so ive been doing drone stuff on the side for about two years now, mostly real estate shoots and the occasional construction site progress stuff, and im starting to wonder if i could actually make this my main thing. right now i work a regular 9-5 in IT and i do maybe 2-3 gigs a month on weekends. the money is decent for side income but im not sure if theres enough consistent work to actually replace my salary.

my part 107 is current, i've got the mini 4 pro and an air 3 so gear isnt really the issue. its more like... how do i find steady clients? real estate agents seem like the obvious answer but ive heard that market is getting pretty saturated in a lot of areas. wondering if anyone has actually made the jump and what that looked like for them in the first year or so.

I made the jump about three years ago and honestly the first year was rough in a way I wasnt expecting. Not because I couldnt find work, but because the work was so inconsistent. I'd have a great two weeks and then nothing for almost a month. The real estate market definitely has more competition now than when I started but the agents who actually care about quality will pay better rates and stick with you if you're reliable. That reliability thing is huge, way more important than having the fanciest gear.

The thing that saved me was diversifying early. I picked up a couple of construction clients who needed monthly documentation shots and that basically became my steady base income while I chased the bigger one-off jobs on top of it. Also get comfortable talking to people, like genuinely comfortable, because most of the work comes from word of mouth once you get a few good clients who like you as a person not just as a camera operator.

not quite where you are yet but watching this thread because im trying to figure out the same thing. one thing i keep hearing is that mapping and survey work pays way better than photography if you can get into it, something about the software side being a skill most people dont have. no idea how you even break into that though