so ive been flying for about two years now, got my part 107 last spring and people keep asking me to shoot stuff for them, weddings, real estate, a couple of local businesses wanting aerial shots for their websites. up until now ive just been doing it for free or like 50 bucks here and there for friends but im starting to think maybe i should actually try to turn this into something real.

the thing is i have no idea where to start with the business side of it. like do i need an LLC right away or can i just operate as a sole prop for a while? and insurance ? ive heard horror stories about guys getting sued after something goes wrong and their hobby policy didnt cover commercial work. is there a specific carrier people use for commercial drone ops? also trying to figure out how to price jobs because right now i honestly have no clue what the going rate is for real estate shoots in a mid-size market.

anyway if anyone has been through this process and can point me in the right direction that would be awesome, im not trying to quit my day job yet just want to do this on weekends properly

went through basically this exact thing about three years ago. okay so the LLC question ? honestly for just starting out a sole prop is fine, the main reason to do an LLC is liability protection but if you have proper commercial insurance the LLC matters less than people think. that said i did set one up eventually just because it made invoicing and taxes way cleaner. your state filing fees are usually pretty cheap, like under 100 bucks in most places.

for insurance, Thimble and SkyWatch are both popular for on-demand coverage if you only fly occasionally, you basically pay per hour or per day which keeps costs low when youre starting. once you're doing enough volume, a yearly policy through something like Coverdrone or even through a broker that specializes in aviation makes more sense. the key thing is making sure it explicitly covers commercial operations because you're right that hobby policies wont cover you.

pricing is where it gets tricky because every market is different. real estate in a mid-size market I'd say maybe 150-250 for a basic exterior package, photos only. if you add video it goes up, if you add interior Matterport stuff that's a whole other thing. dont undercut yourself too hard at the start just to get work, it's really hard to raise your prices on clients who got used to the cheap rate.

the insurance thing is no joke, i almost skipped it my first few months and then watched a video of some guy's mavic going into a car windshield and changed my mind real fast lol. SkyWatch has been fine for me, the app makes it pretty easy to just turn on coverage before a job. not sure about the business structure stuff but my accountant basically told me to just track everything from day one even if youre still figuring out the legal side, makes tax time so much easier