself though so following this thread for sure