so ive been flying for about two years now and i have my part 107 and honestly im getting pretty comfortable with the Mavic 3 Pro for real estate and construction stuff. my day job is fine but its just... fine. been thinking more and more about whether i could actually make freelance drone work a real income thing.

the problem is i dont really know anyone doing it full time and all the youtube stuff i find is either super vague motivational nonsense or people trying to sell you a course. like i just want to know — is there actually consistent work out there for someone who isnt in a massive market? im in a mid size city, not NYC or LA or anything. real estate agents seem interested when i reach out but actually getting them to book and pay is another story entirely.

anyone here actually making this work as a primary income or even a solid side thing? what actually got you consistent clients vs just one off stuff

yeah i went through almost exactly this like three years ago. the real estate thing is real but its also kind of a grind to build up because agents are notorious for just using whoever their broker recommends or whoever charged the least last time. what actually changed things for me was getting into construction progress stuff — developers and GCs have ongoing projects so once you get your foot in the door with one its recurring work, not just a one and done shoot.

mid size city can actually work in your favor too, less competition than you'd think and local businesses are sometimes more loyal once they trust you. took me about 18 months before i felt like it was genuinely stable money though, not gonna lie. i kept my part time job until around month 14. the insurance and slow months will eat you alive if you dont have a runway saved up.

following this thread because im kind of in the same boat. part 107 for almost a year and i've done like maybe 6 paid shoots total which is honestly embarrassing. i keep telling myself im going to market more but then i just... dont. curious if anyone has thoughts on platforms like Dronebase or Zeitview for getting started, like are those actually viable or is it race to the bottom pricing