so ive been flying for about 3 years now, mostly just personal stuff and some stuff for friends, and i keep getting asked if i do paid work. like my neighbors real estate agent saw some shots i posted and messaged me asking about pricing and i just kind of froze because i dont actually have any of the business stuff figured out.

i know i need my part 107 which i actually already have from last year, but beyond that im kind of lost. do i need an LLC right away or can i just start taking jobs as a sole proprietor first? and insurance ? i looked at some options and the prices are all over the place, like some monthly plans seem almost too cheap and then some annual policies are way more than i expected. is there a specific type i should be looking for or does it depend on what kind of work youre doing?

also pricing is honestly the thing i feel most weird about. i have no idea what to charge. i dont want to undercut people who have actual businesses but i also dont want to quote something insane and lose the job before i even get started. any advice from people who have actually done this would be really helpful, even just knowing what mistakes you made early on would save me a lot of stress probably.

okay so i went through basically this exact thing about two years ago and the LLC question is one where people will tell you different things. honestly for the first few small jobs i just ran as sole prop because setting up the LLC felt overwhelming and i wanted to make sure i was even going to keep doing it before spending money on it. but the moment i started doing anything with a real contract or commercial property i got the LLC sorted. mainly for liability reasons, like you dont want someone to be able to come after your personal stuff if something goes sideways on a job.

for insurance look at Thimble or Skywatch if you're just starting out and doing occasional work, their pay-per-flight or monthly stuff is actually legit and not just cheap garbage. but once you start doing this regularly you probably want an annual policy through someone like Global Aerospace or Verifly. the coverage types matter a lot too ? make sure you have hull coverage if you care about your equipment and that your liability limit is at least a million, most commercial clients will require that anyway.

pricing wise for real estate i started at like $150-200 for a basic package and honestly left money on the table. most markets support $250-400 for a standard exterior shoot with a decent deliverable turnaround. just dont be the person charging $75 and making everyone else look bad lol

the real estate agent thing is such a common way people fall into this, that was basically my story too. one thing i wish someone had told me early is to just look at what other people in your area are actually charging ? not what some blog post says the national average is, but like actual local competitors. most of them have websites with pricing or you can just inquire as a potential client and see what they say. took me embarrassingly long to think of doing that.