so ive been flying for about two years now, got my part 107 last spring and honestly just been doing it for fun mostly, some real estate shots here and there for a friend. but lately a few people have reached out asking if i do paid work and im starting to think maybe i should actually set this up properly instead of just doing favors.

problem is i have no idea where to start with the actual business side. like do i need an LLC right away or can i just fly and collect payment as a sole proprietor for a while. and insurance ? i know i need it but hull coverage vs liability only is confusing me, i dont really want to spend a thousand bucks a year on a drone thats worth maybe 1800. also have no idea what to charge. i've seen people say $150/hr and others say $500 minimum per job and i genuinely cant figure out what's reasonable for someone just starting out in a mid-size market.

if anyone has done this i'd love to hear how you actually got your first few real paying clients, not just friends who felt bad saying no

went through almost this exact thing about 18 months ago. honestly the LLC question depends on your state but most people i know just started as sole prop and moved to LLC once they had some income coming in. the main reason to do LLC sooner is liability protection but your insurance is really doing most of that work anyway.

for insurance i use Skywatch on a pay-per-fly basis which kept my costs way down when i was starting and didnt have consistent work. once i was flying 3-4 jobs a month i switched to an annual policy through transport risk, ended up being cheaper. hull coverage honestly only makes sense if you cant afford to replace the drone out of pocket, thats just how i think about it.

pricing is the hard one. i started too cheap and it took a while to correct. if youre in a real estate market do not go below like $200-250 for a standard photo/video package, agents will actually trust you more if you charge real money. the ones who want $75 drone shots are not clients you want anyway, they will nickel and dime everything and leave bad reviews if a cloud shows up.

im kind of in the same boat as you so cant help much with the business setup stuff but i did want to say the client thing is real, i got my first two paid gigs just from posting a few clips on a local facebook group for home buyers and sellers, wasnt even trying to advertise just sharing stuff i shot and someone messaged me. might be worth trying before you spend money on a website or whatever