so ive been flying for about 2 years now mostly just for fun and some stuff for friends and family, weddings that kind of thing. a few people have asked me if i do it professionally and honestly i just kind of laughed it off but im starting to think maybe theres something here. the problem is i have no idea how to actually set this up properly. like do i need an LLC or can i just operate as a sole prop to start? and the insurance thing is confusing me a lot because ive seen prices all over the place. also part 107 ? i passed mine like 8 months ago so thats covered but does that actually matter to clients or do they even care?

i guess my main questions are 1) how do i price stuff without underselling myself or scaring people away and 2) whats the minimum legal setup i should have before taking money from someone. any advice from people who actually went through this would be huge, ive been going in circles on youtube and its just a lot of contradicting info

went through basically this exact thing about 3 years ago. honestly the legal structure question depends on where you live but most people start as sole prop just to test the waters and then form an LLC once they have some actual revenue coming in. the LLC thing matters more for liability protection than anything else, and given were flying aircraft near people and property it really is worth doing eventually. probably $150-300 to file depending on your state, some states are cheaper.

on insurance ? i use Verifly for one-off jobs when im starting out with a new client type, and then i have an annual policy through SkyWatch for regular ongoing work. the annual stuff runs me around $1200/year for a million in liability which sounds like a lot until you realize most commercial clients, especially anything corporate or real estate agencies, will literally require proof of insurance before they even talk to you. so its not optional if you want real clients.

pricing is the hardest part honestly and i still second-guess myself. a good starting point is just figure out what your time is worth per hour, add your overhead and insurance cost spread across jobs, then look at what other operators in your area are charging. dont just race to the bottom, clients who only care about the cheapest price are usually the most painful to work with anyway.

part 107 definitely matters to clients, or at least the good ones. i always mention it upfront and it does help, especially with businesses who are worried about liability. most homeowners wont know what it means but real estate agencies and construction companies usually do.

im kind of in a similar boat as you so following this thread lol