so ive been flying for about two years now mostly just for fun, got my part 107 last spring and did a couple small jobs for friends and family, like shot some footage for a cousins wedding and did some roof inspections for a neighbor who does contracting. people keep telling me I should charge for this stuff and honestly im starting to think they're right.

but I genuinely have no idea how to actually set this up as a real business. like do I need an LLC or can I just be a sole proprietor for a while? and the insurance thing is confusing me, I see people mention hull insurance and liability and Im not even sure which one I actually need to start. I dont want to fly without proper coverage but the quotes I've been getting seem all over the place, one company wanted like $1200 a year which felt high for someone just starting out.

also pricing. I have no idea what to charge. I dont want to be the guy undercutting everyone but I also cant walk in and charge like an experienced pro when im still building a portfolio. anyone been through this and willing to share how they figured it out?

went through almost exactly this about three years ago. for what its worth, sole proprietor is fine to start ? less paperwork, and honestly the liability protection from an LLC is a bit overstated for small ops unless you're doing high-value commercial work regularly. that said I did eventually move to an LLC just for the peace of mind and it wasn't that painful to set up.

on insurance, the $1200 quote honestly doesn't sound insane depending on coverage limits. I use Skywatch for smaller jobs since you can turn it on per-flight which kept my costs down when I was starting and not flying commercially every week. for ongoing hull and liability I ended up with a dedicated aviation policy through a broker that specializes in UAS stuff, its more expensive but the coverage is actually written for drones not just bolted onto a general business policy.

pricing is the hardest part honestly. I started by looking at what other operators in my area were posting publicly and then went slightly under while I built up reviews and a real portfolio. once you have 10-15 happy clients you can start raising rates and it gets easier. dont go too cheap though, you'll attract the wrong clients who will nickel and dime everything.

kind of in the same boat as you actually, so watching this thread closely. one thing I did hear is that some states have extra requirements on top of the federal stuff so worth checking your state's aviation or commerce office or whatever its called. also a guy in my local flying club mentioned that a lot of real estate photographers around here have formed like informal referral networks and thats how they get steady work, not sure if thats relevant to you but seemed worth bringing up