been part 107 for about six months and i have maybe four or five clients i found myself through cold emailing local real estate agents and a couple of referrals. it works but its slow and kind of exhausting to always be hunting. i keep seeing these drone staffing platforms and agencies that say they connect pilots with gigs and im wondering if anyone actually uses them and whether they're worth it or if they take such a big cut that its basically not worth your time.

i tried one of the bigger ones for a few weeks and got maybe two jobs out of it and the pay felt low for what they were asking. but maybe i was doing it wrong or maybe my area just doesnt have much demand through that platform. curious what other people's experience has been, especially if youre in a smaller market

yeah the platforms can be kind of hit or miss depending where you are. i used one for about a year when i was starting out and it was useful for getting experience and building a portfolio but the rates were honestly embarrassing once i started comparing to what direct clients would pay. like i was doing shoots for $80-100 that i now charge $300+ for when i book them myself. the platform takes their cut, the agency above them takes their cut, and by the time it gets to you its pretty thin.

that said if youre still building your portfolio and just need reps it can be worth it short term. i think of it like the training wheels phase. just dont get complacent staying on there once you have enough work samples to go direct

direct clients all the way imo. harder to get but way better once you have them. i spent like three months just showing up to local business networking events which felt super awkward and not my thing at all but i picked up two commercial clients from it that have been steady for over a year now. one is a property management company that needs regular shots of their buildings and the other does event coverage. neither of them were looking for a drone pilot specifically, i kind of planted the idea and they went for it. probably not scalable advice but it worked for me